efdcapt115

The first two posts in this thread are great. If I had any more rep points left for the day, I'd be using them on both (but my heart got to me and I used them in the condolences thread for Chief Rush, and I think some in the Harley photo thread). First on scene size-ups are a necessity. The first on scene report could give an incoming truck company a heads up as to how the apparatus needs to approach the structure (different street or direction). It could give an engine company information about where to pick up a hydrant. Where victims are hanging from windows. The list goes on and on. The only defense I would offer for those that fail to give one initially is the following; 1. Understaffed apparatus rolling in, and the member/s on that rig just have too much going on in their thought process to be complete in offering info over the radio. 2. There are times when being first on the scene and observing the situation dictates to you that those few seconds might make the difference in making a grab, or getting a start on a fire before it gets beyond control. Sometimes literally ten or fifteen seconds spent on the radio might mean the difference between "another ten seconds and that lady would have jumped" or "another half a minute without water and that fire would have taken hold of the entire second floor." You all know what I'm talking about. If the first unit doesn't give that size-up, assume they are going to work so quickly they do not have the time to give the size-up. Therefore the command vehicle or second apparatus on scene needs to pick that up, and be sure to relay the pertinent facts asap. Both of the first two posts here are really very good. Nice job fellas.

Most here realize I'm posting from Florida. I have no ties, no connections, nothing, to the Somers Fire District. What I do have is experience in a system that had it's own dispatching room for many decades, including the first 6-8 years of my career. We followed New Rochelle in the move to 60-Control dispatching after a consultant report was done on our district. The recommendation to move to 60-Control was done because the district was looking for ways to maximize our career staff out in the field, without adding positions. Our union was against the idea initially, because our own dispatch position had a value to our membership; if one of us became injured or sick and was unable to perform on the fireground, being able to slide them into the dispatch position could potentially keep them employed. Losing that was THE major drawback to going to 60-Control dispatch. Aside from that, the initial problems with start-up of 60-Control dispatching our department, were the common ones to be expected. They included a lack of knowledge of the district, that only our experienced firefighters with years working in the district could possibly have. As the months turned into years, the initial problems with moving to 60-Control dispatch were addressed as they arose, and corrected. The system began to function rather smoothly. I do not recall any of the issues with the move to 60-Control involving any sort of life hazard, or serious dysfunction of the system that caused a serious problem to become worse. One thing I can attest to is that 60-Control NEVER "LOST" a call for help within our district. We had some storms where we ran 30+ alarms in a day tour (before we went to 24 hour shifts) and probably 50-60 alarms in a 24 hour period. They would get backed up as our company availability would go to zero with all units tied up at alarms. When I found myself in the position of doing tour command during one of these multiple call days, I simply kept track of the units and a rundown of alarms. As units became available I had them all go 10-8 to headquarters, and as 60-Control delivered more alarms, the 10-8 units would pick them up as available. This would lead to L-17 responding way deep into L-16 first due, and all the engine companies would be responding into others' first due; from headquarters. It worked out great. And 60-control NEVER lost an alarm, or any call for our service anywhere. That's my experience with the change-over from self-dispatch to 60-Control dispatch. It can be done.

You want to know what a real kick in the nutz is? We have almost 50 comments, and 4 pages of replies in a topic about an immature fire chief who hung truck nutz on his rig and defied his boss the mayor when told to remove them. When we try to get a topic moving on this site about elevator rescue techniques, fire fighting tactics, scenarios, "what would you do" types of discussions, we get......YAWNS. When we get a photo set of a new rig, some of us go on and on about the rig; where's the hurst-tool, where's the water cooler, we'll get the 50 comments and the 4 pages again. I'm not sure why, but it seems sometimes the topics that should be getting the comments and the pages of discussion go by the wayside; and the ones that should get a few replies, and move on down the board into category obscurity, seem to go on forever. What's up with that? I'm not saying conversation about the truck nutz should be over. What I'm saying is the next time one of our truly knowledgeable members comes up with an idea for a good discussion, maybe some of us should make a little more of an effort to participate and keep the really informative discussions going.... Maybe that will start happening? In the meantime, back to the nutz.

Maybe it was your spelling like Barry's........

SEE? They even say PLEASE!Now who could dispatch better than that?

No monkey bars? lol Sweet looking bike, I bet your butt gets bruised up after a few rides on the wonderful pot-hole spotted roads in the Port Chester area. I especially like the Eastbound ramp at the end of I-287 that merges into northbound I-95! A real teeth rattler, even on a late model Evo....can't imagine what it must be like on a hard-tail. Truly a hard core believer/rider.

Sorry to read this news. Chief Rush was County Coordinator in '86 when LTNRFD, myself, Bruce Kerr (rest in Peace) and others attended the 1st combined Career Chiefs Fire Academy under Chief Henry Campbell. Chief Rush was a true gentleman, and he treated us probies with great respect back then. May he Rest in Peace, and may his family be comforted by the fact that he touched and had a positive impact on the lives of hundreds, probably thousands of people during his tenure as Chief in Elmsford, and as the WCFC.

Always worse when these tragedies occur this time of year, around Thanksgiving, Hanukkah and Christmas. For the family's surviving relatives it means the happiness of the season is forever buried with the victims. Rest in Peace.

:lol: :lol:

Speaking of the holidays; PFDRes47cue, is your avatar a photo of a garage fire, or is that the glow coming out of the manger in Bethlehem?

It really is an awesome rig. Safe ops with her.

"Back to Paper and Pen.".................................. :lol:

I'm sorry that you feel that way. My comment in this thread about the CO call in Ossining was meant purely as a joke. I personally don't interject much into EMS discussions, because that's not my area of knowledge. I was an EMT when I was on the job, but honestly I've forgotten a lot of that information. Retirement will do that to you. But that was a very good thread. The notoriety that EMTCity (?) received because they were sued, led me to check out that site. The paramedic discussions over there were pretty amazing. I was quite impressed with the technical jargon in the few threads I delved in to. There is room on this board for all the services to come together, and even though some of the discussions are separate, I don't see this forum as discouraging to any of the services. The comment that criticism "keeps people from posting" I just don't buy. Let's be real here; this is the internet, not the real world. If criticisms are offered up, I'd hope they'd be constructive at least! But if a member here is discouraged from offering opinion due to criticism, it's time to thicken up the skin, no? Determination in posting, leads one to overcome any discouragements. If members see that you're going to post, no matter what, I think a certain respect grows from that. A couple of times I've put my foot in my mouth really pretty badly. In each case, I sought out the offended member, and offered a sincere apology. In every case it was accepted, and the experience led me to think a bit more before I post. When my errors were pointed out, it was pretty clear to me how badly I had screwed up. But I've learned that there are some very compassionate people on this board; willing to forgive and forget. I've learned so much from people like that, and really appreciate the fact that they didn't hold my sins against me. I'd only offer this; don't be discouraged if you want to participate, nobody can stop you. Stay well.

Good one Garrett! It's very comforting to see your green font back on the board. Stay well Brother.

Nice bike Izzy! This is turning into a pretty cool thread. C'mon the rest of you, don't be shy, get your rides up!

..........YAWN.....................LMAO!

Everybody sing for the good Captain (sung to the tune of "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth") Ready?...... "All I want for Christmas is a SPELL CHECK ER....A SPELL CHECK ER.....A SPELL CHECK ER......."

Cool photo!

That's cool But where's the photo bro? C'mon, anybody responding in this thread, let's make it mandatory, you gotta post a photo of your shy self and your ride....

There are BIG problems is the city of Chicago. Robberies. Burglaries. And murders. Particularly murders of Chicago police officers. Friday an on-duty Chicago cop who was processing a crime scene, and also a retired CHA officer were shot dead in an alleyway in South Chicago: http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=7812092 http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/11/chicago-police-shot-in-south-chicago.html Last Monday an off duty SWAT officer was shot dead in his POV: http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=7805178 In July, a veteran Chicago cop was gunned down. He was just weeks shy of retirement: http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/07/city-bids-farewell-to-officer-michael-r-bailey.html Just two weeks before that a Chicago cop was killed as he was getting off duty: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20009974-504083.html In May a Chicago cop was killed by thugs trying to steal his motorcycle. He has recently completed a tour of duty in Iraq: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/20/thomas-wortham-chicago-po_n_583113.html I have an a scanner application in my Blackberry named Scanner Radio. 95% of the time the most listened too channel is the Chicago Police Department. The call volume and nature of the calls is truly alarming. Something is desperately wrong when this amount of violent crime is occurring in a major city in the heart of our Nation. There have been calls for the National Guard to be deployed in the City of Chicago. But really, read the articles. It's hard to believe that even the cops aren't safe in the "Second City." ~Our United States of America......2010.

That's one heck of a sweet Sportster. That script on the tank goes back to the "Bronson Special." There used to be a TV show way back when "Then Came Bronson." Anybody remember that one? Around 1970, Harley came out with that special Sportster model, with that tank script. I like how they've incorporated the HD name over the Sportster script. IF you decide to ride, first thing you should do, if you've never ridden before, is take an approved riders' class. These are given pretty much everywhere, and the Harley dealership would be able to point you in the direction of one close by. After taking the class and learning the tricks of riding; like "counter-steering" it's best to stay on just the local roads, and away from any highways, until you're totally familiar with the operation of the bike. It has to be second nature as to what your four appendages are responsible for; left hand: clutch right hand: throttle and front brake left foot: shifter right foot: rear brake You have to ride with the mindset that EVERY intersection you are responsible to look in EVERY direction. Going through EVERY traffic light, you still need to look in ALL directions. You cannot make ONE mistake. You have to ride like if you are in an accident; it will kill you. Only that heighten state of alert will keep you from making an error. Never have even ONE beer and get on the bike. EVER. Liquor makes you take risks you normally wouldn't take. After all your bases are covered, there is nothing quite as exhilarating and "being in the moment" like riding. And there's a saying about Harleys which I cannot repeat here; but the gist of it is "there's nothing like a Harley." When you stop at a red light, unlike being in your car or truck, you are THERE. You are sitting right there, wherever you are. In the moment, you smell the trees, and plants, you need only park the bike and dismount, you are already standing in your environment. We tend to sit in our cars and trucks, we aren't really where we are. We are insulated from our surroundings, which isn't a bad thing at times, like moving through parts of the south Bronx at 1AM! But for really feeling where you are, especially on those nice rides in the country, the back country roads, smelling the freshly cut lawns, and the wild-flowers growing along side to roadway, riding a bike is really great fun. You can ride bikes that are technically far superior to a Harley. BMW, some of the big Japanese bikes, have quite a bit going for them. But, a Harley is Americana, and driving our beautiful roads in North America on one is a really fun experience! Just watch out for them Hells Angels dudes. You don't want to get involved with that crowd. (photo from Key West this past Halloween @Fantasyfest Parade)

Jack, can you explain what an "integrated blog" is? I'm in the dark on this one. Thanks.

On December 1, 1958, a fire broke out in Our Lady of Angels elementary school. It was a parochial school, operated by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago. The fast moving fire, suspected to have been an arson job, would end up taking the lives of 92 pupils and 3 nuns. Another 100, mostly students, suffered serious injuries. The 42 year anniversary was yesterday, and it was posted on another website. I researched and found a comprehensive article on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_the_Angels_School_fire Also found; a link to a 1960 film produced by the Los Angeles Fire Department entitled "Our Obligation." This 24 minute film is a dramatization of a school fire that the LAFD said at the time wasn't about the OLA fire in Chicago, yet is quite similar in it's details. It's also an amazing look back in time to 1960; fire apparatus, department operating procedures, and I found the entire film to be both haunting and intriguing: http://www.archive.org/details/our_obligation I think while you'll find yourself reflecting on the tragedy, you'll also find the film compelling to watch from a firefighting perspective.

My God, only 23 years old, with his whole life ahead of him. What a sickening thing to happen. May he rest in peace, and his family find comfort in the fact that he died protecting the people of Montana. He's with God now.

Oh I see what you mean now. Thanks for the clarification.