911 Squirrel
A fun, informative podcast about life, training, and other insights, within the careers of all first responders (Law, Fire, EMS, etc). Telling stories, sharing insights on training, diving into serious subjects, and laughing at ourselves.
911 Squirrel
We Are Family
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
You are a First Responder, which means you are part of a BIG FAMILY! You get to hear Brad sing, sort of.
We give shoutouts to all the small businesses owned by our First Responders.
A new "dirty" story, an interesting commercial, and all the other fun stuff!
Got a thought? E-mail 911squirrelpodcast@gmail.com
Welcome to 911 Squirrel, a podcast for all the fine men and women who serve as first responders. Stories will be told at training at com and everyday responder life is explored, all while having a great time doing it. So grab your coffee and watch those tales. This squirrel's just is about to begin. And now, he's one of millions of men who can carry a conversation with just SineStone quotes. Please welcome your host, Brad.
SPEAKER_03Hello, and welcome to episode number four of 911 Squirrel, the podcast for first responders. Uh I'm gonna make a little apology right now, but my allergies are ticking in, and I don't feel like taking a clariton or whatever, because then you're gonna hear me go, This is the podcast for first responders, yeah, man. So if you hear like a big mute or something like that, that's because I hit mute because I gotta clear my throat or nose or sneeze or something. And if you do hear me sneeze on this podcast, just answer it with a God bless you, and we'll move on. Uh, as the cool tech voice said, I am your host, Brad Mack, and this episode is called We Are Family. That's right.
SPEAKER_00We are family. I got all my brothers and sisters in me.
SPEAKER_03Um, that's an actual song for all you young people who have no idea that that's an actual song. By the pointer sisters. And the real lyrics are We Are Family, I got all my sisters and me, because it's by the Pointer Sisters. If you've never heard the song, it's really good. The Pointer Sisters were great. I think they still tore, I have no idea. But um go and go to Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, whatever you do, go look up We Are Family, and you'll be like, ooh. But I can actually sing. And just because and here's here's my next sentence. All right. So I'm gonna do I'm gonna do this in a song just to prove to you that I can sing.
SPEAKER_04Hopefully you all had a slow rootine week.
SPEAKER_03See, I told you I could sing. Uh um I'm feeling saucy today. I haven't even had any caffeine. That's the amazing thing. I'm just ready to go. Huh. Plenty of sleep last night, I guess. Uh now the last episode, we celebrated dispatchers, right? Yeah, because it was National Public Safety Communications Week. And if you didn't celebrate dispatchers, you should have, because dispatchers are first responders too. Can I get an amen? Uh this episode, though, we are going to discuss all the good times that we have on shift. That's right. The camaraderie, the home life, quote unquote, the jokes, the recipes, life with the second family. That's right. They are your second family. And I have to say this like this shift life, as I like to call it, yes, I have to say it like that because I gotta get the F's in there. Uh, shift life is still a job, though, with chores and duties. And some things we like, others not so much. Uh vehicle checkoffs, cleaning, testing equipment, ordering supplies, morning briefings, uh training if it starts that day, uh, all the other things that remind us that we are still employed. We're employees. Well, don't forget the calls, Brad. Some of us run all day. Uh well, I get that. And calls are why we became first responders, right? Am I right? Huh? Hmm? Uh but um most of the time, uh all those chores though are done in the morning. And you know, the rest of the shift, barring the amount of calls you have, uh, because uh let's face it, some stations are slower, they're vacation stations or whatever. Um some days are just slow. They're just nice days, everybody does what they're supposed to do, and you don't really have anything. You know, and on those days it's like a sleepover or like a summer camp. I mean, really, it's what it is. Now there's no sack races, there's no duck duck goose or red rover, definitely no dodgeball. Oh my gosh. Although that would be cool. But you're talking about a bunch of adults that are I mean, let's let's face it, we're a little off the center there. Um so yeah, dodgeball, especially. Oh, with firefighters? Woo! Can you imagine a bunch of officers playing Red Rover? Oh gosh. But there's absolutely no explanation to say to your shift super shift supervisor, get the F in there, uh, or chief, as to why there are three or four responders at the ER. There's no there's no excuse for it. And that would be but others, you know, while you're on shift, if you're not if you're not on calls or you don't have training that day or whatever, there's lots of things you can do. Um some work out because they want to be in the best shape they they can be. Um some play games, watch movies, takes take naps. That was my favorite, obviously. Uh and some improve on their skills. I mean, d you need to do that anyway. You could say that's part of training, but if if you're not doing anything, go out and work on a piece of equipment that you haven't uh uh even handled in a while. Or um, you know, go over a protocol, get the get the protocol book and go over that, or go over a plan of attack on something. You know, there's always things to improve on. Uh some study for the next certification, or they're in college to get their degree, and so there's always studying to do. There's just a plethora of activities you can do when you're not on a call. Um but unlike other careers, in emergency services, you get really close to your teammates, your crew, your partners, whomever whomever you live with during your shift. And that is the truth. You live and work with them all. It's quite the dysfunctional family, and I don't mean that in a bad way. Um, because boy oh boy, do you learn how to deal with personalities. That's right. The strong, the silent, the goody two shoes, the know-it-all, the chef, the drama queen and king, and of course, the column. Um but I'll tell you what, if you go by this statement you go by this statement, and every shift in your career um are gonna go well. And that is be good at your job and be a good hang. And your reputation will be exemplary. If you're if you can be good at your job, but don't be a bad hang. Don't be a bully, don't be a d a jerk, uh or some colorful uh description of what your personality is. Yeah, no, you excuse me, and that's gonna be edited out. Uh no, be the you know, the golden rule applies. Um when you're on shift. Treat others like you want to treat yourselves. And this really starts with the leadership. Who's the captain of that shift? Who's the captain of that station? Um and then that and that starts really all the way up to the chief. You want to make a good the leaders are the ones that are say, here's the culture. And if you're if everyone's truthful, honest, a good hang, they follow the f the golden rule, um, all that stuff, everything will be just great. Um if you're a good hang but you don't do your job well, well then you better start doing your job well. Uh but yeah, just do your job, do the chores, be nice. It's that simple. Now, as I said, you are a part of a family. Um, and every shift is like a subfamily, you know. And that means a strange tribal competition. I'm sure everybody hears stuff like C shift is better than A shift, or uh Truck Seven got here before rescue ten, or station five has hot water, you know, you stick out your tongue, ha ha ha, station three, uh that kind of stuff. Um and then the the of course we joke about individuals, you know, people that I knew a guy, I knew a paramedic, he was and he's a great paramedic, and he's a great guy. He really is. But we we joked with him and he knew what he looked like. And he looked like Shrek. He looked like a white Shrek. He had the big forehead, but I mean, love him to death. He's great, though. He's just an awesome guy. His name is Doyle, and he he really is. He's just he's just a fantastic guy, and a good paramedic and the whole nine yards. He's just great. But we got a joke, you know. I mean really. Uh, and everybody's got nicknames. That's the thing. Everybody's got nicknames. Which brings us to our top ten. All right. Now this week's top ten is best neck neck necknames, best nicknames I have heard in my career, and they're not all about me. In fact, only none of them are really about me. Ha ha! But the number 10 nickname that I've heard is Quick Draw McGraw. This is the one that doesn't try before he pries, or he pees a lot. Um, anyway, number nine, the best nickname I've ever heard is Bubbles. Now, this guy, he's great. Uh, but he's one of the he when he started his career, he's he was helping a medical crew, and he spiked an IV bag, and he would not let them even touch it until all those bubbles are gone. Even the very, very, very small ones that you can barely see. Anyway, number eight, the refusal, king and queen. One of one of, and there's there's one in every EMS service. Let's just figure that out. All right, the number seven best nickname I heard uh during my career, that's not about me, is Big B. Now, his name is Brian, he's tall and goofy, but he's a great guy. Uh you just can't watch Jeopardy with him either, because he knows all the answers. And if he challenges you, you just walk away. Uh, number six, the best nick nickname I've heard is No Neck. Always the one that works out way too much. Number five, the number five best nickname I've heard is Nature Boy. And uh this one was nicknamed I got the got this from a fan, uh, from one of our followers. This is a firefighter who Nature Boy was a firefighter that uh got they got called out to a fire alarm late, late, late at night, or early, early, early in the morning, depending on how you look at it. And he put out turnout gear and off he went. But the only thing he was wearing underneath is a pair of tidy whiteys and a smile. Woo! Nature Boy. Number four, the best nickname I've heard in my career, Captain Policy. That's Mr. or Mrs. Stickler. Number three, uh, there's always one. Number three, the best nickname I've heard is the Black Cloud. Yep, you see this person coming on your shift, you know you're about to run your butt off. Shh, the black cloud. Number two, this one I came up with. Number two, the best nickname I've ever heard is the narrator. This is the one that knows the lines to every movie and says them on cue. You can't stand watching a movie with them. And the number one nickname I've ever heard is Paragod. These are the ones that are usually right out of paramedic school. Oh, I just now thought of another one. Oh my gosh. Oh, that one, by the way, was your top ten. The top ten names, uh nicknames I've ever heard. Uh, but I just thought of another Sugarshane. Gosh, that was a good one. My nicknames were B-Rad and Big Ass Brad. Now, the latter I wear with pride. All the bicycling and everything else. Uh, even got entrance music if I ever need it for Big Ass Brad. He's big, he's bad, he's big ass brad. Which would sound a lot better if I didn't have the top 10 music still playing in the background. Anyway. Uh yeah. Gotta love nicknames. And right now, my mom, if she's listening, and she probably will, I'm probably about to get a phone call from her. Because she I'm sure she's gonna give me the what for for using the BA Brad. She'll say, I can't believe you would say that. No, she actually hasn't. She's got a good sense of humor. One of the jokes I used to anyway. Um, there was a joke I used to tell about my mom. She only had one ovary when when she got pregnant with me, which explains why I do things half-assed. Anyway, now I'll get a phone call. Uh in the meantime, send us your stories, your comments, whatever else. You want us to know at 911 Squirrel Podcast at gmail.com or catch us on Facebook or Instagram. Um, and another thing, I'm actually disappointed because I did this pop, I did this top 10 and I was like, I I kept I kept waiting. Someone's gonna send in a top 10, someone's gonna send in a top 10 because I challenged you all to come up with your own top 10s. Did I get any? No. Why? I don't know. I don't I the only thing I can think of is people are scared or whatever. Because I wanted to do a top 10. I want you all to come up with a top 10, and then if we use it, then we'll use it and we'll call you and interview you and ask some basic questions and all that kind of stuff. So send us your top 10. I know y'all have a sense of humor. How do I know that? Because I hung out with you. You all have a sense of humor, you're all just kind of off-center in some form or fashion. Send us your top 10 or any other jokes you might have. All right, because that's just how it is.
SPEAKER_01All right, let's move on. This is the briefing. News from around the country that affects the policies, procedures, or employment of first responders. And now, the briefing.
SPEAKER_03All right. Now, I wanted to do uh go over some a couple things uh that we had already discussed. One was the drone as first responder program. And I had called um the company that is uh partnered with the uh I can't believe I totally forgot it. Anyway, Brink is the company that makes all the drones, and I called them just because I wanted to get some more research and to be able to talk about it a little better with y'all because I love the idea. I really do. I love the idea um to get there, to know what you're getting into before you get there, all that stuff. And um some of the answers I got were were, you know, uh just basic answers. Like I was worried about one of the questions I asked was, if it's an autumn uh one, do you need pilots to uh fly these drones? And depending on the drone you get, uh some of them yes, uh some of them no. Um, which led me to a next question was well, if it's one of those that you you don't need a pilot, what happens when you get to a scene and you need to control it in some other form or fashion to do this or that or the other? Uh so the person I was talking with, uh very nice guy named AJ, um, he couldn't really answer those questions for me, so uh he referred me to uh another department to answer those kind of technical questions. Uh I have not heard back from that department yet, so I'm gonna try again this week and maybe I'll have some more for next week. But what I could did get out of AJ um was that yeah, this is a this is a cool thing. Um it's it's very cool. Drones are, I mean, they're being used everywhere. Um and you don't have to buy from Brink, obviously, if you don't want to, but Brink is one of them that they're very into first responder and drones. Uh because they they're the ones that started this program. So drones are just they're they are. They're just really cool the whole nine yards. So uh look into that. Now the other thing I was talking about, one of the other things I was talking about was this um buffer zone uh for first responders where you have to stay twenty feet, twenty-five feet, thirty feet away from first responders when doing their job. Or um after so many warnings, depending on the state or the city, uh you will be charged with something or other. Uh charged with impeding on first responders or whatever. And some of them are like class D felonies, some are misdemeanors. It just depends. Depends on the thing. So I was kinda looking I was kind of looking through like Delaware um uh is uh yes, they have a twirling this bill. Kansas has it, uh Philadelphia uh Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is in the middle of it. I don't know where that is. I mean there's Florida has one, uh Tennessee is coming up with one. Uh I haven't seen one about a um uh buffer zone, but I have seen one about uh uh assaults on first responders here in Tennessee that's going through the state house. And if you assault one if you assault a first responder, then you know that's that's some kind of Class D felony. Um I was trying to find it, but I have no I know it's in here somewhere. But anyway, that one's going on. So there's lots of different things that uh lots of different laws that are being dis talked about, which is great. We should have a buffer zone. Uh first responders should not be assaulted. I realize, especially for EMS is in in EMS where you have um um uh uh people with hypoglycemic and they need some sugar, they need some D50. Well, sometimes they'll get they'll they'll get a little aggressive, and that's understandable. Uh so I some of those things, uh uh people with uh mental incapac some mental incapacity, especially for law enforcement. I mean, do you I think I think there's a way to do it without you know uh uh with with people like that. It's it it's kinda hard to say, yes, charge them with this and and so forth and so on. But you know, that there's a lot of people they will assault whoever. And yes, they should go to jail and they should have a charge. So uh if you what uh uh if you live in any of those states I mentioned, you know, look into it. I I know you will anyway, and I know your your chiefs, your supervisors, they'll they'll they better uh be uh keeping an eye on that kind of thing. Um but yeah, you have to you have to know what you're what you're talking about, what you're doing, and so forth and so on. So But those are the two things I wanted to get into. The the drone thing I I love the drone as first responder. I I really do. I think it'd be a great I think it's a great idea, and a lot of people have already s of course drones are not like just came out yesterday. A lot of People are using them. So, but these are this is a little different where it shows up first. So I I I think it would be I think it would behoove everybody to look into drones in some form or fashion. Um to look into the costs, uh if you need a pilot, if you need insurance, you know, all that kind of stuff. I think it behooves everybody to do that. Um it's just a question of whether uh you can get the grant, or can your your city, county, state, federal government can uh I'm federal government obviously, but can they afford um to implement this program? So I think it's I th I do. I think it's a good idea. I really, really, really, really, really, really do. Anyway, so that's your briefing. Kind of went over some old things. Um and we're I we're gonna get into something else next week, which uh or next episode I should say um as far as the news goes, because there was something that I just saw yesterday and I'm doing some research on it. So next episode we'll get into that. Um but yeah. But the drones, the the buffer zone, if you live in one of those states, check into it. Um call your state senators, your state congressmen, your municipalities, whoever, and see what they're working on and go from there. Sounds like a plan. And that's your briefing. Are you in the market for a pre-owned car or truck? Then you need to run on down here to Lefty's Auto Bar and Grill. That's right, the only dealership in the Tri-State area where you can relax with a drink while shopping for your next ride. At Lefty's, we have some of the finest vehicles and the drinks that enhance their allure. Take this 1988 Toyota van. It comes with a 2.6-liter four-cylinder engine AC, and it's painted in earth tones, and nothing goes down better with it than a bottle of ripple. Over here, this fully loaded Mercedes-GLE SUV is the perfect background for your teenage daughter's picks on Instagram. And for the parents, one chocolate martini and a crown royal on the rocks. Perhaps you need a truck. 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Uh, I had mentioned on Facebook, we had mentioned on Facebook before I get slapped upside the head here, um, about small businesses that you all own. And let's face it, if you're in emergency services, are you becoming a millionaire? I don't think so. If you are, uh we need to talk about your budgetary problems. Um just saying, you're not gonna make a ton of money. You're not gonna, you know, you need to invest or whatever, you're not gonna make a lot of money in emergency services. We all know this. So you either pick up extra shifts if you want to do something, or you want to pay for a cool vacation or whatever the case is, or you start your own small business. And lots of people do it, which is great. Uh, I knew a lot of guys that had lawn mowing, especially in the summer, lawn mowing services or landscape services. I know guys in construction, I know a guy that does home inspections. Um I mean, all kinds of things. Uh some and most of the time, it's usually first responder related. Uh, several people that we that we know uh do the radio uh straps and they custom make them and stuff. Uh those are cool. Um people uh there's several that install uh lighting in your vehicles, do all the emergency vehicle lighting. They're just they do all kinds of things. So I said, well, tell tell us what you got in a small business. We'd love to mention y'all, because that's what we we're here to help. We know we want to support you, and we want people to go to you to support you even better. So with that being said, I got a few. So I'm gonna have to come up with some with an intro. It's small business, something or other. Anyway, uh, excuse me, uh, stupid allergies. Uh you have to pardon me. It's really kicking my butt today. All right, the first one we're going to talk about, and this comes from Kyle Kuka. Kuka? C-U-K-A. C-U-K-A. Kyle, if I mispronounce your last name, please forgive me. It's Kuka or Kukka or anyway. His wife has a company called Purdy C Designs. That's right, Purdy C Designs. They're out of Alta, Iowa. And you can get let me see here. Uh yes, I know. Um, websites, Etsy, Instagram. Uh, what is this? Purdy C handmade and hand drawn, so you don't have to. Hey. I'm I'm looking here. Um I'm looking for what I need to look for. Anyway, uh Purdy C designs, please contact them. They're in Alta, Iowa. And you can contact them at area code 402-690-2789, or you can email them at purdycdesigns at gmail.com. So, Kyle, there you go. Hopefully you get some good business that way. Ah, here's a friend of mine, uh, Wendy Tompkins. Dun dun dun. She's a great paramedic. Uh, her and her husband are uh I I've I've met her husband one time. It was years ago. And uh she's just she's just awesome. Let's just face it. Wendy is just cool as all get out. Anyway, Wendy has a 3D uh business, a 3D printing business here in Middle Tennessee called TNT Design, and I will put her QR code up uh on Facebook. I'll put all these on Facebook so you can all reach out to them if you need anything. But she's got a 3D printing business here in Middle Tennessee, and uh I will make sure that that goes up. I didn't want to just give out any phone number because I didn't know what phone number you had for this, Wendy. So uh I'll just put off this QR code. Uh also here in Middle Tennessee, the lovely and talented Keith and Donna Douglas own the Sagebrush Sunrise Coffee Company. And they are uh located here in Bethpage, Tennessee at 109 Fairfield Road, Beth Page. Uh you can go to their Sagebrush, uh Sagebrush-sunrise dot square dot site. Um they have takeout and curbside. If you want to call them, you can call them at 615-674-3095. And I'll tell you what, they have the menu that I'm looking at here. Mm-hmm. Uh the March menu, which is now over since we're may way into April. Excuse me, I'm I am uh so sorry here. Uh anyway, go see them at the Sagebrush Sunrise Coffee Company. Uh a couple others. Man, I am just let me get another drink here because if I don't, you people are gonna hear that all day and uh this is why. See what happens when you live in the country? You get all kinds of fun and exciting appalling. All right, we're gonna go to Chris excuse me, Chris Bedsole. He has a small business in North Carolina. Am I reading that right? Let me let me make sure. Uh uh doesn't say where he's at. Uh where are you, Chris? I thought it was in here. Well, maybe it's not. Anyway, he uh owns uh turnout tech, uh 3D uh printing business. Hey, a lot of 3D printing, all right. Turnout Tech 3D is what he owns, and he makes uh clips uh that go on four and twelve lead wires to keep them tangle-free. All right. Uh let's see. Uh, a lot of people around his area use them. Uh the city ambulance and also surrounding cities use them too. Uh basically it keeps all your leads tangle-free so easier to deploy on your patient. And if you want to get a hold of him, uh you can call Christopher Bedsoll at 334-723-6190, or you can email him at turnout tech 3D. Turnout tech 3D, all one word, at gmail.com, and he'd be more than happy to help you with your needs there. Where is it? Where Chris, I will make sure where you're at because I don't want to mess it up. I don't want to mess it up. And Chris is in I want to say it's North Carolina, but I don't know if that's correct. Chris is oh, Chris is in Alabama.
unknownGosh.
SPEAKER_03I'm so sorry, Chris. Gosh, I apologize a lot because I don't do the research that I need to do before doing this. So this is what I this is what I get. All right, and another one, and this comes from Chad Cole, and he is in North Carolina. This is the I guess this is where I got North Carolina from. So sorry, Chris, you're in Alabama. You need go to turn out turnout tech 3D for your printing needs in Alabama. Um, this one comes from Chris Cole, and he owns Trinity Transport NC, Trinity Transport, North Carolina, and he's in North Carolina, in the North Carolina High Country, and they do shuttle services. Uh where am I at? Uh there it is. Shuttle services uh that caters to the local wedding venues in the North Carolina uh high country. So if you need to get a hold of Trinity Transport, you got a wedding that you need people transported to, or maybe other transports. You can get a hold of Chad at 828-719-2308, or you can go to nctrinitytransport all one word.com and they'll be more than happy to do that. So big shout outs to all the all the people that have dun dun dun small businesses. If you have a small business and you want us to uh give you all a shout out, by all means, uh catch us on Facebook, Instagram, or you can email it to 911 Squirrel Podcast at Gmail.com and we will give you a shout out. Uh give us your how to contact you with a phone number, uh website, an email, whatever, whatever people need for for everyone to get a hold of you. So you can make money and everyone's happy because we're first responders, we're a big family, and we should support each other, which leads me to another thing. And I was thinking about this. Um, if you if you go to Facebook, especially Facebook, um you will see the whole you can see the whole list of all who's following, right? I believe you can, because I can. Anyway, go there. Uh and I totally believe in the idea of family. The idea I uh we've said this before. I think we said it on uh our second episode of Leaders, Feeders, and Drones with the great Jamie Blair. Uh we are part of this huge support system. Uh we are one uh I mean, seriously, this is the biggest support system you could possibly have, and it doesn't end with your station, your department, your county, or your city. It goes on to your state, it goes on nationwide. And the thing about it is, is there isn't a f if you're traveling, you're a first responder and you're traveling, and I'm gonna say this right out of the gate. If you're traveling um and something happens, let's say you're you're traveling uh through Tennessee here, and uh you just happen to be in my area, I'm east of Nashville, and um something happens, uh you can call me and I'll try to help you in any way I can. Um same with anything else. If I go to uh what's one of the towns hang on a minute. This is where it's fun doing this because I get to see all the locations that you people are listening to the podcast. Can you believe that? I get to listen to all that. Let's say I'm in hang on, I'm getting the cities pulled up. Lichfield, Minnesota. Or Gerard, Kansas. Or here's one. Uh Ashburn, Virginia, Dallas, Sheridan, Wyoming, um, Coon Valley, Wisconsin, uh Saginaw, Michigan, Panama City, ooh, I know who lives there, um, Decatur, Georgia, Tracy, California, I know who lives there. Ducklips, um, Freeport, Illinois, New Britain, Connecticut, Littleton, Colorado, Denham Springs, Louisiana. These are all I mean, th there was an Anchorage, Alaska too. That's that's awesome. Um Lexington, South Carolina, Toronto, Ontario, uh Laverne, Alabama, uh uh Galax, Virginia. Hmm. Holidaysburg, Pennsylvania, Leavenworth, uh, what's some of the other ones here? I see this is where it's great. Portland, Tennessee, Bedford, Indiana, Boone, North Carolina, Analaska, Wisconsin, uh, Evansville, Indiana, uh, there's Atlanta, Universal City, Texas, uh, Hollister, California. I mean, all these places y'all are listening from. But really, as a first responder, since we're all big part of this huge support system and this, I mean, extended everywhere. If you're a first responder, and one, you can prove you're first responder. And unfortunately, we're at that point in society where you have to prove everything. You got your ID or whatever, and you need help, you should be able to reach out to anybody, um, another fire department, EMS, police department, uh, uh, EMA, whoever, uh, to get help. And I'll I'll be the first one to say, yeah, you you you have a problem, um email us or or hit us on Facebook in in uh instant messenger. Uh and yeah, get a hold of us and we'll we'll do what we can to help you. Um we'll find out, we'll we'll either come out there and get you, or we'll we'll we'll uh send somebody who can or help you find out the right piece of information by all means. And that that goes with anybody. This this is what it should be. This is what life should be, really. That everybody wants that should help be able to help each other out. But we're gonna start with just us, the first responders. We're gonna be able to do that, and you should be willing to do it. If somebody is coming through your town and they're a first responder, by all means get over there and help them. Just like you would if it was somebody that you worked with at your station or on your shift. Um something happens to them, you want go, let's go. Uh, because that's how it should be. We should be the biggest, the biggest uh community that follows the golden rule. I mean, we should be teaching people how to act. Um because we're first responders. We're supposed to be you know, we're supposed to be the kindest people in our community. And that's just how it is. And that's how it should always be. So if you do have a problem, you're coming through uh Tennessee, you're in middle Tennessee or whatever, yeah, call get catch us on Facebook Messenger, email us, uh whatever you have to do to find and we'll help you in any diff way we can. Um and so forth and so on. So by all means. Now, as I said, you gotta prove your first responder. I don't want to just, you know, whatever. But because I know how people are, and and so forth and so on. So you gotta prove it somehow, somehow. And I mean honest proof, because that's unfortunately that's where we are in society. Isn't it sad? Oh, now I just got this, and this was on Facebook, and I gotta get back to it because you know, because that's just how it is. I I don't want to like my own our own stuff. Uh one of my former partners, Dana. Uh, hi Dana, how are you? How's Sean? Give him a big hug, tell him it's from T-Rex. Yeah, that was one of my other nicknames. Only from Sean. He said I had T-Rex arms. You know. So I really couldn't hug anybody. I'm like, yeah, Sean, I'll tell you what. Love Sean to death though. She was reminding me of some of the memories we had, some of the fun times, like rolling down a hill. Yeah. Oh, made snow angels. That was fun. We were on a standby for another zone, and and it's late at night, and let's make some snow angels. Uh, but here's my she was ring my bell. I think that's you want to see some first responders just making fool of themselves? Let me tell you. If you have Nintendo, if you have a Nintendo Wii, or if you got the video game uh Dance Party, is it Dance Party? Where you had to literally dance and all that, she's got a video. And maybe she should if she if if you put it on 911 Squirrel, I'll let you. But she's got a video of me and another paramedic doing uh what was that uh wham song? Oh, wake me up before you go go. I think that's I think that was the song, but she's got a video of us dancing dancing that on that video game on Wii. Let me tell you, and we had the moves, me and Johnny Young. Johnny Young boy. We had the moves, man. It was fun. Um and we were good. If we would have kept at it, we could have won some competitions. Am I right, Johnny? I think so. But uh, she's got the video, and if she wants to put it on 911 Squirrel uh the on Facebook or Instagram, go ahead, Dana, do it. Do it, Dana, do it. Anyway, we could go on and on and on and on and on, but we won't, because we got other things to do.
SPEAKER_02And now everyone's favorite component of the job, the in-service, where we have a discussion on certain procedures to improve our performance and deliver better outcomes. Let this in service begin.
SPEAKER_03Okay, this week's in service is gonna be really quick. I wouldn't say this is training. I would say this is a uh just a well talking to. I don't know how to describe it. It's not really an in service, but it is, because I think um just like I said, we should be the biggest purveyors of the golden rule. And we've been talking about uh shift life. Shift life. I have to make sure I get the F's in there because I don't want phone calls from my mother. She's already gonna get me with the big ass brad. I don't want shift to come out in another way. Trying to keep trying to keep neutral colors in the language. Okay. This is just about shift life. Being in the station, being on your shift, being at the fire hall, being wherever it is you're you're working and you're you got the camaraderie going on and everything like that. Uh like I said, if you can do your job and you're a good hang, woo-hoo, you are golden. I mean, your network's gonna grow like gangbusters. See here's how we're gonna do this. Um I want to talk about everyone's attitude uh in on your shift. Now, your main attitude obviously should be uh I'm here to do my job, I'm here to help my community, and have a positive attitude by it. Um you remember your training, you do your training, you do all the things that you're supposed to do to do your job. Uh yes, be a good hang, be a good be a good person, be a good teammate, be a good crewmate, be a good partner. The whole nine yards, you know. Uh and so when it comes to uh everything else in shift life, that means consideration. Mutual respect. And it doesn't have to be like it it doesn't have we're not even talking politics here. If you bring politics in, it's i ugh. I hate politics. But politics it has nothing to do with anything. And I don't even know why I brought it up. I'm talking about basic human respect. Basic human consideration. If I've been in fire halls, you got you could have five, you could have eight, you could have ten, fifteen people in a fire hall, and the day room's gonna be filled, or the the kitchen table's gonna be filled, or whatever. Well, you treat it like you treat it like a family gathering, a holiday gathering. If you're all around the table and you're all are having a big meal and y'all everyone everyone pitched in to cook the meal, and then everyone pitch in to to clean up the dishes and do the dishes and clean up the clean up everything and put food away and so forth and so on. That is what I'm talking about. You make a mess, clean it up. You you don't leave any trash in your in your vehicles. You um if you have to get up and there's a whole huge amount of legs right there all over all around the couches, you know, step watch where you're stepping. If you're sitting down and someone gets up, move your feet back, you know, give them room. Uh don't go down the hallway and shoulder slam somebody. Oh, get out of my way. No, make some room. That's basic human respect, right? Right. And that's how fire halls and stations and the whole shift should be. You know, you can have jokes, you can play practical jokes. Oh, please play plac plactical jokes. You must play practical jokes. No. Uh everyone's gonna have nicknames, everyone's gonna have fun, and you should, because let's face it, you should. You should make it uh you should make it a very positive, very social environment for the entire crew, for the entire shift, everybody that works. Um mistakes are made, and you can there are some times where you gotta be, you know, you gotta have a come to Jesus meeting with some people, but please uh do what you need to do. Uh but make it fun or make it at least pleasant and where people want to come to work and so forth and so on. And uh and yes, if you're whether you're uh the captain, the the leader of the ship, the supervisor, the chief, the director, uh, or you're a new hire, you're an EMTB, you're a you're a rookie deputy, you're uh whatever the case is, you know, it uh if everyone has that consideration, that golden rule, if you will, you're gonna have a great shift. And everyone's gonna have a a a they're gonna look forward to coming to work. And it is it's important, but everybody has to chip in to make that that fire hall, that station family, that shift family, um you know a very pleasant workspace. Uh this job is tough enough. I don't care what you what you're doing. Firefighting, law enforcement, EMS, EMA, uh dispatch, you name it, the job is tough enough. Um you you you have to be nice. Don't be a bully, don't be a jerk. Don't be you know, if something happens between two people, get it worked out, talk it through, put on the boxing clubs, I don't know. Um anything to make it work to get that respect going. And uh man, it and it would be, it'd be even more pleasurable. You're still gonna have all the you know, C shift better than a shift, you know. That that's that's gonna happen, and that's that's fun ribbing. But that's today's end service. Be nice, the golden rule, be respectful, be considerate, and you'd be surprised. You would be surprised.
SPEAKER_05Greetings and welcome to another edition of the Grand Square Theater, where true stories are told, but in a theatrical style. This episode's recital is so horrific that our director has yet to recover physically. Sit back and enjoy this wonderful saga entitled The Shift Change to Forget, and listener discretion is advised.
SPEAKER_03My name is Roger. I'm the captain here at Station 4, an older station in an old neighborhood. Around here, the calls are typical, mostly medical, the odd fender bender or two, and twice a year we visit the local elementary school to pass out plastic helmets and badges. Most of the time it's routine. But for me, well, this morning had other plans. I woke up, put on my fire department polo, my heavy-duty blue cargo pants, and black boots. I packed up my bedding and headed out to the truck to grab my turnouts and equipment. After putting those away, I changed the battery in my radio, made sure all reports were done, and gave the oncoming captain the shift change update. All pretty standard. The rest of my crew and the oncoming crew were washing the trucks, discussing calls and generally razzing on each other. Another normal morning. I was about to join the lively give and take when my stomach made a gurgle. Given that Shane made his famous hot wings for dinner last night, I didn't think anything of it. So since I wasn't around anyone at the time, I felt a little pressure relief seemed to be in order. Before I opened the door to go out to the bay, I relaxed and let my body say what it wanted to say. Within a second, I realized I was the Death Star, and the Millennium Falcon escaped with a couple of droids. Throughout my life, I have had embarrassing moments. A night out with the brothers-in-law, then getting sick in front of my wife's mother, screaming like a little girl in the haunted woods when I'm 35. And I swear I was in reverse when I wanted to back out of my driveway when I ran over my kid's bike in the front of my car. On his birthday, no less. This was different, though, because there are 11 firefighters and four EMS crew members out there just itching to have a story to tell and laugh about with the rest of the department. I don't need something like this hanging over my head for the rest of my career. But here I was, just standing in disbelief, feeling the enemy caress my leg, making my pants stick to my skin. After two seconds of shock, I ran to the facilities, or, as we call it, the thinking room, to inspect my predicament and to evacuate any remnants. I was in the fourth dimension of H.E. Double toothpicks, cleaning, wiping, and planning my escape unnoticed. Time was of the essence. I sanitized the scene and creatively acquired two towels off the rack, grabbed my backpack from my locker, changed into my tennis shoes, and with determination, speed walked out the back door to my Jeep. One towel on the seat, one wrapped around me like I just got out of the pool. I waved at the perplexed crews. I'm sure they had questions as to why I was leaving without saying anything. I had two days to come up with an excuse. As I got home, Luck showed a little sympathy. As my beautiful wife was at work, kids were in school. I had the house to myself. The washer and dryer were my new best friends. The shower was my oasis of cleanliness. I was back to being able to make public appearances again. I made it. Nobody has to know. Two days later, I walked back into my station cool and collected. Per person, all I heard was, good morning, Cap. I felt relieved that my secret was safe. Until. I opened my locker with quite the surprise. Twenty rolls of toilet paper, seven towels, five deodorants, three cans of axe, and a box of defense. If that wasn't enough, a presentation on the bottom of my locker was surrounding my left boot. Two streamers taped to a piece of paper saying, You missed a spot. As I inspected my boot, I noticed some of the black had turned brown. I was busted. Laughter erupted, followed by the chant of poopy, poopy, poopy. I'm sure I was redder than Engine 4. They all enjoyed the moment and slapped me on the back, I assume with empathy, because haven't we all been there? I stopped the LT and asked how they found out. I thought I cleaned the scene and escaped better than Lex Luthor. Lieutenant Craig explained it like this. We all came into the bunk room to grab our stuff when we noticed a foul odor emanating from your locker.
SPEAKER_05Once we found the toxic boot, we knew why you left with haste. So we couldn't let that go. I asked him if anyone else knew. He answered, nah, trust me.
SPEAKER_03Alright, cool. Three hours later, we were toned out to a fire alarm, and the ship chief arrived. He just happened to be in the area. We inspected the house and found nothing. It happens. The chief and I chit-chatted on scene about this and that, no big deal. As he was leaving, he decided to yell out one final instruction for everyone to hear. Make sure you get your supply order in by the end of the day. I replied, No problem, chief, thanks. He yelled back, No, thank you, Poopy. At my retirement in about 15 years, I hoped to hear I was a respected firefighter. That I was one of the good ones, and that I would be missed. All I think about now is a chocolate cake with chocolate icing in the form of a very popular emoji. Wishing Poopy a happy retirement. And that is my shift change to forget. One or two things are happening right now if you're listening to this. You're either laughing, which oh, we hope you're laughing. Or you are uh you know, throwing up a little bit.
SPEAKER_04Or ah What a what a story.
SPEAKER_03We got this story in an email, and I decided to tell my beautiful bride about it. And I and she was like, You're gonna use that? I was like, Yeah, and she was she was gagging. She was just like, ah and then she heard what we did with it, and she said, No, okay, okay, that's good. What a I don't even know what to say. It's just oh my gosh. Okay, I'm gonna I'm gonna read a couple a couple Facebook comments that we got just because uh last week's episode, Dispatch the Untold Story, got this comment from Oh, she's probably gonna kick my butt when I try to ex t uh say her first name, Tannalia Boone. T-O-N-A-L-E-A Boone. Tana Tannalia, I hope I said that correctly. Uh her comment for for listening to Dispatch the Untold Story was uh that was a pretty okay episode with uh nice little huggy emoji. Just kidding, thanks for the support. Uh so she's a dispatcher. Where's the other one? I had another one here on on on Facebook that was really good. Uh oh, Corey Allen. Uh shout out to Corey Allen. Uh he says he just he left a uh uh uh uh you know that word starts with a C comment. And he says, I just want to say how I am happy about the name s the squirrel podcast, 911 Squirrel Podcast. I've been called a squirrel medic for many years and would occasionally hide little plastic squirrels throughout the ER. Oh, that's perfect. Have little squirrels everywhere. Oh, give it to kids, you know. When you have kids that uh you run a call with kids, um do that give them little squirrels or just what whoever. I mean, that's really what it is. And if somebody here's here's something else for you, uh Corey. If uh somebody does a really good job they go beyond above a beyond the whole nine yards, you ought to make a squirrel like trophy. That would be that would be awesome. That goes for anybody, any service. That's just awesome. In fact, uh when I was uh on uh an ambulance service here in Tennessee, we used to have a um a stuffed animal program, and I believe they still do it. Uh Jay Nock, who I worked with, uh she was the one that was in charge of it at the time. Uh Jessica, yeah, she's that that is that is woman one woman, if you want to go into a fire with, by all means, you can do it with Jay Nock. Uh anyway, she started it, and we what happens is is you if if you had to pick up a kid or you had to deal with kids on a call, well you want to get them you want to get the stress away from them as best as you can. And so we would give out uh stuffed animals to kids, especially and that it does. It kind of it kind of helps them, it gives them something to hold on to, which is kind of nice. So, yeah, that that Corey, that's that stuff is legendary. Real legendary. Um let's see here. There was something else I was going to uh uh uh uh there was something, and I can't remember where it was. Oh, Corey also said, love it, from one squirrel to another. Because we're all squirrels, let's face it. We all got big bushy tails. Well, unless you've only you're a rookie, then you you your tails but you know tiny.
SPEAKER_06Doesn't have a lot of bushy, you know, it's just a little tiny.
SPEAKER_03Um anyway, yes. Oh, this has been this has been a fun episode. This really has. It's been a great episode. We uh um it's all it it some hopefully some things that you take from this is one, you are a part of a family. Uh if if you're in emergency services, you are part of a big family. We're everywhere. You can't help it. Um and this family has a lot of different personalities, but if everyone uh treats it like a family, if everyone has a consideration, that basic human respect, um does the job, wants to be a good hang, keep keep your house clean, keep your trucks, keep your cars, keep everything clean, uh be considerate of others, just like I said. You know, it it's fine the the you have the the practical jokes uh which uh one of the greats uh the great the late great Shane Clifford used to be a big jokester around here. Uh put salt in your drink if you go to breakfast or lunch with him. He did the whole, you know, dip toilet paper in water on a freezing night and stick it all over your car, you know, all that kind of stuff. And practical jokes are great, just keep them keep them to where you don't destroy anything, you don't you know, you don't hurt anybody, you don't hurt anything. It's it's all about fun and light. And if you have a if you have a practical joke played on you, you know what that means? You're part of the family. That's what that means. So laugh, enjoy it, and be a part of it. If you're part of s playing a practical joke on somebody, hey, do it out of fun, and uh and all that. Uh we're all big. This is the other thing is, is this is the biggest support system in the world. If you're a first responder, you got a whole city, state, uh, national support system. Worldwide, really. And by all means, reach out if you need help for anything. Um, whether it's us or anybody else, any other first responder, because we are one big happy family. It's functional, but we're happy. And uh yeah, this is gosh, we have had so much fun. This has been a fun time. This really has been fun uh to talk about all this kind of stuff and talk about the life, the family and the gift. And I did say that was an eff. Life. Hey, sometimes my I have a problem with words. What can I say? Anyway, this has been great. Next week we're gonna have a very special interview. Uh it might be a tear jerker, it might be a little rough, but we'll see. Um, but it's something that really uh some of you have dealt with, and uh some others have not. And it's it's a subject that it's gonna be it's gonna be heavy. But everybody needs to learn from it. So we're gonna have an interview uh with an EMT, uh really uh really nice guy out of Massachusetts. We're gonna have an interview with him. We'll probably have another guest also next week, and then we're gonna do some other fun stuff too. So thank you for joining us. Uh please follow us on all the streaming services, follow our podcast, go to Facebook, go to Instagram, follow us there, be part of the Squirrel Squad, and I'll have more information on that too next week. Everyone be safe, everyone enjoy, God bless you, and we'll talk to y'all soon.