Not Exactly a Safe Scene
I understand organizations that have policies saying EMS crews stage until the "scene is safe". The problem I experienced over my career is that despite your best efforts not to [...]
Hurricanes – Time to Review The Challenges
It's been awhile since we have had a hurricane season that actually produced hurricanes. I have pulled up a few posts from previous years that may have some value for [...]
Staging Normally Sucks
In the later stages of my career I was volunteer as a paramedic/fire-fighter on a combination paid/volunteer fire department. We also did first response medical. Personally towards the end of [...]
You Can’t Save the World
I suppose all members of the medical field go in with some aspiration of "saving lives" during the course of their work. At some point we come to the realization [...]
I Wish I Knew Before What I Learned After
My first post in this series I mentioned to be aware of the quiet patient. I'd like to say I learned that lesson that day...but it didn't happen that way. [...]
Memorable Calls – My First Run as an EMT
This is the first in a series on emergency calls that have stuck in my head after all this time. After a couple decades in the field it's an odd [...]
Organizational Couch Potatoes – A False Sense of Preparedness
I was rummaging through some old files the other day and I came across my copy of the After Action Report (AAR) for Quakex97. This was a joint local, state [...]
How many people will learn to Scuba dive after a Cascadia?
I participated in the Cascadia Rising 2016 exercise to help add realism and stress. Not everyone appreciated the challenges and annoyances I caused but there was a method to the [...]
What’s Preparedness Worth? Is $3.5 Million Enough?
My experience has always been that preparedness is a tough sell. The value seems to go up after there has been an event and a bad outcome was a result. [...]
Medical Rapid Response Team – Ideal for Catastrophic Events
I've been involved in planning for a Cascadia earthquake/tsunami event and a New Madrid earthquake event so I know what a catastrophe will look like. I have not been involved [...]