Caption Contest

Come up with a caption for any of the follow shots.

Station Visits

I can remember as a boy scout going to the fire station for a station tour. This last weekend we had our local cub pack, cub pack 461 stop in for a visit. There were only a couple of boys that showed up but I think that they had some fun. We let them climb all over the engine and told them what it is like to be a firefighter. I think that the parents that came had just as much fun as the kids.

Here one of the cubs scouts tried on my turnouts with his little brother looking on. we gave him a turn too.

Long Night

Friday night at about midnight we got toned out for a medical aid, a person having trouble breathing. On call that seem likely to not need a paramedic I let my firefighter/emt do the assessment. This time Eric asked if he could do it. He is in paramedic school now and wants to get in practice doing ALS assessments. He performs the assessment and anytime that there is an ALS skill that needs to get done he delegates that to me. He did a good job. The patient was in mild distress. She had clear but diminished lung sounds. She was 96 so getting her medical history was a challenge. While we were searching for her medications we started her on a breathing treatment. After finding her medications we discovered that she has CHF. We checked her lung sounds again but there was no fluid in there. I started an IV and let Eric finish the assessment. When MBA showed up Eric gave the patient report to the paramedic intern.

Time to go back to bed.

Two hours later we got toned out for a person having chest pain. As we pulled up to the house we saw MBA pulling up from the other direction. They just happened to be passing by the area when they got the call. We let them go in first and do the assessment since they have an intern. The patient informed us that she was having chest pain but it went away as soon as she got on the phone with the 911 operator. The operator thought that it would be a good idea to have us come out and check on the patient anyways. The patient checked out fine and she decided to sign out AMA.

Time to go back to bed, again

A little more than two hours after that we got toned out for another person with chest pain. This gentleman has chest pain every couple of months and is pretty well known to us and the MBA paramedics. He does have a fairly significant cardiac history so you never know what you're going to get. Eric did this assessment to. The pain started last night while he was laying in bed. The patient described it as a pressure more than a pain at an 8 out of 10 on the pain scale. He was nauseous and had vomited several times. The pain also radiated to his left arm. On the heart monitor he had a normal sinus rhythm with occasional PVC's. Not anything to get too concerned about. We put him on oxygen, gave him some Aspirin and Nitroglycerin, and started an IV. At this point MBA showed up and we sent him on his way.

Time to go back to bed, again. Oh wait, it's now morning and time to get up. Eric and I later had our Osha safety nap.

Friend In Need

On Friday evening I got a call from one of my closest friends. He told me that he was having some trouble breathing. Since he has asthma I didn't think that much of it asked if it was similar to an asthma attack. That's when he told me that he was having crushing chest pain and shortness of breath. That changes things. I asked him to call 911 immediately, then take some Aspirin. I called him back about 2 minutes later and he said that paramedics were on the way. I did a quick assessment over the phone as best as I could. He didn't end up having a heart attack. He had pericarditis. He's home now and recovering well.



This was his final meal at the hospital before getting discharged. I can't figure out why hospital food gets such a bad rap. That's supposed to be turkey.

Some Calls Are Not Worth Waking Up.

I understand that it's my job to respond to emergencies at any time, day or night, in any weather, at a moments notice but there are times that you want to simply ask the patient, "Really?? You called 911, at 2 in the morning, for that?"

The call woke us up just before 0200 for an "ill" female. when we arrived on scene we were greeted outside by an elderly woman. She informed us that she was constipated and hadn't been able to move her bowels in 15 minutes. It to some restraint to not say, "WOW! An entire 15 minutes!" We asked her to go back inside the house where she informed us that she did have minor abdominal pain. Everything else seemed to check out just fine and she actually wanted to go by ambulance to the hospital so we waited. Eventually MBA showed up and we went back to the station and back to bed.

At our fire department we have pagers so that we can be contacted in case of an emergency. All of our calls are sent to the pagers as well. We didn't notice this call on the pager until 2 days later (since we are at the fire station we don't carry the pagers with us). This call had some additional information that was not given to us over the radio. It read, "ME461 Ill female ate lots of "ho ho's" and now ill."

AMA 3 for 3

About two in the afternoon while we were at the station a mother brought in her 6 tear old daughter. Mom said that her daughter had been playing on the slides at the park when she fell more or less a foot and hit her head. The little girl had a pretty good size goose egg above her right eye. She told us that it didn't hurt at all. While Jason performed a thorough assessment I went and got a Sparky stuffed Dalmatian for the girl. She really liked that. Since everything checked out on our end mom told us that she would take her to the hospital. Personally I wouldn't have gone to the hospital but since I am representing a public agency I have to recommend that they get her checked out. Liability sucks. They signed out AMA and went on their way.

About 30 minutes later we got toned out for a woman with heat exhaustion. Turns out that she was part of a cleaning crew that had been cleaning a house that didn't have the air conditioning. the 62 year old woman stated that she had had almost 2 bottles of water to drink and she couldn't understand why she was feeling faint in the 115+ degree heat. After checking to make sure that everything was OK with her she decided to sign out AMA. We told her to drink more water and stay out of the heat, then walked her to her car.

About an hour after that we got toned out for a person down. When we arrived at the house we found a 58 year old woman with no physical complaint. Turns out that her roommate had walked by the bedroom and seen her laying on the floor and assumed that she was unconscious. In reality she was talking on the phone with a family member laying on the floor because it was cooler. Yet another person signing out AMA. About this time MBA is wondering what we're doing with all of our patients.

Random Photos

Kyra enjoyed wearing my new bunker boots.



Here I'm taking care of some paperwork after the marines were transported. They had only minor injuries and had self extricated.





This was my last "vehicle fire." All it was was cardboard that had lodged itself next to the muffler and ignited. The driver put it out using a garden hose at Circle K.



You can see some minor smoke damage to the rear window.



Eric doing paperwork on the so called vehicle fire.

Another Rollover

Saturday morning we were again dispatched to Highway 62 and Indian for a TC. This time AMR arrived on scene first and informed us that it was about a half mile East of 62 on Indian. It was a single vehicle rollover with only one patient. She sustained minor injuries. We assisted AMR with treating the patient and disconnected the battery for the tow truck driver. We disconnect the battery on all traffic accidents so as to mitigate the chance of an accidental airbag deployment (this doesn't mean that it can go off, just that it is less likely to), and to help prevent fire. A tow truck driver in Yucca Valley recently had to call 911 because the car he was towing had caught fire.



AMR, first on scene.





Getting ready to clear the scene. BE (brush engine) 461 is already headed back to the station.

Friday The 13th - part six: Wild Goose Chase

About 0230 we got toned out for a traffic accident on Highway 62 on the Morongo grade. We responded all the way down to Indian St. without finding anything. Riverside county medic engine 37 went up the grade as well and found nothing. The next day we found out that the TC was actually on Highway 62 and the 10 fwy. Whoever called that one in pinned it down to within 10 miles! Luckily we only had to get up for it once. riverside county handled it once they got the correct location.

Friday The 13th - part five: Dog Bite

This was a fun call. we got toned out for a dog bite. As we approached the scene we looked to see if the perpetrator was still there waiting to take a nip at us. Not seeing any stray dogs we knocked on the front doer. We were met by a woman whose right hand was covered in blood. She had walked her two dogs to the mailbox when the neighbors male Doberman jumped the fence and attacked. My patient had tried to stop the dogs from fighting and paid the price for it. She had a small puncture wound on her right forearm, just above the wrist. She was very distraught at the fact that her little dog had been attacked. She kept saying that it was bleeding out in the bathtub. My patient had a history of heart problems, high blood pressure, and psychological problems so to calm her down, Eric went and checked on the dogs, which were OK. My patient let us treat her but refused to go to the hospital. We canceled MBA as they walked in the front door.

As I was finishing up my paperwork so that my patient could sign out AMA I noticed that she had closed her eyes and her head started to bob a little. A called her name but got no response. I didn't like this so I called loudly and shook her shoulder. At this point she looked up at me and told me that she wasn't going to go to the hospital. She then promptly passed out again. Given her history I started to wonder if this was some sort of psychotic episode. Now I asked Eric to call MBA again and he asked if I had checked her sugar. It was like a light bulb appeared above my head. I had what we call a paramedic moment, others call it a brain fart. Whenever a patient is altered you always check their blood sugar. That should be the first thing you assume is wrong. I forgot that on this patient. Even though she had no diabetic history at all, and she had dinner only two hours before, her blood sugar was down to 37 (in a healthy adult is should be between 60-100). I quickly started an IV and gave her some sugar. It brought her blood sugar up to 189 and woke her right up. It then took 2 paramedics, a Sheriffs deputy, her husband, and a doctor (on the phone with me), and 30 minutes to talk her into going to the hospital.

Meanwhile, on the outside of the house, the Sheriff deputy and my deputy chief found the Doberman. It jumped the fence and tried to attack them. Fortunately for them the officer had pepper spray and used it in the dog (the dog then retreated to it's property and wearily watched us). Unfortunately, the dog attacked from up wind so the pepper spray came back at the deputy and at Craig. Both of them were coughing pretty hard for a while. Like I said, it was a fun call.

Friday The 13th - part four: DUI

Just as we were starting dinner we were toned out for an unresponsive driver on the road. When we got there we found the car partially blocking the left lane and the driver was out of it. After pounding on the driver's window the driver slowly rolled his head toward me and opened his eyes. I repeatedly told him to open his door and he lowered the rear window. Next he rolled down his window. At his point I think that he started to realize that he was in some trouble because he tried to shift the car into drive. Fortunately the car was off. Next he tried to get the car started. We finally convinced him that we were the good guys and just wanted to check and make sure that he was alright. Eric got him to step out of the vehicle so that we could check his vitals. We also had the Sheriff's department on way. As soon as the patient got out of the car our division chief grabbed the keys and called for CHP as well. They usually get there a lot faster. As for my assessment, the patient had obvious central nervous system depression, a little respiratory depression, and pinpoint pupils. All signs of narcotic abuse (heroine). He also had flushed skin, was pretty tachycardic (heart rate of 130), and was getting more jittery as he woke up. All signs that he could be on meth or some other stimulant. We let him sign out AMA. CHP arrived on scene before the SO and we let the patient know that he would have to get some paperwork done for them (the CHP) since his car was on the road. He took it really well. We gave the officer a copy of our report and left. Found out later that he was arrested and charged with a DUI.

Friday The 13th - part three: Burns

Sometimes we get dispatched to an area instead of an address. This time we were toned out to Highway 62 on the Yucca grade. We were looking for a blue Ford Taurus. One of the occupants had reportedly been burned by opening the radiator. As we responded we talked about possible complications. The patient could have facial/airway burns, circumferential burns or third degree burns. We talked about treatment, hospital destination (Arrowhead Regional Medical Center is our burn center) and the possibility of flying the patient out.

When we arrived on scene we found that the passenger in the front seat had first and second degree burns to her right arm. I asked her to rate the pain from 1-10 and she answered, "I could rip your f***ing head off!" I took that to mean a 10. I decided against the chopper since it was only second degree burns to the top of her forearm. At this point had had to yell at the other occupants in the vehicle because they were starting to fight. Nothing like a little concern over a friends burned arm huh?! I quickly started an IV and was getting ready for to give her some morphine when the ambulance showed up. We loaded her up and sent her on her way. They ended up giving her 10 milligrams of morphine before the pain went away. Not that much really.

Friday The 13th - part two: SOB

At around 10 in the morning we got a call for shortness of breath. As we got the address Eric let me know that he had been there before and that it could be one of two people, husband or wife. They both have CHF, COPD and heart problems. It ended up being the wife. She was was overweight, diabetic, and everything that Eric had said. She had horrible veins. We put her on high flow oxygen to supplement her home oxygen and got some lungs sounds. She was pretty full of fluids so I gave her some Nitroglycerin. I missed my first IV attempt and she didn't want me to try again. I told that I was the best there is at IV's (a lie, but I am pretty good) and got the IV on the second attempt. With the oxygen and nitroglycerin she had some relief. About then the ambulance arrived so we loaded her up and transferred care to MBA.

Friday The 13th - part one: Fall With Injuries

This Friday the 13th we were busy by our standards. Our department averages between one and two calls per day. We had six.

The first call was for a fall with injuries. The lady, a fairly frequent flyer due to her numerous medical problems, had twisted her ankle the night before. I let Junior practice his patient assessment and treatment. He almost forgot to splint the ankle but did an over all ok job. We loaded her an the ambulance and went back to the station for some PT (physical training).

Pick up Vs Motorcycle

While we were recuperating from our training on Thursday our we heard our fearless leader (our chief) on the radio, "San Bernardino, Chief 5200, Emergency Traffic!" At this point we we had a lot of our equipment out on the ground so we scrambled to get everything that we would need onto the engine, mostly our gear and SCBA's. Our chief continued, "San Bernardino, Chief 5200, we have reports of a vehicle vs a motorcycle. You can show Chief 5200 responding, please dispatch Medic Engine 461 and MBA." A couple of seconds later our tones go off to officially dispatch us. About two minutes later we are responding. The chief continues, "San Bernardino, Chief 5200 on scene, one motorcycle vs a pick up. Medic Engine 461, what is your location?!" That was the chief's was of saying, 'CRAP! I don't know what to do! Where's my medic?!"

We arrived on scene to find a 15 year old boy that had been struck by a pick up. His only obvious injuries were road rash to the right wrist, and a possibly broken left foot. Because of the mechanism of injury I ordered an airship. Why mess around with a kid that could have internal injuries? We placed him on a back board and started an IV before the ambulance showed up. The medic on the ambulance wasn't thrilled that I had ordered a chopper but that wasn't his call. We loaded the kid up and started a second IV en route to the LZ (landing zone). When the chopper was two minutes out it had to abort due to mechanical failure. The chopper crew made it back to their base (I don't know what happened) and the kid was transferred via ambulance to the trauma center.

I found out two days later that the kid does have a broken foot, a compression fracture of the spine and several bulging disks. I don't feel bad about ordering an airship.

Dehydration

Thursday was a remediation day. We went out and drilled on just about everything we could from the two minute drill (getting dressed into your turnouts with your SCBA on in less than two minutes) to roof ventilation. It got up to 110 degrees Fahrenheit in Morongo Valley this last shift so these drills were challenging. Part way through I had to stop and strip off all my gear because the heat was getting to me. I sat in the shade and drank over a gallon of water. After about 30 minutes I was ready to go again. Towards the end of the drilling Junior did the same thing, except he didn't drink any where near enough water. That night, we were all sitting in the day room when I looked at Junior. He was pale and sweaty and just generally looked like crap. He said that he felt like crap and that he had a headache. We asked him how much water he had had to drink and it wasn't enough. We ended up starting an IV on him and giving him a liter of Normal Saline. He perked up right away after the treatment and his headache went away. Of course, we let him sign out AMA.

You Fail

This shot is from http://failblog.org/

Immediate Need Strike Team

At about 1330 on Saturday we heard CalFire engines 3586 and 3560 get toned out to a vegetation fire. We quickly went to the back of our station and looked toward Yucca Valley. There we saw a "header" or column of smoke. We figured since we were close that we would soon be getting toned out for the fire. We put on our brush gear and started heading in that direction. We got as far as station 462 (yes our small department had two stations) and stopped. We waited there for the call for a while. It was only a couple of acres at this point.



What we saw from station 462 while we were waiting to get called. By now it was up to 20 acres or so.



It got bigger. Now about 100 acres.



And bigger. About 200 acres.



Eric was texting people basically saying "ha ha! We're getting a fire." We were bored and anxious.



Finally we got toned out with several other engines as an immediate need strike team. This means that there are now homes in imminent danger and we need to hurry. We had wasted a couple of hours waiting. Here we are approaching the command post for orders.



Our strike team was assigned to structure protection at the head of the fire. In this photo my engine was getting assigned to protect one house at the end of a culdesac while engine 451 (from 29 Palms Marine Base) was assigned to protect the House just North of us.
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Engine 451. Photo taken from our tailboard.



The crew for engine 451 ready to go.



This is a shot of our protection line. This is used if the crap hits the fan and is only used to protect us. The other line is set up to protect the house. We also had our exact GPS coordinated to give to the helicopters if we needed them.



This is the home that we were protecting. The guy in the white shirt and blue jeans is Bob. He is the home owner. Since this was my first time defending someones home I thought that I'd introduce myself. He and his neighbors went and bought a bunch of water for us.



This is the fire coming toward us. Luckily the house we were protecting had great brush clearance. It makes our job almost boring (not quite). That's our structure protection line going out in front of Bob's house.



The fire just as it reaches the ridge.



It was surreal being there. Having watched multiple brush fires on TV and seeing everything it was weird to be living it. People were holding signs saying thank you and standing in the streets waving. Cars were stopped all over and were honking at us as we passed. The smoke from the fire would pass in front of the sun and it would suddenly get darker. The smell of smoke mixed with the crackling of the fire.



Here the fire is starting to come down the ridge at us.



This was as far as the fire would get. Due to the lack of wind, a down hill grade (it's harder for a fire to burn down a hill than up a hill), and some expert water drops by some helicopter crews our job was easy.



After the fire stopped we (our strike team got added to another) advanced hose up the fire line. This is the same ridge that was in the last photo.



Here is the view of the other side of the ridge.



Random firefighter.





Eric taking a breather.



Alright, we stopped it. Now what?





I like this shot. There were a lot of things smoldering which produced a smokey haze.



You can see the hose along the fire line on the left. Here we are starting to mop up.





Eric keeping hydrated.






Mopping up on a fire like this means using one inch hoses to soak everything within 100 feet of the edge of the fire. Those engines that have foam use that. In the background of this photo you can see the dirt road that was used as a fire line on the North end of the fire.



CalFire engines 3586 and 3560 are in the middle of this shot. Their crews laid hose from their engines all the way to where this shot was taken.



The fire ended up burning about 350 acres. We lost only one structure but no homes or businesses. This was considered to be a medium size fire. It's also the first real brush fire of the season. About 2200 we got to go back to the engine and grab some food and drinks. We had MRE's that we brought with us. I had beef stew. It was alright. At about midnight we were finally released from the fire. The red cross had set up at the command post and was giving out sandwiches, water, and Gatorade. It was appreciated. By the time that we got back to the station, got the engine back into service, showered, and got to bed it was almost 0200. The fire made for a long day.

The Acoma Fire News Coverage

356 acres burn; investigators probe cause of Acoma Fire

By Dave Miller and Stacy Moore / Hi-Desert Star

Sunday, June 8, 2008 1:04 PM PDT

YUCCA VALLEY — An elderly citizen was treated for smoke inhalation, just one structure — a shed — was destroyed and 356 acres have burned in the Acoma Fire that broke out here around 1:30 p.m. Saturday, county Battalion Chief Kat Opliger reported late Sunday morning.

The fire began on federal Bureau of Land Management property in the rugged, brush-covered terrain near Golden Bee Drive and Acoma Trail, said Opliger.

The flames were caused by humans, she confirmed, adding, “Whether it was accidental or intentional has yet to be determined.”

“The sheriff’s department arson/bomb division, a San Bernardino County fire investigator and a BLM California Desert District fire investigator as we speak are combing the point of origin for evidence of how the fire started,” Opliger said.

By late Sunday morning, the fire was 100 percent contained and was expected to be completely controlled within a few days.

Speaking from the makeshift command center on Acoma Avenue, Opliger said 128 burned acres were on Bureau of Land Management property and 228 acres were on locally owned land.

The Bureau of Land Management, represented by Tim Dunfee, and San Bernardino County Fire Department, represented by Opliger, had formed a unified command in charge of the fire.

Saturday, according to Opliger, facing the fire were 350 men and women on the ground and 16 aircraft in the air, with crews from Cal Fire (the state firefighting department), the BLM, the National Park Service, Forestry Service and Twentynine Palms Marine base along with personnel and equipment from communities including Redlands, Loma Linda, Palm Springs, San Bernardino City and Chino. “All fire agencies in the local area were involved,” said Opliger.

Their challenges were the light, flashy fuel that predominates the terrain, strong, shifting winds, critical resource needs and the hot, dry conditions.

“Our critical resource needs ended up being water tenders that were small enough to travel over the dirt roads and rough terrain out here,” said Opliger. “We were able to get what we needed."

Overnight, assigned crews dropped down to about 100 firefighters. On Sunday, about 140 remained working on the lines while one helicopter flew overhead.

At the western end of Kismet Drive where it ends in hilly, dirt-road country, Cal Fire Battalion Chief Tom Foley reported a strike team of engines and two more teams of hand crews were working to ensure the fire stayed under control. “We’re trying to improve the line of containment and mop up the Joshua trees and other vegetation that’s still on fire and threatening us,” Foley said.

Unfortunately, Opliger reported, conditions with wind, low humidity and high temperatures continued Sunday, “which will hamper our efforts.”

The Morongo Basin chapter of the Red Cross has been supporting fire crews since Saturday with food, water and Gatorade. Chapter Executive Director Candace Fritz said an emergency shelter was set up in the Yucca Valley Community Center as a precaution, but wasn’t used.

The only mandatory evacuation was called as a precaution at the Desert Manor board and care facility, a skilled nursing facility on Cholla Avenue that is home to Alzheimer’s and dementia patients. Firefighters mitigated the threat to the facility and the evacuation called off, Opliger said.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/allenrockwell/2559554779/

http://video.aol.com/video-detail/yucca-valley-fire-60708/3850471153

http://video.aol.com/video-detail/06-07-08-yucca-valley-fire/1627317598?icid=acvsv4

Evacuations lifted in Yucca Valley wildfire, outbuilding destroyed

Staff reports • The Desert Sun • June 7, 2008

Fire officials have lifted a voluntary evacuation request for more than 200 homes in Yucca Valley, as firefighters slowly began gaining some control of a more than 350-acre wildfire in the southwest portion of the high-desert town.

San Bernardino County Fire Department spokesman Aaron Kendall said the 356-acre fire was 35 percent contained. One outbuilding was destroyed, and the lone injury reported was a citizen complaint of smoke inhalation, he said.

"At least 10" different fire agencies and 350 firefighters are battling the blaze, Kendall said.

"They’re going to continue to work the fire throughout the night and try to get a good handle on it," he said.

The fire, burning just south along Acoma Trail near Deer Trail and Golden Bee Drive, was reported at about 1:26 p.m. A large smoke plume could be seen over the Little San Bernardino Mountains north of Desert Hot Springs for much of this afternoon.

Sponge Bob Square Pants Underwear

Much to our disappointment the rookie did not run for the engine when my cell phone rang this week.

Fortunately we discovered that he wears Sponge Bob Square Pants underwear. Certain things just shouldn't be worn at the fire station.

Scorpion bites

We were at the station when a man walked in and said that he was stung by a scorpion. He stated that he was cooking in the kitchen when he felt something like a be sting on his foot. When he looked down he saw a small scorpion. He very quickly grabbed a Tupperware bowl and caught the scorpion. He then called his girlfriend who told him to go to the fire station. I don't know why people don't just call 911. We'll come to you. He had a little bit of itching and redness right at the point of the sting but that was all. He didn't want to pay for an ambulance ride so he drove himself (and the scorpion) to the hospital. On further research, scorpion stings in the United States only have a 1% fatality rate in healthy adults. That 1% is almost exclusively caused by severe allergic reactions or anaphylaxis. I thought that that was interesting.

This is what the scorpion looked like.

The Dangers of Bungee Cords

We received a call for an ill male. That really means that the dispatcher has no clue what is going on. When we arrived on scene we found 2 guys standing next to a pick up truck on the side of highway 62. At their feet was our patient. My immediate thought was that the passenger had had a seizure and they pulled him out of the truck. Turns out he had been trying to secure something in the bed of the truck when the bungee cord he was using snapped back and hit him in the face. He was hit in the right eye. He had about a one inch gash right above the right eye and his eye was swollen shut. We open his eye to check it out and discovered that his eye was full of blood, the pupil was nonreactive to light and that he had lost vision in that eye. We bandaged him up and tried to start an IV. Before we could get the IV started (to give some Morphine) the ambulance arrived. At that point we let the MBA medic worry about the Morphine.

CPAT

For those of you that remember me taking the CPAT (candidates physical agility test) a year ago you might recall that I called it the test from hell. Yesterday I took it again with much better results. I passed without a problem and I think that if I had to retake it right then I could have done it. Being at the fire station has been good to my physical well being. The hardest part about the entire test for me is wearing the restrictive weighted vest. It is supposed to mimic the weight of all the gear a firefighter has to carry (which it doesn't really do all that well) and it limits the ability if the wearer to expand their lungs all the way. That being said, it still wasn't that bad.

Jack Knifed Big Rig

On my way home from work this week I came across a good wreck. I wish that I had seen it happen. There are a couple of cars involved that you can't see in the photograph.

Sleepy Driver

Here are a couple of photos of the car the teen rolled when he fell asleep behind the wheel.