OK - some things here touched home. I reply out of direct knowledge.
Being involved in the Public Safety arena - I can tell you - there are some
stupid people out there. One example is - there was an Accident. The 911
system has been in effect for awhile - yet the caller reporting the
accident - called a phone number and left a message on an answering machine
of the Volunteer Fire Station - which also states at the beginning of the
message - if this is an Emergency - please hang up now and dial 911. Then,
they bitched about why no one showed up. DUH!
Our stations here - "Volunteer" - have an engine out the door in 4 minutes
or less. That's not bad - considering you have to drop what you're doing at
home/outside to respond. This area is "all" volunteer.
In an Emergency, time "seems" to drag - when waiting for an Ambulance,
Police or Fire. I know - I can be at our station waiting for a crew - my
bunker gear already on - and it seems to take forever - but in reality it
doesn't.
You have people who ARE overloading the system. We get calls for EMS runs
for Blisters on one's butt, Diarrhea, stoved toes, etc. NOW - while we're
out attending those people - and someone is having a "life threatening"
emergency - guess what? Our response time is greatly hampered. People all
consider "their" issue - an "emergency". Yes - to them - it "is". Many get
too excited and don't rationalize things out. Contrary to that - I've also
seen those who "should" have called the EMS and insisted to ignore the
symptoms - and end up in dire condition.
As one example - Diarrhea - it "can" be a problem - IF they've had it for a
couple days and other issues involved - leading to Dehydration... But most
people with flu or other issues where Diarrhea starts - it usually subsides
and no problems - resulting. The call often states - started this am - or
sudden onset. That is not in itself - an emergency. Probably a virus or
something you ate. Usually you don't die from it and don't require immediate
care.
It is these types of calls - overloading the system - the hospital being a
good 15 minutes away - it takes an EMS unit out of service for someone who
may actually need it.
Some parts of this area - are remote - so if you're way out in the boonies -
it will take time. The roads are windy and if in winter - snow or ice on
roads - we can't take a chance of killing ourselves or others to respond.
Most of the fires we've "lost" - were out in the middle of no-where - with
little water- aside that on the engines responding. The tankers in outter
areas also take time to get there. A garage burned to the ground just last
winter. We had a sudden snow storm and it laid a lot of snow down - FAST.
The roads were covered - the garage - out about 10 miles from here via
country roads. We all got there - the person's driveway covered and icey -
made the trucks hard to get close enough - hand lines had to be hoisted -
and at that - with care to avoid injury. You DO have situations which we
must deal with to protect ourselves as well. The idea is - to get to the
call without creating another - AND - to come back - safely - so you can do
it all again.
It would be wonderful to be able to call 911 and have a Firefighter, Cop or
Medic pop right there - but that is fantasy. Everyone "should" take it upon
themselves to learn some basics in first aid, fire safety, personal safety.
WE're undermanned - yet NO ONE wants to participate. If your area is
undermanned - why not join them?
Our area isn't a high tax base - many economy sustaining factories have
closed. Some towns here must rely on the State Police for assistance. THEY
are so overburdened - it can take them up to a couple hours to respond to a
call.
Before you blame the System - look into WHY it is like that. WHY is it being
overburdened - how can you get more people to participate? Ramp up the tax
base without burdening the tax payers anymore - to afford Protection?
Liability insurance on a Cop - is high. To equip just "one" cop with the
tools he/she needs and pay them a reasonable salary for a year - is NOT
cheap. Same with Firefighters. EMS has their own issues. Ever since 9/11 -
the demand has grown for training and so on. Insurance issues are coming
into play now which could cut an already short number of volunteers - down
even further. According to the last Stats I had seen - PA - where I live -
was 85% volunteer - and of those - 50% nearing an age of not being able to
perform effectively. That doesn't bode well for protection - but it seems no
one gives a damned. Better to bitch than to explore resolutions.
Before you bitch about the slowness of the system - ask WHY. There "could"
be an underlying cause. Yes - in "some" instances - there "could" be a
legitimate complaint - which must be fixed and can be - but that doesn't
apply to all. In many cases - there is no easy fix. NOT unless you start
filtering out calls and not responding.
The areas with "Volunteers" - have NO CLUE - how much money they save
annually over a paid station. I am NOT knocking the "Paid" guys/gals. I'm
just relating the situation with volunteer departments around here - and
what we do - and my knowledge of some "city" <paid> stations. My point is -
the people bitch about everything and want it for nothing. Our station -
does a Halloween parade with candy and cash prizes, Easter Egg Hunt,
Christmas Treats with Santa and so on - EVERY year. Yet to ask for a
donation to help out - the people in town will bitch about it. When one of
those events nears - the question is asked "WELL - are they going to do it -
WHEN?" It is so easy to demand...... Our station used to be financially
stable for years - but has fallen on some tough times. We may not be able to
provide those "luxuries" the public demands - much longer if we are to stay
alive. I can just hear it now. THEM CHEAP BASTARDS - they don't want to do
anything for this town. Forget the fact we risk our lives for them.
Hells fire - around here - WE do tree removal, baby sit situations until the
correct agency can respond - usually a half hour or better, etc. The City
folks don't have that issue. They have "Street" crews, and a quick response
(typically) of their agencies (Electric/Gas/Water, etc) to relieve the
firefighters to go back. Many of these towns can't afford "street crews".
The cops are so burdened, when we have calls, WE also direct traffic at the
scenes. Around here - it is safe to say - we aren't "just" a fire station.
Yet - there ya go - people bitch about response. Just how much is it you
want from "Volunteers"? Be glad you have them, you might find yourself shit
out of luck one day if they're NOT supported.
Somewhat contradictory in nature.... we hate to hear the fire whistle blow -
you never know what it is until you "actually" get there. No calls are
always as they seem. What is called in - and relayed by the 911 dispatcher -
isn't always what you find. I would rather answer a false alarm - than roll
in to see someone losing their home. But at the same time - I'd rather not
have any alarms which waste resources - at all. And I don't want to see any
of our people hurt or possibly hurting an innocent bystander - responding
to any call - actual alarm or not. Time is of the essence - as witnessed in
those bitching about slow response - but you must be careful to not create
more harm/damage/injury - than already being responded to.
One call we had just recently - "Elderly lady fell - not responsive - not
breathing". THAT was the call as given to us via 911. Naturally - like your
own mom or grandma - we try to get there ASAP to do what we can. It was a
relief to go in and find her sitting in a chair - talking. A diabetic
situation - no apparent injuries from the fall. Just feeling light headed
and fell. She did get transported to the E.R. for further evaluation due to
this being two days in a row for the symptoms - as was divulged in
questioning her and the family. My point - this was sounding like a "tragic"
call - which had a decent outcome. But no time was wasted trying to get
there to revive her. We get there - wherever it is - as soon as possible. WE
can't control weather or traffic situations which could hamper resonse time.
Another call - similar to this one - lady collapsed while preparing for
bath. The caller brought her back via CPR instructions from a 911
dispatcher. We were activated. The woman went in and out of Cardiac arrest a
couple times. When she "was" brought back - it was a feeling of <hopefully>
having saved a life - even though she was still critical. She was released
to the EMS crew - who established their IV lines, etc, and transported. She
was alive when they pulled out. She didn't make it. She coded and never come
back. We do NOT like those calls - unfortunately we must deal with them. WE
deal with lots of situations and not many are pleasant. We live with that
stuff. Bravery, is just a small part of it. There's a lot more to it. Much
of what we deal with - most couldn't.
Hero? I can't speak for all - but "I" sure don't consider myself one. I do
what I do - to help save a life or property. Sometimes it is a good
outcome - sometimes not. I do this out of desire to help others - NOT
because I want applause. I come from a family of Firefighters/EMTs/Medics. I
too "was" an EMT for years - then a medic. I am currently only involved in
the firefighting end and Emergency Management.
Our system isn't perfect - probably never will be. Rather than be so quick
to cast blame - do your part to HELP in whatever way will alleviate the
problems. If you think you have slow response now - wait until you have an
all out disaster. Our county had programs set up for people - NOT in the
system - to help out in times of disaster until Fire - Police - EMS could
arrive - but the outcome was very poor.
You can choose to be a part of the problem or a part of the solution. Which
do you prefer?
