My First Post

My name's Matt and I'm a volunteer EMT in the Baltimore/Washington area. I follow a number of other EMS providers and firefighters on Twitter, many of whom have great blogs (which I'll add to my blog roll shortly.) This blog became a natural outgrowth of the conversations and thoughts which they've provoked. I was a writing major in school, too, and I like having an outlet.

The name of this blog, "squirrel," comes from an occasionally derogatory, occasionally affectionate term used here in the mid-Atlantic to describe a volunteer firefighter or EMT. It connotes enthusiasm to the point of excess, and I've begun to wear the term with pride (to the point that I use it as my Twitter username, @squirrel325.)

The goal is to use this blog to spark discussion on fire/EMS issues, the broader world of emergency response and emergency management, and any other topic related to the work (and in some cases, play) of emergency resposne.

But for now, this is just a "hey, here I am" post, and so there ought to be more coming shortly. In the meantime feel free to leave a comment with any suggestions for topics you think might be worth covering.