SUV VS. School Bus

So the first call of the night was for an auto accident. Most of these just turn out to be, fender benders where there isnt really a whole lot for the FD to do except maybe sweep up some glass and check for leaking fluids. Anyway, the tones dropped calling Engine Company 1 ( Me) and Ambulance 13. If there are reports of people trapped, it would have brought additional units including a medic, and rescue squad. We were about 30 seconds into our response when we got the supplemental of " School Bus VS. SUV. I thought to myself " This cant be good". They also stated the school bus was empty. So that was good news.

We arrived on scene just behind Command 1 . I stepped out and saw quite a bit of debris in the roadway.You could also see where the wheels of the school bus drove right over the hood of the jeep. The school bus was pretty far down the road indicating it took some time for it to stop after the collision. It was obvious, that the SUV ran the stop sign and broadsided the school bus. I walked over to the SUV and immediately saw two patients in the front. They were both bleeding from numerous head lacerations and other injuries. I got in the back behind the passenger and started holding C-Spine ( that basically means holding the head straight until we can get a collar on to prevent any further spinal injuries). She was holding the drivers hand and kept asking if he was OK. I told her he was talking to us. The driver was in much worse shape than the passenger. The airbags in this Jeep Cherokee did not deploy for some reason adding to the severity of the injuries.

To make matters worse, the driver was trapped ( meaning the doors on the drivers side were jammed from the collision) so we would have to extricate the patient using our rescue tools. And of course, it was low overcast, so the helicopter we use to fly severe trauma patients to the hospital could not fly due to safety issues. We removed the passenger and she was on her way to the hospital. The Rescue Engines crew was going to work to get the driver out. I helped stabilize the vehicle so it wouldnt move around while they were cutting the doors off. They succesfully extricated the driver who was transported by ground to the hospital. I hope they both turn out OK after this wreck.

B

Back in VA

Its been awhile since my last entry. Since my last entry, my dad also got sick in Arizona. So I flew out there for a week to help out at the ranch. Which is literally in the middle of nowhere as you can see from the picture above. Dad is doing much better now. Im back in VA. And of course.. now Im sick. I have a freakin cold. Nothing to bad though. I do have duty tonight so hopefully we wont get anything to exciting since Im feeling pretty drained. Im sure I just jinxed myself by saying that.

In other news:

Most of you know Im somewhat of a gadget geek. Between all my GPS's, Robotic Vacum Cleaners, Cell Phones etc. Well, I finally got a camera phone. I got the nextel i860 cam phone which so far I am pretty happy with. I wish it was more than 1 megapixel but it will do for now. So I have posted the first in what is sure to be a long line of random pictures I will take with the camera.

Somewhat exciting weekend at work. Of course there was the release of Star Wars. Which I personally couldnt care less about, but everyone else at work does. So I had to hear about it NON STOP all weekend. Nerds.. lol. Friday the Fire Alarm went off in the Operations Center where I work. So we all had to vacate the NOC for a few minutes while it was investigated. It was a false alarm of course. Then on Saturday, they were doing some work on the pipes in the building so we got to use "Porta Johns" for the first half of the day. So that was fun. Well, not really. It was cold out. Then on Sunday, I was assigned to work the two "Quietest" stations and they were busy all day. Its usually pretty laid back on Sundays at work, but not this time.

I did manage to squeeze in a few mystery shops this week. These ones were unique because I got to reward the employees who did certain things. So that was kind of cool to make someones day like that. I hope I can find some more like that.

Well, thats about it. I need to go catch up on all of your journal entries. Later



B

Prayers and Good Thoughts Needed

So, my sisters Monica's new baby Isabella Mia is about a month old now and was just diagnosed with a relatively rare condition (1 in 4200) called Craniosynostosis. In a nutshell, the natural sutures in her skull that allow for growth and movement are fused together instead of being seperated. The only way to alleviate the problem is with surgery. We will know more on the 15th when she goes back to the doctor. But in the meantime, any prayers you can throw Isabella's way would be great.

Brian

Explosions, Fire! Well.. Not really

Back at work today. Was on duty last night and we ran 3 calls. First call of the night was about 20 minutes into my shift for an auto accident. We arrived onscene to find a 3 car accident with a pretty good amount of damage to one of the minivans that was involved. Lots of glass and car parts. But luckily nobody was seriously injured. So we swept up the glass, directed some traffic and headed back to the station.

Second call of the night promised to be an exciting one. We got toned out for a structure fire. We were already on the road so we were getting suited up enroute to the call. The supplemental report was that the caller reported hearing several explosions and that the house was fully involved. Were about halfway there when the first engine arrived onscene and say that it appears to be a pile of brush on fire, not the house. A few minutes later that was confirmed. It was just a pile of brush. So, Im not exactly sure how we go from fully involved house fire, with explosions.... to flaming pile of brush.

Anyway, we were put in service and headed back to the station. We were just about there when we got put out for a fire alarm. To make a long story short. Someone thought they were shutting off the water to the pool, when in fact they were messing with the fire sprinkler valves which set off a tamper alarm. We reset it and were back in for the night. Not a bad night!

B