r/Firefighting • u/Peaches0k Texas FF/EMT/HazMat Tech • Jan 22 '25

General Discussion Reasons For Calls

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Saw someone ask what all we do besides fire. Here’s a list the shifts add to for dumb calls. It was started a few months ago

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u/Tactile_Sponge Jan 22 '25

Last bed bug guy I took in, I coaxed him into agreeing to ride in a body bag. He was pretty chill, and it was 100% BLS, so he just had his face and the pulse ox + autocuff line hanging out.

Blanket burrito doesn't cut it anymore. Caught a couple of those fuckers escaping and trying to come home with me with a different bedbug pt. Unless it's a critical situation, I'm not going inside unless I've taped up my boots/pant legs (half measure) or donned a tyvek suit.

Seems overkill, but by god, I had them in my last apartment 3 years ago, and it was almost 6 months of absolute psychological torture living with them. Never again.

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u/Sea-Conference-5474 Jan 23 '25

We had a few places with bedbugs. If it was a medical, only the necessary gear went in. We always tucked duty pants in our boots. I'm getting itchy just thinking about it.

I have a million stories. The good outweighs the bad. It takes its toll on you. Some people just live and act like animals, and it kind of makes one wonder if people are ever going to change.

FD definitely sees people at their worst.

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u/Tinfoilfireman Haz Mat Captain Jan 23 '25

The amount of weirdness we see John Q Public would never believe lol. That is why I wonder about humanity sometimes, I truly wonder how far of the normal branch some people fell off at some point.

I have a cousin who is a Cop and we compare stories sometimes and trust me on this one LEO has the fire service beat