For many years, we have heard that the Veterans Administration medical system is broken. For about the past two to three years, I have been helping a veteran get to his doctor’s appointments at the VA hospital. I feel like I have an idea of how this system works and thought that I would share my VA experience. No system is perfect and ways to improve processes should be sought. Keep in mind, I am sharing this from a caregiver’s perspective. Everything that we do takes time to figure things out. I do not offer solutions, but would like to…
Browsing: Fire & Life Safety
Since June 29, I have walked alongside a family that never saw it coming. The mother was in the late stages of her third trimester, two weeks from her due date. She had seen her doctor on Wednesday, June 26, and was told that everything looked fine. On Friday, the pregnancy took a turn. The expectant mom thought that she was not feeling the baby move, but she wasn’t sure. On Saturday, she was sure. She had talked to a number of people, but one family member told her that if she was not sure that the baby was moving…
It is unthinkable to me that this continues to happen, but children continue to die after being left in a hot car. Accidents are preventable. People who leave a child in the car have expressed a wide number of excuses, but this scenario is absolutely preventable. I sat in my running car yesterday, waiting for my wife. With the AC on, the dash was hot to the touch, indicating that he would not take long for a non-running vehicle to heat up quickly. There is no amount of time that is acceptable to leave a child alone in a car,…
By David Thompson This story, my story, began one year ago. I had not had a heart attack or any serious symptoms that would indicate a heart condition. I had lost 23 pounds over six months and had walked over 400,000 steps in the five weeks preceding my diagnosis. My level of business travel had remained high. My only symptom was occasional shortness of breath when taking a short walk. There would also be other occasions of shortness of breath as I zipped around doing my usual activities. This I ignored. My diagnosis was nothing short of a miracle because…
For the last 40 years, I have been attempting to educate people about the need to have a proper number of properly located and functioning smoke alarms in their homes. A couple of smoke alarms with a residential sprinkler system and the chance of survival in a residential fire is as close to 100 percent as one can get. Smoke alarms are the most inexpensive piece of the puzzle. The cost goes up a little when you purchase electric alarms with battery backup. For what is being protected, the costs are minimal. In regard to smoke alarms, building codes base…
With July 4 coming, it is important to discuss how we can and cannot celebrate the holiday. The Fireworks Regulations page of the Chesterfield County website states: “The sale, possession, and use of fireworks by anyone other than a licensed and permitted fireworks professional is prohibited by the Chesterfield County Fire Prevention Code.” Section 5602.1 of the Fire Prevention Code defines fireworks in this way: “Fireworks shall mean any firecracker, torpedo, skyrocket, or other substance or object, of whatever form or construction, that contains explosive or inflammable compound or substance, and is intended, or commonly known, as fireworks and which…
June 18-19 marked the 12th anniversary of the day when nine firefighters made the ultimate sacrifice at the Sofa Super Store fire in Charleston, S.C. This fire claimed the greatest number of firefighters’ lives since Sept.11, 2001. I just took the time to listen to the first hour of dispatch audio from that horrific night. As I was listening, I was reminded about the A-shift fire at Turner’s TV next door to Fire Station 1 many years ago. I do not remember the crew on duty what was then Unit 13 except for Acting Lieutenant Bill VanGils. The initial actions…
On June 1, the hurricane season began in the Western Hemisphere. Every year, a number of named storms affect the eastern and southern coasts of the United States. My experience in public safety has taught me that there are three phases of every landfalling storm: before, during and after. I could probably write an article on each phase, but I will try to give some key points on each of these three phases. Before the Storm The fire service works in operational periods of time leading up to a landfalling storm. There are certain things that need to be checked…
It has been quite a while since I shared an old recipe from my firehouse days. I say “old” because in November I will have been retired from the fire service for nine years. There were some meals that were easy to prepare, but quite tasty. This meal was called “turkey melts and tater tots.” I will let you determine the amount that you buy based upon the number of people that you will be serving. You can add to or take away from this meal. Grocery list English muffins Shaved turkey breast Sliced provolone cheese Green peppers Vidalia onions…
Recently, a 15-passenger van was rear-ended by a dually pickup hauling a trailer. The news reported that four were killed, three were transported to MCV via helicopter and five others were transported to area hospitals via ambulance. I am praying that the respective crash teams from Dinwiddie and Virginia State Police will determine all of the details that led to this crash. As a pastor of a church with two 15-passenger vans, I want to speak to the churches and organizations that own these vans. For a long time, 15-passenger vans carried the stigma of a higher-than-normal center of gravity,…