Sean,

I'll echo what the other person has said. And add my own spin.

1. At an incident, bystander help has been inconvenient and
appreciated depending on the day. Had someone come up to the car and
yank a door open on an unstable car prior to the jaws being ready for
safe extrication. On another day, had a bystander with medical training
who calmed a victim until we could get on scene.

I'll be honest, for general safety purposes, I'd rather have people who
are trained stopping than just anyone. They know the risks and should
be better able to make an informed risk - benefit decision.


2. When working a scene, my vehicle is off limits unless you are a
responder. I'll prepare equipment and be set up for care necessary as
soon as the patient hits the back. Afterwards, until I clean up it may
be unsafe. The notes on the marker board and EKG strips on the counter
are medical information and controlled. Depending on the call, the
interior may need to be cleaned and mopped because of body fluids.

Otherwise, I'm open for visitors. I enjoy having people stop at the
station or during a PR event. I work for a government funded service
therefore it's "their"" ambulance not "mine". Their tax money bought
and equipped it. I just get to use it every day I'm on shift. Kids of
any age get a chance to see the rig and what it can do. If they have a
Walter Mitty moment sitting in the seat, that's OK by me. I get a
chance to do a little public education on our phone first, Knox box, or
other programs. It's time to help people not be afraid of all the
"stuff" that gets carried in the house or to their car when help is
needed. And there's that priceless moment - I've had family members
come up on these events and say "Were you working the day my
mom/dad/child went in the ambulance? Thank you for being there."


3. Scanning the current spectrum is getting to be a pain in the butt.
Used to have a broadband scanner or two and keep track of everything in
a 30 mile radius. We had low band VHF dispatch, high band VHF
operations, and UHF for one police department. Today, it's VHF high
band and 800 trunked. But, can't listen to it all. The VHF stuff is
still ok. Trunked is another matter. One area uses Motorola, everyone
else is EDACS. Thought my RS2052 was doing good then they added a
couple frequencies to the tower which changed the channel pecking order
and I've been unable to get it to resynch.

Why is scanning important? Our department can't afford 30+ EDACS
portables (+ monthly access fees) for all members. With a decent
tracking scanner, people can keep track and know when things are hopping
before their pagers go off for an off shift call back. As well we can
monitor adjacent districts that we don't want to purchase rights into
their system for our trunked radios.

just my 0.02

MAH