Skooter92

60 has a disclaimer related to I-Page use stating that because of delays (not due to them, I might add!) to NOT use I-Page as a primary notification system. It's nice to have, though!

Daytime: 2 ALS flycars, 2 ALS ambulances. Nighttime: 2 ALS flycars, 2 ALS "flybuses". Weekends, I believe are covered by flycars only. PM ImpMedic. He can clear it up.

CDMA is a more robust technology than iDen. It'll support somthing very similar to Direct Connect (already does in some areas/certain providers). It's just that Spint is continuing to market Iden-only phones to cutomers knowing full well the service is getting spotty plus knowing they'll have to acquire new equipment fairly soon to make the move over to CDMA. There are other service providers with multi-band phones (CDMA and GSM, for example), and Nextel has had multiband phones for a while. My objection is that they are rooking some poor bastard into thinking his nice new toy is gonna keep on working, and even though they say "Here come the multi-mode phones!", the Iden half is still going to work like cr@p.

And this is why I went out and got a Blackberry on Verizon's network-because Verizon WORKS. And I know a couple of folks who just bought new, expensive Nextels. Take them BACK.....DirectConnect ain't worth the hassle.

Simply put- Nextel works off an antiquated iDen network that Sprint, after the merger, decided no longer to add onto or fully support in anticipation of migrating Nextel customers over to their CDMA system. Sprint fired Nextel's engineering department and farmed out network/tower repair to contractors with little experience in fixing iDen systems. The only experienced contractor around is ESS out of Elmsford, who maintains ConEd's private iDen network, but at this point it's like pointing a gun at a tsunami to get it to stop. Sprint isn't going to make any meaningful effort to fix the issues, just patch holes until all Nextel subscribers move over to CDMA. Nextel. (is really) Done.

Actually, if 46.26 was used for tones ONLY, and say, 46.14 was used to talk to 60, and maybe 46.42 was used by 60 to talk to units in the field, and other channels were used on the fireground...... Oh, snap. PUTNAM COUNTY is doing something resembling that RIGHT NOW. Frickin' concept, huh? ANd if I hear ONE MORE department tone out some drill or social function while another department is going on an actual alarm......I'll fire one a' them North Korean missiles at their radio room. Really, now.

1) You are allowed to properly restrain a patient, properly being with soft restraints, face up, and without restricting their ability to breathe, for their or your protection. Done it buttloads of times over 19 years in EMS-never been sued. 2) If you have to have a police officer restrain a patient with cuffs or flexcuffs, they MUST ride on the rigs-reason being, if the patient craps out, you will need them to provide the key/cutter for the restraints. 3) I used to carry OC and a baton-and I wasn't trained to use either from ANY legal standpoint. Unless your agency allows you to carry, has training and guidelines in place to cover their use, and will indemnify you if you use them-don't carry them. I NEVER ended up having to use them, they gave a false sense of security, and I could have gone to prison for carrying/using them. In retrospect, NOT a wise choice. 4) This is an excellent website concerning this subject. Go there, read it. DO NOT LISTEN TO THOSE WHO MERELY HAVE AN OPINION. Charly has done her homework. Charly Miller-Restraint

John- Who pi$$ed in your Wheaties......! Seriously, that was a hell of a post. "Lead, follow, or get out of the way" should replace the attitudes common to many fire/EMS (yes, I said EMS) organizations I know. Few take the time to make sure their mission comes first. And I think that is WRONG in every sense.

How about a good long time out for naughty behavior. Jail is just so icky. Seriously, I carry my DOH card only. Shield no, card yes. Never had a problem, never gotten a ticket, always treated courteously by all members of law enforcement. Heard other horror stories of folks with tins getting all kinds of abuse for trying to flash/use them. Just say no.

ny10570- A couple of years ago, a patient in the north end of the county was sent home on, I believe, a left ventricular-assist device while awaiting a heart transplant. The device malfunctioned, and the responding medic, while hand-cranking the device, called for Stat Flight. The patient was then flown directly to NYH in Manhattan. Never say never, my man!

OhMiGawd! Is his cake topper going to be from Code 3? Seth.....married....it's a sign of the apocalypse, my friends. Dogs and cats, living together.......MASS HYSTERIA!!!!!! Well, I just have two more things to say.... 1) You dog!!!! Mazel Tov!!! 2) Congrats, best of luck, and you never call me ever since you met her....bastard.... Love, Pete and Dawn

Whoa.....hold up. You don't have to have a third-party signature, patient signature or notarization to make a DNR valid. Facilities have forms for DNRs for patients who are incompetent to make their own decisions; these require one or more physicians to sign off on the patients incapacity, then a family member, guardian, or other esponsible party to consent to the issuance. No DNR form I have ever seen in NYS has required notarization. Not in 20 years. The only form authorized explicitly by NYS DOH Bureau of EMS for our use, which only requires a physician signature, is here at NYS DOH BEMS Pre-Hospital DNR No other elements are needed for EMS providers to respect the DNR. All else is gravy.

OK folks, scenario time. You respond to a residence on a male down, unknown further. On arrival, you find 1st responders kneeling next to an elderly male, with stunned expressions on their faces. The patient's chest is exposed, shaven, and has a faithful reproduction by tattoo of the NYS Out-of-Hospital DNR form, in date, with physician's signature in permanent marker. He is pulseless, apneic and unresponsive. WHAT DO YOU DO? Figure this one out. Do you skin him to get a copy of the DNR for yer PCR?

1) Lady, stay away from my town, and God help you if you show up at a serviceman's funeral in this area. I don't pretend to respect every viewpoint, especially when it is filled with venom and hate. I also make the conscious choice to air how I feel without due regard to PC. 2) To cloak hateful words in the blanket of freedom of speech is the ultimate cowardice. It may be your right.....but I think I should have the right to be free of listening to it. Let's put a soapbox somewhere in Death Valley for this twit....you wanted a forum, you got it. Oh, and bring a bottle of Poland Spring...gets a little dry out there. 3) Our friends and colleagues have died to preserve her right to rant....now, let's show up at her church, at her observances, at her home, and counter-protest. "God loves me because I think you're a nitwit"; "Satan loves you because you hate", etc. OK, just me in the corner here, hating.

And I quote...... 397. EQUIPPING MOTOR VEHICLES WITH RADIO RECEIVING SETS CAPABLE OF RECEIVING SIGNALS ON THE FREQUENCIES ALLOCATED FOR POLICE USE. A person, not a police officer or peace officer, acting pursuant to his special duties, who equips a motor vehicle with a radio receiving set capable of receiving signals on the frequencies allocated for police use or knowingly uses a motor vehicle so equipped or who in any way knowingly interferes with the transmission of radio messages by the police without having first secured a permit to do so from the person authorized to issue such a permit by the local governing body or board of the city, town or village in which such person resides, or where such person resides outside of a city, or village in a county having a county police department by the board of supervisors of such county, is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars, or imprisonment not exceeding six months, or both. Nothing in this section contained shall be construed to apply to any person who holds a valid amateur radio operator's license issued by the federal communications commission and who operates a duly licensed portable mobile transmitter and in connection therewith a receiver or receiving set on frequencies exclusively allocated by the federal communications commission to duly licensed radio amateurs.

In the old days, there were companies that would sell you a turnkey system for AM/FM broadcasting of the movie audio track, complete with someone applying for and getting a FCC low-power license on your behalf. I have pictures somewhere of a system that was installed in a drivethrough in Iowa back in the last century....

Does this mean I can strafe somebody who calls me an ambulance driver?

45 Medic 5 responding....20 second ETA. Though the patient would need a heck of a driveway. Or just use it on 684.

Not a bad idea-especially with transport fleets.........anyone else think yes/no?

I wanted a Wrangler for years, but couldn't justify buying a 2 door. I went to the page for the '07 4-door....... SSSSCCCCHHHHHHHWWWWWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEETTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!! I am going to my Jeep dealer and placing my order TOMORROW. New toy. Yaaaaaaay!!!!

I'm sure Sean hit the afterburners on that one........ "7K12 to TMC, going ballistic....."

Nice article, and nice hint. Ouch.

Drunk drivers. Motorcyclists who don't wear helmets. People who don't follow regimens. Folks who clean loaded guns. Those who climb onto pitched roofs without a clue about safety. These are a few of my favorite things. Any more?

1) Insurances pay NOTHING extra to outfit services to handle or transport bariatric patients, as far as I know. If you have evidence that shows otherwise, like some coding modifier, please post it. 2) FD's do and will go the extra mile (or 5 miles to NWHC). Katonah FD went to the ER with my 650lb PIAA patient after they cut him out of the car and helped to get him safely and comfortably settled on the stretcher. During all of this, they were encouraging and supportive towards the patient: not one grumble or unkind word was said. MAJOR KUDOS to Katonah. They came to the ED and waited patiently for as long as it took for the ER to safely get the patient into bed. Again, above and beyond. And not a surly look or word. Please don't ever generalize and slander FDs like that. Those KFD guys are MY frickin' heroes.

642- How about a new pair of ears, smurf?