Example of Chemical Suicide Note

The Office of Fire Prevention and Control has recently assisted local authorities in two communities with suicides involving chemicals. This method of suicide, sometimes called detergent suicide, if frequently used in Japan and is being seen more frequently in this country. The process involves mixing common household chemicals to create hydrogen sulfide in a small space. Instructions to do this are readily available on the internet and most encourage anyone planning to use this method to provide appropriate warnings to people who might encounter or respond to their situation about the presence of the deadly gas. One incident in Japan took place in the bathroom of an apartment. Over seventy people in neighboring apartments were sickened by the fumes. In Arizona one individual manufactured hydrogen cyanide instead of hydrogen sulfide. This is the only instance of hydrogen cyanide I’ve been able to discover and suspect it’s rare because the chemicals needed for the reaction are not as readily available as those used to make hydrogen sulfide.

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David Taylor

The Arkansas EMS Foundation has established a scholarship fund in memory of David Taylor, Sr. who passed away suddenly on Nov. 5, 2009.

Please click here to learn more about the David Taylor, Sr. Scholarship fund.

AEMTA has signed the contract to keep the annual EMS conference at the Summit Arena in Hot Springs through 2015. Here are the dates to help you plan your vacation for the next 6 years!

Vendors, contact aemta4vendors@aol.com for information about our exhibit hall!

Winner of the Early Bird Drawing for a 15% booth rebate is ACS Firehouse Software. They will be presented a check during conference in the vendor hall.

Winner of the second chance drawing for a 10% booth rebate is Platinum Educational Group

• Aug. 5 - 8, 2010
• Aug. 3 - 7, 2011
• Aug. 1 - 5, 2012
• Jul. 31 - Aug. 4, 2013
• Jul. 30 - Aug. 3, 2014
• Jul. 27 - Aug. 2, 2015

According to project chairman, Johnny Reep, the mission of the Arkansas Fallen Firefighters Memorial is to honor the men and women of Arkansas who have died in the line of duty while serving the citizens of Arkansas.

The memorial will be built on the west side of the State Capitol in Little Rock. The site is reserved, the design is approved, however, no construction on capitol grounds can begin until full funding is achieved. The cost is $1.1 million dollars. As of June 6, 2009 they are short $280,000. The four statues are paid for at a cost of $307,170.

The statue will be moved to Hot Springs on June 20 where it will remain until early August. The memorial plaza will have a wall of honor, a 110-seat educational amphitheater for fire prevention, and the fountain base for the statues is in the corner. Continued

Gov. Mike Beebe (seated) signs into law Act 689 to provide for the licensure of EMS personnel as Sen. Shane Broadway (left) and AEMTA President Ben Blankenship (second from left) look on.

At the last conference in Hot Springs, president Ben Blankenship asked me if I would work on legislation for licensing EMS providers.  Considering the fact that I have had many wonderful discussions, arguments, altercations and knock down, drag out fights over the past six years on this very subject, I of course said “Of course sir. (OMG yes! Let me at it!)  I’d be honored”.  And so began our next phase in the journey of the profession we call EMS.

The first thing was to understand exactly what we wanted.  Over the years, many possibilities have been proposed and sides could understandably be seen as polarized.

President Blankenship explained that the direction the AEMTA felt we should proceed was the direction laid out in the EMS Agenda for the Future: (HRSA & NHTSA).

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The National Association of  Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT) recently published its 2008 annual report. Click here to download the NAEMT Annual Report 2008.