# I did that!



## MMiz (May 25, 2006)

If you've worked in EMS long enough you've blown a tire, backed into x, or "killed engine x".  Now I want to hear your stories!


I blew a tire once while driving, pulled over, and lit it up.  I then set up three of those safety triangle reflective things.  Just as I'm doing that, a car drove by, saw the light bar, got distracted, and totally smashed into another car.  Oops.
Our local hospital has a huge ambulance bay.  You have to pull in, then you back out.  I had a patient that was soo scared of the transport home, and just got released from back surgery.  My partner assured her that everything would be fine.  When I was backing up I hit a concrete pillar.  It was funny only because I had far too much room to back up, but still hit it.
That's all I got.  I'm sure you have better!


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## Jon (May 25, 2006)

NICE!

I think I might have everyone beat - but I hope not - I'm sick of being the biggest moron in the world 

I once checked went to check the oil in the ambulance and managed to pull the grimed-up "fuel line water drain" lever instead... it DID look like an oil dipstick. I didn't feel the lever move, so I thought I was OK.

After going back downstairs to the base from the street-level rig parking, we all smelled diesel fuel... I went back upstairs, smelled diesel fuel, looked in the standing water from the rain the last night, and saw "soad suds" from Diesel Fuel... I ran to the truck, opened the hood... and the lever went in 1/4" - Oh, sh*t!

35 gallons of diesel fuel went on the street, some went down the storm drain...

Gee... the company wasn't too happy for me - but I only paid for the $60 of fuel, not the cleanup (the street was closed all day, HazMat was out, etc...)


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## emtbuff (May 25, 2006)

In our old ambulance garage attached to the hospital we always had to park at an angle.  I think the overhead door was like 1 1/2 door wide.  So when you backed the second unit in you had to make sure you had it slid over far enough and the first unit you had to back in far enough and over far enought just incase our first unit didn't start our second unit could still get out.  

Well anyways along the side wall where the first unit sat we had 2 cabinets with our cleaning supllies, blankets, and what ever else we didn't use.  and then there was a big wash sink.  Our goal was to miss the sink but yet back up in that direction. 

I'm sure your starting to think I hit the sink....





... nope just a cabinet and put a nice big dent in it. 


Now we got a new station where we can back straight on it and pull straight out.  Tell you what its a lot nicer.


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## Guardian (May 27, 2006)

i made a bigtime rookie mistake years ago at a MVC when i put down some flares and one rolled off the road and started a small brush fire, the engine had to back up and put out the fire, still have not lived that one down.


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## MedicPrincess (May 28, 2006)

Ok...I did one.  

We have Durangos that we use as Admin Vehicles, Quick Response Vehicles, Stand bys at Special Events, ect.  I was assigned a few shifts back to work the drag races that are held every weekend.  So I get it and get to the races, only for them to tell me they decided to cancel the races due to the rain that was moving in.

When I get the Durango back to the Admin building, our LT tells me to just leave the keys on top of the back tire.  So I get out and go to the back tire and think NO WAY! do they want it left there.  Anybody can see them, and take off with the vehicle.  So I look a little further.  For the spare tire.

Sure enough, the spare tire is located in the rear, UNDERNEATH the truck.  As in you have to crawl on the ground, and get under the vehicle to get to it.  Soooo...I do.  It wasn't easy, and when I finally got those keys on top of that stupid tire, I sort of high fived myself.  It was really hard to do and I was thinking, "WOW!! What a great hiding spot.  If someone wants to steal this, they will deserve it if they can get these keys."  And off to home I go.

About 2 hours later my phone rings.  Its our Shift Captain.  He wants to know where the keys to the Durango are as he needs to get it shuttled to another area of the county.  Well on the back tire where the LT told me to leave them.  No, they aren't he says.  He says he is looking right at the back RIGHT tire and they are not there.  Oh, thats because thats not the BACK tire.  He's like WTF are you talking about, yes it is.  So I am like, no its not.  The spare tire is the back tire.  So he repeats what I said.."You mean you put the keys on top of the SPARE tire?"  Yep, and let me tell you it wasn't easy.  And then laughter.  From about 5 different people.

When he finally gets control of himself, he says something about the spare not being the back tire.  I was like it sure as heck is.  Its all the way in the back, just underneath the truck.  He askes just how in the hell is he supposed to get the keys and do I intend to bring my *** back in to get them.  Umm, no I don't foresee me coming in.  And how is he going to get them?  Crawl his *** under the truck, just like I did, to put them there, Sir.  It was right after I said that, that it occurred to me what he was telling me.  So I tell him,  OHHH, you really did want them left just on top of the back tire where anybody can see them.  And then with my laughing.

So he repeats, "You want me to crawl my old, grey haired, out of shape, *** underneath that vehicle, in the rain, to retreive the keys?"  This is followed by even more laughter.  And I realize he has put me on speaker phone (later he tells me he was laughing to hard to hold the phone). 

So I answer him back with, "Umm sir, I am sorry about the grey hairs on your ***, and 52 isnt THAT old, but Yes.  And if the LT that told me to put them there is around can you have him take a picture while you do it?"  Again with the laughter.

So the next shift I come in and as soon as we go inservice we are told to be enroute to the Admin building.  When I get there, everyone looks so serious.  The receptionist tells me the Cheif wants to talk to me.  Oh CRAP!  Can't avoid him now, we are already there.  Get into his office and the our Director of Public Safety, Medical Director, that shifts Captain, and my LT and CPT are all there, again with the very serious looks on their faces.  So now I am ready to pee my pants.

The Cheif tosses what appeared to be, or used to be a White Officers Shirt.  It was covered in dirt and had a tear in it.  Asks me if I know what it is.  Ummm...No sir (If I cry, and manage real tears, I wonder if he will have mercy on me).  So he says to get over to his desk so he can show me something.  On his computer are the pictures of my CPT crawling his Old, grey haired, out of shape *** under a Durango, with rain coming down.  Apparently he had tried to just reach for them, but couldn't reach them, so he had to get up under it.  Apparently, he was using some pretty foul language while he did it, so because he could, the Cheif told him to watch his mouth.  He ripped his shirt when he scrambled out to tell the Chief what he can do to himself, only to find the Chief and PS Director laughing at him.

I am just glad I wasn't within his immediate reach when he came out from under it.  And you know, he is VERY clear with instructions now.


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## MMiz (May 28, 2006)

Best. Post. Ever.  I just spit water on my new monitor. HAHAHAHAHAHA.  I'm still laughing.

Princess, how much would it cost for me to do a ride along?


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## Wingnut (May 29, 2006)

MMiz said:
			
		

> Best. Post. Ever.


 


:lol:  *dies laughing*  :lol:


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## disassociative (May 29, 2006)

*....*

I remember when we were doing Emt ridealongs; they sent us 2 at a time to the ambulance service. When it was my turn; my friend Mike was with me; all the sudden a call came in for a 10-46 needing multiple units; so I went with Unit 528 and Mike went with 530; we arrive to the scene as usual collect the patients; then right before we split up to go back to our rigs; Mike says to one of the Paramedics, "Wouldn't it be weird if we got aa 10-46 while we were transporting this one?". I have never seen a paramedic want to kill someone so much in my life; before this I never knew about the EMT "What if" curse.

Well, suffice to say, we had done an out of county transport; and on the way; Boom--RIGHT IN FRONT OF US--10-46; car over-corrected in a 2 lane and went into another vehical. To this day; I don't think any of the Pmeds like Mike, lol.


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## Jon (May 30, 2006)

Wingnut said:
			
		

> :lol:  *dies laughing*  :lol:


I .... can't.... breathe....


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## gradygirl (Jun 14, 2006)

My partner broke off the key to our car inside the door lock when he was opening it one day. (I know it wasn't me, but it's too funny not to post!)


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## rescuecpt (Jun 14, 2006)

I was responding to an MVA on a snowy day in my POV (officers could go straight to the scene).  I passed the firehouse and I was going to stop to get on the rig, but it wasn't pulled out yet so I just continued on to the scene.  About 50 yards away I decided to start breaking, incase their was ice... it was already too late.  My choices were hit the car that was already into the tree, hit the chief walking in the road, or hit the chiefs car.  I picked the chiefs car.  $72 of damage to the chief's car, $2,000 to mine.  His expedition was a little higher than my Jeep, and my bumper got caught on his and when we tried to extricate my car, it ripped half of my bumper off.  I busted the Chief's tail light, but thankfully, that was it on the Chief's car.

The department would have given me $500 - $1,000 for my deductible, but I ended up not going through insurance because I had already had an accident less than 3 years before that raised my rates by $600 a year.  (Some illegal without a license hit me).

Lesson learned:  Next time, aim for the Chief.  HEHEHE - just kidding.


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## MMiz (Jun 14, 2006)

I love these stories.

I'm sure I'm not the only one to code with the parking brake on... then get out to a cloud of smoke.  I've done that one several times.


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## IrishEMT (Aug 1, 2006)

I don't drive the rig because I'm kind of.... inept? (Last night I backed a minivan through someone's yard while trying to get out of their driveway.) But here we go.

The hospital was having a pretty busy night and there were four, maybe five, rigs outside the ER when we pull up. Because it was getting precarious to pull the rig up any further, our driver opted to just back it up close to one of the other rigs, and someone else on the crew got out to direct him. Well! The driver gives it some gas and I see the crew member *dive* onto the sidewalk and hear a huge "CRUNNNNCH". I scream, "Holy :censored::censored::censored::censored:! We hit Mike!" (If the pt wasn't having a heart-attack before, right?)

Not so much, just put a nice dent in the grill of another ambulance.


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