#HobbyCareerPassion: 911…What’s Your Emergency? by D. V. Stone

Welcome to my weekly feature where authors share about the hobbies, careers, or passions of their characters.

I’m pleased to introduce today’s guest, D. V. Stone…

 

911…What’s Your Emergency?

Hi, Alicia. Thank you for hosting me today on your passion blog. I am so excited to talk about First Responders. Though I haven’t been one for many years, I’ll never forget the times I did. It followed naturally that in my book Rock House Grill the main character is an EMT.

Here’s a bit of personal history. I became an EMT while working at the Hunterdon Developmental Center, working with the disabled. There’s a special place in my heart for these often-forgotten group of people. At first, I was a personal care attendant for my patients. When a position opened in the on-site clinic for an ambulance driver, I applied. Soon I was a certified EMT.

Our local volunteer squad always needed help. I joined and ran a routine duty night as well as picked up other calls when available. Only two blocks from the squad building often I was the first there to pull out the rig. Over the years, I worked and volunteered as an EMT, including in a women’s state prison and a hospital emergency room.

So, what is a First Responder? According to Merriam Webster, the definition of first responder is a person (such as a police officer or an EMT) who is among those responsible for going immediately to the scene of an accident or emergency to provide assistance.

Who is a First Responder? First responders typically include paramedics, emergency medical technicians, police officers, firefighters, rescuers, and other trained members of organizations connected with this type of work.

How many are there? There are over 1 million firefighters in the United States, of whom approximately 750,000 are volunteers. Volunteers in many places undergo a minimum of 110  to 171 hours of training. They continue that training throughout their careers via drills, meetings, and seminars.

Local police departments have an estimated 556,000 full-time employees, including about 436,000 sworn enforcement personnel.

Sheriffs’ offices reported about 291,000 full-time employees, including about 186,000 sworn personnel.

There are over 155,000 nationally registered emergency medical technicians (EMT).

My husband is also a volunteer firefighter. Though he is no longer active at a fire scene, he’s known to the children in our area as Fireman Pete. He and several others go to schools and daycare centers and teach fire prevention to the kids.

So many of these people run to danger instead of away. They miss time with their families, holidays, special occasions, etc. Unfortunately, First Responders are often targeted. Many years ago, when I volunteered, the danger was rampant. My partner and I both females responded to a man down. When we arrived, he was high and combative. Not only that, but those around him also had impaired judgment. My partner was knocked to the ground and I had to radio for assistance. Luckily for us, help arrived before we were further assaulted. One of the cities not far from us provided bulletproof vests to their EMTs. This was in the early 1990s.

Next time you see red and blue lights, I’d like you to remember the men and women who are manning the front of the line, which is often the line between life and death.

I hope this gives you a small peek inside the life of a First Responder.

One man’s choices—One woman’s impact

 Rock House Grill

 Coming in 2020

 Aden House, successful but driven chef and TV personality, refuses to slow down. His life implodes one night, damaging him both physically and emotionally. He’s rescued by a woman he thinks of as his angel.

Shay McDowell has rebuilt her life after her divorce. She juggles volunteer EMT duties and her job, while dreaming of becoming a chef. She finds her way to Rock House Grill and back into the life of the man she helped save.

Can love be the ingredient needed to survive the many obstacles they face?

Bio

Hi, my name is D. V. Stone. Recently, Rock House Grill, a contemporary romance, has been signed with Wild Rose Press. I host Welcome to the Campfire, a weekly blog. I am also a multi-genre author of two independently published books. Felice, Shield-Mates of Dar is a fantasy romance. Agent Sam Carter and the Mystery at Branch Lake is a mid-grade paranormal.

Born in Brooklyn, D.V. Stone has moved around a bit and even lived for a time on a dairy farm in Minnesota before moving back east. Throughout her wandering, she always considered herself a Jersey Girl. She met and married the love of her life, Pete—a lifelong Jersey Man.  They adopted Hali, a mixed breed from the local shelter.

D.V.’s career path varied from working with the disabled to become a volunteer EMT, which in turn led to working in hospital emergency rooms and then in a women’s state prison. After a few years, she took a break from medicine and became the owner of Heavenly Brew, a specialty coffee shop and a small restaurant. Now, when not writing, she is a medical receptionist.

“Thank you for taking the time to read about me. Each time you open the pages to one of my books, I hope you’ll be swept away by the story and find encouragement in your own life, never to give up on hope.”

 

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