They were sent to us because we're seen as a less than desirable assignment and they were the junior folks. "Other duties as assigned by the Chief of Department"
I used to argue about their excitement to leave us but recently thought back to my days on the Engine and have to agree with them...
The Engine is the place to be.
The medics I have now rotate between an Engine and what can best be described as an ALS light rescue, mainly running medicals and vehicle collisions with the occasional mass casualty or haz-mat, but mainly routine medical calls. They're tired of "wiping noses" (a complaint I have registered in this forum for a decade) or waking up at stupid o'clock to chase an unconscious person from place to place (seriously, if they're unconscious, how can they run away from us?!)
But in recent months I have thought back to my engine days and I can not only sympathize, but part of me wants to go with them. There is a certain romance to the Engine Company that is hard to explain to the civilian population. Perhaps the Truck has this same draw, but I only spent 19 days on a Truck...so I'll stick to what I know.
The Engine was the 4 of us.
Each with our jobs for the day, no question as to what to do when or how to do it.
We had a boss, a driver, a Nozzleman and a Medic.
On fires I had the layout.
On building alarms I had the pump can.
On medicals I had the patient.
That was it. We cooked, we cleaned, we laughed, we cried.
No meetings, no teaching, no administrative BS, just the 4 of us kicking ass and taking names.
And that's where my medics are headed, to begin their time as engine medics, after spending a year working for me chasing fallen bags, CPR patients who are awake on arrival and the occasional near disaster.
I'll miss these fresh faces, hungry for fire, and welcome them a decade from now when their eyes have seen what their hearts now can not imagine.
"Been there, done that" doesn't mean much coming from the Rescue Captain at the Airport until I begin to tell them about the fires I've been in, the rescues I've been a part of and why the challenges I face now are a welcome change from that glorious, beautiful Engine I miss so much.
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