Thank you to all our emergency responders out there

[fallen1]

[size="2"]I saw this this morning and decided to post it here since I know we have quite a few players and members who work in these fields....

What I wish people knew about EMS, Firefighters, Dispatchers, & Law Enforcement.

I wish you could know what it is like to search a burning bedroom for trapped children at 3 AM, flames rolling above your head, your palms and knees burning as you crawl, the floor sagging under your weight as the kitchen below you burns.

I wish you could comprehend a husband's horror at 6 in the morning as I check his wife of 40 years for a pulse and find none. I start CPR anyway, hoping to bring her back, knowing intuitively it is too late. But wanting her husband and family to know everything possible was done to try to save her life.

I wish you knew the unique smell of burning insulation, the taste of soot-filled mucus, the feeling of intense heat through your turnout gear, the sound of flames crackling, the eeriness of being able to see absolutely nothing in dense smoke-sensations that I've become too familiar with.

I wish you could read my mind as I respond to a building fire "Is this a false alarm or a working fire? How is the building constructed? What hazards await me? Is anyone trapped?" Or to call, "What is wrong with the pa tient? Is it minor or life-threatening? Is the caller really in distress or is he waiting for us with a 2x4 or a gun?"

I wish you could feel my pain as I stand at the door of a burning apartment waiting on the lone fire engine to respond to my call because someone has called in one too many false 9-1-1 calls and the others have responded to those while I stand and listen to the final fatal screams of a mother and her three children one week before Christmas.

I wish you could be in the emergency room as a doctor pronounces dead the beautiful five-year old girl that I have been trying to save during the past 25 minutes, who will never go on her first date or say the words, "I love you Mommy" again.

I wish you could know the frustration I feel in the cab of the engine or unit the driver with his foot pressing down hard on the pedal, my arm tugging again and again at the air horn chain, as you fail to yield the right-of-way at an intersection or in traffic. When you need us however, your first comment upon our arrival will be, "It took you forever to get here!"

I wish you could know my thoughts as I help extricate a girl of teenage years from the remains of her automobile. "What if this was my daughter, sister, my girlfriend or a friend? What is her parent's reaction going to be when they open the door to find a police officer with hat in hand?"

I wish you could know how it feels to walk in the back door and greet my parents and family, not having the heart to tell them that I nearly did not come back from the last call.

I wish you could know how it feels dispatching officers, firefighters and EMT's out and when we call for them and our heart drops because no one answers back or to here a bone chilling 911 call of a child or wife needing assistance.

I wish you could feel the hurt as people verbally, and sometimes physically, abuse us or belittle what I do, or as they express their attitudes of "It will never happen to me."

I wish you could realize the physical, emotional and mental drain or missed meals, lost sleep and forgone social activities, in addition to all the tragedy my eyes have seen.

I wish you could know the brotherhood and self-satisfaction of helping save a life or preserving someone's property, or being able to be there in time of crisis, or creating order from total chaos.

I wish you could understand what it feels like to have a little boy tugging at your arm and asking, "Is Mommy okay?" Not even being able to look in his eyes without tears from your own and not knowing what to say. Or to have to hold back a long time friend who watches his buddy having CPR done on him as you take him away in the Medic Unit. You know all along he did not have his seat

[Greenblaster]

Kudos. Anyone saving lives, homes, and/or property (in some cases, without pay) definitely deserves everyone's thanks, admiration, and respect. Thanks for everything you guys do.

[Nikki]

Fallen,

Thanks for posting this. I think we all need a reminder sometimes of the very diffucult work that emergency personnel do. They put themselves in harm's way on a daily basis to help others. Next time you see a firefighter, police officer or medic, make sure to give them a heartfelt THANK YOU!!!!

Nikki

[Deagle]

my moms a first responder, and they don't get the credit they deserve. I've seen her at work on a guy who was hopeless, trying to save him, and it's an amazing thing to see. And the attitude they can get is ridiculous.

[Practise]

clap clap thank you for posting

[cooper]

we had a couple firefighters die last year. you know that they never got the thanks they deserved...

[castortroy]

I think it's going to be impossible to ever forget the jobs these guys do for us. Especially the guys and girls who lost their lives on 9/11 fighting what they knew to be a lost cause.

I mean granted it's not even my country I'm talking about but still...

[BikerSk8rKid]

ORIGINAL: Greenblaster

Kudos. Anyone saving lives, homes, and/or property (in some cases, without pay) definitely deserves everyone's thanks, admiration, and respect. Thanks for everything you guys do.

I so agree with you on this.