On May 5, 1996 a story appeared in The Vancouver Courier Newspaper outlining plans by the Vancouver Fire Department to take over paramedic duties from the BC Ambulance Service. (CLICK HERE TO SEE THE ACTUAL ARTICLE).

On the night of May 6, 1996, two of my squad mates were assigned to investigate a suspicious death. A dead body had been found on the street. When they arrived, they discovered that the body had been moved and put on the sidewalk by fire department crews. They also discovered that several firemen had interviewed witnesses and then left the scene. Now at this point the police members had no idea if they were dealing with a heroin overdose, a death by natural causes, a traffic accident or a murder. As a result it is assumed, worst case scenario to be a murder. So moving the body is a cardinal sin.

After concluding their investigation at the scene, they were still no further ahead in determining the cause of death. They then went to the fire hall to interview the crew who had attended the scene. A young fireman answered the door. The standing joke around the city is that firemen have to ask a Captains permission to do anything. This belief was semi-confirmed in the next few seconds. The two officers asked the young fireman point blank the following question:

What did YOU ask the witness? (emphasis on you is mine)

His reply, is a direct quote:

"I don't know, I'll have to ask the captain"

To which he disappeared and did precisely that. The two officers thought this was extremely funny and and the end of shift came to me with the story believing it worthy of a poem. I agreed. Since I had only done one previous poem about the firemen, I included a few other gaffes that I had personally witnessed over the years. For example I watched a young fireman performing CPR on a man who we had confirmed had been dead for 48 hours. When told this, another fireman stated that it was good practice for him.

Another standing joke among police and paramedics is that while working nightshift, we stay awake throughout the night and on patrol, whereas the firemen have the luxury of being able to sleep. However, having said this, I would much rather be awake than asleep when an emergency call comes in. The shock to your system of going from full at rest to full alert instantly is murder on your system.

Finally, let me say, that I have the utmost respect for the job the fire crews do. I have been in a few burning buildings in my career and it is not the most pleasant experience. Not to mention being highly dangerous. So guys, take the poem in the humour with which it is intended. I mean no disrespect. Just poking some fun into an otherwise stressful and dangerous situation.