Medic Fuster Clucks
Stupid Structure Fires
By
Feb 10, 2003, 01:41

Courtesy the EMS House of DeFrance http://www.defrance.org

As a volunteer EMT, I was the one on our 24 hr ALS ambulance that WANTED all the calls, be it good or bad- I was prepared (just a note, our EMS system is separate from the fire dept.)

Following a in-depth conversation with the medic that we WERE going to get a good trauma call for the night, whether he wanted it or not, we were lounging around the station (jumpsuit half unzipped and boots by the door) the tones go off and dispatch notified us we are to respond to a structure fire with entrapment. My adrenaline began to pump through my veins as I quickly rushed to find a pen and my belt pack. I scribbled down the address with a smile on my face, zipped up my jumpsuit and ran out the door and into the truck.

As we arrived 2nd on scene (the first being a deputy with the sheriffs office who was walking around the outside of the house), smoke was pouring out of the house and I could see a tinge of glowing red and orange coming from inside the building. I hopped out of the truck and just as I began to head towards it, I make one quick realization: the comfy sandals I was wearing around the station are still on my feet. My pink "hanes-her-way" socks were peeking out the toes of them. I WAS ON A STRUCTURE FIRE WITH ONLY SANDALS TO PROTECT MY FEET!

I told the medic, in which first he thought I was joking, then told me to "use what I got" as we headed towards the house. In that instant we noticed 4-5 bodies moving in the shadows of the smoke. With the fire department still not on scene, we yelled at them to get out of the house. As they came out of the front door of the house, the 5 hispanic men came to us, speaking little english, and only yelling something about their "papers" being in the house. At this point flames had shot out of the back of the house and smoke filled the neighborhood. We moved the men by the fire truck (which had just arrived on scene) and as we turned around, they (yes, all five of them) went back into the side door.

The entire time I'm so self conscious of my feet and the fact that someone pulling a hose could accidentally step on them or worse: a supervisor could come on scene and notice Im not wearing proper uniform, I could get kicked out of ems, etc. Well, we finally got the people out of the building, and I began to relax. Soon, the fire department could clear us, and I could go back to the station to my boots. As the medic and I stepped back to watch the flames, I turn around only to meet a blast of water coming from the hose that the firefighter had just so kindly opened. So now my unprotected feet are also soaking wet.

I decide to head back towards the unit, so I could stay out of trouble, only to find that the first deputy that was on scene (who also happened to be a friend of mine) and inhaled a lot of smoke and had been put in the back of the unit by a firefighter. I called for the medic and proceeded to the truck. We treated and transported the deputy (who was not doing so hot) to our local hospital. This now presented all the other medics (which, of course the hospital was packed) that were there to ask why I was wearing sandals, and then why they were wet and muddy. Being the rookie, all I wanted was to hide and go back to the station. (After all, these could be future co-workers that will forever remind me of this very moment)

After we transferred care, we headed back towards the station, and the entire time I prayed we wouldn't get some huge vehicle accident with extrication, just another scene for me to get harassed at. Needless to say, I'm now hired with our local EMS and refuse to bring sandals to the station, and always have an extra pair of boots on the truck.

Callcheck :), FL

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