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Merry Christmas Brothers and Sisters in the EMTBravo family! We all have much to be thankful for this Christmas Season. Hope everybody finds a reason today to feel blessed. If you happen to be home alone, get on out into the world today and do something good for somebody. Those "lucky" enough to be working a shift, may you be safe and blessed, today and all days coming in the new year. And those fortunate enough to be home with your family, I hope you look at your loved ones and don't ever take them for granted. The amount of joy you can feel for having the blessing of people around you, those who love you, is limitless!

Last night was pretty cool. Jack, Chris, Joe, Barry, Bill, interesting mix of people. Wondering if some other people are either shy or just rude. I opened up a small window in the corner of my computer screen and kept chat on. As people came in I would say hello to try and get things moving a bit. What the hey, you know? Strange when people come into the chat room, then are non-responsive. It could become a standard for a lot of us keep a chat window open; Windows 7 allows so many feeds onto your screen, you can just keep it on in a corner. Right now I'm running Radio Reference, three of those open FDNY, 60-Control and Miami-Dade, plus the EMTBravo chat, plus the EMTBravo message boards, and another for a news scroll! I could dispatch right here from home, just send me a radio.

9:40 PM is the chat down?

It works good!

Imho the chat room, should it come back, should be visible from the Main Index page. What I mean is a box with a list of screen names of the people currently in the chat room. If it can't be seen from the main page, it's not going to catch on.

Sorry, I never knew we had one. Doy!

Hey wait a second. You're not allowed to have Bravado about this; even the guys that work it don't carry that! Additionally, great post Cap Nechis. Reads like something out a textbook, complete with the perfect textbook photo; that van! But hey let's face it. The history of the FDNY Rescues. It was more about the function than what they carried wasn't it? Wasn't a torch the most sophisticated piece of equipment for a long time? And I say this in absolutely no derogatory way. The mystique about a Rescue Company was because it carried guys like Tommy McTigue, and the culture of humility, although I'm quite sure many truckies from the FDNY would scream about that point. And I have no qualms about showing the EFD Rescue or describing it a bit. However, there are many more stories in the big county, many more Rescues that carried even less than we did...and I'm talking manpower. lol

While news surfing in the UK this morning, found an article about a firefighter back home in Pennsylvania: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2076068/Worlds-smallest-firefighter-Vince-Brasco.html

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. ISO 1 Department. Don't know what the staffing level was. Eastchester had, for decades, an under-equipped Rescue "Company" with a Chauffeur, occasionally a step-man. Lots of unused space in the compartments. The Beast Brockway. Once again, under-equipped, under-staffed. An ISO report dating back to the 1950's recommended a flying squad of seven firefighters to staff this and the former rig. Perfect example of how a fire district can suffer because of the limitations the district can impose on the tax levy. This rig would show up, and the chauffeur would disembark....."where is everybody?" was a common response from the residents.... And now Eastchester has no Rescue Company. They have a Rescue-Pumper with tools, and they have the RIT equipment, last I know of, on the Ladder Tower. Sorry I forgot, they also have the Squad equipment from South Westchester Special Ops. EFD is actually much better off equipment wise than it was just ten years ago.

I love the Civil Defense logo. Reminds me of the radio system we had in our rigs back in the 46.26 days. Warm up them tubes before the 8:15 AM radio test! lol

Just saw a report on the 5 o'clock Miami news, said the officer has injuries that he will not be able to recover from. I think it was timely, could they be off on such important news? It may be a technicality, or a foregone conclusion that his injuries will prove to be fatal, and his family was said to be making arrangements for proceeding forward. Believe me, I was in this exact position when my mother was mortally injured on her job, King County Metro in Seattle, WA, and I can say they were the worst seven days of my life...without a doubt. But you still get a chance to say good-bye and tell them how much they mean.....how much they will be missed. So, according to NBCMiami, the Officer clings delicately to life, surrounded by love of family, coworkers and friends. Your post will probably prove to be true....in a while. May God be with this family during this tragic day.

Listened to the audio, saw the video. R-2 member/s searched the top floor, the fire was reported to be on that level initially with additional information of a person possibly trapped on that level. R-2 was assigned on the initial box. Obviously, R-2 along with possibly a truck company/s were searching the top floor and this particular room that flashed over when the injured member was in it, leading him to bail out the window. Apparently shortly thereafter a line was stretched, opened up on the fire in that same room. It appeared the water might have actually hit the member who was heartbreaking-ly involved with fire, and knocked down the embers on his gear. Along with a member who went up the aerial and stomped the burning gear of his Brother with a gloved hand. Truly gut-wrenching event, tragic and difficult to watch or listen to. God help this Brother during his fight to recover from some horrific burn injuries.

http://www.military.com/news/article/military-weapons-in-gangsters-hands.html?col=1186032325324 First reported about in October: FBI Says Gangs Infiltrating the US Military http://www.military.com/news/article/2011/fbi-says-gangs-infiltrating-the-us-military.html

Technically speaking, the chief is the officer in charge, so I'm going to say you work for the chief. He is appointed to the position by civilian authority, to do just that. Tasked with representing the citizens of the district and their best interest, as well as the best interests of the employees, the chief must find the right balancing act between all interests. That's why the job is more challenging than people give it credit for. That's why there are good and bad chiefs. I think many aspects of leadership cannot be taught, so go to all the schools you want to; you're still going to suck if you don't know how to respect employees, or how to talk to the public.

You're totally right Willy. It's a product of the fact that morally the fire service has it's act together. Always has. That's at least one good thing left to say about it, be it a big urban job, or a small volunteer outfit way upstate. But I've heard many guys from my dad's generation of firemen say exactly the same thing you just said. I don't think firefighters could really understand, say 40 years ago, the changes that would be coming in fire prevention, from construction type to alarm systems. We all sneered at gusset plates and truss construction. But also along the way, the construction industry got smarter about many things, particularly for the commercial space. Or hotels. Commonplace sprinkler systems were a game changer. It's probably never been safer (from a fire perspective) to walk into a huge office skyscraper, or say a large hotel casino in Vegas; than today. Peoples' memories are short. Even those who are old enough to remember when fires were more common find it easy to put out of their minds. They want to forget the DuPont Plaza Hotel arson fire that killed 97 people, or the MGM Grand fire in Las Vegas that killed 85, or the public assembly catastrophes like The Station fire in West Warwick, RI where they lost 100 kids in a heartbeat. Nobody, save firemen, remembers HappyLand. 9/11 jarred peoples' brains when they saw what could happen. The fire service was the beneficiary of our Brothers' sacrifices. We actually got some respect. That lasted about five years? And now the war is back on against the job. Who could have foreseen they would even go after the F D N Y...are you kidding me? The guys on the job today have got the fight of their lives to fight; then they have to go put out the fires, do the haz-mat, the wrecks, the ems, the "value enhanced" services. Those of us retired, we've got to stay involved, offer encouragement, and most of all, pass down the traditional stuff...

So what is this guy trying to do; save wear and tear on a piece of fire apparatus? Is this the crucial cost savings measure? Okay, let's send the ambulance guys/gals in a jeep Wrangler, heck they only needed jeeps in MASH. Let's send the patrolman out on a Vespa. They come in beautiful shades of blue and you can get ten of them for the price of a patrol car. "I'm in pursuit of a Mustang...Vespa 1 is in pursuit"... Let's send the garbage pick-up guys out in....a pick-up. They can just pile it on top. For recycling, just have the DPW guys dump out the contents of the recycle box on the sidewalk in front of the home, presto you've recycled it. Carry a PWE in the suburban though. Besides all this other lunacy I've listed, remember if you can't get the fire knocked down with a PWE, you might as well just let the building burn....no chance in saving it. We have to SAVE that rig, you never know how serious a fire we could get in 2014.

Slide show from yesterday: http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Site=BH&Date=20111215&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=312150080&Ref=PH

POLL; Voted NO..bah hum-bug.....

The reason behind fire districts having a separate election date, just like school districts, was to avoid a potential "politicization" of important services that on a community level are supposed to be viewed as vital and integral to having a successful community to begin with. Don't ask me to site where that came from; it's part of the verbal history that is passed down among those involved, who want to see the service remain true to it's original intent and spirit. How 'bout them apples....

While I appreciate firedude posting this up, I say Con Ed has some set to be making charitable donations, while their trucks are out there operating unsafely with one person per rig. Save the "goodwill gesture" Con Ed...hire some damn workers!

Ding ding!!! We have a winner!

All suspects believed to be involved in the fatal shooting of Officer Figoski are in custody: http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2011/12/13/vigil-planned-for-nypd-officer-killed-during-burglary-in-cypress-hills/

Hi Joe, Hey man we're all really sorry to read of the loss of one of your Brothers out in Brooklyn. Up 14% I have to say if I had to wing it and guess I would have thought it much higher than that. It's been an incredibly brutal year for law enforcement around this country. Down here in Fla., it's been a terrible year for cops. Let's hope this is the last LODD we have to post about, but we all know this isn't realistic. Please stay safe.

Ding ding ding!!!! Today is the day, get out and vote...

Interesting read, both links thanks guys for posting them. Whether it be Scranton, Pennsylvania (if you know the Harry Chapin song about something that happened in Scranton, you get the "Honorable Hippie" Award ) or some city in California, seems like the message is always the same. I'll give politicians credit for one thing; they sure can go about vilifying people in public service, and do so effectively. I don't know how they managed to create this "pension envy" in this country, but they did one heck of a job. This fight in Scranton, and greater Pennsylvania, all boils down to "unfunded liabilities." Whoever thought up that terminology gets the "Koch Brothers Scumbag of the Decade Award" (giving out lots of awards today). It's been stated many times, but I'm going to do it again; the reason cops and firefighters have pensions and sometimes use them is because of the toll the job takes on you physically. Whether it be eight hours in a patrol car; jumping in and out chasing gangsters around a small city in Pennsylvania, tackling bad guys, making arrests...or you want to take your chances on a career fire department, good luck. The stress alone can be enough to kill you. This is the reason why cops and firefighters get pensions. Okay? It was part of the deal that was created over decades, as Brother and Sister police officers and firefighters DIED, became disabled, wrecked bodies and paid a pretty heavy price for the benefits the guys and gals may get today. We are NOT "unfunded liabilities." We are part of the social contract that once made America a worldwide leader in economics and humanity. Now, what have we become as a country? Mayors like this obnoxious Doherty guy, I've seem more than my fair share of them. A lot of them go down in a ball of flame, corrupted by power and greed. Many of them have worse baggage than ANY career public servant does. I've also known a few GOOD politicians in my time. They are a rare breed of folk, who take responsibility for good relations with public employees seriously, and don't hurl insults and accusations at the guys and gals doing the job, protecting you from certain anarchy that would come from us NOT being there. I'm sure, just as in every other city, in Scranton there's a monnied power elite, who have been collectively giving their city and this country the middle finger and the shaft for a very long time. They are the same people who moved out all the good manufacturing jobs over to India, and decimated the working class of the private sector before they set about on their agenda to bring havoc and doom to public employees. Scranton firefighters are refusing overtime because it's BLOOD MONEY. You want to lay off guys, and then pay another guy to come in and fill his boots, while your BROTHER sits home now unemployed...that's blood money. I'm happy for Scranton firefighters taking a stance based on principle. Tell the mayor to go jump in the river.