Thursday, August 04, 2011

Coffee Shop Moment

A bit of excitement in the coffee shop this morning: guy collapsed with what appeared to be an epileptic fit.  Clerk was on the phone in a heartbeat, presumably to call 911.  Response time: 4-5 minutes, at which point the victim had the services of both a paramedic paddywagon and a hook-and-ladder firetruck.
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I know next to nothing about emergency operations--and honest, I am not complaining--but I guess I don't get the point of sending the fire laddies for this kind of emergency.  I suppose it is comforting to know that, in these troubled times, we still have a firetruck and a paramedic paddywagon.

Afterthought:  This is a college town.  Maybe the victim had just seen this.

3 comments:

ge315 said...

but I guess I don't get the point of sending the fire laddies for this kind of emergency.

Long ago, I concluded that it was a way to keep their stats up, what with there being fewer and fewer fires.

mike shupp said...

Point 1: The hook and ladder is highly VISIBLE, making it safer for the paramedics to speed thru red lights and persuade traffic to move aside.

Point 2: If its necessary to give CPR you want as many sturdy men as possible. It's strenuous; people tire of it within a few minutes, so a truckful of firemen is actually useful.

So I gather from a first aid class, anyhow.

Ebenezer Scrooge said...

I remember reading something on this in the WSJ a few years ago. Firemen, unlike cops, are universally popular with voters. Not only do they snatch people out of burning buildings, they also provide ancillary services like rescuing cats out of trees and ambulanceing.

It makes sense, if you think about it. Firefighters are much like central bankers--they don't do much most of the time, but are very busy when things get strange. You might as well make the most of their copious down time.