Off-the-Job Emergencies you've encountered

[Voodoo_Operator]

Listening with the scanner.

Meh, you've got a scanner! That's cheating! Now you know exactly where they are and when they're happening

I had to drive/walk to plumes of smoke or try to follow siren sounds and passing firetrucks to find my fires (except maybe that one that happened 1 block away from mine, once)

[2Bells Gaming]

Fair enough

[MCERT1]

But that's half the fun of a scanner... Squirreling calls (as we call it)

I remember that fire in Buffalo I skipped class to listen to it.

[2Bells Gaming]

I remember that fire in Buffalo I skipped class to listen to it.

I almost asked if you meant the West/West Delevan fire or the 5 alarm on Niagara, then I realised you live in Erie, and you were in class.. the West Fire was at night. Duh lol so you listened to 1130 Niagara too?

[Eremal]

So I got a scanner, but ive also seen alot of stuff without it. I live next to a firestation, and before 1.1.2006 emt also responded from there. I basicly followed them to every fire within 2-3km radius of where i live, as long as they went with their sirens on.

I've seen so many small and medium fires/car accidents im not gonna post any specifics on those. But I've got some interesting ones.

A long time ago, I followed the sirens to a fatal car accident on the highway about 600m from my home. Some guy had changed his mind when he was pulling off the highway, and turned right in front of a car which was doing double his speed, they both ended up in the divider (which in norway is just a big sign that says "you wanna go on this side, or that side, but not right here"), and the driver who changed his mind died.

While i was doing driving lessons, I encountered a firetruck who had hit a car that not only didnt react to the blairing sirens, but also ran a yield sign.

A time i was out shopping, I started to hear sirens, being close to an intersection I didnt react at first, but I noticed the sirens didnt fade out, but rather stopped close by, so I went outside, and there were a firetruck, brigadier (used as first responder vehicle) and an ambulance in the parkinglot. Apparently a guy had been run over, and got stuck under the car. While I was there another ambulance, a police car, and the air ambulance arrived. The guy was in critical condition and lost A LOT of blood. There was an area about 2x3m covered in blood. Apparantly he survived though.

As for a more personal one, while heading to the eastern parts of norway during the spring, we encountered some icy roads at a pretty high speed, while attempting to slow down, we notice i semi having the same problem, only hes going downhill, and isnt decelerating at all. Theres a cliff on one side of the road, and 1.5m of rock hard icy snow on the other. And the road isnt wide enough for the both of us. So we slow down to about 15-20kmt when we notice the car sliding to the middle of the road, so we decide to rather floor it into the barrier of snow at the side of the road. The semi finally stops about 20m behind us, but only after ripping every part that stuck more than 1mm from the side of our camper off. And if we'd been 2-3cm further out in the road, hed likely pulled off the side of the camper, and possibly my best friend along with it.

Again, I've seen ALOT of small and medium fires around the 2-3km around my house while I grew up. 2 fairly big ones that wasnt so big after all. After I bought my scanner I've seen alot of big ones that turned out to be really big.

2 years ago I passed some guys standing at the sidewalk talking on a cellphone without thinking more about it. Then I smelled some smoke, and 15 seconds later the structure fire alarm sounded on the scanner, I figured the guys I passed was calling the fire dept, so I headed in their direction, and while i was exiting my car about 60m away the voice on the radio verified my assumption, it turned out to be one of the most devestating fires in my city, if measured in historic property. And if I hadnt had my scanner, I'd be home sleeping instead of getting a bunch of fairly good pictures.

[jab16]

A caving accident when I was present, thats how I got rescue certified.