I mentioned the other day that I really liked stories where the lay people and professionals and come together for a common goal, for a common good. In that article I posted about the two individuals in South Dakota who dove into a foaming river that was ice cold and ravaging down the banks to save a young child who had fallen into the grasp of the raging waters. Even when it cost their own lives.
Daily I receive about 300 RSS feed posts from others blogs, to editorials written on ems1.com or JEMS, Firehouse magazine or even CNN Health. These rss feeds provide me an opportunity to overview the headlines and see what stories I like, which stories I want to read about, what stories I may even want to write about, but overall it is a great way to stay in touch with the field and the changes that continually happen.
Since Monday, I have received three stories which speak volumes about how gracious people are when faced with adversity.
Jogging Off-duty N.Y. Cops Help Rescue Fire Victim. (Firehouse Story)
In a story that could only be assigned to that of a higher power, as described by Todd Chenez, two off-duty officers running saw a lady yelling for help, and as they found their way to the house two officers pulled up and all four were able to pull the 69 year old resident out of the house. While the resident is still being treated for his condition resulting from the fire, he chances for survival are much greater than that if those four officers were not there.
In the line of duty, they were all treated and released for smoke inhalation, with one having to be held for a little longer than others.
N.M. Firefighters Give Up Pay, Thank God, For New Truck. (Firehouse Story)
In today's day and age, getting people to give up money is difficult, if not impossible. That is not true however in the State of New Mexico where firefighters agreed to put their monies back in the apparatus budget in an effort to purchase the agencies first new apparatus in history. A year prior, the citizens voted down a bond measure that would have purchased the new apparatus and upgraded the degrading station. The chief's wanted to provide something they felt the town and the firefighters so richly deserved. An apparatus that was worth its weight in firefighters pay. These members were paid a stipend per call for their services, and they felt the department needed those funds more than anything to replace a 26 year old apparatus.
One problem though, when the Spartan apparatus was brought to the station, they weren't entirely sure they were going to need some lubricant...not for the engine, but the apparatus fitting through the bay doors. Then again, bring back the firefighters who helped purchase the equipment, they weren't going to let their newest addition go without a home. So they quickly identified what changes needed to be made and made them allow their station to house their first new apparatus ever.
The department in Mesilla has requested funding from the state to upgrade their public safety building that houses their fire department and marshall's office.
Students Assist Utah Firefighters Battle Church Fire (Firehouse Story)
One minute you are learning the proper placement of commas and periods, or how the American Government works, or how to calculate the length of a side in a equilateral triangle and next you are pressed into service as a fire battling hero. In this instance, students from a nearby high school who were walking by the fire scene were used to connect large diameter hoses to the hydrants or apparatus.
Think about the stories these kids had to tell when they got home that day...really what would we say back if they said you will never guess what I did on the way home? But on this day, these students were force multipliers. They performed tasks that would have taken many men off the job and did it well.
Always great to see people coming together without conflict.
So when you get the opportunity work with people that offer, it is all for the good.
Take Care and Stay Safe
The Combomedic - David Blevins
twitter.com/dsblev
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