“Rescue 1, Respond to 1835 Broad Street for an intoxicated male at the payphone.” Duty calls. Duty waits. I refastened my belt loosely and hit the pole. “Rescue 1, responding.” We rolled out of the station and into the city. Some folks would have taken care of business first; others may have gone out of […]
Overheard in the back of Rescue 1, during a clean-up. "Piss isn't too bad." "Puke is the worst." "Nah, shit's worse than puke, any day." "Blood is easy, it doesn't stink." "That's why piss isn't bad, easy clean-up." "Old piss is pretty bad." "New shit is worse than old shit." "It's still runny." "Speaking of […]
He’s screaming, she’s screaming, everybody is screaming, blood here, blood there, blood everywhere, nobody put the dogs out, they’re screaming too, the cops are screaming, Christ – even the houseplants are screaming. Just because everybody is acting like monkeys doesn’t mean I have to jump into the barrel, and screaming “calm down” is akin to […]
Congratulations to Warwick, RI Firefighter John Halloran for being voted the nations sexiest vegan-next-door. According to the news story, John cooks vegan meals at the firehouse for his fellow firefighters. Having been a firehouse cook for decades, and having experienced the "constructive critisism" when the meal was anything but "hot and alot," from my own […]
"Rescue 1 and Engine 10, respond to 1035 Broad Street for a man down." "Why are they sending an Engine company?" asked my partner, a new guy who knew everything. "It's just another drunk." "You'll figure it out." I heard the slight urgency in the dispatcher's tone and knew that she sensed something in the […]
What was your best team save? Here's how to enter: 1. Submit a short story (300-500 words) about the moment your team pulled together to save a life or solve a problem. 2. Check back during EMS Week (May 19th through 25th) to see if your entry was selected by EMS1 editors as a finalist. 3. Vote for your […]