How do you know if someone is a volunteer EMT?

JPINFV said:
I was under the impression that radar detectors were almost useless nowadays due to instant on radar.
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Instant on radar may not be all that accurate initially as the transmitter may require time to stabilize, but after a very short period of transmit time, it's very accurate. "Pop" mode is very problematic... Most radar detectors can't even detect it because the burst is too quick. These all have the problem of beam width, even at a relatively close distance.
MMiz said:
The Valentine One radar detector has been providing directional information for 20+ years. I haven't used a radar detector in about a decade. When I did use one, only for driving my long commute on the interstate, it was surprisingly effective. Now back to your regularly scheduled topic.
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The Valentine One does a rudimentary version of DF. Using other DF techniques, you can also see exactly the direction the signal is coming from. The V-one also has other tricks up it's sleeve too...

Of course, if you're sophisticated enough to build your own DF equipment that's capable DF and frequency determination... you're also likely knowledgeable enough to build your own EW suite for your car... which is not exactly legal if you use it.

Best way to avoid tickets is not driving stupid...
 
NYMedic828 said:
If they don't, their car certainly will.

car_interior1.jpg
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Looks like the front of one of those thai pick up truck ambulances
 
I can usually tell by the fact that the volunteers I work with are more passionate about EMS than many paid people. They're more compassionate, knowledgable, and usually all around better providers than many other paid people I know. They wear their department logo clothing because (a.) they are actually proud of the organization, and (b.) they may need to go on a call at anytime, regardless of whether they are "on shift" or not. They also don't spend time ridiculing paid providers.

And, maybe the person in that picture is a chief. Many of the smaller EMS and Fire services in my area cannot afford to have vehicles like command or chase rigs. Most can't even afford even a radio for the chief to install in his/her personal vehicle. Many of the volunteer chiefs/leaders have to purchase their own equipment just so they can communicate during incidents. Those that do, do so with a smile on their faces, because whatever anyone says about their level of service, when someone in their community needs help, they can say that they are there to help.

So, next time you point and laugh at a volunteer for being a "whacker" or "sparky," remember, they do everything you do for free(or at most, a t-shirt)


*This came from a paid member of a combination department*
 
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I was looking for the perfect response to that. It appears you beat me to it Poetic!
 
I've always found it funny how most of the physicians I know would go out of the way to let people think they weren't a physician.
 
People that aren't in Public Safety for a profession, but volunteer, want to let everybody know.

Most public safety professionals, that is people who do it for a living, try to hide it as much as possible.

I was a volunteer firefighter here for about a year, then one day I woke up and said, "tell me again why I do this for free when I do it 48 hours a week and get paid?" I turned in my pager and turnout gear shortly after.
 
Those damn paid EMS workers are awful. They definitely never know what they're doing and don't care about their patients at all.

:rolleyes:

If I had a nickel for every time I had to fix something a Volly did or pick something up during my assessment that they missed or didn't think was pertinent I'd have a fair share of nickels, and we only have 4 Volly stations that I can think of so we don't run with them very often.

I have a lot of respect for people who volunteer their time but saying that they're "more knowledgeable" or that they're better at their jobs than the paid providers do is asinine.
 
I can't tell if paid EMS workers really think volunteers are so bad or if they just need someone to make fun of. I'm JUST a volunteer (for now) so maybe I'd see things differently if I had more experience on the other side.
I'd say about 75% of the people on my department have or currently do run with a paid service. Most of them in the past but there are a few that still do it for a living.
There is no way I would say that volunteers are more skilled or knowledgeable than paid EMS workers. Typically, the more you do something, the better you'll be at it. So I would hope that the paid services would be more skilled and knowledgeable than most volunteer services since they deal with so many more calls.
There are a few EMTs I run with that might take a little too much pride in what they do but for the most part they are all pretty humble and don't go out of their way to make everyone think they are superheroes that save lives on a daily basis. I've found that the ones that are on the paid services are the ones that seem to expect praise. They are the ones that will make sure their facebook includes their EMS employer and work history, have the word "medic" and then their name as their e-mails. Other paid EMS guys will post stuff on social media letting everyone know they worked a code that day or how they are so tired from their 24 hr shifts. I honestly don't care either way. If you want to make sure everyone knows that kind of info, that's your business but I don't assume people care so I keep that stuff to myself. Point is, I think you have the "Look at me I'm an EMT/Medic" thing going on at both levels.
I rode with a paid service when I was a student for the ride along hours and I thought those medics were badass. They knew their stuff and seemed like the kind of people that weren't phased by anything. Other things I noticed were that they weren't very friendly to their patients and didn't seem as compassionate. I'm sure running these calls so often can get old so I can see why but one of the good things about our volunteer service is that they will treat you like you were part of their family and that goes for every patient.
Another thing that I noticed about the paid service compared to our volunteer service was how the inside of the ambulance looked. Again, with their call volume, I'm sure its hard to have time to keep the inside of the truck looking tidy at all times and once you clean it you'll probably have someone vomit all over your floors or something. Luckily we have time to clean up after every run and you'll never get in and see gloves and tourniquets in the corners or anything like that.
I like to think we're all a part of a team but didn't realize us "vollies" are so looked down on. I definitely respect you paid guys and would like to go that route sometime. Glad I'm able to get the experience I get with my volunteer service too though.
 
I work for both, being paid is great, but volunteering is also a good thing. My home agency is a first response only, we don't have an ambulance or rescue, we respond in our private vehicles with a jump kit. The ambulance that transports is one of the ones I work on. I work on 2 ambulance services and do 12-24 hour shifts as do many providers in my area to make a decent living. When I'm home it's volunteer status unless I get called for a transfer or backup coverage at my main job.

Just today I was praised by a local teller at the bank who was part of a group of vehicles and the lead one was involved in a crash just down the street from my house with a moose. I was first on scene and did what I needed to do until the ambulance arrived. She let me know how great it was and how relieved everyone felt once I had arrived and started patient care. She had nothing but good things to say and it makes you feel good no matter what your status when you hear good things.

I've had patients that I was on a paid shift do the same after the fact and I've had some that don't acknowledge your existence if you see them again, it's all good.

The main reason I sought out a paid position is that it will only help my skills to use them on a frequent basis. I do ski patrol and see how rusty people are in patient care after a long summer off and I have always advocated running with an ambulance to help you refine your skills and keep current.

The occasional thank you is better than a pay check, but of course it doesn't pay the bills.
 
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I volunteer fire(don't have a choice in western PA) but work full time in EMS. The difference between paid and volly is astounding. I'd rather show up on scene and beat the Volly QRS than have them be first on scene simply because they very rarely accomplish anything.
 
A lot of volunteers around my ways are always looking for a freebie of some sort an atta boy pat on the back, the cop who says oh :censored::censored::censored::censored: I know him can't burn him for a ticket or the local diners and the such to give them a free lunch, or discounted whatever.

OTOH the company I work for the management section of it is Volunteer only paid employees are the guys/gals on the rigs.

I still kind of volunteer with my home squad I started there when I was 16 and never left, But if you look at my car my house my everything theres not a damn thing around here that says EMT plastered all over the place. My wife bought me a liscense plate for my car and it just sits in the garage. It was a nice gesture but just as much as I enjoy my job I don't need to advertise my profession, My chat names don't have medic or EMT or nothing in them. I don't got a ton of FIRE or EMS swag hanging about and most of the time when I'm off shift you wouldn't know what I do for a living unless you know me personally or I've ran into you on shift. I work almost an hour away from my home to avoid the whole conflicting situation. I want my personal life to be personal, and my work career to be my work. Not to go to lunch on Sunday with my family and say oh I know you!! You took Grandpa in the ambulance on Friday. It has happened to me before its like dude? I'm must trying to put ketchup on my kids fries here.

For most green EMT's the only way they get any experience is by being a Volly for a bit. before they can move on to a paid job. Which is great but some people take thing ways over board. Like the posted photo of 5 radios. and a old spotlight which was probably a police interceptor at one point in time. The guy whos got more equipment on his belt than in his rig, the one whos got a light bar whos bigger than his car, and 5 different pagers
 
A lot of volunteers around my ways are always looking for a freebie of some sort an atta boy pat on the back, the cop who says oh I know him can't burn him for a ticket or the local diners and the such to give them a free lunch, or discounted whatever.

OTOH the company I work for the management section of it is Volunteer only paid employees are the guys/gals on the rigs.

I still kind of volunteer with my home squad I started there when I was 16 and never left, But if you look at my car my house my everything theres not a damn thing around here that says EMT plastered all over the place. My wife bought me a liscense plate for my car and it just sits in the garage. It was a nice gesture but just as much as I enjoy my job I don't need to advertise my profession, My chat names don't have medic or EMT or nothing in them. I don't got a ton of FIRE or EMS swag hanging about and most of the time when I'm off shift you wouldn't know what I do for a living unless you know me personally or I've ran into you on shift. I work almost an hour away from my home to avoid the whole conflicting situation. I want my personal life to be personal, and my work career to be my work. Not to go to lunch on Sunday with my family and say oh I know you!! You took Grandpa in the ambulance on Friday. It has happened to me before its like dude? I'm must trying to put ketchup on my kids fries here.

For most green EMT's the only way they get any experience is by being a Volly for a bit. before they can move on to a paid job. Which is great but some people take thing ways over board. Like the posted photo of 5 radios. and a old spotlight which was probably a police interceptor at one point in time. The guy whos got more equipment on his belt than in his rig, the one whos got a light bar whos bigger than his car, and 5 different pagers
 
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