Squad 51

It's doubtful that any boy growing up in the 70's and 80's didn't at some point see "Emergency!" on TV.  Hearing those tones over the speaker and the dispatcher calling "Squad 51" as Roy and Johnny jump into their sweet Dodge paramedic truck and head off on another adventure surely made every kid want to be a firefighter for at least a while...I wanted to be Johnny Gage.

Yesterday afternoon I stopped into the Joshua fire station to hang out with the guys for a few minutes and see how things were going with our new CareFlite dispatch system.  We got to talking about me riding out on a call, but one never knows when that next call might happen.  It turned out to be just minutes away.

"Engine 277..." the CareFlite dispatcher called and our guys jumped into action.  It just so happened there were enough volunteers at the station at the time to have the truck rolling out fast.  I jumped into the Chief's truck with him and we were off on a medical call to assist a possible stroke victim.  In a matter of minutes we arrived on-scene and it was determined the patient was in need of care faster than ground transportation could provide so the CareFlite helicopter was called.  A few seconds later the dispatcher gave a 13 minute ETA on the helicopter and we moved to set up an "LZ" - Landing Zone.

While Chief Baker assisted the patient the CareFlite ambulance arrived at the scene and Battalion Chief Shipley calmly provided the chopper with landing instructions as they approached the LZ.  I'm sure my instructions would have contained a lot of "um" and "uh", but he got the facts out quickly and the pilot touched down with a hail of dust and wind.  The impromptu team of CareFlite helicopter personnel, ambulance personnel and the JFD ran like a well-oiled machine to load the patient and they were off to the hospital.

My time with the crew yesterday was yet another surreal experience I've had the opportunity to have since taking office. With a thanks to the guys and a prayer for the patient I headed home, to reality, to tell my story and work on computers.

A.J.