Bloody Mess...
21:00… we are dispatched to an ill subject, complaining of severe stomach pain. The dispatcher says we are responding to a person throwing up at home. As we headed out of the engine bay we all glove up.
We arrive on scene to a house tucked back in the trees just off the side of the road. We pull the gurney off of the ambulance along with all of our medical gear. When we get to the house we are greeted by an older woman, rushing us in.
We follow the woman to the back room of the house where we find her ‘friend’ lying on the bed. There is blood everywhere… now we realize not only is he throwing up but he is throwing up blood. As we ask about his past medical history and do our assessment we find that he has a tumor on his liver and has been suffering the affects of it for a few months now.
He began throwing up blood earlier that day but they both thought that it would pass and decided not to seek help (big mistake!)
We decided to put him on the floor on a sheet where it would be easier to access him and move him to the gurney. When we did we noticed that his stomach was now bloating due to the internal pressure and all of the heaving he had been doing. It was literally as hard as a basketball!
After we finally got him out of the room into the ambulance and on his way, we were talking to his ‘friend.’ We were asking her questions about him… trying to get any other information we could out of her. Finally she decided to mention that he was diagnosed with Hepatitis C about 2 years ago! So naturally we all checked out each other for possible contaminations, but found nothing. It just goes to show you how careful you need to be.
- This incident happened about 2 weeks ago now. This incident will forever change my outlook on calls involving people in these types of situations. BSI (bodily substance isolation) is so important in this profession… this just proved that point.
March 20th, 2005...
I started at 8am as I do every Sunday on the river, hoping to get ‘the big one.’ As usual I was disappointed. Its Sunday… not much happens on Sunday. It had been a long day of training and chores that was coming to an end.
I got into bed at about 23:00; at 23:30 the radio cracked out a dispatch for a vehicle accident. Generally I was excited, fumbling around trying to get my turnouts on as fast as possible. We got in the rig and hit the lights. It was raining cats and dogs… some of the hardest rain this season. I got on the radio… “REDCOM 5684 responding!” We were then updated on the situation. Not only was it a vehicle accident but, extrication as well.
Now the level had escalated… this was a ‘real’ call! When we came on scene, we found a vehicle on the side of the road with major damage to the front left corner all the way up the hood and on the roof, all on the left side. On the way in we passed the second vehicle about 50 yards back on its driver side in a nearby parking lot. We all piled out of the rig ready to go.
I ran to the car to begin the patient care stuff while the captain and the volunteer who had showed up, got the extrication equipment ready to go. It was an approximately 65 year old woman with some severe facial trauma, but no other obvious injures. She was fully alert and talking.
We cut the door off and got her into the ambulance in 12 minutes. That was pretty quick I thought. When we were done with her we went to the next vehicle. The man who had been driving was already out of the vehicle and had suffered no injuries except for a few glass cuts on his face. He spoke almost no English but from what we understood it was his fault.
The next morning we got the details of the call from the CHP. I turned out that the woman was a night shift worker at a local hospital, and was on her way to work. When the man crossed over the line coming around a turn and hit her front left side. He then drove up her car which caused the damage to the hood and roof of her car.
The man in the other car was drunk coming home in the opposite direction and crossed the line. She saw him coming and swerved to get out of the way, just managing to miss a head on collision. He was a Hispanic man about 30 years old, drunk, no driver’s license, no insurance, no registration… and he had been using stolen registration stickers for the past 4 years.
- This was the biggest call I have been on yet. I learned so much about the procedures on a scene and got my first real emergency.
Introduction...
Welcome everyone to my ‘blog.’ But more importantly this is m ‘log’ of major events in my firefighting career. I am very new to the fire service; I only recently started fire technology courses at our local public safety school and even more recently begun an internship with a local fire department.
I am currently completing an EMT-B course, which will give me my EMT-B certificate for the state of California. I have completed various other fire technology courses and recently applied for a position as a fire intern. This is where I am currently.
I started as an intern in January of this year (not much time under my belt yet…) and have been active on duty since February. You may think, why is this ‘kid’ writing stories when he has only been doing this for only a few months. My only answer is this; In my short time I have already seen some pretty interesting stuff, and in my view they are important and I thought it would be both interesting and inspiring or young people my age, both civilian and fire oriented alike.
I hope you enjoy the stories I have to tell and keep and eye on this blog because I will be updating it every time I get something interesting to tell you.
… Justin
History of the Maltese Cross...
"From the days of the first crusade, the cross has been the symbol of the Christian warrior who pledged not only to fight in defense of the Holy Land, but also to protect the lives of his compatriots. The Maltese Cross now worn by modern firefighters is actually an adaptation of a particular crusader insignia, the cross of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem...
The Knights, one of the oldest orders of warrior monks that fought for Christendom, took vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. Also known as Hospitallers, the monks maintained a hospital for pilgrims in Jerusalem. Then that city became the centre of the crusade-embattled lands, the brothers militarized their order, but continued to protect pilgrims and extend their charity to the sick and poor.
Because of the extensive armor that covered their bodies and faces, the Knights were unable to distinguish friend from foe in battle, so the need for an identifiable emblem for the Knights became crucial. Since they fought their battles for a holy cause, they chose the Cross of Calvary, a white or silver cross on a dark background. After the fall of Jerusalem in 1187, the Knights of St. John moved to the island of Malta.
During the crusades, many Knights became firefighters out of necessity. Their enemies had resorted to throwing bombs and sailing war vessels containing
naphtha.
Hundreds of Knights were burned alive. Others risked their lives to save their brothers in arms from dying painful fiery deaths.
Thus these men became our first firefighters and the first of a long list of courageous firefighters. Their heroic efforts were recognized by fellow Crusaders who awarded each hero a
Badge of Honor ; a cross similar to the one firefighters wear today.
The Maltese Cross is your symbol of protection. It means that the firefighter who wears this cross is willing to lay down his/her life for you, just as Crusaders sacrificed their lives for their fellow man so may years ago.
The Maltese Cross is a Firefighter's badge of honor, signifying that he/she works in courage... a ladder-rung away from death."
Lawrence Township Fire Department 2005
