Summer Transition

After an extended absence, during which I passed by practical (again), finished off the current semester at school, worked graduation, moved back home, and started my glamorous summer job working at a chemical plant.

With the transition from collegiate volunteer ambulance corps to town volunteer fire dept complete, I eagerly wait some interesting calls. My town is home to about 30,000 people, covering about 25 square miles, spanning three independent fire districts. Zoning is mostly residential, some commercial and just about no industrial. It's a mainly commuter town while much of the population traveling for work and play. We're located in the Capital Region of Upstate New York. The fire department is dispatched by the police department. PD sets off one-way radio pagers and whoever wants, responds to the station to pick up a truck (EMS, fire, or Rescue) and heads to the call. Volunteers are issued blue lights ("courtesy lights") and only lieutenants, captains, and chiefs are allowed to head directly to the scene. Only chiefs have red lights.

It's a pretty decent system, but no guarantee of a response, hence automatic mutual aid. However, I think it's been years since AMA had to be implemented for our district. Overall, I think we have some of the most dedicated volunteers I've ever worked with, who get up at all hours of the night to help strangers.

It's this reason why I love EMS so much, and it's not just my town. I plan on going to Medic school after I graduate college, but I never plan on working the system as a full-time job. True, I enjoy the medical applications and such of the job, but I enjoy the job more because of the great people I get to work with. They tend to be the most honest and selfless people in all of society.


Next time: EMS in a Chemical Plant