325 (soon to be 425) update

By the way 228 is now at Excellance, we are still working on the cause of the fire.

Tech tips from the shop

We already know that in our profession basic skill save lives, the same rule applies to our units.

I have been meeting with the shop, they have put together a few tips on starting, plugging in the unit etc... They are all basic skills, however we have had some problems with the mastering of these basic skills.

Did you know that not waiting on the glow plugs to heat up before starting the unit can cause damage to the glow plugs as well as the unit? The result is poor or no starting, or poor performance when it does start, not to mention the damage to parts that must be replaced.

Did you know that putting gas in a diesel engine cost an average of $500.00 to fix, assuming you don't ruin the engine?

Employees, please log on to the medic access part of the MEMS web site to view the video.

http://medic.metroems.org

Update on 325

A few pictures on the status of 325 (soon to be 425)

Latisha Johnson

Our own Latisha was honored as one of Arkansas’ Stars of life recently. This is an honor given out by the Arkansas Ambulance Association. She spent the day at the State Capitol interacting with Legislators, and touring the Capitol as well as participating in a luncheon in the Stars honor. Latisha, we are very proud of you !

Cot Inspections

We are in the process of bringing in all the cots in the fleet. We are doing a decontamination as well as inspection/repair as well as replacing any worn cot straps. I am reminding everyone that the chest straps are a requirement on our cots and should be used to restrain your patients.

We are also placing a “Mega Mover” on all cots. Its functions like a draw sheet on steroids. It can hold up to 1500 pounds. It is stored at the foot of the cot under the mattress. We have now placed it on the check off and major sheets.

Auto Vents in

We have received the shipment of the Autovent 3000. This means that all transport vents will be the same. All Paramedics should have received an in service in the last mandatory classes that were held. This is almost exactly like the Autovent that we have had for the last several years. If you need any additional in-service, please see your Supervisor.

A while back we adopted the phonetic alphabet to describe the different positions in the company. Mike=Major, Charlie= Captain, Hotel=Hazmat etc…

I think sometimes the new folks (and some of the old) are having a little trouble getting the concept ;-)

228 catches fire

Not a site you see everyday for sure. The crew of 228 (a newer unit) had just picked up a non-critical PT and were in route to the ER, when they lost power and started seeing smoke. The crew pulled over, evacuated the PT to a safe area. One crewmember went back with a fire extinguisher and was able to get to some of the flame, however the fire appeared to be in the wall of the unit, so he was unable to get to the true source of the fire.
I don’t feel the unit will be a total loss, but it does have heavy wire and smoke damage. We can replace metal, but not people. I am very grateful to the crew for their quick thinking and actions

A little trivia for ya....

This is Hunter Gray. He "invented" the stick man and the way we stripe out trucks. He also designed our first MEMS Alert campaign .