Life and Sirens: On and Behind the Scenes

CPAP and BiPAP often get lumped together in EMS—but they solve different problems. In Part 1 of this two-part series, we break down why these tools are siblings, not twins, and how choosing the right one starts with understanding what is actually failing in your patient.This episode focuses on the physiology and fundamentals behind non-invasive ventilation. We strip it down to the basics: breathing has two jobs—getting oxygen in and getting carbon dioxide out—and CPAP and BiPAP help with those jobs in very different ways.By the end of Part 1, even a brand-new EMT will be able to explain why they chose CPAP or BiPAP—not just what they did.As always, if you have a story to tell—funny, wild, heartbreaking, or unforgettable—you can share it through our website. We’d love to feature it on a future episode.Radio Reports – Listener Tales: ⁠https://lifeandsirens.com/listenertales/⁠

What if we told you there’s a number on your monitor that can predict ROSC, expose hidden shock, and even hint at metabolic acidosis before labs ever come back? In this high-energy deep dive, we break down ETCO₂ as the ultimate triad vital sign—reflecting ventilation, perfusion, and metabolism all at once—and show why it should guide your decision-making on nearly every call.Through real EMS scenarios, waveform breakdowns, case logic, and critical care pearls, we teach you how to read ETCO₂ like a story instead of just a number. You’ll walk away confident knowing exactly what rising, dropping, or oddly shaped waveforms really mean for your patient.As always, if you have a story to tell—funny, wild, heartbreaking, or unforgettable—you can share it through our website. We’d love to feature it on a future episode.Radio Reports – Listener Tales: ⁠https://lifeandsirens.com/listenertales/⁠

Every EMS provider has their rituals — the interventions we do out of habit, comfort, or culture, not because the patient actually needs them. In this episode, we dig into the traditions we inherit, the habits we cling to, and the clinical judgment we should be using instead.From c-collars to “just in case” IVs to hanging O₂ like it’s emotional support therapy, we unpack where these rituals came from, why they persist, and when they quietly creep into patient care. Most importantly, we talk about how EMS can evolve past ritual-based practice and toward thoughtful, evidence-driven decision-making.As always, if you have a story to tell—funny, wild, heartbreaking, or unforgettable—you can share it through our website. We’d love to feature it on a future episode.Radio Reports – Listener Tales: ⁠https://lifeandsirens.com/listenertales/⁠

Some people bring dessert to Thanksgiving — Lynne brings questions. In this episode, Aubrey and Jaime hand the mic to Jaime’s mom, who sits down with us armed with pure curiosity and zero EMS background… which somehow makes the conversation even better.As always, if you have a story to tell—funny, wild, heartbreaking, or unforgettable—you can share it through our website. We’d love to feature it on a future episode.Radio Reports – Listener Tales: ⁠https://lifeandsirens.com/listenertales/⁠

Skills can be taught. Protocols can be memorized. But judgment? That only comes from the messy calls, the gray-area moments, and the split-second decisions that never look as clean as they do in the textbook.In this episode, Sophie, Aubrey, and Jaime walk through a series of high-stakes, real-world EMS scenarios — the kind that test your critical thinking, your communication, and your ability to stay calm when everything around you isn’t. From shocky trauma with unclear mechanisms, to airway decisions when team members disagree, to ethical chaos with intoxication and capacity, each scenario forces the question: What would you do?We break down how different providers think, what options are truly safe, and how judgment evolves through experience, mistakes, and the uncomfortable calls that stick with you.As always, if you have a story to tell—funny, wild, heartbreaking, or unforgettable—you can share it through our website. We’d love to feature it on a future episode.Radio Reports – Listener Tales: ⁠https://lifeandsirens.com/listenertales/⁠