Ice Rescue Drill, Roger Williams Park

Drew and Seth from Engine 11 cut a hole in the ice. One went into the freezing water, the other one rescued him. They switched places and did it again. Division 1, Battallion 2, Special Hazards, Ladder 5, Engine 13, Engine 10 and Rescue 1 took part in the drill orginized by Lt. Grantham of Engine 11. His guys did a great job.

As the night wore on his lungs filled with fluid. Finally, his wife called 911. When we arrived he was struggling for air, diaphoretic and nearly unconscious. His vitals showed his Pulsox at 83%, B/P 220/148, respiration’s around 40 with a heartrate of 140. At a fit seventy five years old Daniel looked like he could have been most of the guys grandfather, or in some of our cases, father. With help from Engine 12 we carried him to the rescue. Renato started an IV, Issac set up the 02 with an Albuterol treatment, I slipped a nitro tab under his tongue. I could see fear in Daniels eyes as he labored for every breath. He had a history of Congestive Heart Failure. His wife gave me his medication list on the way out the door. I saw aspirin and Lasix on the list. I filled a syringe with double his daily dose of Lasix and pushed it through the IV line. For me, one of the most gratifying moments of the job is seeing the effects of our work evident on the face of the people we help. Within minutes the Albuterol started to help clear his lungs, blood flow was increased by the nitro, the Lasix helped pass fluid from his lungs and the Oxygen helped considerably. I reassessed his vital signs; Pulsox, 96%, B/P 168/110, respiration’s 24 with a pulse of 110. Not bad. The best vital sign was the look of relief that showed on his rugged face. We transported him to Our lady of Fatima hospital. He was able to say thank you and shake our hands as we left. I thought to myself as we rode back to the station as the sun was rising how fortunate I am to have the best job in the world.

The Rescue Gods are toying with me. A twenty-one year old called with contractions two minutes apart. We were three minutes away from the hospital. Water broke, patient screamed, I broke out the catchers mitt. We arrived at Women and Infants at 0008 hrs. A baby boy was born at 0009 hrs. This one never made it upstairs. She barely made it off my stretcher. My record is still intact, barely. I have tempted fate, it’s only a matter of time now. I may have to make a sacrifice to appease the gods. Maybe I’ll let the next one push and get it over with.