As I suspected, NYE turned out to to be an experience to say the least. I didn't get an ounce of sleep until I got home the next morning and neither did anyone else I know who was working around the city. I live about 30 minutes from the station and really don't remember driving home but I got there and went straight to sleep, waking up only 4 hours later to take my family to the football game. After the game, we went straight to my brother in-law's house for a New Years dinner and finally got home where I passed out for a good while. One of my friends was supposed to go to the game with us but also worked NYE, doing overtime on a busy ambulance and ran way more than we did.
Although my pumper wasn't as busy as last year, we had some great runs that are sure to be great memories for years to come. We started off with a little house fire in the morning, which for the most part was bullshit. Then we jumped a call from another engine that turned out to be pretty decent. We had another seizure in the middle of the day but this one wasn't bullshit like the two I posted about last week. It was a 10 year old girl who was found by her friends, laying on the sidewalk. She had no history of seizures and was reported to be in good health, although she looked malnourished in my opinion. She was on the couch when we arrived, not responding and was moving around restlessly, becoming combative later on. It seemed strange compared to a normal seizure so I asked the crew to check her pupils which were non responsive and dilated. It began to look more like a head trauma the way the girl was acting. The mother was a piece of work, let me tell ya. I wasn't really sure if she was a lesbian or just completely strung out on crack but she freaked out in the back of the ambulance and told the crew (yelling) that she wouldn't let us take her daughter until we gave her where we were going in writing. What the hell, did she think we were going to kidnap her kid or something? She was more concerned about that than her daughter's condition back in the house where she was laughing and joking around.
Later in the evening we left an automatic alarm to go to a palm tree fire. This man's neighbor was shooting roman candles when it hit his tree and lit up. The homeowner, who wasn't wearing any pants by the way, got into a screaming match with the one who shot the firework. Turns out, several years ago we put out two trees at the house of the guy who shot the roman candle. You think he would learn by now but I guess not. After the argument, the homeowner comes over to my EO of all people and starts telling him that he was watching TV when he heard a loud boom and saw the tree burning. He said he didn't have time to put on pants but at least had time to find some underwear and proceeded to pull his shirt up to show us his man briefs. My EO replies by telling him, "
Don't worry it's New Years Eve, you don't have to wear pants to this party". I love his EOisms. Afterwards while wrapping up, I shit you not a horse walks by one of the cross streets. Yes really a horse. This is right in the middle of a neighborhood and the last place you would expect to see a horse but it was there, just walking around. Not really sure where it came from but man it was hilarious. I can't make this stuff up, here are a couple pictures.
Later we went to a grass fire that was reportedly burning for 30 minutes. We were supposed to meet the caller who was going to direct us to the fire but no one was found and we went in service. Around 11:00 we were dispatched to meet the police who found a man wondering around a neighborhood. This guy didn't smell like alcohol but had no idea where he was or how he got there. His vitals checked out fine but it was apparent that he was on some kind of drug so the ambulance took him to the hospital and we headed home. On the way back we went on a search for smoke coming from a nearby neighborhood which turned out to be nothing.
It was now around 11:30 and we made it back to the station hoping to stay and celebrate midnight. We had a few bottles of sparkling cider saved up so we brought them outside, as well as some horns and crazy hats, then set up shop on the front pad. A few fire marshals, who were at a rave next door, stopped by and hung out for a while. This place next door has raves every few months and the fire marshals hit them hard because of overcrowding and a few other fire code violations. We first reported it to the inspectors about a year ago when we saw a line with nearly a thousand people at the door, which later turned into a riot and a shooting. That time wasn't a rave, but some sort of thug party so you can imagine how fast it got out of control. The inspectors left about 15 minutes before midnight so we went back to the pad and started getting the bottles ready when what do you know, we get a run for a car fire at 11:58. They couldn't have waited two fucking minutes? I told one of my firefighters to grab a bottle and some cups so we could celebrate on the road as we load up in the pumper. Of course by that time it was 11:59 so I hit the en route button and told my EO to wait so we could do the countdown before we left. The ladder crew was standing next to the engine counting down for us when it hit midnight and we yelled "Happy New Year" to each other before going on our way. Boy let me tell ya that we made as much noise pulling out of the station as possible. The call was only a few blocks away so it didn't take us long to get there but of course we didn't see anything in the reported intersection. I got on the radio and asked for a better location when the dispatcher said that it was called in by someone passing by. Could it really be a damn prank call right at midnight? Whatever the case, I was pissed. We drove around for about a minute, didn't see anything so we returned to service and headed back to the station. Fearing another run, I told my EO to stop right where we were in the middle of the road and we filled up our cups and toasted each other right there in the pumper. What a better way to ring in the new year than by sitting in a fire truck, blocking a moving lane of traffic and drinking fake champagne out of styrofoam cups.
The Rave
Surprised we didn't go earlier but we were finally sent to the rave for someone having a seizure. If you have never been to one of these, you should go at least once in your life so you too can experience this. We have been over here for raves a few times in the last year and it never gets old. Well we get there and security directs us inside where our patient is sitting on steps near the front door. This poor guy is completely fucked out of his mind. He was only 17 years old and apparently took some new drug called fun dip. We walk him out to the ambulance and I try to research this fun dip on my phone but couldn't find anything other than "Cherry Fun Dip" on Urban Dictionary. (Look it up). Some guy there tells us that it is a mix between marijuana and heroin, while another said it was a mix of ecstasy and LSD which it what it turned out to be. Are these people crazy? Are the regular drugs not good enough to where you have to start mixing them together? Man times have really changed since I was in high school. While they were in the back of the ambulance, me and my crew were outside people watching when this girl walks up asking if she can go to the hospital with him. She felt bad I guess because the patient's friends left him and she didn't want him to be alone. She didn't even know him but I guess everyone is so mellowed out on drugs that they all become friends by proxy. She didn't end up going, but came out later to fist bump one of the firefighters.
As we were standing outside, another girl comes running up and tells us that someone else had a seizure in the back. I call for a second ambulance and we follow the girl through the massive crowd, out into the back alley where apparently a 100 or so more people were hanging out. We had to move the crowd back from this guy who was laid out on the ground in the fetal position. Again, this guy was out so we started working on him until I heard our ambulance call on the radio to disregard the second ambulance and said they would double load. About a minute or two later, one of the ambulance guys comes back to where we were and we walked this guy out front. He was so out of it that it took 3 of us to walk him to the front because his legs couldn't support him. Not to mention we had to fight the crowd all the way out. We finally got him loaded and the ambulance left for the hospital, carrying these 2 zombies. It was a funny sight, looking at the two of them back there and I can only imagine what the hospital was going to say.
Once everything was over, we decided to stay and people watch for a while. A few of us needed to use the restroom anyway so we grabbed some flashlights and walked inside. We find the crowded restroom which was covered in mud (I hope) and had a horribly nasty smell. I would hate to be the one cleaning that shit hole. As we were standing in line for the urinal, someone asked if we were there for the fornicators. I wasn't really sure what he was talking about until I saw 2 sets of legs appear under the stall. One appeared to be sitting on the toilet, and the female appeared to be sitting on him in the other direction, so you can imagine what was going on in there. Yep they were fucking in this nasty, dirty, smelly bathroom. Security comes in and pounds on the door for them to leave but it takes a minute or two of getting dressed before a pair of panties are thrown out the side and the two emerge. The girl was covering her face as she ran out but come on, how can you be embarrassed after having sex in the men's bathroom stall next to 15 people? Everyone clapped for them and we finally got to use the restroom.
We walked around a little more and went back to the front when when we found a guy laying on the curb who looked like he was in pain. He thought he may have taken ecstasy and had severe back pain from a previous car accident. He also said that his stomach hurt and was slightly confused so we checked it out and convinced his friends to take him home instead of us transporting to the hospital. We talked with him for several minutes then returned to watching people as they walked out of the front doors. Man there were some interesting outfits. Furry boots, bikinis, ninja looking costumes, and a guy wearing a tuxedo. There was no way I was getting out of there without pictures so I asked a few people and they posed for us. I guess some of them deserve points for creativity.
So another year begins and more stories build in our future. Although these last few months have seemed slow, we ended up with a lot more total runs than 2010. I can't wait to see what 2012 has in store for us.
