Walking into the ER while wearing bunker pants (My employer requires you to wear them if you're in shorts) with a partner I've known since high school:
Nurse (who I've know for many years as a friend of the family)- Well look at these two big burly men
Partner- Sorry he's all mine
The look on...
My partner a few days ago:
Us- Dispatch THE squad x is in service
Dispatch- That's clear THE squad x
From the same guy a few months ago:
Us- Dispatch squad x is en route to mercy starting mileage of woooooooo.........9.8
Dispatch- To mercy, 9.8 (Laughter in the background)
Up front & in my POV I always put it on. As much as I hate to say it I cant remember the last time I wore it in the box.....or the engine for that matter.
With how little training a basic has, I don't think it would be a good idea to cram IV skills into their scope. They can learn that when they go to medic school.
Time consuming? Im not sure about where your from, but my department is relatively quick at extrication, it would literally take two minutes to set up the tools and get the door off. And it would a good call for some of the new guys to get some practice with the tools.
My ritual is to get in the truck, buckle up, and turn the airway seat around:P.......well unless its a mva, then im on the firetruck, and thats another story.
As a volunteer there are times I'm on a double or triple basic squad. I don't hesitate to call for a medic/ als intercept if one of us thinks we may need for one. You can always call them off.
When running squad I just use the ones on the truck, but on extrications when I'm on the crash rig Ill use the pair I have in my bunkers. With that said I normally go through one or two pairs a year.