I recently started caring a whistle on duty after responding to a call with our local police department. Part of their required uniform is a traditional whistle. Well we could not find our pt because they were down in a drainage ditch with our pt. PD doesn't have direct channels to talk with EMS so all of a sudden I hear 2 whistles 1/2 mile away. After that I am sold on keeping a whistle on duty, low-tech never fails. A $6 whistle did what a multimillion-dollar radio system could not do, connect responders. A whistle will work in a dead spot, never run out of batteries, or ever have a burnt out light. Plus it is light to carry.
Anyone else carry a whistle on duty?
- Thread starter RALS504
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Only when I'm lifeguarding and sometimes not even then. Its not a bad idea though, especially if you are/were in a rural area. I can see benefits in forest fire fighting and search and rescue as well.
Go with a Fox40, you won't regret it.
Go with a Fox40, you won't regret it.
BossyCow
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I carry a whistle in my SAR gear, but not in my medic kit. Sounds like a good idea though.
KEVD18
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thers lots of stuff you can carry that are an absolute necessity in that one-in-a-million situation, but totally worthless dead weight on every other call.
carry what you will, but keep in mind that the more you carry the more foolish you look.
you might just end up like this guy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQC5NSQvamA
heres a tried and true measure for what is a good move and what isnt: look at/talk to the silverbacks in your dept/area. chances are if the guy thats been on the job 20 years and been in pretty much every situation imaginable(pretty much only there because nobody has ever seen it all) doesnt do something, it doesnt need doing.....
all the being said, a whistle isnt the worst abomination i have ever seen. but for the love of all that is good and holy, dont wear it dangling from your epaulet and hanging froma whistle hook like the canarys.
carry what you will, but keep in mind that the more you carry the more foolish you look.
you might just end up like this guy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQC5NSQvamA
heres a tried and true measure for what is a good move and what isnt: look at/talk to the silverbacks in your dept/area. chances are if the guy thats been on the job 20 years and been in pretty much every situation imaginable(pretty much only there because nobody has ever seen it all) doesnt do something, it doesnt need doing.....
all the being said, a whistle isnt the worst abomination i have ever seen. but for the love of all that is good and holy, dont wear it dangling from your epaulet and hanging froma whistle hook like the canarys.
I have been in EMS for over 8 years, most of it as an EMT-I and now as an EMT-P. I carry things that work like a tourniquet, a 10 cc syringe, extra gloves, a carbiner w/a key ring to bundle multiple IV drips, a roll of tape, Critical Care ALS guide, knife, and a Surefire 6P. Now I have added a whistle that resided deep in my pocket on the carabiner's key ring. I do a weight/bulk vs. benefit analysis for everything I carry. This is just a suggestion, do as you wish. Oh yeah that whistle might be invaluable if your partner is at the rig getting equipment and your pt starts beating the snot out of you. Just a thought.
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firecoins
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provided that you don't swallow the whistle while getting beat.
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Radios are more useful. You can scream for help.
I've got a whistle on a chain that I wore occasionally when I worked a gate when I did security. It really was just for "show".. I can yell loudly if needed.
I have a whistle on my PFD. Why? Because the water rescue folks tell you to have one in the basic water rescue course.
I have a whistle in my backpack, for when I go hiking? Why? because the SAR folks tell you to carry one, in case you get lost.
I've got a whistle on a chain that I wore occasionally when I worked a gate when I did security. It really was just for "show".. I can yell loudly if needed.
I have a whistle on my PFD. Why? Because the water rescue folks tell you to have one in the basic water rescue course.
I have a whistle in my backpack, for when I go hiking? Why? because the SAR folks tell you to carry one, in case you get lost.
KEVD18
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on the water and in the thicket are a given. working on an ambulance, not so much........
Ridryder911
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I guess that gives new meaning to "whistle whie you work"...
R/r 911
R/r 911
KEVD18
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from the day i joined this fourm until right before i read this post, i was positive you had had your sense of humor surgically removed at birth.....
JJR512
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I don't, but now that you mention it, maybe I might get one. But if I get a whistle it would be the old-fashioned police whistle, like the British "Bobby" whistle. It's basically a tube or cylinder, narrowed down to a mouthpiece at one end with the other end capped, and with one or two slots cut into the side.
Like maybe this one: http://www.musichouseshop.com/store/iw-11001.html
I've never liked the sound of a pea whistle. Maybe it has something to do with how when I was a little boy and first tried to play with one, I couldn't blow hard enough to get the rattle...
Like maybe this one: http://www.musichouseshop.com/store/iw-11001.html
I've never liked the sound of a pea whistle. Maybe it has something to do with how when I was a little boy and first tried to play with one, I couldn't blow hard enough to get the rattle...
BossyCow
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I have a bobby whistle in my SAR pack. I like it because its a little distinctive sound. I also bought my boys whistles when they were young. I have considerable acreage and was worried about them getting hurt or lost on the property. We had some discussion about "Emergency isn't 'he won't give me back that toy' but someone is hurt" They only used it once, when a friend fell and broke his arm on the rope swing.
mycrofft
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How about a WP slap flare? Naw, buy the whistle.
Jeez, a whistle is about one cubic inch and probably weighs less than your car keys. Get one and stick it in your pocket or on your keys. I assembled a jump kit for Girl Scout leaders at their lodge and it has FOUR different distinct and LOUD (I tested them) whistles in it.
This exercise points out, however, that we are all a little parochial when it comes to visualizing "EMS"; very different between a Cambridge synagogue and the Rosebud Reservation in the upper midwest.
PS: the plastic spindle out of some narrow strip EKG paper rolls, when closed at one end by a finger, can be blown across like a pop bottle and are quite loud!
Jeez, a whistle is about one cubic inch and probably weighs less than your car keys. Get one and stick it in your pocket or on your keys. I assembled a jump kit for Girl Scout leaders at their lodge and it has FOUR different distinct and LOUD (I tested them) whistles in it.
This exercise points out, however, that we are all a little parochial when it comes to visualizing "EMS"; very different between a Cambridge synagogue and the Rosebud Reservation in the upper midwest.
PS: the plastic spindle out of some narrow strip EKG paper rolls, when closed at one end by a finger, can be blown across like a pop bottle and are quite loud!
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Outbac1
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I have a whistle on every lifejacket and backpack and in my SAR gear. When my kids were small I gave them one and taught them when to use it in an emergency. I've never thought about carrying one at work. One might gravitate to the bottom of my truck bag, but I doubt it.
Well, being in SAR, I carry a whistle or two.
Used it just last month, when everyoneout there had one, the medics, the search teams and the subject.
Now I'm going to have to add one to my urban gear. Thanks for making me consider my equipment...I'm so new to this, any viewpoint helps.
Used it just last month, when everyoneout there had one, the medics, the search teams and the subject.
Now I'm going to have to add one to my urban gear. Thanks for making me consider my equipment...I'm so new to this, any viewpoint helps.
Uncle Howie
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I never start work without one. I started in this field 40 years ago, and that was one of the first things our instructor told us to carry. I know, cell phones were not invented yet, and handi-talkies were few and far between. The good thing is that a whistle works when yelling can't get the attention. I also keep one in my jump kit, backpack, SAR pack, and the earthquake bag in the trunk of my car. I can't remember how many times I have had to rely on a whistle to save the moment, but there have been many. The last time was about 3 months ago.
BLSBoy
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On my PFD.
I hope I meet someone one day that wears one. I can never pass up a good laugh.
I hope I meet someone one day that wears one. I can never pass up a good laugh.
KEVD18
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except that its very rare to find and entire county running on the same band. usually its a hodgepodge of vhf, uhf, 8 and 900 trunks. throw in a few hi or lo bands on the fire ground to round out the group and you have a typical set up. last i knew of there was one manufacturer making a mutliband commercial radio and at IIRC about 8grand a piece, its not even worth considering as an option.
Personally, I love the idea. Where I work there are several times that our radios do not work. It may not convey what you need, but it would certainly get your partner's attention. It is light weight and I can think of a 1/2 dozen times this last shift rotation that a whistle would have been useful. I think I will get one and I will probably use it as much as I use my flashlight!