Back on shift (and my first post too!)

Well for most of you, this will be your first time reading one of my blog posts. I have written on two blogs previously, both of which were about popular as Hillary Clinton is in Texas. This one is different though, dare I say it, this one is special. This one will be about things that people are actually interested in. Some examples of upcoming topics include; the Fire Service, EMS, training, cool stuff for work and training, safety, and of course, me complaining about how calls don't always go my way. So, with that, here's my first blog post, which I belive will just about touch on all those topics in one shot.

So, as the title "back on shift" suggests, I'm back on shift. I'm working my first full shift at my volunteer department in about 3 weeks. So, I'm the BLS half of a Firefighter / Paramedic rig tonight. With tonight being "drill night" the shift has started off pretty slow. The training topics we were supposed to cover tonight included search and rescue, RIT, and calling a May-Day. We started off with a powerpoint presentation, punctuated by some pretty solid discussion on search and rescue techniques. After we got done with the powerpoint, we headed outside to get set up to run some scenarios. Once the bay was smoked up (with what turned out to be a very impressive little smoke machine that filled the app bay almost to the floor), the assigned crews recieved their orders and made entry. I was assigned to RIT with my partner from the Medic unit, so he and I stood just outside with all our gear ready and listened intently to the radio. After about 15 minutes of left hand wall / right hand wall searching, we wrapped it up and began putting all the equipment back in service.

Not a moment too soon either as one of our Engines got toned for a mutual aid run just as they were getting it back in service. Evidentially they ended up driving quite some distance across the South end of the county to get to the call. We didn't see them for almost an hour and a half. No matter what anyone says, rural FD/EMS is very different. Using my so-so map skills, I determined that their scene was about 45 minutes from the nearest hospital, and over an hour from a trauma center. Fortunately for all involved, the pt wasn't bad off and didn't go anywhere.
After everyone headed home, we fired up the bbq and got ready for dinner. Nothing quite like bbq'ing a steak the size of a brick on the apron of a fire station. Add in some Rice a' Roni, garlic bread and home made colcannon, and we had ourselves quite a feast.

Now that the dinner is done, and the dayroom is cleaned up, I have some time to sit back and relax. As a side note, I put my "EMS 2.0" pin on my helmet today, you can learn more about EMS 2.0, as well as Chronicles of EMS by clicking on the links.


With all of that said, I really don't have much else to talk about at the moment. I'm going to go out into the bay and play with my new (to me) fire axe. It's one of the sweet Fire Axe Inc. pickheaded ones. 32 inch handle and a 6lb head, I love it. One of my good friends just hooked me up with it, as well as the leather scabbard to go with it. I will probably post some sort of write up/pics about that in the next few days. But for now, I'm still trying to get used to wearing an axe and a pack.

Anyway, thanks for reading. Stay safe. And wear your seatbelt!

~ LFF