Penetrating Trauma

We pulled out from the driveway as the apparatus bay doors started to close. Dispatch immediately raised us on the radio, "Truck 51, possible GSW, staging required."

We pulled up to the gate to the apartment complex. It was one that we visit quite often and we knew more or less where the apartment was. PD had swarmed the location managing to block all entrances with empty patrol cars. I hopped off the truck to see if one of the cruisers was unlocked so I could move it. No such luck.

A few minutes later we received an all clear notice. One of the officers ran out to move some vehicles to allow us access. We pulled in and went around to the back of the complex. I grabbed the medical equipment and looked for the right apartment. Through an open window I saw a couple of uniforms so I headed in that direction.

Once in the apartment I was directed to the front bedroom. Inside an officer somberly shook his head indicating the the suicide attempt had been successful. Rounding the corner of the bed the officer asked me to be careful of the shell casing on the ground for evidence. The 30 year old male was laying on his right side.

I checked for a pulse and breathing just to be sure. I then inspected the wound a little closer. This wasn't morbid curiosity. I was looking for brain matter because its presence would mean we wouldn't be working the mega code. In other words no life saving measures would be done. There was brain matter in several places on the body and the bed. As a matter of protocol my engineer placed the electrodes of the monitor onto the body. We watched as the line on the monitor, that would normally be making predictable jerks up and down, lay flat.

I  called it. Time of death, 2032.

Outside another officer took down our names and unit number. My engineer and I quietly continued our conversation that had been interrupted by the call while my captain finished some paperwork. The scene was turned over to the cops and the coroner was called. We headed back to the station, ready for another call.

A Pain In My...

We arrived on scene to find a woman waving us down. We were led into the townhouse to an upstairs bedroom. There we found a 50 year old male, shivering with pain, lying in bed.

He said that he had had a tooth ache for the last 3 days. A few hours ago he got in to see his dentist and had had a root canal. After the procedure he had been sent home with a prescription for Tylenol 3 for pain.

Let me set the record straight. I've had tooth aches. I know they hurt, a lot.

So I asked my patient how long he had been in this much pain and he replied for the last 3 hours. I then inquired if he had called his dentist? He said that he had. I had to follow that question with another, what did he say?

My patient, who was now spitting on the floor because it hurts to swallow and whispering because it hurts to talk (I thought it was as tooth ache, not a sore throat) told me that his dentist had given him a stronger script for his pain. And that his dentist had even called it in to his local pharmacy. 


But did he get it filled? No. Instead he decided to call 911 so he could hold my hand (he really did). My 7 year old daughter handles pain better.

How Do You Say Thank You?

Over the weekend my department suffered a loss. One of our firefighters that has served for more than 34 years had recently been diagnosed with cancer. The last several months he has been away from his job (and his fire department family) going through treatment.

This last week it was discovered that the cancer had come back with a vengeance. Some of my brothers volunteered to go get him and bring him home. Some time late Saturday night or early Sunday morning my brother passed.

Most of the people in his district will probably never know that he gave everything for them. For my part, I thank him for being an example of what a fireman should be. I hope that by answering the tones when they go off he will understand that I am doing my part to carry on the tradition that he believed in. Rest in peace.

Neither Snow Nor Rain.....

We pulled up on scene to find a mail jeep and an SUV in the intersection. It was pretty clear that the jeep had pulled out and into the other vehicle. PD was already there. The officer said that there were 3 possible patients. The mailman, the guy driving the SUV and his grandson.

My engineer headed over to the grandfather and my captain started assessing the mailman. I went over to the police cruiser where a frightened 8 year old boy quietly sat. Pulling off my helmet I opened the door and knelt next to him. I got his name and age. I asked him if he was wearing his seat belt and what hurt. He said that he was and that nothing hurt any more. He said that the bag hurt the side of his head a little bit but he was better now. And he wanted to know why we had airbags.

I continued my assessment and answered questions. He was very curious. How did we know to come? Who called 911? What going to happen to the car? But most of all he was worried about his grandfather. I told him that he looked ok and that another firefighter was looking after him. Finishing my assessment I headed over to my engineer to find out about the old man. I then headed back to tell the boy that they didn't need to go to the hospital and that his grandfather was well.

Once that was done I headed back to the rig and grabbed a sticker. I knew I had hit the jackpot when I handed it to the 8 year old and he exclaimed "COOL!"

The mailman was ok too.

Pass The Joint

It's strange how some apartment complexes never generate 911 calls while others are visited every week by the fire department. We have one in our district that we go to frequently. Stranger still, there's no frequent flyer. The calls are almost always for someone new.

This time the call came in for a juvenile that was altered. We pulled in the driveway past the security gate and parked. We grabbed our gear and headed for the apartment when the first PD unit showed up. Immediately we started wondering what was going on and what information PD had that we didn't. They showed up because there was possibly someone on drugs.

We made our way inside and found our patient sitting on the couch. Boy was he stoned. He admitted that he had smoked a bunch of weed (no, not medicinal). And with the rest he had made some muffins. Just after we started our assessment we heard a police officer outside start yelling at someone to get down on the ground. Then the sounds of a struggle followed. My captain and my engineer went out to make sure the officer had everything under control.

An 18 year old neighbor and so called friend of my patient was trying to push past the officers to see what was going on. After ignoring one officer and trying to push past him several times the officer ordered the young man to the ground to detain him for our safety. That's when the fight ensued. It was rather one sided. You can't fix stupid.

Back with my patient everything was under control. How could it not be. My patient was completely toasted. It was funny to see his delayed reaction to the police walking in his room. And it was funny to note he was more afraid of his mother when she walked in having been called home from work.