My 2 cents...

EMTDSHIP

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I was trying to figure out what emergency lights are allowed in Maryland for "Vollies" while operating personal vehicles. The law says "red and white" with consent.

In conducting further research, many members of the EMTLife forum cynically implied not helping or endangering your family's life when happening upon an emergency after calling 911 may the best course of action. The PD/FD [insert whatever agency you want here] will not respect you if you hit your "discos" or ill-advised light bar to safely render assistance. The posts seemed to be generated by certain members.

As a former volunteer EMT-D with over thirty years experience in the trenches with Trenton Vollies, Brooklyn Voliies and Wyandanch-Wheatley Heights Vollies and a number of paid ambulance services part-time; service at Ground Zero on 9/11, which left me "totally and completely" disabled, to say I was stunned by these posts would be an understatement.

I have always aided pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists involved in accidents or suffering medical distress without seeking either fanfare or recognition. It was the right thing to do. And my reward came from knowing I possessed the skills to either provide "first aid" or save a life, period. The victims were invariably grateful.

I was always highly respected and even commanded most scenes I came upon by both Fire and Police. I used my personal vehicle, or offered my assistance as a "Member of Service" while walking, or responded to calls as a member of the aforementioned agencies.

I didn't care what FD/PD or anyone else thought. I was in it strictly to save lives. I had a day job as a professional. And it seems to me many of the posters do not. They seek personal recognition or aggrandizement through EMS, which is their chosen career path.

It is irrational to train for 120 hours, pass a written examination constructed to be comprehended at the 8th-grade level (which is the reading level of most high-school educated adults in the United States), a practical examination designed for you to pass, and expect to command the same degree of respect as either a cop or a firefighter, period.

Continuing your education, becoming a 'medic, nurse, NP, PA, or physician will garner you the respect you crave if you're not in it to be a "Good Samaritan" as most of us are...

Just an old 'tech's 2 cents.
 
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Wait.....what? I'll answer to what I think you said, if I understood this entire thing right....

I most likely won't get heavily involved because with two hands there is little I can actually do. 95% of the time there isn't anything I would need to anyway. I do have a handy dandy cell phone which is the most important thing.

If I am off the clock, it isn't my place to command a scene. I know if someone came onto my scene telling me what to do and I don't have the slightest clue who they are, they wouldn't be there for long. I won't do that to someone else just as I wouldn't want it done to me.

I have a day job "as a professional". It takes up 48+ hours of my week. It doesn't bring me much recognition though. Guess I didn't pick very well?

As far as the last two, I am a medic. It took a bit more than 120 hours to get.....I don't crave respect, nor do I get any more because I have a sparkly patch. I just want to pay my bills and enjoy the way I choose to do so. So far, I manage to do both of those things quite successfully.

Just a side note. Many/most of the people here have gone through the higher levels of school you mentioned. And the ones that haven't aren't idiots. You aren't addressing a group that is content with ignorance and lack of ability, there are many seasoned medics here who have certainly helped me and others learn a lot. You may not like their opinions, but they have their reasons and can back them.
 
I do enjoy that this well-worded bombastic manifesto was placed in the announcements sub-forum.

#SoapBoxMuch?
 
It is irrational to train for 120 hours, pass a written examination constructed to be comprehended at the 8th-grade level (which is the reading level of most high-school educated adults in the United States), a practical examination designed for you to pass, and expect to command the same degree of respect as either a cop or a firefighter, period.

Continuing your education, becoming a 'medic, nurse, NP, PA, or physician will garner you the respect you crave if you're not in it to be a "Good Samaritan" as most of us are...

Just an old 'tech's 2 cents.

This right here shows that despite your experience you have a misunderstanding of the fire service. Without context clues one would think youre describing a firefighters education. As someone who is a paramedic and trained to FF1 (soon to be FF2), I can tell you it is just as generic as a paramedic or EMTs.

That is why we continue to learn and train.

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'It is irrational to train for 120 hours, pass a written examination constructed to be comprehended at the 8th-grade level (which is the reading level of most high-school educated adults in the United States), a practical examination designed for you to pass, and expect to command the same degree of respect as either a cop or a firefighter, period'.

Here's the section you missed in your zeal to respond.
 
Wait.....what? I'll answer to what I think you said, if I understood this entire thing right....

I most likely won't get heavily involved because with two hands there is little I can actually do. 95% of the time there isn't anything I would need to anyway. I do have a handy dandy cell phone which is the most important thing.

If I am off the clock, it isn't my place to command a scene. I know if someone came onto my scene telling me what to do and I don't have the slightest clue who they are, they wouldn't be there for long. I won't do that to someone else just as I wouldn't want it done to me.

I have a day job "as a professional". It takes up 48+ hours of my week. It doesn't bring me much recognition though. Guess I didn't pick very well?

As far as the last two, I am a medic. It took a bit more than 120 hours to get.....I don't crave respect, nor do I get any more because I have a sparkly patch. I just want to pay my bills and enjoy the way I choose to do so. So far, I manage to do both of those things quite successfully.

Just a side note. Many/most of the people here have gone through the higher levels of school you mentioned. And the ones that haven't aren't idiots. You aren't addressing a group that is content with ignorance and lack of ability, there are many seasoned medics here who have certainly helped me and others learn a lot. You may not like their opinions, but they have their reasons and can back them.
 
'Continuing your education, becoming a 'medic, nurse, NP, PA, or physician will garner you the respect you crave if you're not in it to be a "Good Samaritan" as most of us are...

Just an old 'tech's 2 cents.'

I think you missed this part, which just illustrates my point. Cheers...
 
I was trying to figure out what emergency lights are allowed in Maryland for "Vollies" while operating personal vehicles. The law says "red and white" with consent.

In conducting further research, many members of the EMTLife forum cynically implied not helping or endangering your family's life when happening upon an emergency after calling 911 may the best course of action. The PD/FD [insert whatever agency you want here] will not respect you if you hit your "discos" or ill-advised light bar to safely render assistance. The posts seemed to be generated by certain members.

As a former volunteer EMT-D with over thirty years experience in the trenches with Trenton Vollies, Brooklyn Voliies and Wyandanch-Wheatley Heights Vollies and a number of paid ambulance services part-time; service at Ground Zero on 9/11, which left me "totally and completely" disabled, to say I was stunned by these posts would be an understatement.

I have always aided pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists involved in accidents or suffering medical distress without seeking either fanfare or recognition. It was the right thing to do. And my reward came from knowing I possessed the skills to either provide "first aid" or save a life, period. The victims were invariably grateful.

I was always highly respected and even commanded most scenes I came upon by both Fire and Police. I used my personal vehicle, or offered my assistance as a "Member of Service" while walking, or responded to calls as a member of the aforementioned agencies.

I didn't care what FD/PD or anyone else thought. I was in it strictly to save lives. I had a day job as a professional. And it seems to me many of the posters do not. They seek personal recognition or aggrandizement through EMS, which is their chosen career path.

It is irrational to train for 120 hours, pass a written examination constructed to be comprehended at the 8th-grade level (which is the reading level of most high-school educated adults in the United States), a practical examination designed for you to pass, and expect to command the same degree of respect as either a cop or a firefighter, period.

Continuing your education, becoming a 'medic, nurse, NP, PA, or physician will garner you the respect you crave if you're not in it to be a "Good Samaritan" as most of us are...

Just an old 'tech's 2 cents.
 
Quick note, many responses wantonly mischaracterized what I either said or obviously missed entire sections of my post in a futile effort to take me to task for my unfiltered comments concerning a few disturbing posts I read in the "Lights" forum before joining. I responded to those posters individually to see if they have they the integrity to respond in kind (with an emphasis on 'kind').

Two others replies simply engage in sophomoric name calling. No response is either merited or forthcoming. The first response clumsily conflated EMT training (roughly '120 hours' with either paramedic or firefighter training) both of which are substantially longer. The difference is so glaring, no distinction was necessary.

Another falsely implied that I took over "command" from techs, medics, cops or firefighters already on scene. I have never done that in my entire career. More importantly, my post clearly never suggested that I did. I always ask PD if they required my assistance unless only me was at the scene. Two of these misrepresentations were by the same member.

Protocol for New York State gives 'techs and 'medics (which many firefighters are) command of medical emergencies, unless there is an active crime scene or criminal investigation, not cops. Since the cops know this, there is little to be said if I am first on scene as I wrote and began rendering aid - if I have viable victims.

In closing, I am not cowed by these responses. And many posters (some of whom claim command level positions in the fire service or EMS) need to review their state protocols before attempting to trash me for a response to comments made by members in the "Lights" forum here. I love a pile on. It shows true character of my fellow “first responders”. But I do not back down from a good fight.
 
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I didn't miss what you wrote. I just have no idea what point you are trying to make with it. You think this is some kind of group effort against you when at least 90% of us us are still trying to figure out what you are saying.....
 
I prefer to(will NOT) have the lights on my vehicle, unless is has state markings on the side. I also prefer to not endanger my fiance because i want to be captain america and stop to try and save somebody, which lets face facts I'm an EMT-B 90% of the time i will stand there and wait for the other EMT-B's/Paramedics to show up with all the fancy gear that does the saving. However, I as well as you:
upload_2017-9-15_10-11-31.png
 
I stop... but rarely. I will stop if there's a moderate/major vehicle accident with no responders on scene. I generally do this in the areas that I work since I will know the people that are arriving shortly and they may actually listen to information I have gathered for them. All I carry in my POV is a pair of gloves and a tourniquet.

Personally, I pay little attention to bystanders and do-gooders if they didn't actually witness the event, regardless of what training they SAY they have. If I see a familiar face that I trust and they have information for me, then that may cut down on scene time and improve pt care.

OP, maybe as a regular in the area, you have developed such trust and actually can help reduce scene time for moderate/critical pts. If that is so, I believe you are the exception and not the rule.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Quick note, many responses wantonly mischaracterized what I either said or obviously missed entire sections of my post in a futile effort to take me to task for my unfiltered comments concerning a few disturbing posts I read in the "Lights" forum before joining. I responded to those posters individually to see if they have they the integrity to respond in kind (with an emphasis on 'kind').

Two others replies simply engage in sophomoric name calling. No response is either merited or forthcoming. The first response clumsily conflated EMT training (roughly '120 hours' with either paramedic or firefighter training) both of which are substantially longer. The difference is so glaring, no distinction was necessary.

Another falsely implied that I took over "command" from techs, medics, cops or firefighters already on scene. I have never done that in my entire career. More importantly, my post clearly never suggested that I did. I always ask PD if they required my assistance unless only me was at the scene. Two of these misrepresentations were by the same member.

Protocol for New York State gives 'techs and 'medics (which many firefighters are) command of medical emergencies, unless there is an active crime scene or criminal investigation, not cops. Since the cops know this, there is little to be said if I am first on scene as I wrote and began rendering aid - if I have viable victims.

In closing, I am not cowed by these responses. And many posters (some of whom claim command level positions in the fire service or EMS) need to review their state protocols before attempting to trash me for a response to comments made by members in the "Lights" forum here. I love a pile on. It shows true character of my fellow “first responders”. But I do not back down from a good fight.

EMTDSHIP, I was with you until I saw this, which I think mischaracterizes the responses you got and makes me wonder if "a good fight" was your initial motivation. By posting your opinions, some of which seemed strident, you invited replies, not all of which were necessarily going to be in agreement with what you said. Now, by taking an adversarial stance, I think it's even less likely people will try to understand your point of view.
 
My fancy book learning hasn't caught up with this guy's zeal, reckon it's my lack of professionalism. But hey, he can help carry things and do stuff....
 
If I come on a scene before any responders arrive I will stop to see if I can render any assistance. If none is needed I leave. If I can help I will and when the responders arrive I give a quick report and leave unless I am asked to stay. If I come by a scene with responders already there I continue down the road and not add to the confusion many scenes have surrounding them. I know little of respect or recognition, I simply know the feeling of trying to help if I can.
 
To the original poster; I think there's a bin or two to empty.
 
I am tempted to post many links to news articles about Vollies who were killed responding to calls in POVs but I also feel like being lazy.
 
I'm confused. @EMTDSHIP, is this about wanting to know about which color lights you're allowed to use in Maryland or about you responding "off duty" in your POV?
 
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