What a night - would appreciate prayers

[Will24]

Tonight around 17:45, we were dispatched to a pedestrian struck accident, upon arrival our (fire department) captain found 2 teenagers unconcious in the roadway and a VERY smashed bronco II. Turns out the kids were riding an atv and a mini-bike when they stopped in the roadway for an unknown reason, in the dark, in the exit of a curve. The lady driving the bronco had about a 3 foot set of skid marks before the point of impact, they were hit HARD. In the end the result was one 15 year old, dead of massive chest and head trauma and one 14 year old in critical condition with massive head trauma, both were airlifted two local trauma centers, the 15 year old had coded already before even making it to the chopper.



I am only 19, I knew the 15 year old from school (only 800 kids in our high school total) it's very wierd when someone your own age dies, what a mess, made philly news etc.





Thanks

Will

 

[Whitmore]

Will I have been in the fire service as a volunteer for 15 years now, I am currently ranked as an assistent chief and thru my years I have been involved with many many crashes, prolly some 200 dead by now and I can tell you that the feeling you have right now is the same feeling that you will get on them all, keep a level head and remember one thing, always be part of the solution instead of the problem. You are there to help in any way you can, remember that these people were in a pickle before you were paged and you cant change that but you can help to get any survivors out. Yes it is a sad sad deal when lives are lost and especially children but the wrecks still keep happening and as long as they do there will be firemen showing up on the crash scene to help out.



Dont let it bother you to bad but if it does feel free to pm me or to get help from your department heads, some crashes need trama relief to help us out and dont feel any less of a man to use the system, for what its worth I have come home and wept before many times and after bad crashes I usually take a night or two to get any sleep at all.



Kudoes to you for the job that you do Will



cheers, Kevin

 

[ToolManTimTaylor]

Will I kinda feel your pain. I lost 7 friends within the first 4 years of graduation (1991) and man it's tough. My prayers and condolences go out to you , Family and friends ..... as well as the lady who I am sure meant no harm to any of the victims. I agree with Kevin do NOT carry weight on your shoulders as you are the Life preserver and savior . . not anyone who should be held responsible for not doing anything more than one of the most honorable tasks anyone can do. Talk to anyone who is willing to listen and God's prayers to ya.



TmTT

 

[RKleis]

Will,

fwiw I had a similar experience when I started in our voluntary

fire department, two dead girls from my school in a completely

avoidable car wreck. I was 18 then and still it comes back

sometimes when I drive by where it happened at age 45 now.

There will always be times when you have to accept how little or nothing can sometimes be done, and you can't see any justice or sense in what happened.

The "bright" side though is you helped save one kid, and he wouldn' be around if it were not for what you do.

That's all the reason to do it.

Sorry if I couldnt phrase it more eloquently,

this is kind of touchy in a foreign language.

Hope to get the piont accross though.

rob

 

[rmrc]

Prayers on the way!!!

 

[lschultz]

will24 you got the TDR behind you. If you want to talk we listen. I was in one of those situations 3-14-98. It wasn't my time to go. Who knows or what I would be if it wasn't for people like you responding. You guys do a good job.

 

[Whitmore]

But on a positive note out of the 200 that did'nt make it I bet we have rescued prolly around 500, some were not in so good of shape but allot of them are doing just fine now. The survivors are the ones that keep me coming back for more, To me there is nothing more satisfying than having someone make it out of a bad situation when the odds are against them.



cheers, Kevin

 

[QRTRHRS]

Few years ago, one of the volunteer ambulance members rounded a curve seconds after an accident on his way home. He discovered his best friend dead and a young woman in very serious condition. They airlifted her out and she had a long but successful recovery. Today she is attending college. Like Kevin said, there is satisfaction.



Will, an experiance like this is like an addiction that you have beaten. It will remain with you for a long time if not forever. When it creeps into your mind, don't deny it, deal with it. You may be only 19 but tonight you have aged by leaps and bounds. Keep up the good work.

 

[Fireman Dave]

Will,



It's not easy being on those calls, but hang in there. Good advice from Kevin. We are not the reason these things happen, we just go to help. We can't change what happened, we can just do our best to help.



Dave

 

[Gene Arnold]

That was a tough dispatch! Any incident that involves young people is bad, but when you know the person it is even worse.



I'm a member of the West Idaho Critical Incident Stress Debriefing team. Sounds like you (and perhaps your fellow responders) could benefit from a debriefing. Hope there is a team available in your area. If there is no team, then you guys who respond to an especially difficult incident will benefit if you'll just get together where you are in private and talk the incident through and ventilate your frustrations/feelings.



I don't know if you are a Volunteer Fireman, Professional Fire Fighter, or an EMT. Makes no difference, we all need you guys who are willing to do the stuff. THANKS A LOT!!

 

[Whitmore]

Gene

About this debriefing deal, I have been on a few aftermath debriefings where we had guys that said they didnt need it and then they seam to slowly disappear from calls, we actually had 3 guys quit the department after a terrible incodent where a 170 ton haul truck ran over a guy in a 1 ton maintenance truck, What I think is going on is they are embarresed to show that it bothers them, my question is how do we get people involved , we have made it voluntary but I am wondering if we were to make it manditory if that would help, please help to guide us here , sounds like you have some experience on the issue.



thanks, Kevin

 

[Gene Arnold]

Whittmore-



I need to tell you that our team is independent so that provides some different dynamics. Many, especially larger departments, have their own "in house" teams. There are advantages to both.



The Critical Incident debriefing services have proven to be effective. The Vietnam war taught us a lot about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. What has been learned since is that anyone who experiences a critical incident may have delayed reaction to the event. Sometimes the reaction is soon afterwards but it is often quite delayed and produces symptoms that can be disrupting to the individual and costly for Fire, PD, Sheriff, of Paramedic Departments. Studies have shown that those who receive debriefings (and certainly there are other helps that have been received as well) are much less likely to leave their jobs when compared with those who have not received any help. When you consider how costly it is to recruit and train first responders you can see why it is advantageous to provide the service.



How to get people to attend? That is difficult to answer. First responders tend to be tough, self-reliant, and often quite unwilling to admit to their need of help. Some departments I've worked with have made attendance mandatory. People are often "on duty" so they're paid to be there and that probably helps get them. We make it clear that, though they are required to be there, they are NOT required to participate. It is interesting to sometimes see the most resistant people begin to crack during the process, sometimes becoming the most active participants

 

[SOOT]

Thats tough. I lost 2 friends a few years ago. Thanks for taking on the job as a live savor.



My Prayers to you and the friends and family of the vitims.

 

[dieselgirlanddan]

Will,

I've been on alot of those kind of calls, I don't like seeing anyone get Killed (Especially Children).

But we are there to help people. We are american Angels!

Thats what we do best is Saving peoples lives.

Keep up the good Work Will! Stay safe, may god be with ya!

You got TDR Guys & Gals behind you all the way!



Amy

 

[Will24]

I appreciate the kind words from everyone, I really do appreciate it.





Anyway, I went down to see what I could see in daylight...





#ad

 

[Amianthus]

Amy's got it right. If you ever need an avenue to vent for just such a topic, don't hesitate to use us as a sounding board. There are several here that have been there and can offer words of encouragement or advice. CISD or not, if you need to vent, we'll be here to help.

 

[lgibson]

I wish I could say it gets easier, but it does not. I volunteered for Lake Mead NRA for many years as an EMT. I help pull countless kids out of the lake that had drown, been to many motor vehicle and boating accidents. We got a call once for a head on accident, F250 vs red Fire bird. My best friend drives a red Fire bird and was on her way out to the lake taking that very road. Two kids were in the car, my friend had two kids with her. All the way to the scene I was telling myself no matter who it is was, I am going to do what I was trained to do. I already had two of my friends die right in front of me, one gun shot the other motorcycle accident.



We roll up and it was a mess. One person in the road, a lady thrown against the embankment, and the others were still in the vehicles. Out of eight people only three lived. The guy in the street got up and tried to run away, he just stole the truck and had a nation wide warrant out for him. Back seat passenger in car lived, and the mother of two little babies lived only because she had the kids sitting in her lap and they softened the blow for her. I heard she died later because she lost her husband and she was alive only because her kids softened the impact. It wasn't till we got back that I realized my best friend was not the one involved.



Most people will never know what we go through. That is why there is a debriefing with others like us. I have had seen medics fall apart during calls or days after. Talk to someone, don't let it build up inside you because it will burst one day. My prayers are with you and the families.