Nothing has changed

It has been really quiet lately. Which is good, because it has given me time to get some hunting in, check that - ALOT of hunting in. It is also bad because you know sooner or later you will pay for it.

We had a routine structure fire the other day. It was pretty small, contained to the grill and exhaust system at a local restaurant. Lots of grease built up in the hood, air filters, and exhaust fans. The workers activated the class K system prior to our arrival, but there was so much grease in the fan, it continued to burn. When I got there, the sheriff was on the roof and discharged six 20lb ABC extinguishers into the fan system, which was still on. I went in with the automatic aid engine co and used the class K extinguisher to put out the rest of the grill and we used water from the roof to put out the fan. Like I said, it was pretty routine.



The EMS side of the job has been quiet as well. I've been working weekends, it's slow and no one is around. Which, has also given me time to think about what I want from this job. I am heading in the direction of flight paramedic. Which means, going back to school. I can either study a book and take a test, or go to Baltimore MD and take an actual class and test. I foresee a trip to the east coast real soon.



Lately, I have found some old friends on Facebook. Most of them were young medics and EMTs when I was in high school. They worked with my Dad at Lyons Ambulance, back when they were on Elm St in Danvers. The bathrooms and showers where in a different building, at the top of an enclosed staircase. The bunk beds were in rooms the size of closets... wait a minute, they were closets! The same with the dispatcher, only he had a sliding glass patio door for a wall in his closet. I remember going to meet Dad at midnight Fri and Sat nights when he got off duty. I'd walk to Supreme's in Danvers Square, get a super beef with sauce, cheese and mayo, and head off to Lyons. I'd sit there and watch the Letterman show, and "Tales from the Crypt" while waiting for Dad to get off work. I was a witness to all the horse play, and the "shop talk" about calls and the b******* about the company. I learned a whole lot from those days, but I have also forgot alot. It is all coming back to me.

Last week I worked a night shift and day shift back to back, 22 hours. It wasn't that bad. We had a student ride along, from the high school. While showing her the back of the ambulance, a couple of people on duty came in the back of the rig. We started talking about work, and then we forgot she was there. All of a sudden, I looked up to see the look on her face, and I was back on Elm St in Danvers MA. We were complaining about the management of the company, about how they are treating us like children, namely because some of us are acting like children. Thinking about what has transpired recently, I remember the same conversations being held about ten years ago. I've been witness to ambulances hitting garage doors, window panes being broken out, chairs and couches being broken. and a certain medic being hogtied and thrown into a snow banking, ... naked.

Nothing has changed. We still act like big kids, but the amazing thing is that we are professional on calls, when it counts. We kick a** and save lives. Sometimes we need to remember that as long as the job is getting done in the streets, it is all that counts.