The Happy Medic and Motorcop are back with a look into the Washington DC idea of preventing crime using unarmed firefighters, then some tips on how to answer the dreaded oral boards question “Why do you want this job” and we finish with an exciting announcement about cancer and the month of September.
Michael Morse is hiring for The EMS.
I don’t swear often, but when I do, I say:
“Michael, Hells yeah I’m in!”
Rip Shear RS-1
A few weeks back I received a care package from the folks at Rip Shears. Inside was quite the interesting little device, a removable dual blade cutter that can be attached to any standard 7 1/4″ trauma shear. From there you simply start a cut with the shears, then flip and rip. Take a look at this short YouTUBE video from Rip Shears:
This at first had me nervous. Do I really need an open blade on my shears? I wear a pair of shears on my duty and turnout belts and adding something so seemingly dangerous had me concerned I’d be replacing belt loops and turnout straps.
This was not the case at all. I’ll get to the 2 issues I have with the product after I tell you why I’ll always be carrying one with me in the field from now on.
The Rip Shear seems like a simple device and it really is. The fact that it is small and detachable means I can move it from shears to shears as needed instead of some giant device. It also fits nearly perfectly into my existing leather pouch, since the shears fit as well. I don’t wear BDU pants but did have a chance to test the shears snapped into a pair of Perfection pants supplied by Chronicles of EMS uniform supplier ALLMED.
AllMED Perfection EMT Pant
As you can see the gear does not hamper the ability to wear it, but the pocket just barely covers the blade, enough to likely get caught once or twice.
Drawback #1: The blades in the upward position.
When showing this tool around the ambulance yard one morning, one of the EMTs loved it. He removed his regular shears from a lateral behind the back pouch and inserted the military green shears. To show how easily they would deploy he pulled them out, not noticing his shirt got caught, and cut a clean rip in his shirt. From this experience we chose to reverse the blade direction using only a screwdriver and voila, problem solved.
(l) as shipped (r)inverted
I now carry my own rip shear with the blades oriented down, took 45 seconds to switch. There are no special tools required to remove and replace the Rip Shears, simply use a phillips screwdriver to remove the three screws, remove the blade unit and the guide unit, done. The setup of the screws and hardware allows for the inverting of the blade and for attaching it to almost anything.
This far outweighs a single use tool that does not already incorporate itself into gear you already have. Space in the bags and in my pouch is at a premium these days, so this little guy is more than welcome.
Another early concern was that the open blade would catch a finger. I have to admit I was scared to handle these at first, but as shown in the photo, even little 5 year old fingers are safe from wandering into the blade area on the Rip Shears. Fear not my thin fingered friends, you’re safe.
A 5 y/o's pinky finger does not fit
It took about 3-4 shifts to get used to having the slight extra height on my pouch and I now remove it to sit on furniture at work, mainly to discourage dirty looks when folks realize what’s on there.
The Rip Shear is available in black and a really neat glow-in-the-dark material that has been handy to have on a dark road on a night MVC. Since EMTs can be excitable and use shears only to throw them away, I can easily track down my set and replace the Rip Shear onto another standard shear back at the station.
Drawback #2: The shears provided have a lip on the end too extreme to fit many pouches. Again, easy fix here, just remove it and place it on a pair that does fit. You can order your Rip Shear already attached to a set of shears, the website advises the manufacturer may change, so this may have simply been THAT particular supplier. Yours may be different.
A perfect fit
The versatility of this product more than makes up for the out of the box issues we noticed. When using the shears they worked exactly as advertised going through a few pairs of jeans in their time on my shears as well as the leather jacket of a very disagreeable clavicle fracture. They cut like they look like they should. No problems there.
I had hoped to grab an old pair of turnouts and use them to show how well they cut, but recent events here made it seem in poor taste. Perhaps someone out there has an old set they would be willing to donate to Rip Shears?
Made in the USA and designed with Paramedic and EMT input I can’t think of a better addition to your kit for around $15.
Visit their website for more details and links to where to buy your own Rip Shears.
By way of new bloggers Magnum Boots and their BLDG4801 comes this find of the Chico PD PSA.
Atta Boy Chico! A Tip of the Helmet to ya!
Someone has been paying attention in class.
If your Bay Area Fire, Police or EMS agency wants to make a PSA, click over HERE, I know a guy.
The folks over at Magnum Boots have seen the power of social media and aside from maintaining twitter and facebook accounts that actually respond to followers, they’re going one step further and starting a blog.
BLDG4801 plans to feature:
As part of the blog launch they’re giving away $1,000 worth of Magnum gear to a lucky subscriber. Check the site for details on how you can enter to win, and tell them FRNtv sent you!
We here at HMHQ wish them luck and hope to work with Magnum in the fall on a very special project.
screen capture of Season 3 Columbo
In 1968 a not yet crumpled rain coat wandered into a swanky flat where a murder had occurred carrying inside it a quiet young man who simply looked around. The TV Movie “Prescription:Murder” was the debut of the world’s greatest homicide Detective Lt Columbo, played by Peter Falk.
Mr Falk died peacefully this morning in his home at the age of 83.
Lt Columbo always seemed to know more about the crime than he let on, the classic example of only asking questions you already know the answer to. Rarely did he need all the fancy bells and whistles afforded to modern day Detectives, instead focusing on human nature and the fact that every criminal leaves clues, you just have to find them. Each episode and every guest star was no match for the half chewed cigar and the signature rain coat with what inside seemed like a regular Joe Nobody. Many a criminal dismissed him as incompetent but all knew that within 45 minutes we’d be hearing a full confession soon after Mr Falk delivered his signature Columbo line: “just one more thing…”
You will be missed Mr Falk. I plan on watching “Prescription:Murder” again as soon as possible.
Thanks to the folks in the recent Santa Clara County Grand Jury, we now have positive proof that fire based EMS delivery using fire trucks is inefficient.
Phew.
I was worried we would never discover the problems draining tax payer dollars. Did they know we’ve known this for nearly 20 years? All they had to do was call me, or just google it even. Instead tax dollars were used to show tax dollars are being used inefficiently.
I guess all the murders, robberies and other court cases are all finished there in Santa Clara. Good thing they don’t have a baseball doping case to worry about.
What the grand jury failed to do, perhaps it is not in their interests, is look beyond the “retirement costs” and perhaps look at the system and how to deliver what our pal Chris Kaiser dubbed EMS based EMS. Looks like Santa Clara needs to stop and rethink things, then start from scratch. Someone suggested that once…but I digress.
This grand jury report will be cited by every union basher come election time in an effort to privatize public safety accounts and likely not lead to any changes in the delivery of first response EMS in Santa Clara County.
The report fails to mention that the local private provider does not have enough resources to completely cover the district for first response ALS.
So now what?
Oh, I covered this topic 2 years ago. What, you missed it?
Top 10 New Responders without the Fire Department
and then
Top 10 New Responsibilities of the Fire Department
Poking fun at a serious topic for sure, but until we get away from a fee for transport model, this thing will never work guys. Fire based, mailman based, if we base our service on what we can get paid instead of how best to serve the community, the system will never work properly.
South of San Francisco, as the funeral procession for Vince Perez and Tony Valerio weaved along, countless thousands of people took time out of their day to say goodbye.
I recently posted a video of the procession, but a video making the rounds on facebook stopped me dead in my tracks and made me cry like a…well…six year old.
It is another video of the funeral procession, but has a very important story to tell all it’s own.
I’m sure this young man’s parents had no idea they would be inspiring those who had lost a lot of momentum in life, just shooting some video to remember how their son reacted to a firefighter’s funeral. How did he react?
Well, he got his coat and helmet and stood at attention and saluted the engines as they passed by.
My brother from another mother, MotorCop, messaged me soon after sharing it and told me we needed to reach out to whoever posted the video and let them know what an impact it was having. So we did. And we heard back today:
Hello MC & Justin,
Thank you so much for your comments on my Youtube video of the SFFD funeral procession with the little boy & for reaching out to us. That is such a thoughtful and generous thing you would like to do but I have to tell you, his father (my husband) is a firefighter who was on a post that day and I am a police officer and the little boy is our son. We felt it would be a learning experience for him to be a part of the funeral and to understand what those men sacrificed for people they didn’t even know. We wanted him to pay his respects, to experience the brotherhood, love and support for those real life heroes and their families. He is six years old and aspires to be a firefighter, then he wants to be on “mom’s team†and aspires to be a police officer then a medic on the ambulance so he can save and help people. Of course, we would be thrilled and honored with either.
We were equally moved by the overwhelming number of firefighters who saluted and waved at our son as well as the family members of the fallen firefighters who opened their windows to smile and take a photo. To know for that moment they were able to divert their thoughts away from their grief and feel the love, support and admiration we all have for their loved ones, is why we were there. To honor and support the fallen firefighters, their families and extended families of first responders.
We thank you all for your dedicated service and for reaching out to us. Words cannot express our sympathies and sadness for the San Francisco Fire Department and the families of the fallen firefighters. Thank you ALL!!!!!
No. No, thank you. I was having a hell of a time coming to terms with what has happened recently. Suddenly my thoughts would shift to how Vince and Tony died and I’d be frozen, unable to speak, unable to feel, unable to express myself.
The video of the procession gave me some closure, but then I saw this.
And I felt better.
I saw the honor you have taught your son, and at a young age to understand it and stay waving that flag, salute never wavering…
I saw myself to be honest, and I’d imagine MC did too. Both our fathers were firemen and I’m sure he felt the same connection to this young man that I did.
They say some children have a wisdom beyond their years and it is seldom by accident or by chance. No, this child is an inspiration because he is more respectful than half the adults I know and that is a direct reflection on the quality parenting he is receiving.
I, like MC, wish more people took the time to share with their children the importance of family, honor and tradition.
I was ready to make this young man an honorary San Francisco FireFighter, but there is no need. Not only because of his family being already in the business, but because he already is. I’m sure that was handled by Vince and Tony on Friday.
Watch this video recorded by Brandon Vaccaro Photography. Reposted with permission
San Francisco Firefighters Funeral Procession 6-10-2011 from BVP & 911Photographer.com on Vimeo.
Thank you…
To Brandon Vaccaro for recording this and posting it.
To the engines who came to the service. Of note, the first non-SFFD Engine, Orange County Fire Authority E26, the Angry Captain’s old digs.
To the folks who came to the service.
To the companies that came not to view the service, but grabbed their coats and helmets and worked with those of us unable to attend.
To the PD units who closed the roads and made sure there were no obstacles
To the people on the side of the road in San Francisco who not only took time out of their day to say goodbye to Vince and Tony, but threw flowers and never. stopped. clapping.
Happy Medic and Motorcop dive into the controversy surrounding the Alameda man who drowned while rescuers untrained in water rescue stood on dry land. Then, as usual, they find a tangent and discuss the costs, effort and resources involved in arresting and jailing someone compared to transport and hospitalization and why many times neither fits.
your Fire Department wishes you knew
Don't worry Johnny, one day we'll be recognized as a profession rather than a trade, just you wait.
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