Medical hierarchy vs Field savvy

CCCSD

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I have to ask: how long ago were you an EMT and are your stories taking place in the US? They make no sense unless this was in the 1950s...
 

DrParasite

The fire extinguisher is not just for show
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The Lassen fire incident. Complete mayhem. Roads cut. All available personnel were spread over a fire line stretching for miles.
never heard of it.... when did it occur? in what state did it occur?
I'm giving you modern younguns a window into the past. Reading your comments now it's hard to believe how much authority the medical chain of command wielded. Not just ambulance but extended to the FFs. Today the front line responders are reaping the rewards of a groundswell that apparently has managed to come into it's own right.
you're right, I've only been doing this for 20 years. If you are talking about stuff that happened in the 70s or 80s (btw, I would have loved to have worked EMS in the late 80s and early 90s, but I digress), than that's ancient history for me.
I spent the past 20 years in the third world where it hasn't progressed from those dark times. I ask a little understanding here.
This isn't the third world.... EMS, while sometimes a little bit behind the rest of the planet and medicine as a whole, has changed a lot in 20 years. Heck, things have changed since I stepped foot on an ambulance.

If you are dwelling on things that happened 20 years ago...... trust me, some things have improved, at least in the US.
 

CCCSD

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Some of us have over 30 years in the field. Some of us have worked OCONUS.
 
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RedBlanketRunner

RedBlanketRunner

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never heard of it.... when did it occur? in what state did it occur?
!984-85 Mt. Lassen area California.
This isn't the third world.... EMS, while sometimes a little bit behind the rest of the planet and medicine as a whole, has changed a lot in 20 years. Heck, things have changed since I stepped foot on an ambulance.

If you are dwelling on things that happened 20 years ago...... trust me, some things have improved, at least in the US.
Trust you? No reason not to. And it's set my heart at considerable ease the past couple of days. The US is finally growing up and moving towards European standards. Maybe surpassing?
Yes, I'm dwelling in the past because we had so many trials and heart breaking situations. Between pedantic officious physicians, questionable or even corrupt government officials and an assortment of politicians with personal agendas, it was literally bouncing from one nightmare scenario to the next some months, year after year after year. Even the federal government got in on handing out the shaft, with budget cuts they had slated our CGAS to be shuttered. CGAS was our primary helicopter responder since CDF was seasonal availability. We had numerous locations with 1 to 2 hour response times.
 

joshrunkle35

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This thread seems so foreign to me. I work with 3 guys in their 60’s and 70’s, and they don’t describe the EMS of the past as an episode of MASH or something. Maybe it’s just different in my area, or they just never talk about it.
 

CCCSD

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I have no clue where he allegedly worked, but not in the US, that’s for sure.
 
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