I care what people think but not enough to keep me from venting the truth about most situations.
One time we got a call for a young lady who was feeling "light headed". When we knocked on her door she yelled for us to come in. We found her laying on top of her bed completely naked. She was posed in a way that looked like she was a centerfold model.
My driver who was around 50 at the time and had thick glasses stood stunned staring at her. My third man who had the bag with oxygen, BP cuff and other medical supplies yelled at him and told him to go find a towel. He came back with a wash rag. I asked him to find something larger.
I asked her what she was doing when she started feeling light headed. She said she was riding her exercise bicycle. So my driver who was still in a state of shock, said, “So you were riding your bicycle in the nude?” She retorted, “No, don't be silly! I took my clothes off when I laid on the bed because I felt hot.” Then she told us how she had recently lost a bunch of weight and had cosmetic surgery.
So when we were pushing the gurney with her on it into the back of the ambulance, “ I said very sincerely, “I hope you start feeling better and congratulations on your weight loss and cosmetic surgery. It turned out really great.” She squealed back, “Oh, thank you so much!”
So on the way back to the station my crew was giving me a really bad time saying what I said to her as we put her into the back was inappropriate and that I could get into big trouble. I said that it seemed to me that she didn't actually need to be transported and that the entire episode was a call for attention. I said that I wasn't very likely to get into difficulty for giving a compliment. And indeed a few days later we received a gushy thank you card.
But I thought it was very interesting how afraid my crew was to say anything about her appearance after all of the sexual harassment training we had received. I guess they actually were paying attention after all.
You can’t tell me any firefighter stories that would amaze me. Sorry but My retired firefighter hubby worked 2 of the busiest stations for Kern County Fire In his 34 years. Lol. It’s a huge department.
http://www.kerncountyfire.org/