Hey,
        Thanks for the reply. You have some info I hadn't been exposed to. I 
still have to wonder, though, if a union would help change the laws governing 
the safety of the EMT. It doesn't seem fair to say a FF or LEO's life is more 
important than an EMT. As far as forcible entry, that also seems like someone 
isn't thinking with their brains. I guess you could call it a anal-cerebral 
inversion. From what I've seen of unions, the biggest boon would be the pay 
thing. How much is someone's life worth?  Someone needs to be working with 
the public to make these facts more widely known. Maybe campaign even. Find a 
politician who's bored, I guess. 
        As far as the pay thing goes though, around here you almost can't get 
hired by the county if you aren't at least EMT-IV. And then they want you to 
promise to go to Paramedic School. That's not particularly bad except that 
you end up rushing through your education with little time to gain needed 
experience in the field. I would rather have a veteran Intermediate work on 
me than a newby Paramedic with only a year or two of experience.
        Thanks again, and I would welcome any other info you want to share.
                                                        Mike
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