CO Poisoning and the First Responder

Posting 2 days in a row!  I actually have something important to say! 
This blog is about CO poisoning.  And firefighters.  Carbon monoxide is deadly.  Yeah that's right...it can KILL you!  The following facts on CO was taken directly from the website www.thesilentkiller.net.

Carbon Monoxide Poisoning - The Silent Killer

Even though first responders are trained to understand the dangers of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning and to recognize potential signs and symptoms, CO poisoning can go unrecognized and untreated, leading to short-term risk and long-term health problems.

Know the facts about CO poisoning

• CO poisoning can be difficult to detect.
  • CO poisoning can present with flu-like symptoms, but it is also possible to be poisoned without having any symptoms at all.¹
• CO poisoning puts firefighters at significant risk at the scene of a fire.
  • Even mild CO poisoning causes mental confusion, which can lead to poor decision making, putting both the exposed firefighter and others on the fire scene at risk.²
  • Mild CO poisoning can also rob the heart and brain of oxygen – nearly 50% of line of duty firefighter deaths are attributed to heart disease or stroke.³ That's why new NFPA 1584 rehab standards support the use of on-scene CO testing.⁴
• CO poisoning significantly increases long-term health risks.
  • Just one severe CO poisoning almost doubles the risk of premature death.⁵
  • Consistent exposure to CO poisoning may cause long term heart and brain damage.⁶

What you can do to protect yourself

• Wear your mask during overhaul
• Test for carbon monoxide in the blood with an approved noninvasive device

"Firefighters take necessary risks every day, but CO is an unnecessary risk. Educate yourself on CO, wear your mask during overhaul, avoid exposure, and get yourself tested... so you'll be around to share with your family, life's most precious moments."

Randolph Mantooth, Johnny Gage from Emergency!

¹ Hampson NB et al. American Journal of Emergency Medicine. 26:665-669, 2008.
² Jakubowski G. FireRescue Magazine. 22(11):52-55, 2004.
³ Bledsoe BE. FireRescue Magazine. September 2005.
⁴ NFPA 1584: Standards on the Rehabilitation Process for Members During Emergency Operations and Training Exercises. Annex A section A.6.2.6.4(1)
⁵ Hampson NB et al. Crit Care Med. 2009; 37(6): 1941-47.
⁶ Bledsoe BE. Journal of Emergency Medical Services. 32:54-59, 2007.

Watch the following video too:  Avoiding CO poisoning is very easy if you just use your head!

For all the civilians out there you need to be aware of CO also! Get a detector and change the batteries at least every time the time changes. Same as when you change your smoke detector batteries. Know the signs and symptoms of CO poisoning and if your detector alarms get the hell out of the house and call the fire department. We have meters for that.

CO calls go up during the fall and winter months. Especially now as people are turning their heat on. I just want everyone to be safe. Knowledge is power people!

Singing off 04:03

The tattoo! (finally)

Well here I am again.  Early morning at work with nothing particularly interesting to say.  I didn't post a blog on 9/11 this year for a good reason.  I was in Rhode Island camping all weekend and didn't have access to a computer.  That and after 10 years of dealing with it, the pain, hurt, and anger come back worse every year so I decided to avoid it.  I wore my shirt and said a prayer for my friends who passed away but that was really it.  I avoided the news and the papers like the plague.

But on to happier things.  I finally got the fire department tattoo that I have been talking about for the last 2 years.  I will be in the FD for 12 years this coming November 8th.  That's a long time to be doing one particular thing and I am so proud that I have the opportunity to be a vollie that I wanted to proclaim it in ink.  The guy who did my tattoo (and the owner of the shop) is Chuck and he is a fireman as well as an EMT.  I wanted to get an artist who would understand the meanings behind the design and the symbolism as well.  Well I found him!  Actually, 4 different people recommended him to me and I was super impressed.  He took my idea and totally put an awesome spin on it!  For those of you who live in the NY area I would totally tell you to go see him if you need new ink!  Go support a brother and check out his site : http://www.stationonetattoo.com/

Peace out and have a great night!

Signing off 03:54

Sleep? What's sleep?

The title of this post is kind of ironic given what's been going on lately.  I've been working this awesome job that I love bunches.  It leaves me lots of time to study, read, blog, whatever while I am on shift.  This past week I worked some ridiculous amount of hours and ended up getting about 6 hours of sleep in one 3 day period.  Well that resulted in me going on a call with my FD that I don't exactly remember.  Sleep deprivation is a weird thing....I remember the pager going off and then the next thing I know I am standing in the middle of the ER staring at one of the probies making up the stretcher.  There were 2 other techs on the call so I wasn't in charge of patient care but apparently had an entire conversation with my co workers and don't remember it either.  When I brought it up to one of my buddies he said I was acting completely normally.  Weird.  I truly thought I was losing my mind for awhile there.  As I talked to a few of my tech friends I was told it's happened to them before and that I was operating automatically.  Good to know my training is so ingrained I can basically sleep thru a call and still get the job done.  Still scares me and I need to make sure I get enough sleep.  This coming week is going to be just as busy but I will have time to actually sleep....I have a day off between two long shifts.

Signing off 21:42

Snow Standby January 2011

sitting here in the dark watching tv and surfing the net. snow standby first for the year. the snow is falling people are plowing yet i sit here watching tv.  no motivation at 2:30 in the morning.  need to sleep but i'm not tired.  hopefully no work tomorrow....i don't think i'd be able to get there anyway. working without any sleep is impossible...wouldn't be the first time this week.  two calls the other morning at 5am that was hell when i got to work dealing with screaming kids and cranky teachers who don't understand my dilemma.  they never understand when i've been up all night which seems to happen more than usual lately.  the pain in my knee keeps me up, the pain in my back keeps me up, no sleep no sleep.  night after night i get 3 or maybe 4 hours, exhausted exhausted but that's what my life has become now.  i take it in stride the last 11 years hasn't been easy but i look to the future now and see what's ahead.  dwelling in the past doesn't help anyone.  sitting here in the present in the dark while its snowing outside and i'm being lazy. snow standby.

Signing off 02:37

EMS Poem- Author Unknown

Well I guess over a month is enough time to be on hiatus from my blog.  Nothing much has been going on and I didn't have much to write about until this evening.

I was on a EMS forum tonight talking about difficult calls and tough situations one has to face being in the EMS field.  There was a new EMT student who had a coroner come and give a lecture to her class about death and dying.  He apparently showed a rather gruesome slide show and she ran out of the room halfway through the class crying her eyes out.  She posed the question of whether she was cut out for the job and whether it was right of the speaker to show them those pictures at all.  Someone in the forum posted this poem as a response that it is part of out job to deal with nasty shit and that not all we do is nice, pretty, and fun.  Being in this field for as long as I have has given me a perspective that not too many people understand.  Although I did get teary when I read the poem and it moved me.  Moved me enough that i wanted to share it in my blog.

"I Want To Tell You Lies."

Author unknown.

I want to tell that little boy his Mom will be just fine
I want to tell that dad we got his daughter out in time
I want to tell that wife her husband will be home tonight
I don't want to tell it like it is, I want to tell them lies

You didn't put their seat belts on, you feel you killed your kids
I want to say you didn't ... but in a way, you did
You pound your fists into my chest, you're hurting so inside
I want to say you'll be OK, I want to tell you lies

You left chemicals within his reach and now it's in his eyes
I want to say your son will see, not tell you he'll be blind
You ask me if he'll be OK, with pleading in your eyes
I want to say that yes he will, I want to tell you lies

I can see you're crying as your life goes up in smoke
If you'd maintained that smoke alarm, your children may have woke
Don't grab my arm and ask me if your family is alive
Don't make me tell you they're all dead, I want to tell you lies

I want to say she'll be OK, you didn't take her life
I hear you say you love her and you'd never hurt your wife
You thought you didn't drink too much, you thought that you could drive
I don't want to say how wrong you were, I want to tell you lies

You only left her for a moment, it happens all the time
How could she have fell from there? You thought she couldn't climb
I want to say her neck's not broke, that she will be just fine
I don't want to say she's paralyzed, I want to tell you lies

I want to tell this teen his buddies didn't die in vain
Because he thought that it'd be cool to try to beat that train
I don't want to tell him this will haunt him all his life
I want to say that he'll forget, I want to tell him lies

You left the cabinet open and your daughter found the gun
Now you want me to undo the damage that's been done
You tell me she's your only child, you say she's only five
I don't want to say she wont see six, I want to tell you lies

He fell into the pool when you just went to grab the phone
It was only for a second that you left him there alone
If you let the damn phone ring perhaps your boy would be alive
But I don't want to tell you that, I want to tell you lies

The fact that you were speeding caused that car to overturn
And we couldn't get them out of there before the whole thing burned
Did they suffer? Yes, they suffered, as they slowly burned alive
But I don't want to say those words, I want to tell you lies

But I have to tell it like it is, until my shift is through
And then the real lies begin, when I come home to you,
You ask me how my day was, and I say it was just fine
I hope you understand, sometimes, I have to tell you lies




To all my EMS family...stay strong and stay safe out there.

Signing off 23:26

This is more important than anything else!

I went to a rally today in Mineola with other members of my fire department. We were there to demand that we are being listened to and to drum up support for a family and a community who has been fighting an injustice for 4 years. That injustice is that Malverne Firefighter Paul Brady's (who was tragically killed in the line of duty in 2006) name has not yet been added to the Fallen Firefighters Memorial Wall in Albany! (http://monument.fire-hero.com/)

They gave out flyers there with info about how to contact your New York State Officials about supporting the 2 bills that are being proposed in the Assembly and the Senate.

Assembly Bill #A10836-A and Senate Bill #S8450 both propose to amend section 7 of the Volunteer Firefighters Benefit Law (VFBL) by adding a new subdivision which will mandate that the name of any Line of Duty Death be honored by inscribing the Firefighters name on the wall in Albany.

Contact your Assembly rep at www.assembly.state.ny.gov
Just type in your zip code and then click on the rep that comes up for your district. When you are sent to their page click CONTACT on the left side of the page and send them an email asking them to support the assembly bill listed above and let them know WHY they should support it.

Contact you Senate rep at www.nysenate.gov and send your rep an email asking them to support the senate bill listed above and let them know WHY they should support it.

If you need more info as to what happened to Paul I am posting some links below. Paul's name is on the NATIONAL MONUMENT in Maryland and the NASSAU COUNTY MONUMENT in Garden City. SO WHY IS HIS NAME NOT ON THE STATE WALL?

READ THIS LINK!!
http://community.fireengineering.com/profiles/blog/show?id=1219672%3ABlogPost%3A175895

What a load of rediculous nonsense!

Paul Brady: http://www.liherald.com/detail.html?sub_id=24678

Please send your reps emails! This is the only way we are going to get this passed!!

RIP Brother! We won't stop until your name is on the wall where it should be!!

Signing Off 13:05

labor day already?

I did a 24 shift on call with the FD Friday into Saturday, cleaned out the EMS supply closet and made up an inventory list. Way to start a weekend! It's labor day already?? This time last year I was contemplating switching careers. This year I switched jobs again. Our new year is quickly approaching, Sooie and James booked their wedding venue, and school starts. Looking forward to assisting with wedding planning and enjoying fall. Can't believe it's labor day already!

Signing Off 17:37

Rules Of Real World EMS

I found an old newspaper clipping a few weeks ago when I was digging thru the attic looking for something.  It was a clipping I had saved from the September 2001 edition of Fire News.  Then I remember why I had saved it.  Despite the tragedy of 9/11/01 when we lost 343 of our brother firefighters when the Twin Towers collapsed, Fire News printed an amusing list (trying, I think to give us something to snicker at and forget, for just a second what had happened).  This list was entitled RULES OF REAL WORLD EMS and as a tribute of sorts I'm going to write it down for all of you to peruse.

RULES OF REAL WORLD EMS

1. Air goes in and out, blood goes round and round: any variation on these themes is a bad thing.

2. Sick people don't bitch.


3. The more equipment you see on an EMT's belt, the newer they are.


4. When dealing with patients, supervisors, or citizens, if it felt good saying it, it was the wrong thing to say.


5. All bleeding stops....eventually.


6. If the child is quiet, be scared.


7. EMS is extended periods of intense boredom interrupted by occasional moments of sheer terror.


8. If the patient LOOKS sick, then the patient IS sick.


9. If the patient is sitting up and talking to you, then the patient is not in V-Fib, no matter what the monitor says.


10. It is generally bad to use the words "holy shit" on scene, in reference to the patient's condition.


11. When responding to a call, always remember that you ambulance was built by the lowest bidder.


12. Never get into the front of the ambulance with someone who is braver than you are.


13. The number of drugs a patient has on board is directly proportional to the number of knuckles tattooed.


14. If you respond to an MVA (motor vehicle accident) after midnight and you don't see a drunk, keep looking-you've missed a patient.

15. A tourniquet around the neck solves all problems.


16. All fevers eventually fall to room temperature.


17. Asystole is a very stable rhythm.


18. A patient's weight is in direct proportion to their altitude in the building.


19. When a call comes in two minutes before shift change, you will always pass your relief one block from the station, and he/she/it will be laughing and waving at you.


20. Universal Precautions- Is it wet? Is it yours? If it is, and it isn't then leave it alone.


21. Death is a stabilization of the patient's condition.


22.Being in Emergency Services means you get to celebrate your holidays with all your friends while on duty.


23. There are two kinds of EMS calls, "Oh shit!" and "Bullshit".


24. The more reflective striping there is on your jumpsuit, the easier it is for the only drunk driver going by the MVA to find you.


25. We are all slaves to the god "Motorola".


26. The stereo must always be louder than the siren.


27. Your patients will get new symptoms after your radio report and pulling up to the ER.


28. Don't get excited about blood unless it's your own.


29. No matter how many times and ways you ask the patient questions, the story will always change once they get into the ER, making you look like an ass.


30. People don't call an ambulance because they didn something right.


31. If they talk, they walk.


32. Working  EMS means knowing how to ask in seven different languages "Where are your shoes?:


***************************************************************************************
Oh yeah, and if you haven't yet, check out FDNY's Line Of Duty Death Memorial Website.....I know a couple of the guys who died.....R.I.P Tommy, Pete and George....your legacy still lives on!


http://www.fdnylodd.com/


Signing Off 19:41

My Way Of Life

It's been almost 10 years that I have been in the Fire Service. 
I was sworn in to the LVFD at 8PM on November 8, 1999.  I was 19 and although I was the daughter of a fireman and grew up there I truly and honestly had no clue what I was getting myself into. 
I wanted to be an EMT, that much I knew.  Other than that I just wanted to be part of something that was bigger than myself and to find something I was good at. 
What the hell did I know at 19?  
I can now tell you that I DIDN'T KNOW ANYTHING about life.  I didn't know how to be comforting until I held a person's hand as we were enroute to the hospital while they were having a heart attack at 3am.  I didn't know how to make a difference until we picked up an elderly man who had been lying on the floor for 2 days and nights after falling and was unable to get up.  I didn't know how to be reassuring until I had to treat an injured child after an auto accident and her mother was crying and I had to tell her that her daughter was going to be ok.  I didn't know how to be humble until September 11, 2001 when I lost several friends, went to a dozen funerals in class A's and realized that no matter how far apart we are, everyone in the fire/EMS community is connected by some greater power.  
I have a father and a great uncle in the fire service, a grandfather who was before he retired, a cousin who was in FDNY EMS and almost lost her life...and me...10 years in, 29 years old, an AMT and a Lieutenant.  
I don't mind getting out of bed at 2am to take someone to the hospital or to see why an alarm is ringing.  I don't mind eating cold food because my pager activated in the middle of dinner.  I love my extended family and the proud feeling I get marching down the street in the middle of town during a parade and having spectators applaud for me and your comrades.  
It's just my way of life.  
The way it's always been and the way I hope it will be in the future.  Nobody really understands that feeling better than the people that you serve with everyday.  
I want my future children to grow up with the love, support, and protection that comes from being a part of that environment.  I want them to be selfless and loving, generous and happy, caring and willing to help...no matter what.  I have seen a lot of bad things happen to people...I have seen a lot of people do stupid things...but I know that I have also made a difference in a few lives and that to me is the ultimate reward.  
It's just my way of life...one that only a special type will understand.  
Be safe my sisters and brothers and remember that this blueprint is only drawn for us because they know we can handle it. 

Signing Off 13:47