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With all the talk in the other thread of taking photos I couldn't resist sharing with our illustrious membership, these photos from a close encounter of the prehistoric kind this morning. I'd estimate this big boy to be four feet long, probably twenty plus pounds, and nobody stopped me or questioned me for taking the photos! Oh wait the Florida Wildlife Commission cops just pulled up!!!!.........sugar...

From the very large to the very small, this guy was blending so well and having a great snooze when we interrupted him

**This is why all active and retired members PD/FD should be joining The New York Police & Fire Retirees' Association. This notification is worth at least $50 per year to all members covered in the Empire Plan during the time frame. I forget what the annual membership to NYPFRA is (something like $30 a year). Think it's worth it now? AND: A special thank you to the Executive Board members at NYPFRA, without whom this notification would not be getting to many members both active and retired who may be due settlement money. ALL NYPFRA Members: Urgent - Very important information and please pass the word ASAP. There is a pending class action lawsuit against United Healthcare which provides the basic medical component of the NYS Empire Plan, which most of the membership has as their health insurance. Long story short, members who have the Empire plan will be entitled to $50 a year from 1994 to 2009. All they have to do is fill out a simple claim. The following is from the NYS Court officers web site http://www.nysscoa.org/ : (claims MUST be postmarked by October 5th, 2010) The web site for the lawsuit info is http://www.berdonclaims.com UNITED HEALTH CARE CLASS ACTION LITIGATION As a result of a settlement of a Class Action Lawsuit against the United Health Care Corp., all members that have the Empire Insurance Plan are entitled to a settlement of $50 for every year that you were in the Empire Plan between the years 1994 through 2009. The Class Action Suit had to do with United Health Care providing insufficient reimbursement for out of network services rendered or individual out of pocket expenses paid. When filing under the Group A - Simplified Claim, there is no documentation required. If you had a substantial amount of out of pocket expenses then you might want to file under Group B - Out of Pocket Expense, however, you will have to provide documentation for the out of pocket expenses that you incurred. To do this, follow the instruction for Group B filing. The forms that need to be filled out can be found on the United Health Care web site ( http://www.berdonclaims.com ) click the center of the page where the red marker is located, then click onto: Notice of Proposed Settlement of Class Action and Final Settlement Hearing and Proof of Claim Form print pages 10 - 15 only using the pages 10, 11 & 15 and mail only one person per envelope & mail it CERTIFIED Registered mail post marked by Oct. 5, 2010. & make a copy for your records!! Adress is listed below. To file under Group A you must complete: 1. The Subscriber part of section 1 on page 10 2. Section 2 on page 11 3. Section 6 - Certification on page 15 Any questions on filling out the forms call: 800-443-1073 The completed forms can be mailed to: Certified Mail - you want proof of mailing and make a copy for your records. United Health Care Class Action Litigation c/o Berdon Claims Administration LLC P.O. Box 15000 Jericho, NY 11853 Edit: to fix links

Yep. Mostly New Yawkas and Cubans.

Good stuff Seth. The Braun Patriot; you mentioned a fire suppression system, can you elaborate? That stretcher you pointed out looks very practical, especially for elevators and stairwells. How would the extrication tools cart be deployed? Looks pretty heavy. Need a lift to let that down off the rig, or does it tow behind...(oh my goodness, we ain't got no brakes!) Who can afford a Mercedes powered EMS vehicle? Thanks for sharing the shots.

The settlement money is coming out of $350,000,000.00 that is being set up to pay "claimants." Why would you discourage people from trying to make a claim? Many members here have "The Empire Plan" and have received medical service from OON doctors or outside of "The Empire State." I can personally tell you of a $1,000.00 procedure I had done at a doctor's office in Myrtle Beach, S.C. The claim was submitted, and denied by the plan. I didn't receive anything special in the mail regarding this settlement. Your statement above is flat wrong in this case, and could be harmful to a potential claimant. Why is it upsetting to you that this information is posted and might help somebody else? The PDF file specifies "claimants" in the Group A filing. It does not specify if a person went out of network or not. For a few dollars postage, a member might get a settlement. Is it against the law for a member to participate in the filing? Ahh...no. Will everybody receive it? Ahh...maybe not. Sharing this information here on the board is harmless. It alerts people to what is occurring, and maybe it helps somebody. Yet, greed always brings out the worst of people, wouldn't you agree?

I disagree.

Maybe you should have read my whole post?

I would say if the guy is carrying a prayer mat, and consistently turns toward Mecca, kneels and prays, bowing, head to the ground, then stands up and starts filming airports or infrastructure; it's probably a good idea to contact LE. In my opinion there is nothing wrong with "profiling." BUT A big problem we face are guys like Adam Kagnan or whatever his name is, the joker that does the propaganda videos for the terrorists. "Normal" looking Americans are joining the ranks of the enemy. This makes virtually anybody, no matter what you look like, potentially suspect. It's a shame that's the way it is. But...that's the way it is.

Page 5, Berdon Claims PDF. Truck 4, in my opinion if you are or were in the Empire Plan during this period, you should file it.

I should have distinguished the e-mail from my comment in support of NYPFRA. I do so because apparently Truck 4 has information that conflicts with this notice:

The first post was NYPFRA. The second, if you are in the Empire Plan and this benefits you, and you got it on Bravo.......well....

One more thing: If this affects you, and it's the first you are hearing of it, maybe you'll also start to see the value of supporting EMTBravo. ~Nuff said.

ATLANTIC CITY — Negotiations to avoid the largest wave of Atlantic City government layoffs in recent history collapsed Monday, clearing the way for 93 city jobs to be cut Thursday. http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/top_three/article_37d36a32-ca66-11df-b776-001cc4c002e0.html Atlantic city needs a waver from the State if it were to raise taxes beyond a mandated cap. Good luck dealing with Governor Christie's administration. The State wants AC to cede it's authority to control it's finances. Meanwhile the Governor has been in China for the past couple of weeks, apparently trying to drum up tourism for Atlantic City. Rumor has it he was also looking around at how the Chinese conduct fire drills, and the ability of China to ship entire fire departments to the United States to provide coverage for the Garden State after all the NJ firefighers have either retired or been laid off.

By pulling the truck backward, in this case the clearance increases, so once it was unwedged it was probably drivable. When you "skin a box" though, most kiss their job good-bye. That's what stinks about seeing these. Yes, the driver is responsible for clearances. One little lapse is all it takes. Delivery guys/gals are under constant time pressures. Add that to one overpass that you can actually get under, but can't get out from under, and it's good-bye paycheck. Sucks.

Look at the rust spots and dents from previous hits. That "Low Bridge" sign is doing a great job.

Your old firehouse up on North Ave @the border; the guy that owns that also ran "Firehouse Films" on Centre Ave, which is now a vegetable market (still?) across from the work-clothing store (still?). Firehouse Films closed when they demolished the tenements on Huguenot St. @ Centre Ave. The vibration from the truck traffic on Huguenot started interfering with "Quiet on the set." I've seen the refurb of the old firehouse he lives in. Sweet home Alabama!

Great job of assembling this collection of stations and rigs: http://www.capecodfd.com/PAGES%20Special/STA%2001%20Index.htm

And really, what does a city need a "spokeswoman" for anyway? The mayor can't do the speaking? Wonder how much she makes. Probably enough to pay for a few firefighters.

City of Newburgh, NY: 3.82 square miles population: 28,173 (2008 data) population density: 7,371 people per square mile (high) One engine and one truck with a chief. As of 2008 census data: Compare the crime rate of Newburgh to Yonkers (nothing derogatory meant by the comparison, just that we know and hear much about YPD activity here on EMTBravo): Newburgh's murder rate is: 6X higher Robberies are: 2X higher Assaults are: 5X higher Burglaries are: 4X higher The Crime Index comparison: U.S. Average is 320.0 Yonker is 214.2 Newburgh is 666.8 They are not filling positions in the police department through attrition. They are calling for "mutual aid" for police coverage. I'm not trying to paint a negative picture of the City of Newburgh. I'm sure there are many beautiful sections, just as there are probably older, more crime ridden sections. The City was established in 1800. Think there's any balloon construction there? Just cannot see the city being able to protect itself with these proposed staffing cuts/levels. Be safe Newburgh FD/PD. http://www.city-data.com/city/Newburgh-New-York.html http://www.city-data.com/city/Yonkers-New-York.html

Maybe he ran a red buoy.

http://www.lohud.com/article/20100925/NEWS02/9250337/Commission-member-charged-in-meeting-altercation

EXCELLENT purpose Captain. (that ain't my car, here in the Keys, it's my house)

And what is any different in this tragic case than what happens virtually everywhere? The former chief spoke. He's apparently a city fireman. **When he tried to bring the fire department up to OSHA standards he was asked to resign by the current mayor. **Edit: according to the report in lohud. I remember having to fight to get the air quality in our firehouses cleaned up. We had two members who died young of strange cancers. You'd think it was a no brainer that the department would take the air quality issue head on. Yet we faced a hostile administration at the time. I was told by a commissioner, "We can do one firehouse per year"; wonderful when you have five stations. So we fought them, we got the money from FEMA and we got it done, **** them. Time and again, OSHA standards are taken lackadaisically by those who are "in charge." And if this is the case in Tarrytown, the investigation will reveal who, what, where. What a damn shame, what a waste of two human beings lives. This is the purpose of a union having a Health and Safety Committee. Those on the committee have got to fight, become "unpopular" (sometimes even the ones you are fighting FOR turn on you), yet at the end of the day you can go home and say at the very least you did your best for what is right. Some things are worth fighting for. So many advances in safety on the job come from the employees pushing the administration to get it done. It should not be this way, and in many places with progressive leadership, it is not. Those lucky enough to have a chief or a supervisor, or a mayor who will actually do things properly (I don't care if it's for CYA or actually because they care) should not take it for granted. Just get it done. Too late for two more guys. Rest in peace.