Today I had the chance to ride along with SLCFD Station 2. The calls I got to go on consisted of a false alarm on a high rise fire, a chest pain, another drunk that got sent to detox, a woman that was presenting with a brain attack (stroke), a lift assist, and another woman who was complaining of chest pain and bronchitis.
I had the opportunity to experience a lot of new things today. On the first chest pain call, we were dispatched to the road home. I had looked at the outside many times but I would have never been able to picture just how sad and dirty the inside was. I was a little shocked. The people hanging out there welcomed us and thanked us for our service to them which was nice. I would never want to have to live in their shoes.
While the engine responded to the high rise fire, I got to sit in the rig and listed to the communication and break down of the event over the radio. It was really interesting to see how they delegated who would be the inspection crew, who would be in charge of finding the water source, and who would be responding as backup. It makes me appreciate the hard work and time these guys put in to make sure that they can be there when they're needed and be able to deescalate the problem as soon as possible. Even though it was a false alarm there was a lot to be learned from it and the firefighters take any opportunity to continue their training and to become more familiar with the buildings within their district so that when there is a real fire, they know the best way in and out of the building and the possible risks they would have to consider to maintain their team's safety.
While treating the woman who was presenting as a possible stroke, I learned that sometimes you can't rely on only talking to communicate, not only was her speech slurred, but she couldn't understand us because she only speaks Russian. Having her family translate presented some problems too. They couldn't tell us where she was hurting or how she was feeling, they could fill in bits and pieces of the events leading up to the attack, and some of her current medications but not much else. Simple questions like can you blink for us or raise your arms and hold them turned into a game of charades almost. We loaded her in the ambulance and I got to ride to the hospital with the medics in the back of the ambulance to continue observing their patient care. We transferred the care to the hospital staff and I got to sit and watch while the Neurologist took over and started tests of her own. On the other side of the curtain, a full arrest was going on. I never got a chance to see the patient but I heard them call it and watched as they cleaned up the room. That made me realize that I have no room to complain when I'm having a rough day. At least I'm breathing alive and well.
As usual, I had a blast and thought the men I rode along with today were great. They gave me pieces of advice that I will never forget and more importantly, I learned more from them by the example they set and their high standards for each other and themselves. I hope if I ever have the chance to work along side them as a coworker, I'll be able to pull my own weight and make them proud.
Until Tomorrow!
Katie
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