Trauma Code : On the Scene with Fire and Rescue [Paperback]

Sonny Shepherd (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 30, 1996

Trauma Code takes a sobering look at the horrors experienced by fire and rescue workers everyday in the form of violent death. With more than 130 photographs, Trauma Code spans from the 1950's through the present and explores disturbing images of automobile crashes, aviation and train disasters, drownings, murders, and fires. Trauma Code was written in the style of the 1950's and 1960's drunk driving educational films in hopes of educating people as to the dangers before them.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Sonny Shepherd is a retired firefighter and paramedic who spent more than 40 years in public service. Sonny has scene the tragic impact sudden death has had on its victims and wrote this book in hopes that some might be educated by the reckless and careless behavior exhibited by so many. Sonny is currently pursuing his writings on a fire related book at this time.

Product Details

• Paperback: 130 pages
• Publisher: Raven Entertainment Inc (December 30, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0965545067
• ISBN-13: 978-0965545068
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,626,750 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not for the faint of heart!, September 3, 2007

By 

Manfred Zeichmann (Austria) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Trauma Code : On the Scene with Fire and Rescue (Paperback)

Firemen and rescue workers face violent death on an almost daily basis. In about 130 large pictures (usually a photo per page) TRAUMA CODE
presents the carnage these brave men encounter. With the exception of three 19th century newspaper illustrations of train crashes, all the pictures in the book are contemporary (1950ies to early 1990ies) photos of car accidents, train wrecks, air disasters, drowning victims and fires, with a couple of crime scene pictures thrown in for good measure. Aside from short introductions to each chapter and brief captions there is no text. The photos speak for themselves.
As should be self-evident given the nature of the subject TRAUMA CODE is not exactly for children and those of a nervous disposition. While the book is clearly intended as a warning akin those old classroom scare films, I think most readers will buy it out of a morbid curiosity. Well, in my book there is nothing wrong with that, as this is human nature. Everybody stops and looks when one witnesses an accident. (One photo in the book has a crowd of on-lookers at the site of an accident with one woman even taking pictures.) I guess it is the half-conscious comforting re-assurance along the lines of "I'm alive and you are dead".
I found the pictures of those unfortunate individuals who either burned to death or who drowned particularly shocking. It must be a horrible and painful death to die in a fire. Several photos show charred remains. The victims are beyond recognition and usually shrunk due to the extreme heat. On the other hand those who drowned get bloated, which gives the corpse a rather ghastly appearance.
There is no shortage of gore in TRAUMA CODE. A rather gross series of photos has a black man who was decapitated in an elevator shaft. A suicide victim who blew his head off with a gun shot. There is even a particular disgusting picture of what I can only describe as a heap of human flesh, the remains of a driver, who met his death when a speeding train hit his vehicle.
A very interesting chapter is on air catastrophes. A series of pictures details the horrible events on 13th January 1982, when shortly after take-off Air Florida Flight 90 crashed into the brigde connecting Washington DC to Virigina, flatting several vehicles in the process before falling into the icy waters of the Potomac river. A park service helicopter (although not equipped for air rescue operations) managed to rescue five survivors. This is gripping stuff about true heroism!
What is also amazing is the sheer stupidity of some of the victims. A gross photo has a black man with his skull gorily shattered; the caption informs us "Trespassers, alcohol and trains can be a deadly combination. This intoxicated man tempted fate by sitting on the tracks"! Other victims however have incredible bad luck, like the unfortunate woman who picked her car up from the service station and shortly afterwards found out to her horror that the vehicle's accelerator stuck. She died in a crash.
On a lighter note I was very pleased to note the author's concern for animals. For instance, one of the photos show a small cat being resuscitated with an oxygen mask after it was rescued from a fire. The last picture in the book has a firefighter carrying a dog to safety from a burning house (sadly, according to the caption the dog died despite attempts to reanimate it).
The book is great, my only complaint is its over emphasis on car crashes (almost half of the book). Hugely recommended!