Off Duty but still concerned?

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LifeAlert101

LifeAlert101

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So I guess I fall into the sparky category. I'm still fresh out and if I was to guess I've probably done around 50 calls to date so I guess I'm still in my honey moon phase.
 

terrible one

Always wandering
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I live 10/15 minutes from the stations I work at and like others said when I'm off I'm off. I don't talk about work, I don't think about it, and the last thing I'd want to do is hear it when I'm home. I enjoy my days off too much to care what's happening at work. I'll find out anything important that I missed when I return.
 

reaper

Working Bum
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I live 10/15 minutes from the stations I work at and like others said when I'm off I'm off. I don't talk about work, I don't think about it, and the last thing I'd want to do is hear it when I'm home. I enjoy my days off too much to care what's happening at work. I'll find out anything important that I missed when I return.
Yeah, I hate being on my off weekend, watching live PD and seeing what happens at work! Haha

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terrible one

Always wandering
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I don't think the cities I work in have Live PD, if they did I may watch an episode lol. One of the deputies in my city is pretty good looking haha
 

DesertMedic66

Forum Troll
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Yeah, I hate being on my off weekend, watching live PD and seeing what happens at work! Haha

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I’ll take cops any day over live PD. With cops they edit all the boring stuff out. With live PD it’s more like “now let’s get back to lt. Jeff in AZ to see what is going on” “well Jeff is on break at the local donut shop. Let’s see what kind of donut he gets”
 

DrParasite

The fire extinguisher is not just for show
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So I guess I fall into the sparky category. I'm still fresh out and if I was to guess I've probably done around 50 calls to date so I guess I'm still in my honey moon phase.
Nothing wrong with being a little sparky. Many of us were sparky when we started; some of us still are....

One thing I think should be emphasized (and others have made this point): when you are with your friends and family, and doing stuff that is productive, you don't need a scanner on, and shouldn't care what happens when you're not at work. Enjoy your off time, and your time away from public safety. I'm sure the crews will give you a huge update next time you show up for a shift.
 

NPO

Forum Deputy Chief
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I'll be the odd man out. I've got a radio on somewhere near me quite often at home, tuned to the local dept. For many, it's a hobby to listen to scanners, why, I can't really explain. I grew up listening to scanners to listen for my dad at work, and it stuck.

Nowadays I keep it on because I work for the local dept as a photographer (I use the term work loosely). It's kept on low, and I drown it out as background noise. If there's something important happening it'll peak my attention and I might grab my fire gear and camera.

Nothing wrong with listening to radios to keep your brain going or as background noise, I constantly need 2-3 sources of sensory stimuli or I get stir crazy. Just don't go running into medical aids with a bottle of asprin because it came out as chest pain.

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RocketMedic

Californian, Lost in Texas
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Some of our people live in-district and first-respond to some calls.
 

Jim37F

Forum Deputy Chief
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Nothing wrong with listening to radios to keep your brain going or as background noise, I constantly need 2-3 sources of sensory stimuli or I get stir crazy. Just don't go running into medical aids with a bottle of aspirin because it came out as chest pain.

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Sometimes when I went home in the morning I kept my scanner on because slugging through traffic sucked and just the variation from the regular radio helped me avoid stir craziness.....Once at home I quickly turned it off the few times I left in on for a bit because then it just started bugging me, but yeah, for hour long drives (my normal commute time in LA) or more, I have found some what helpful....now I live all of 10-15 min away from my Academy (and I searched apartments in a narrow circle from it to keep it short) explicitly because I was sick and tired of "45min drive on a good day with no traffic" lol!
 

bakertaylor28

Forum Lieutenant
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Um... Yeah. By end of shift why anyone would subject themselves to the repeated trauma of continuing to listen to the sqawk box is beyond me. But when your off for a weekend you strangely start to feel naked without it.
 

NYMedic453

Forum Ride Along
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Depends what is going on. Sometimes I listen and sometimes I don't
 

Bullets

Forum Knucklehead
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Or if I want to be entertained, I put on Newark (NJ) PD, they are usually really good for a laugh.

And SPEN 4 aint what it used to be

When im off im off, but if i see an Alert from my PDs twitter ill turn it on. We get recalled for "hot jobs"
 

Giant81

Forum Lieutenant
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Yes, I keep my radio on scan when I'm not 'on-call' but mostly because we're a volunteer department and even if it's not my weekend, there is a chance if something big goes down they could use all hands on deck. I also listen to the scanner when I AM on call instead of just leaving my pager on our department because it gives you kind of a heads up on something that may be coming your way. Like if I'm lounging around at home in my PJ bottoms, and a neighboring department gets a multi-car, I'll toss my pants and shoes on in the chance we get called mutual aid.

But my situation is different than most on this board. I probably run as many calls in a month as many here run in a day.

EDIT: forgot to mention I also have a tendency to listen for EMS calls and then run through the scenarios in my head. What am I looking for?, what are my interventions?, what are my local protocols for those interventions?, do I need online medcontrol to administer that medication?, etc... Sometimes it prompts a look at that chapter in my textbook to re-familiarize myself with some of the different nuances for some conditions.
 
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