The rest of the world might have gone nuts, but that is no reason for us to join them. Society is embracing the idea of questioning the police, as if the police were created to harass them. Showing disrespect to a uniformed police officer is a badge of honor these days; street cred gained through […]

“We are the professionals on an emergency scene; it is we whom people depend on. We are not struggling to find the right words while filled with worry; we are simply doing our job to the best of our abilities. Communicating with our patients is the first step toward properly treating them. It is not […]

I don’t know if people like me–people who are trained to respond and are confident in their ability to do so–see mass casualties differently than most. When I see images from the latest disaster, terrorist attack, or mass shooting flash across my screen, my eyes are drawn to the rescuers, not the victims. I focus […]

“It’s going to be a scorcher!” say the off-duty platoon members as their reliefs file in one by one on a July morning in Providence. They are off to the beach or to their air-conditioned homes, grateful that fate was kind and the schedule demons favored them–this time. “Attention Engine 2, Engine 12, Engine 7, […]

By Michael Morse I learned a thing or two while I was running 911 calls. One of the most important things I learned was to always have a plan. More important than having a plan was having a Plan B. But it is of utmost importance to have a Master Plan: THE MASTER PLAN: ALWAYS […]

She is 23 and waiting on the sidewalk; beautiful girl, long dark hair down to her waist, pretty eyes and a giant smile. We look at each other, trying to figure out if we know one another, and if so, how. “She’s in here,” she says after a moment, and leads us inside. The house […]

  We are called to a house on Elmwood Avenue, a boarding house, not known for the upscale clientele. We trudge up the stairs to one of the rooms, heavily fortified and completely unsanitary to find a 59-year-old male hunched over in an easy chair. His body is obviously wracked with pain. “What’s the matter?” […]

By Michael Morse A part-time job after retirement seemed like a great idea, so I started thinking: Who would benefit most from the vast skill and experience I had to offer?   The Hospital? I was an EMT, after all, and rather adept at handling intoxicated people. Blood doesn’t bother me much, and CPR is […]

“. . . The good news? These patients, more often than not, will survive our interventions–or lack thereof. The bad news? One of these days, and we never know which one, they will die. Their demise may just happen during one of your calls to assist them. It might happen shortly after you obtained a […]

20 CLUES THAT YOUR DAD IS A FIREFIGHTER You’re a firefighter and let’s face it, you’re a little different from the rest. As the years go by, and the experiences pile up, parts of “the job” begin to define who you are. It doesn’t happen all at once, and most of the time you can’t […]