We run a lot of medical calls in my district. I have purposely not written about them because they usually involve personal information that we find out while helping the victims. It would be both distasteful and unethical for me to divulge the details surrounding someone's personal tragedy.

In May, the call was for an amputation. There was a lot of blood and the situation was pretty gory. It made for some tense moments and some vivid images that are still fresh in my mind. It was the kind of call that could bother you, but I didn't have a problem with it. Of course, I have often been accused of having no emotions so maybe that helps.

At work we get information briefings about Critical Incident Stress where we are told that witnessing this kind of trauma can trigger a reaction. I can only recall one time when I would say I was effected by a call. It was several years ago. We got a medical assist call for a child choking. This was fairly routine; I had been to lots of them in the past.

Somehow this one was different. We got the age of the child over the radio and it just happened to be the same as my daughter at home. I suddenly felt trapped at work. I couldn't get past the idea that my daughter was miles away and if anything happened to her I wouldn't be there. None of the logical arguments of her mother being totally capable of dealing with whatever came up, would dissuade me from my feelings of helplessness and guilt.

The call turned out to be nothing. The kid was fine by the time we got there. But I did not feel right again until I got home and hugged my little girl.

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FIRES These are stories about recent fires;

• House Fire
• Tanker Truck to a Garbage Bin Fire
• Tanker Trunk to a Hopper Fire
• Car Fire
• Warehouse Fire
• House Fire
• Apartment Fire
• House Fire

MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENTS These are stories about car and truck accidents;

• Single Car Rollover
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• Rush Hour Accident
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RESCUES These are stories about rescues we have made;

• Man Trapped in a Trailer

HAZARDOUS MATERIALS These are stories about emergencies involving Hazardous Materials;

• No Calls

MEDICAL We go to a lot of medical calls, but it is not fair to the people involved for me to describe their medical problems here. I can tell you about one incident and how it effected me;

• Stress

OTHER Sometimes interesting things happen around the Firehall;

• Skunk in the Firehall