Final Blog

Just wanted to write about a few quick things that happened after I had blogged last night. Shortly after writing, D shift and I went out and had a little fun. We took out the rescue and played with some of the light configurations that they have. I'm not kidding when I tell you they could light up someone's entire yard for a back yard football game. Also, the crew asked if I wanted to go up in the ladder. After admitting to a small fear of heights, I had no choice. It was an awesome experience. I even got a picture of myself over looking the city of Franklin at night. Unfortunately, there were no calls last night, and I ended up falling asleep in the recliner. The departure was bitter sweet. I will sincerely miss the guys at the FFD. I hope that I worked my way into the family that they have established, and that it was as positive of an experience for them as it was for. All in all, I'm real happy with my decision for my senior project. I came out of it with a much greater understanding of the life of a firefighter, and a pretty cool T-Shirt! Thanks to all of my readers who kept up with my project! My project will be presented on tomorrow, Thursday the 27th, from 10-12 in the Wise. See you there!

Final Day

Today is my last day at the station. I got here at 6:45 A.M. and most of the day was VERY slow. We literally spent most of the day looking for things to do. We didn't receive our first call until about 5:30 P.M. It was a call for a car accident with injuries, which was my first car accident. It was an interesting experience, and the methods for treating the victims was new to me. There was much more involved in the process of transporting the victims as well. There was a lot of focus on finding out EXACTLY what happened as well as where the pain was. This was in order to ensure that the firefighters took the proper protocol when moving them onto the backboards, and eventually on to the stretchers. The transport then continued to the hospital where the victims were dropped off and we headed back to the station. Aside from that, it has been a very quiet day. Almost 9 P.M. and the station is quiet. This being my last journal entry, it's a little bitter sweet. I'm certainly going to miss the experiences I had over the past two and a half weeks. The spring term at Proctor has been a lot of fun for me after what was a very bleak fall and winter. I'm thankful to all who were involved in these last two weeks, both at Proctor, and here at the Franklin Fire Department. I've never met a better group of guys than the ones on D shift. I'd trust them with my life, literally.

Structure Fire

Just a quick blurb about something that happened Saturday. Perhaps my greatest fear about my Senior Project came true... I MISSED A STRUCTURE FIRE! Unfortunately, this Saturday there was a major structure fire on route 11 just over the City line in Franklin. At first, I didn't know what it was as I approached the scene in my car. All I saw were the police lights, and a police officer directing traffic. As I continued down the road I saw approximately 10-15 cars parked alongside the road, and wondered why all the people were parked there. Perhaps they were at some event at one of the houses, or maybe they were all on the water. It wasn't until I saw Franklin's Rescue Truck and Fire Engines that I realized there had been a structure fire, and that those cars were not there coincidentally. They were all off duty fire fighters that had come to help. They took time out of their own weekend to come help out their brothers in what quintessentially describes their job. They go to work not as co-workers, but as brothers. They're there for one another 24 hours a day, on duty or off duty. Wouldn't it be nice to see this play out in more real life situations...? Just some food for thought. Until next time...

Weekly Reflection

Week 2

This week started off with one of the hardest parts of the job. The signal 22 that we received on Monday was something completely new to me. I think it would have hit home for anyone. That type of event is never easy. Even the members of D shift talk about the fact that it takes a conscious effort to not let that sort of call get to you. Part of this comes from the bond that is shared between the crew, which was part of my third goal. They rely on each other to keep going. Whether it be making jestful cracks on one another throughout the day, or just lending a helping hand, each member is there to keep the mood light, and the job enjoyable. I also focused on some of the parts of my first goal this week. I made a point to try and learn as much about each of the trucks this week as well as the equipment they carry. After exploring each one, I’d have to say my favorite is the Rescue Truck. The function is more or less self-explanatory, but the purpose it serves along with the equipment it carries really peaked my curiosity. From the Jaws of Life, to the Swift Water Rescue equipment, this truck has everything you need for every type of rescue. Finally, I also took leaps and bound when it came to my second goal. This week we went over Mega Codes. On Thursday, we went to the dam and practiced hypothetical situations that might arise when responding to an EMS call. Here, the EMTs must work with both real people as well as a dummy. However, this is no ordinary dummy. It is linked to a machine that allows it to give the EMTs the ability to feel for a pulse, insert IVs, and practice intubation. This was helpful beyond measure when it came to my goal of trying to learn how to assess and react to varying types of EMS calls. Lastly, I’ve been getting better at recognizing the special tone for Franklin. Before, each time there was any sort of alarm over the intercom, or radio, I could be seen jumping out of my seat, and heading for my gear. It was the running joke for my first few shifts. Although, I don’t have it down completely, I’m definitely getting better. With one shift left, I’m appreciative for all the Franklin Fire Department has done for me. Taking the time to work me in to their schedule has made the difference in the last few weeks for me here at Proctor. I look forward to my final 24 hours with D shift. Until next time...

Hose Testing

Today was an abbreviated day. I only worked from 7 A.M. until 5 P.M. During that time, we only had a few calls, but nothing serious. However, several other Explorers (High school seniors) showed up, and we went to test out some of the functions of the new engine, Engine 4. Here, I got my first taste of what it was like to shoot a hose. I shot the smallest of the hoses, 1 3/4" hoses. Even these proved to be difficult to handle when the pressure was increased. Despite the difficulty, it was still a ton of fun. To end the day, we filled up the bottom of one of the large charcoal grills for the Fire Station Cookout in two weeks. I now have one more day left at the station and my experience has been awesome so far. It's been everything I hoped for, plus a little bit more. From examining the dynamics of the firehouse, to my Signal 22 experience, it's been interesting. Until next time...

The rest of my shift this morning was pretty lax. Only one call that came in at about 4:45 A.M. It was for a nice elderly woman with arm pain. She was transported and admitted to the hospital. Shortly thereafter we headed back to the station. Compared to the events that occurred earlier in the day, all of the other calls seemed to pale in comparison. I'm enjoying the fact that the job is unpredicatable and that no two days on the job are ever the same. I'm still waiting on my first fire, which everyone says will be an awesome experience. I look forward to my next shift on Thursday.

Signal 22

Signal 22 is one of the four codes that the Lakes Region Mutual Fire Aid uses. This particular code is used to signal a death. Early this morning, approximately 15 minutes into my shift, I arrived with the rest of D shift to an unknown medical call. In the 3 to 4 minutes it took us to get there, the patient that had made the EMS phone call, had died. When we arrived on scene, the house was cluttered, much like something you might see on the TV show Hoarders. It was clear upon arrival that the patient was deceased, and that resuscitation would be of no use. At first, I shook it off as we began to inspect the rest of the house for medications in order to help the Police Department who arrived on scene shortly after us. The mood was lightened with a few jokes. These jokes become essential in order to handle the stress of the job. The jokes are never offensive, or critical of those who are involved, but rather about issues that are separate from the current situation. It is a brief escape from the severity of what just occurred. After this, our job was done, and we were back to the station.

As we pulled into the station, I couldn't help but think, "That's it?" The people in that patients life will have their lives irreparably changed because of that death, but even though we were the ones to assess the situation, and determine that the patient was deceased, that hour we spent at the house was all there was to it. It was time to move on. Before I knew it, we were going on with our day, testing hoses, and inspecting the trucks. It was an eye open experience that I'll never forget. Most EMS workers never forget their first fatality, and I certainly won't either. I think that I handled one of the most difficult parts of the job today pretty well. Perhaps I might have a future in the medical line of work after all...