Code 3

I always thought it would be a thrill to be one of those people who drove some sort of vehicle with its lights and sirens. Actually, it is quite nerve racking. My adrenaline rose out of pure nervousness rather than thrill. You just don't know what erratic moves people are going to make to seemingly get out of your way. Plus, my personal insurance can go up if I wreck the ambulance.

Well, the other day, just as we left Rex Hospital (which is out of our district anyways), a call came in for a house fire. Mind you, I am driving the ambulance and I have never driven Code 3 before (with lights and sirens). My partner Chasidy looks at me and says that we can take this call. She calls central and tells them it's ours and then looks at me and says, " We're going hot." Never once did I question my ability to drive this ambulance before, but I was like, "Me?? Are you asking me to drive hot? Surely you want me to pull over and let you drive." Of course this whole conversation is going on in my head as I reach over and turn on the lights and Chasidy turns on the sirens.

Now, most people on their first "hot" run go too slow. I actually made really good time. I think I made ten miles through highway and neighborhoods in 7 minutes. That's actually awesome for a first timer. I only freaked Chasidy out once, but that was because she couldn't read my mind and anticipate that I wasn't going to pull out in front of some moving cars and I, of course, wasn't. It's actually pretty scary riding in the passenger seat of a Code 3 run.

Well, after all that hussle and bussle, we get to the call hot and the house fire isn't all that hot. It was adrenaline rushing, and I am proud of myself for the way I handled the ambulance going Code 3.

We did chase the police and fire trucks to another house fire call right after that one and it was more unimpressive than the first. I didn't drive that time, but it was fun having a police and fire escort.