Franklin B Shift Part 2

Jason cooked a great dinner of chicken parm and we sat around as a shift with a call firefighter, Steve, eating. After dinner we did chores around the station. I vacuumed and mopped. While i was washing out my mop at the sink, the bells for a box alarm sounded. Franklin has fire alarm boxes around town, each with a number sequence as their location. I came around the corner to my gear and started to unzip my boots. Jason and Steve came out to the hooks and started to get their gear on. "Its a box alarm Sam!" Jason said. "Check the number Steve" Steve took the paper slip with the holes punched in it and counted 2, 1, 4. I was stepping into my turnout pants and Jason said, "Oh wait, that's the station's box!" It's not the first time that Steve and Jason have tricked me into thinking we had a call. They get me everytime. After that hilarious stunt we watched band of brothers and I turned in early to get some sleep at 2100. Sleeping at the firehouse takes getting used to, Lakes Region dispatch plays over the intercom system. Usually I'm so tired I fall to sleep and listen to the tones subconsciously, listening for Franklin's distinct tones. Sure enough I heard the distinct tones around 0030 in the morning. The pagers and klaxon goes off and the lights brighten a little in the bunk room. Everyone gets out of bed and puts on their uniforms. This is not the time to talk, as Lakes Region is about to tell us the nature of the call and very importantly, the address. This was for a delta level diabetic emergency. We headed to the scene and found a male in diabetic shock. Diabetic emergencies are a staple of EMS. This is due in part to the fact that 25.8 million Americans have a form diabetes. With the administration of IV fluids we raised the patients blood sugar level, checking it often with a glucometer. Back at the station, I went back to bed. The shift ended this morning and our shift sat at the table with the shift relieving us drinking coffee and discussing relevant stuff with apparatus, equipment, and work that needs to be done. It was a good shift and I also learned more things to make a better presence at Franklin Fire Department as a guest.