Sorry to say, but it had to happen

And these fools were racing thru the desert at night, with only their headlights to illuminate the terrain.

I was at a drag race, sitting up in the stands a good distance from the track, when one car's engine or tranny exploded. A hefty chunk of busted gear whalloped the seat back right beside me, then richocheted off and hit me in the side. REALLY hard. A direct hit would have... :(

No.

We get people hurt or killed every year at the Baja 250 and 1000 races... I had a neighbor that was actually dumb enough to be standing BETWEEN 2 set of ruts in the middle of the course, taking pictures!

mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

And some people think that Darwinism is just a theory.

beekeep

I have PTSD, and am very fidgety when I see people doing stupid things. I was a safety man, so I've seen lots of things people do. Before I got into safety, I saw plenty in the oilfield including a multiple amputation of fingers of a guy working 3 feet to my right. I know shit happens.

One time a guy I know (I don't call him friend) saw a police situation near where we were working. It was a man with a gun, and officers had this man up against some oleanders, with nothing behind. Kenny wanted a better view, and walked behind the oleanders behind the perp, and right into the line of fire of POs with weapons drawn and already pointed at the perp. Turns out it was a realistic air pistol.

He got his ass chewed real good, but the expression on his face told me it went in one ear and out the other.

That was about the stupidest thing I've seen anyone ever do.

Steve

visit my blog at

You want to see some stupid stuff visit a large fire scene. There are a lot of things done in the name of "tradition" that are really stupid.

"Steve W." wrote

Please post some of those things.

Steve

I'll give you one stupid thing although not at a fire scene.

Fight a unwinnable war.

Curious, what does people doing stupid things like watching a race(don't agree that is stupid in itself) have to do with ptsd?

Now I'm curious. What the heck did you just say? And what does it have to do with what I asked Steve W. about?

Steve

visit my blog at

Well how about the "tradition" that Chicago fire had for YEARS that they wore long coats and 3/4 boots instead of bunker gear that affords a LOT more protection. They finally changed but there are a lot of folks who are working to get the rules changed so they can revert back to the 3/4 boots and coats...

Tradition says you run into the building with a hose line and eat the smoke "like a man" , reality says, eat the crap in the smoke and suffer health problems for a LONG time...

I know of a lot of others but don't like giving the service a black eye. Plus I have been guilty of a few transgressions on the fire ground myself...

I read articles about fire fighters back when it was a business. A homeowner would pay a fire service, and then that fire service would put a metal placard on the house of that fire company. I guess they could charge for putting a fire out, and there were outright fistfights and brawls over who was going to put the fire out on houses that didn't have a placard, and sometimes they took so long that the house actually burned down before they got through fighting.

The gear these days is like everything else, developing exponentially every couple of years. Now, Scott packs are nearly standard everywhere, and ten years ago, they weren't. You have Nomex as a standard now, and before, it was only for guys who spent their own money on it. I can see where some of the old traditions would die hard. But as the guard changes, and the old guys die off, there seems to be progress.

Steve

visit my blog at

Seems pretty clear.

Ahh the good old days. Back when you had plug uglies and fire watches...

Yeah there has been a ton of progress with gear. We just got all new gear and while the stuff is great for keeping you safe it also weighs a ton with all the required safety crap built in. Holds in heat like crazy as well. Not the best thing if it's 90 degrees with humidity to match.

Scott makes a good pack as does MSI and Draegar. They are ALL way to expensive though. It's like anything with "Fire" in the name is automatically 5X the price...

You know, Roy. If you understand it, that's all that's important, isn't it?

Steve

Are you a fireman?

Steve

Let me clear it up a bit so you'll understand.

I don't see the relevancy to one having ptsd to people doing "stupid things

Yes, Roy. It is very clear that you do not understand.

Steve

Oh, I am very familiar and understand ptsd very well.

The thing is since you brought ptsd into the thread I'm waiting for you to explain it's relevancy to people doing stupid things. But if you are unable to, well...

"Roy" wrote

I'll do this slowly, Roy, so that you MAY understand.

PTSD gives the person affected by it a hypervigilant perception of everything. That is they are overly aware of impending or perceived threats. They jump at loud noises. They see things that "might" happen, and react almost as if those things are actually happening. So, when people do stupid things that put themselves in danger, a hypervigilant PTSD sufferer would be made very anxious and stressed watching them, and thinking that something bad was about to happen.

Can you comprehend THAT? But if you're unable to, well ......

Steve

visit my blog at

I understand how ptsd may at times manifest, but watching a race...... If you truly suffer from ptsd to the extent that watching a auto/truck race or people doing stupid things has a severe adverse effect on you, I'd suggest another evaluation.