I forgot to update 
I did my first ride along 2 Sundays ago at a fire station and it was AWESOME. I was assigned one station, and they weren't expecting me, because they hadn't read the calendar ahead, but it was fine thankfully. They also had a paramedic student there for the morning who was interviewing with the Dept, and was there for a ride along, and to have a mock interview with the crew. So he and I checked off the medic bags in the morning, and the paramedic on crew would regularly stop us ask and questions about the gear, when to use it, what it's for, alternate uses etc. That was really useful and interesting.
Then I got to sit on the "panel" for the mock interview and ask questions, and they asked my feedback, and valued my input as an outsider which was nice.
Not long after we had lunch, then they had a drill all afternoon, so took me with them to the drill, and swapped me to another station. Going out to the training center was my first ride in a fire engine and I grinned like an idiot the entire way :lol:
Anyways, so at the other station, the crew were great again - they practised backboarding and immobilisation with me, splints, answered heaps of questions, and we *finally* got some calls. First one was medical, but another engine and ambulance beat us there, and the lady was fine, just an anxiety attack.
Second call was a smoke detector false alarm in a retirement home, third was a small kitchen fire that was out by the time we arrived. They were the only 3 calls in the 14 hour shift...
But after the last call, the other crew picked me up again, and took me back to their station. The Captain was going to be cooking dinner, and had brought in stuff, but had to go because his daughter was really sick, so I cooked them dinner, at which point they had also discovered the blueberry muffins and cookies I brought in.
Then after dinner, the medic had to go home as well with sick family, so we got a new captain and medic, who were all awesome. I chatted with the new medic for ages, and I was about to sit down and do some more study, and they told me to stop being silly, and pull up a la-z-boy and watch tv with them, which I did until it was time to go home They wanted me to stay the night to ensure they continued to get no calls :lol:
The original Captain invited me to come back on a busier day (Sundays are notoriously quiet), so I'm heading back on Monday to do another shift with them which should be good. The crew were great, very dedicated, very supportive, and an all round bunch of nice guys. So now I REALLY want to be a firefighter
I did my first ride along 2 Sundays ago at a fire station and it was AWESOME. I was assigned one station, and they weren't expecting me, because they hadn't read the calendar ahead, but it was fine thankfully. They also had a paramedic student there for the morning who was interviewing with the Dept, and was there for a ride along, and to have a mock interview with the crew. So he and I checked off the medic bags in the morning, and the paramedic on crew would regularly stop us ask and questions about the gear, when to use it, what it's for, alternate uses etc. That was really useful and interesting.
Then I got to sit on the "panel" for the mock interview and ask questions, and they asked my feedback, and valued my input as an outsider which was nice.
Not long after we had lunch, then they had a drill all afternoon, so took me with them to the drill, and swapped me to another station. Going out to the training center was my first ride in a fire engine and I grinned like an idiot the entire way :lol:
Anyways, so at the other station, the crew were great again - they practised backboarding and immobilisation with me, splints, answered heaps of questions, and we *finally* got some calls. First one was medical, but another engine and ambulance beat us there, and the lady was fine, just an anxiety attack.
Second call was a smoke detector false alarm in a retirement home, third was a small kitchen fire that was out by the time we arrived. They were the only 3 calls in the 14 hour shift...
But after the last call, the other crew picked me up again, and took me back to their station. The Captain was going to be cooking dinner, and had brought in stuff, but had to go because his daughter was really sick, so I cooked them dinner, at which point they had also discovered the blueberry muffins and cookies I brought in.
Then after dinner, the medic had to go home as well with sick family, so we got a new captain and medic, who were all awesome. I chatted with the new medic for ages, and I was about to sit down and do some more study, and they told me to stop being silly, and pull up a la-z-boy and watch tv with them, which I did until it was time to go home
They wanted me to stay the night to ensure they continued to get no calls :lol:The original Captain invited me to come back on a busier day (Sundays are notoriously quiet), so I'm heading back on Monday to do another shift with them which should be good. The crew were great, very dedicated, very supportive, and an all round bunch of nice guys. So now I REALLY want to be a firefighter
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