... I think I am the only one that does this.
As a paramedic I try and always remember that on REAL patients there are always people around who are impacted by the event at hand and they probably need some special handling as well. A spouse watching us do CPR on a loved one, the survivors of a wreck, etc. We forget sometimes that what we do is very often confusing and doesn't make sense to the people around us who have received the sum total of their information on emergency services from watching Backdraft, Rescue Me, Johnny and Roy, and Curious George Goes to the Fire Station.
So at a fire when things get calmed down a bit I always seek out the homeowner and just listen to them for a few minutes, for the time I have. I bring them information and lay out what has happened, is happening, and what the future may hold. They have lost all of their things and I know watching them quietly they haven't even thought of the 'little' stuff they lost like favorite shoes, a pressed flower, a half-finished quilt. Right then they are thinking of the roof and the walls and maybe the furniture... and that is if they have insurance. Men cry and they don't want to do it in front of the guys but they will do it in front of me if I can give them some privacy. Most women always worry about the next day; kid's clothes, car arrangements, their purse...pictures.
I think the time has come and we certainly have the capability to sense a gap in our service to the public and address that. Just a thought.
As a paramedic I try and always remember that on REAL patients there are always people around who are impacted by the event at hand and they probably need some special handling as well. A spouse watching us do CPR on a loved one, the survivors of a wreck, etc. We forget sometimes that what we do is very often confusing and doesn't make sense to the people around us who have received the sum total of their information on emergency services from watching Backdraft, Rescue Me, Johnny and Roy, and Curious George Goes to the Fire Station.
So at a fire when things get calmed down a bit I always seek out the homeowner and just listen to them for a few minutes, for the time I have. I bring them information and lay out what has happened, is happening, and what the future may hold. They have lost all of their things and I know watching them quietly they haven't even thought of the 'little' stuff they lost like favorite shoes, a pressed flower, a half-finished quilt. Right then they are thinking of the roof and the walls and maybe the furniture... and that is if they have insurance. Men cry and they don't want to do it in front of the guys but they will do it in front of me if I can give them some privacy. Most women always worry about the next day; kid's clothes, car arrangements, their purse...pictures.
I think the time has come and we certainly have the capability to sense a gap in our service to the public and address that. Just a thought.
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