Friends this is pretty serious. Being someone who has been driving ambulance and responding to 911 emergencies for the past 5 years or better... I have had several occasions where the time I lost did translate to a greater and more negative outcome than positive. All because of everyone out there who didnt yield to the lights and sirens. Quick educational tip for everyone: Lights and Sirens are not fun (when you first start out you gain tunnel vision: Why? Because you are now trying to get to a person who is actively dying and will be dead in 3-5 minutes because their heart stopped, have just collided 100mph into a telephone pole inside a now burning car, on their way to a barn fire filled with hay, where in under a minute that little 20 foot flame can completely spread to the entire structure. What about that 911 call from an active rape victim or school shooting where the perpetrator is still at large and youre sitting there on Twitter purposely not giving a shit for the responding officer/ trooper behind you now who is honking his horn and switching sirens to say hey IM HERE, can you please get out of the wayyy!!!)......the information that dispatch receives when someone dials 9-1-1, is then relayed to the responding Police, Fire, and EMS agencies. This information is the deciding factor of whether we need to be going lights and sirens or not. Lights and sirens is the matter of life and death/ difference between minor to major catastrophe... whether enroute to a scene, or on the way to the hospital where a qualified NYS DOH EMT (Basic to Paramedic) makes the judgement call to go lights and sirens or not based; on the patients condition. Whatever the circumstances are, always be aware of your surroundings, always be aware of the road and for heavens sake...if you hear sirens or see flashing lights... or think you do, turn down your music, stop talking and carrying on any conversation and be on alert of where that emergency response vehicle is going, where it may be turning, and know that they are... NOW IN CHARGE OF EVERYONE ON THE ROAD. Not JUST themselves. We operate under Due Regard for our own safety and everyone else...patient, pedestrians, other motor vehicles, and the like. So, make the life of an emergency response vehicle easier and help save a life by moving over. What if it were you on the other end of that 911 call? What could possibly be taking so long for the emt to get here...I am..having...trouble...brea...thing... Thanks Bree Dessaint for posting this. Just another reminder to why I enjoy being a public service volunteer and going to school for it. Because everyday there is always a real emergency. Good day!
Posted on: Mon, 08 Sep 2014 20:58:53 +0000
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