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A Day in
the Life
North Platte Fire and Rescue
Out the back door
One particular morning, we were dispatched to a man in an alley that was
down. Upon arrival we found this gentleman had obviously been drinking
and must have passed out and lain in the alley all night. After the initial
assessment, we strapped him in a cot and headed for the hospital. I called
the Emergency Room, and as I was telling the nurse the situation, the
patient ripped his straps off, opened the door and bounded off down the
street. At that point, I stated to the nurse that we lost our patient.
She asked if we were starting CPR and I informed her that we really LOST
our patient. We drove around trying to find him but were unable to locate
him. This was truly the one that got away.
False Alarm
An ambulance was dispatched to a call that reported a man was
down and his wife was initiating CPR. While en route, the ambulance was
told to cancel. The paramedic questioned the dispatcher and it was confirmed
that no ambulance was needed for the apparent cardiac arrest. The dispatcher
informed the paramedics that the wife was sorry, but she discovered that
her husband was just sleeping.
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| Cot
in the act
When a call came in for a fireman shortage, two EMT’s hopped into
the only available ambulance and headed out to help. What they didn’t
realize as they headed to the scene was that another crew had been in
the process of cleaning the ambulance and the cot was not securely locked
in place. The rear door was also not securely fastened. As the ambulance
rounded a curve, the back door flew open and the cot rolled out. The webbing
on the cot snagged a latch on the floor and the ambulance pulled this
portable bed down the street. After realizing what happened, they pulled
over and put the cot back into the unit.
Bathroom humor
The ambulance crew was dispatched on a call. Upon arrival, the crew found
the female patient’s head wedged between the toilet, the water heater
and the wall. Thankfully, the patient’s laughter helped to mask
the laughter coming from the ambulance crew. After several attempts, the
crew was able to get the patient’s head free. After the incident,
the “victim” stated that she was tired and just fell asleep
– unfortunately between the toilet and water heater.
Go Big Red!
I reported to work, still a rookie waiting for my first action-filled
call. It occurred on a snowy, blustery day. The alarm went off and the
call came.
“Person down. Not Breathing.”
While we were en route, my heart was jumping out of my chest. We arrived
at the scene and found a woman lying in the deep snow with no signs of
life. I started CPR, and with all the training I received, it was second
nature and the CPR was going smoothly. While my mind was running through
all the medical aspects of this call, my thoughts were also with this
woman’s elderly husband as he stood over me watching. I could see
the deep concern in his eyes. I tried to reassure him by telling him that
we were doing everything we could for his wife.
He finally spoke.
“She’s a goner anyway,” he said.
This statement freaked me out a little and I was concerned that perhaps
the stress of the situation was too much for him. I regrouped my thoughts
while we were loading his wife into the ambulance and asked him if he
was going to meet us at the hospital. He said he would, but the Nebraska
Cornhuskers were playing on television and he didn’t want to miss
it.
P.S. She lived.
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NPTSummer 2005 Issue
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