Things they don’t teach in school . . . Her parents heard choking from behind the closed door. They tried to open it but something held it closed. The stepfather put his weight into it but it barely budged. Some commotion behind the door, then deadly quiet. He kicked the door in. His stepdaughter, two […]

I thought my high blood pressure was hereditary. I used to take a reading whenever I had a chance, and for twenty-three years in was in the 140/90 range – high enough to make me worry but not high enough to REALLY worry about. Now that I’ve had some time away from the tones I’ve […]

For EMS to become the third arm of public safety, right alongside law enforcement and fire departments, some separation must occur. We simply cannot all be considered first responders while existing with profit as our business model. For example, private security companies exist for profit, fire inspectors are employed by insurance companies and fire extinguisher […]

  We’re driving down Angel Street at three o’clock in the afternoon. It’s a perfect late summer day, nice iced coffee in the cup holder, pretty girls in summer dresses everywhere and no runs coming our way. It has been a grueling tour so far. Sometimes I wonder how I keep it all together and […]

Sometimes, think it was all for nothing. Then I give it some thought. What we do matters. Nothing much tops that. At the end of your career, when the ink has not only dried, but has begun to fade from the pages of history, it all becomes clear. You DID matter. You were one of […]

Engine Co. EMS By Michael Morse “Rescue 1 with Engine 13, respond to Broad and Connor Street, at the nightclub for a reported shooting…” We were out the door in 30 seconds, on scene in two minutes. A hostile crowd waited, kind of contained by a few police officers. More were on the way, but […]

News reporters and their camera crew cover the same incidents we respond to, get in their vehicle and move on to the next one, never having a chance to process what they witness. Talking helps, but my guess is there will be other stories to cover before the horrific event of the day fades into […]

Another great job by The men and women of the Providence Fire Department. People ask what I did for a living. I tell them I’m a retired firefighter. A retired PROVIDENCE firefighter!   “Greatest department in the country. Especially when you consider the good night lights tradition. I believe they participate in this. After all […]

Lieutenant Quetta took the axe from my hands and simply said, “like this.” He put the flat part of the head between the door and the jamb, exerted some pressure and pulled the hinges away. He gave the axe back. “Now you.” I did exactly what he did on the lower hinge, the door fell […]