As people go on fires they will be moved to the bottom of the list
| Crew Member | Primary Phone | Secondary Phone |
| 1. Gwen Couture | 644-3313 | 546-0598 |
| 2. Katherine Mitchell | 745-4190 | |
| 3. Michael K. Umphrey | 529-6059 | |
| 4. Michael L. Umphrey | 745-3305 | |
| 5. Eldon Umphrey | 745-0230 | |
| 6. Valerie Umphrey | 745-3305 | |
| 7. Teri Miller | 544-3070 | |
| 8. Gary Steele | 544-2725 |
Volunteers continue to serve
At the October 2 meeting of the Mission Valley Ambulance, crew members voted to add two new people to the roster: Gary Steele and Michael K. Umphrey. Both finished an EMT class last year and have been responding to calls during a mandatory probationary period.
Another abandoned accident
Nearly the entire fire department, lots of cops and two ambulances were dispatched to this situation. The power pole was broken, the lines were still in the air, holding the broken pole up, but no driver was to be found.
It’s not unusual to get to a wrecked car and find nobody around. The most common reasons people run are because they’re intoxicated or because there are warrants out of them. Others run because they have no valid drivers license, they were breaking some other law, or they stole the car. Most of the car thefts are from people they know--family or acquantances.
But the people who run are often people who run away from problems other times: they’ve run away from school, from bosses and jobs, from friends and spouses.
We never did find the driver. He’s out there now, running.
Negative transport
Get out of bed, throw on just enough clothes, drive fast, do an assessment, laugh at the forlorn jokes, get a release form signed, wait to be sure traffic control is adequate, go home, look at the stars, go back to bed. . .
Incidents like the Polson balcony collapse put people in touch with why they stay in EMS: it’s exciting to meet challenges for a good cause. The adrenaline, concentration, and skill needed to turn chaos into something manageable is similar to that needed to compete in an important football game. People like the feeling of giving a lot for something worthwhile.
And then it’s back to the routines: people calling an amublance because the excitement feels like meaning in impoverished lives, people drinking too much then faking seizures to get attention, people drinking too much and slamming windows on their fingers, people drinking too much and falling off their front steps, and people drinking too much and banging their car (or somebody’s car) into guard rails.
The hardest challenge in EMS may not be dealing with horrific injuries. It may be staying committed to the patient’s good treatment even when the patient seems unable to take his or her own side effectively. We pick up after people far more often than we save lives.
Topics
Table of Contents
Calls
- Photos from Rattlesnake Fire, Nez Perce National Forest
- Running
- After the reality comes the reality
- Lightning strike sets haystack ablaze
- Diamond Horseshoe story picked up nationally
- Michael L. Umphrey
- Katherine Mitchell
- Valerie Umphrey
- Jim Umphrey
- Joe Durglo
- Teri Miller
- Annie Morigeau
- Gwen Couture
- Eldon Umphrey
- Michael K. Umphrey
- Gary Steele
- Neal Christiansen
- Christa Umphrey
Roster
Michael L. Umphrey
Announcements
Schedule
Meetings
Training
- Professionalism Powerpoint
- Listen to breath sounds on your computer
- What do fireline EMTs need to know?
IMS
Incidents: Flathead Agency
Reservation Fire News
- Deep Draw Update August 17 (Deep Draw) Saturday the Deep Draw fire exhibited minimal fire behavior, largely smoldering and creeping, occasionally burning of pockets of trees inside the fire line. Crews continued to make good progress holding and mopping up hot spots inside the fireline. Palm IR's, or handheld infrared heat sensors, were used to help identify the areas with heat. The hot and dry weather is providing an excellent test of the firelines. Equipment and crews continued opening up access roads. Crews and equipment cleared, brushed or constructed over 62 miles of fireline in the course of the week's work fighting this fire-of that total, 43 miles were indirect contingency firelines.Plans for Sunday include rehabilitating roads that have been opened. Slash consisting of brush and cut logs will be piled alongside these roads. Crews will continue to patrol and mop up hot spots along the fireline.Sunday is expected to be hot and dry with temperatures in the low 90's. Winds are predicted to be light,...