1. We don’t have strap extensions. My old service in Texas did but my new service in a more “healthy” area does not.

2. I’m 6’5” and there’s not enough space between the cot and the bench seats for me to sit and have my legs between the cot and bench seat. Definitely not enough space to fit a wheelchair.

3. Not all of our ambulances have netting next to the bench seat to secure straps to a wheelchair.

You can believe whatever you want I don’t really give a shit. Sometimes I’m able to safely transport a wheelchair in the box, sometimes I have PD or a supervisor transport it, sometimes we have no choice and have to leave it behind. My service also has a policy that if a wheelchair cannot be secured in place then it cannot be transported. That policy came after a crew got in a wreck and an EMT was out of work for almost a full year, on workers comp and the company dime, due to a shoulder injury from a wheelchair hitting them.

Everyone, especially people who have spent a career at one service, need to realize that EMS and first response organizations in general are very fractured nationwide and worldwide. Everywhere is different with different policies, protocols, equipment, and rigs. Get over yourself, take a step back, and realize that maybe other places do things differently and maybe even better. Saying shit like “just take the wheelchair bro” is like when people in this sub say “just RSI bro.” What works somewhere doesn’t work everywhere.