Weekly Reflection

This week's reflection will be short because I am on shift with C shift now and am taking a break from work to write this before it's due. This week I had an incredibly hectic schedule and felt like I was living out of my truck with so much back and forth between Franklin Fire and Proctor. I did three 24 hour shifts at Franklin, one 9 hour shift at Sanbornton Fire, and two calls with Andover Rescue. I also did some other activites like my ride along with the Marine Patrol and visits to various other fire departments. With the lack of sleep I got this week, however, came a dramatic increase in what I learned and new confidence I have gained. At Franklin I can navigate their station and most apparatus with ease, and have been finding more ways to be helpful on and off calls. Consequently, I've been able to be even more active in patient care on med calls. While I didn't see any critical patients this week I saw more patients, which is just as benefitial. I've also worked on two different shifts, doubling my perspective on how the department functions. I still feel the most comfortable in 32 Ambulance 1 (Andover's ambulance) with the Andover Rescue crew. The diabetic call I went on highlighted my week, working alongside Greg and Jason taking vitals and running the cardiac monitor. Getting the blood pressure on my first try made me feel great. Skills I had been taught previously at Franklin came back to memory and I was very satisfied with my new competency with the monitor. In conclusion, it was a productive and fun week and I have consistent energy and motivation to learn more. Tonight or tomorrow I will post on this shift's actvity.

Highspeed Marine Patrol pursuit with shots fired

Today I did ride time with the New Hampshire Marine Patrol on Lake Winnipesaukee (sp). The weather gave me a break and we only got a little bit of rain in between sunshine and bluebird skies. But just kidding about the high speed pursuit and shots fired, that didn't really happen. I was introduced to Officer Callahan at the dock this morning and realized suddenly that this was really the police service, in terms of professionalism and seriousness. They also carry guns and have arresting powers. Officer Callahan was casual though and told me to call him Jimmy. We boarded his boat and he asked me a little bit about my boating background so he knew how much I could help him. He was happy to learn that I could help him with quite a bit (thanks Ocean Classroom). We checked the fluids, instruments, and various equipment, then he pulled out his chart and showed me his AOR (area of responsibility) and the various hazards and POIs (points of interest) in the AOR. The lake is 72 square miles and is divided into three AORs. We pushed off and headed to Camp Lawrence to inspect their vessels. Jimmy was very friendly and professional, he makes a big effort to know as many people as possible around the lake, the waters near their property, and the layout of populated islands. In his 5 years on the Marine Patrol he responded to multiple medical calls at Camp Lawrence and another fairly serious call for the Police. I helped Jimmy with the paperwork for the inspections. After that we went to Camp Nokomis on a different island where my friend Morgan from Proctor works in the summer. It started to rain so we left and rolled down the the covers to the cabin of the center console. Thankfully the downpour was short lived. Jimmy wasn't afraid of the throttles and we cruised around the AOR at 40 - 50 miles per hour. (that is considered high speed on the water) The vessel we were on had two 200 horse power outboard motors and a special hull that is partially an air cavity and partially foam. We went to Meredith and got lunch, then went to Wiers Beach in Laconia. Along the way we pulled over several vessels for warnings for no registration stickers and then inspected them too. We were at a marina in the Wiers filling out inspection forms when a boat flew by in the no wake zone headed towards the lake. We were far from the patrol vessel in the marina and Jimmy quickly finished the form and we dashed to the patrol vessel. I cast us off and we headed towards the speeder who was now far away. We were only planing for a second and the bow dropped, we were doing 50 mph and I had to put on my sunglasses so my eyes wouldn't tear. When we did get astern of the vessel Jimmy hit the siren and we had to jump its wake. "Hold on" Jimmy said and we bounced over the wake, getting some air, and circled the boat so it came to a stop and we could come alongside. After that excitement we went out into the broads (widest part of the lake) where Jimmy showed me some high speed maneuvers since I got such a thrill from jumping the wake. He pulled some really tight turns with the right combination of different speeds on each motor. It was quite the thrill. We patrolled the AOR more, slowing done to look at the houses and businesses on the shoreline to make sure everything looked okay. After that the shift was over and we headed back to headquarters. I stopped at Gilford Fire on my way home to pick up a coat light that Jason left in their air trailer earlier today. I brought that back to Franklin Fire on my way home and dropped it off. It was a fun day and probably an experience I won't forget.

Rest Day

Today I took advantage of a free day between my hectic schedule. I got off shift at Franklin at 7 and sat around with the guys drinking coffee during shift change and then watching the news. I went back to Proctor, got breakfast and showered. Then I went to Andrew's house in Andover. Andrew is a firefighter and EMT - I in Andover who I have known since I was an explorer. He's also a per diem FF with Bridgewater. We went to a house in his truck where he is reclaiming an overgrown yard. We worked there for a few hours and loaded up his truck with some old cord wood cut unusually small. The homeowner had no use for it so we donated it to an elderly guy in Salisbury to burn in his furnace. After that we got lunch and ate in the fire house in front of the TV. Then I went back to Proctor and took a nap. It felt like I had been knocked out and the extra sleep felt so good. I realized I still needed a hair cut desperately (the guys at Franklin have been giving me a hard time because my hair is as long as Justin Bieber's) so I went to the barber in New London. I got back and watched a movie with Mansfield. Tomorrow I'm going out on Lake Winnipesaukee with Supervisor Gibbons from the NH Marine Patrol. I'm psyched! We spoke on the phone last Sunday and he told me he wanted me at the dock in Gilford at 0900. I definitely don't want to be late. Hopefully it won't rain too hard.

My culinary talent - Franklin Fire B Shift

Today I was on shift at Franklin Fire with B shift, my usual shift. I jumped out of bed at 5:30 and packed everything I needed. Then it was off to Jakes to get some cheese for my burgers I forgot yesterday and some coffee. I was getting back in my truck in the parking lot when my pager went off for a car accident in East Andover. I decided to head to the scene in my truck so I could leave and go to Franklin from the call instead of being committed to the rescue or the ambulance, making me late. When I got on scene I checked with John, the EMS chief, in the ambulance who was evaluating one patient with no injury. So I headed to Franklin and got there with plenty of time. Jason and I checked Engine 4 and started on the rescue when we got a med call. We got back from that med call and my mentor Phil stopped by. Phil checked in with me then the Deputy Chief gave his daily talk with the shift. Soon after the talk we got another med call for an injury from a fall Alpha level. These calls aren't exciting and don't evoke any kind of adrenaline rush. It's a part of the job. But this call reminded me of how rewarding EMS can be. An elderly woman had fallen in her house and it was emotional for her and her daughters. For Captain Goldthwaite, John, and I it was easy to evaluate the situation and ensure them that we were more than happy to take the woman to the hospital (though she did not want to). We left the call insisting they call us back if anything changes. The ride back to the fire house felt good. We ate lunch soon after. In the afternoon we cleaned out a space in the back of the firehouse which will be used for a fitness space. Jason and Phil put me on the stair climber and put a 75 pound vest on me. I did one stair a second for 3 minutes. It's the same test professional firefighters must take for professional certification. 4 PM came around and I headed to the kitchen to start cooking. The first step was to put my tater tots on a tray and preheat the oven. I set the oven to preheat and was out on the apron when the smoke alarm started going off in the kitchen. I couldn't believe it. Luckily Jason reset it and this minor hiccup didn't impede my cooking progress but just embarrassed me. I fired up the grill and made burgers and hot dogs. They hit the spot. Captain Fecteau relieved Captain Goldthwaite for the night. It was a training night for the explorer post (kids on the department), which Jason supervises so I went to an abandoned house with them to practice search and rescue in a simulated structure fire search with our hood backwards so we couldn't see. Captain Goldthwaite's son is an explorer and we teamed up. On the second floor we completed our search in one room and found a victim in a closet in another room who we evacuated out. After the drill we got back to the station and I took a shower and changed. I'm sitting in one of the recliners now and we just got back from a med call in Tilton which we got canceled from enroute. For some reason I can't write right now so my bad for the grammar.

A busy day off - Andover Rescue call, Lakes Region dispatch and fire dept visits

Today was great despite the rainy weather, and reminded me how worth it the process of proposing my project was back in the late fall. Somehow I slept through both my roommates waking up for class and was woken up around 8:30 when my pager went off for a call. I changed and was leaving the dorm when Jason, my project sponsor, called me on my Blackberry. He was working at Proctor that day so we could carpool to the call. He was in his truck and picked me up in front of my dorm. We lit it up and turned on the siren and headed across town to get the ambulance. Along the way his siren was very helpful because of a lot of traffic on route 11 and construction work. We made it to the ambulance quickly and met up with Evan. Greg pulled in (Franklin C shift FF/EMT - I) in his truck and we headed back across town to the call, for a diabetic problem delta level, at an address close to Wilmot. On the way over I realized it was an all Proctor student/alumni crew. Jason and Greg both graduated in 2000. We got to the scene and I jumped into helping Greg with patient care. I carried in the monitor and set up a 4 lead EKG. Then I got the blood pressure cuff and stethoscope out of the In bag and took a BP. This is called a manual BP (blood pressure).  We used the stair chair to get the patient to the cot, then into the ambulance. It was a tricky maneuver getting the patient from the chair to the cot because of his mental status but we got it done slowly and safely. Once in the ambulance I applied the pulse oximetry sensor to the patient's finger then the blood pressure cuff to get a BP from the monitor (the cardiac monitor inflates the cuff and does all the work) I was pleased to find that it was very close to my manual BP. Greg showed me how program the monitor to take BPs at intervals so you don't have to time them personally. It was a little complicated so when I'm on shift tomorrow I'm going to ask one of the guys to show me again. On the way back from the hospital we stopped at the New London Fire Department, whose station is one of the nicest in New Hampshire. One of the greatest things about the fire service is that the service as a whole is a brotherhood, so we were welcomed there and they showed us around. Greg had never seen the station before. We all slid down the fire pole during the tour. After the call Evan and I met up at the Andover fire station and called Lakes Region to see if we could stop by. We ate lunch in the D hall then went to Lakes Region Mutual Fire Aid in Laconia to meet Lieutenant Parker in Evan's truck. He showed us how their system works and how they tone departments, after they get the information from 911 (where I visited last week). On the way back we decided to stop at Laconia Fire Department central station, where a friend of ours, Brad, works. (Brad is a professional FF/Medic in Laconia, and volunteers in Andover in his spare time) Unfortunately he wasn't on duty but we got a tour from a probie of the equipment. They are the real deal. The first due ambulance there is the busiest ambulance in the state of New Hampshire. After that Evan and I headed back to Proctor stopping at Hannafords so I could buy food because I am on duty at Franklin tomorrow and its my turn to cook the shift dinner! I hope I don't screw up. Shout out to my roommate Mansfield.

The rest of Franklin B shift and day shift at Sanbornton Fire

In a stroke of luck, I slept through the night at Franklin until about 5:45 when we got pre alerted for a call. I was walking out of the bunk room behind the captain when we got toned again, with the off duty tone (for more help) for a motor vehicle accident with persons entrapped. Every car accident is different and even though I've been to alot, some minor, some fatal, I'm always interested to see what we find once we get on scene. I hopped in the front seat of the heavy rescue with John and we pulled out behind the ambulance. We got on scene and found a car off the road with one patient inside. Due to the unique mechanism of injury, it was appropriate to backboard the patient. We carried her up over an embankment with the help of several off duty firefighters who came to the call, onto the cot and into the ambulance. On the way to the hospital I helped Jason put a 4 lead EKG on the patient. This was a challenge because of the way the patient was immobilized on the backboard. It was hard for me strap her down to the board and stick on the electrodes for the EKG but I got it with some patience. We got back from the car accident and I packed up my stuff to head to Sanbornton Fire Department. They run differently than Franklin and staff their station only from 0800 to 1600. I had plenty of time to get there and stopped at Hannafords on my way to get lunch for later. Bruce, another firefighter from Franklin who I have worked with, was on duty with the Deputy Chief, Scott Taylor. Deputy Taylor is a Paramedic who has been in EMS for a while. He did a great training with Andover Rescue last year and was incident command at a "mass casualty incident" I responded to last spring. So, I was psyched to spend the day with him. Bruce and I spent the morning checking everything on their attack engine, then drafting out of a pond. Their engine has a top mount pump, whereas East Andover and Andover's engines are side mounts. I discovered that I prefer a side mount. We ate lunch with the Sanbornton police officers who share the station with the fire department. After lunch I chilled in the deputy's office and in between phone calls, he reviewed some stuff on trauma on the whiteboard, and diverged on a really beneficial and interesting discussion about anatomy, as that is especially relevant to trauma. Alot of what he talked to me about was stuff he has seen as a Paramedic, injuries that you just can't even imagine. He has a wealth of knowledge and it was great for him to teach me. We got a call for a smoke investigation towards the end of the shift and checked that out. Then it was time to head back to Proctor for dinner. It feels like I haven't been at Proctor in weeks, I got that feeling I usually get after coming back to campus from a vacation. Tonight I'm going to Andrew's house, an EMT - I on Andover Rescue to study some more. Hopefully my pager won't go off tonight, I want to sleep!

Franklin Fire B Shift Monday 5/16 Part 1

It's after dinner amd we just finished up station chores so I've sat down to write this while the guys do paperwork. Today was a little rough. I slept through my alarm clock this morning at Proctor and got to FFD late. When I arrived it was the start of truck checks and I helped Jason check the ladder truck, checking to make sure all of the equipment was there and the truck's engine was okay. After the truck checks we went into hose testing. Today we tested more 2 1/2 " hose and 1 3/4" hose off of Engine 1 and Engine 3. While we worked I was taught that Engine 1 is equipped for rural water supply and Engine 3 is equipped for water supply in the hydrant district. Thus, the hose set ups on each are slightly different. I was so intrigued that we took a break and John and Jason showed me different water supply scenarios based off of the hoseloads on each engine. Later we tested the hose on the high rise packs which are on engine 1. The idea behind a highrise pack is an interesting tool so I will explain. 75' of 1 3/4 " hose is coiled in a cleaveland load. (basically a long, narrow circle) with the nozzle in the middle of the coil and the end on the outside, so it looks backwards. However, the female end is on the outside, so if in a highrise building, you can connect it to the standpipe. Most standpipes are in stairwells, which can obviously be narrow. You can put the "circle" cleveland load in the stairwell, charge it with water, and the hose won't kink because of the circle. Now you can advance out of the stairwell without having to worry about tangled hose. Anyways, Sam Johnson, another senior at Proctor on Senior Project came to film me while we tested hose for a video he is making. We breaked for lunch, then got back to work. It had been a quiet day so far with no calls. In the afternoon Captain Goldthwaite showed me a better way to throw hose so you can chuck it and have it roll out perfectly. Dinner came around and we were eating when we got our first call, victim of an assualt. We staged for the police in the ambulance down the street, only to be told a few minutes later there was no contact with a victim. We headed back to the station and did chores, now I'm writing this. We still have have 11 hours left on shift, so a good chance we will get a call tonight. But for the first time ever, I actually hope we don't because I want to sleep. Jason was suprised to hear me say this. Tomorrow I'm on duty with Sanbornton Fire Department which should be interesting.