As part of my emergency residency training, I am currently on a month of learning about paramedics, fire rescue, and the policies and endless meetings may someday help me to be in charge of Emergency Medical Services. I’ve done “sit-alongs” with 911 dispatch and also with the radio rooms at the base hospital. It’s a very complicated system that I’d been so ignorant of before!
Let me just say that I was impressed with how all the systems come together and are so efficient in providing emergency care to the streets. Much as we ER docs think we’re on the “front lines” of medicine… those first responders really have that title!
The best part, by FAR, has been my medic ride-along and my engine ride-along. The first 12 hour shift was on an ambulance, where my job was really to sit back and observe, help when I could. Call after call we met the engine already on scene, went into peoples homes, and took care of the patient with whatever was available in what we could carry. After that we’d transport to whichever ER was closest, or whichever they typically go to. I got a tour of San Diego’s ER’s, which was very cool!
The second 12 hour shift I had was with the fireman, which wasn’t nearly as busy. They respond to “medic aid” calls also, not only fires. It was nice that random people on the streets wave Hello at the engine, once even yelling out “hey, you got a girl fireman in there!!” 
The most exciting call on that day was a highway pile-up but thankfully no one was seriously injured. I did get to help out with using my spanish, something I wish I could get more practice with!
That afternoon there was a vegetation fire that we were called on. As soon as the alert went off in the station, we loaded up in the HUGE engine (that cab can fit my bedroom in it!), lit up the lights and sirens, and went out to investigate. Turns out it was just a small brushfire- it was mostly burned out by the time we got there. However, we still unloaded the hoses to take care of anything still active. After the two firemen finished spraying, they took out some shovels to look deeper in the soil. At this point, one of them said “Hey, how about we get the Doc on the nozzle?” and handed me the hose. AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!! I took care of the smoking patches around the perimeter… so no I can actually wear my “Junior Firefighter” sticker!!!
