efdcapt115

Why can't the municipalities in the greater NY area get their act together? Now we had NINE I think brothers from WPFD layed off. Talk is of possibly more coming out of Westchester. These are and would be the junior guys who have the most recent proby school. Now out of 300 spots, couldn't the municipalities come up with a creative offer to the City of NY whereby these guys could somehow get a shot at a job? I mean we got fully trained brothers here. It's almost like mutual-aid is it not? In another world, and if not for special school districts and the power they yeild with parental support, Westchester could be another Borough of the City of N.Y. If not for the way they drew up the original county lines and decided where to put those arbitrarly lines; New Rochelle is attached to the Bronx. Mt. Vernon is attached to the Bronx, Yonkers.... Now the big job is hiring three hundred while the smaller jobs have lost and could possibly lose more members. Right next door. This is where those arbitray lines, drawn over a hundred years ago, still have an effect. And it isn't good.

Begining of June I upgraded to a Nextel Blackberry. Reason I'm posting this is to ask if any other members had/have a similar phone, or issue. My e-mail links right up to the face of the phone now and I get a nice little red light when an e-mail comes in. Only problem I found was all my email to that address went strictly to the Blackberry from the point of activation forward, no more pulling it up on the computer! Was in touch with my e-mail provider AOL, and suprisingly was informed by an employee that it's their (AOL's) fault; a problem with their servers that they supposedly are working on. I bring it up here because the EMTBravo server works so well through AOL into the phone. I've been getting amazing new messages if somebody quotes a post. Been in close contact with a couple of members here as well as a result of sending/getting PMs on the phone. Was away for a while, so if I missed the news about getting PM notifications, I can only report the system is working well. But between EMTBravo, and a couple of really good fire department news e-mails I stayed in decent touch with fire news, even being away from a computer for most of a month. Actually, that part was refreshing, but to get this gadget as all of you before me that already own this or something even greater have known for quite some time I'm sure, is great to have all that info in hand. So the question was email server directing all your mail to your handheld device. Anybody else?

I'm sorry to have to add to this thread the following: http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/dpp/news/local/hillsborough/tampa-police-officers-shot-062910 Rest in Peace.

To read his wife talking about him looking forward to getting back on the job, is truly heartening.

Thanks Mike.

You're right. Please excuse me for not saying the same and overlooking the obvious; a large congratulations to an incredible family business. Think about how many years, the different eras of America that Pete's was open, the changes that occured over time, the same family through the years. Best of luck to all involved. I can't help but to add the one thing that hasn't changed is the manpower in the Bronxville firehouse. Used to be a one man engine and a one man rescue on duty, now you have two on an engine and a decommisioned rescue. Some things are quite resistant to change.

Can you expand on your procedure? Help out those of us that need a refresher? The 5-10-20 rule? Thanks Lou.

This has suddenly become a VERY interesting topic.

All of you FDMV, are in our prayers. Very sorry to hear of this loss. Rest in Peace.

And to underscore the point this fire in Lawrence, Mass. leaves 50 people homeless, as the understaffed fire department needed to call in so much mutual aid. Utter disaster. http://www.eagletribune.com/local/x657346538/5-alarm-fire-leaves-50-homeless

Paul Krugman, the economist for the NY Times has an interesting article in todays paper. Basically, and with the title it's obvious, Krugman argues that we are in The Third Depression. Say what you want about Federal, State and local gov't policies, but Krugman argues that shutting off the spigots of funding, and this awakening of fiscal austerity on the part of local policy makers is exactly the wrong thing to be doing at this point in time; comparing what is happening to what has happened historically with the U.S. economy. In other words, making painful cuts to service is the wrong move for the economy at this time. I'm giving my opinion of what I read, you read the article if you wish, and form your own opinion. But this arguement has direct ramifications when you consider a city gov't looking to shut fire companies (if this is the case, and as was the case with NYC until the recent budget settlement there) and close other city services as a result. PS: I don't think that Krugman knows all the answers. His positions are highly politcal at times, and I'm not quoting him to stir up some left-right controversy here. It's just that this article breaks down to a good reason why a city should not be considering cutting services in this economy, in my opinion. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/28/opinion/28krugman.html?hp

That's actually two quotes you have up there; the first part I didn't post. Best of luck to the new management team.

I drive a 2004 Chevy Tahoe LT; the side curtain air-bags are in the vertical top corner of the front seats, where the seat belts also come out. They probably used that air-bag/seat design in full size GM SUVs for a few years.

If these devices are proving ineffective, is it because they are not being attached properly? Are they too difficult to attach properly? I can't imagine a company like Hurst marketing something that could potentially lead to injuries, unless they had done some serious testing to see if it actually works. That's why I'm asking the question; defective product or improper/difficult deployment? If the product is NG, should it be taken off the market before somebody, thinking they're safe, gets seriously injured? I can imagine an airbag blowing out into a firefighter's head who is leaning into the car over the victim, placing his head in between the patient and the airbag.......thinking he is protected by the ACD.....yikes.

Took the plunge this morning and ordered the MLB Extra Innings package from Comcast for $179. When I was up in Myrtle Beach, I had a sat-dish and was able to get every Yankee game. So now down here in Fla, this seems like the best option, being as I already have Comcast bundled services. Anybody have MLB Extra Innings? If so, what do you think of it.... Thanks in advance and Happy Easter.

Yankees at LA Dodgers tonight on Fox. Yankees have won the first two of the series, and people are wondering about the drama between A-Rod and Joe Torre, as Joe portrayed A-Rod to be a whiner poser in his book. This is the first time Joe Torre has faced the Yankees since leaving as manager where the N.Y. Yankees won four World Championships under his management. ~thank God for baseball. You know, when there's so much going on these days; I know the financial pressure for the brothers and sisters on the job, an additional drag on the psyche. For us down here, it's keeping a constant eye on the BP camera from Skandi ROV2 which shows the overflow oil blowing around the "containment cap", minute by minute so much oil is continuing to pollute the Gulf. We don't know if and when it will hit us here. Kind of makes us feel vulnerable, but what are you going to do. So we wait. We try to go to the beach more. And then there's the Yankees. Picked up that MLB package as discussed earlier. Funny part is how many Yankee games get broadcast down here in HD in FLA on Fox, ESPN, TBS, MLB TV, etc. A lotta misplaced and wandering Yankee fans around these parts.....heh heh. Honestly, the 18 mile stretch keeps the wandering types off the islands mostly, but what could keep out an assault from the water of an oil blob that's, say..10 miles long? We wait, hope and pray it doesn't come this way. And in the meantime....."play ball." http://www.bp.com/liveassets/bp_internet/globalbp/globalbp_uk_english/incident_response/STAGING/local_assets/html/Skandi_ROV2.html

I'm picking this thread up, I don't know what was removed according to Chris, but I'd like to pipe in here. If there is "chatter" of a firehouse closing (I haven't heard about anything like that in Yonkers myself, except here in this thread) then let's please not be offering up thoughts like this one. To reduce the idea of a fire station closing to the simple idea of one being architecturally superior in your opinion, is quite insensitive to the idea that there might be firefighters, human beings and good ones at that imo, whose jobs could be jeapordized as a result. I've followed your postings in the Stamford thread, you seem to have lined up with this FPCoggs fella, so you might be expressing your talking points that you believe in regarding the Stamford situation, but try not to let it bleed over into Westchester County. Everybody is facing challenging financial situations right now. Municipalities are doing things, they are making cuts, they have laid people off; the fire service and the police departments are always first on the target list when the times get tough. It received little attention here when a post showed the tax collection revenue breakdown for Westchester County. The school budgets are incredible. Well over 50 percent of every tax dollar collected in Westchester goes to schools. 2 percent goes to fire districts. Cities break down from their own budgets. The percentages are different, but the attacks are always the same. The gains that professional firefighters and cops have made over the decades are impressive. We and the generations before us, fought and went to courts and built our jobs into respectable careers. Naturally, when the economy goes down, and it always eventually goes down, just like it always eventually goes up, the "civil servant" comes into the headlights when things go down, and governments run their budgets down. The politicians, and their supporting casts of political appointees protect themselves by pointing a finger at cops and firemen who they just sat across a table from and negotiated a contract a few years ago. Everything was rosy for the economy, the plans were large, etc. And then the pile on begins. People are outraged by their tax bills on their homes in Westchester. Fair enough, but come up with smart solutions. Emergency services should be DEAD LAST on the target list for politicians. But, people forget. Their memories are short. They forget about 9/11, they forget about the homegrown terrorists who are spreading all over the country planning to do harm on our citizens again. But, complacency on the part of the general public eventually leads them to point the finger at the firehouse. The disgruntled guy down the street who got screwed out of his job by the greedy corporation he worked for, who sent his job overseas to Bangladesh, he's usually the first guy complaining about the cops and firemen. Then there's the envious, the ones who couldn't make it, couldn't score well enough, whatever. You can count on a percentage of those guys to be loudmouth whiners about civil servants, complaining about taxes, etc. Then there's the "monnied" amongst us. Suprising how the richest, the elite, wind up holding most of the political seats. Nah, I'm not saying they "buy" their positions of power. It's funny though how so many times, a firefighter local ends up sitting down across the bargaining table from the well heeled crowd. The "elected." Laughing out loud. Okay, so that's my soap-box entry, good luck YFD, keep safe out there.

http://policelink.monster.com/news/articles/142109-sheriffs-deputy-killed-in-route-to-check-on-mia-officer This accident happened last evening up at MM 101 (we're at 81). The rain varies by the mile on these islands, but at that time last evening, it was raining steadily here. I believe it was raining up on Largo as well. She lost control of the patrol car, and apparently hit a tractor-trailer according to local news reports. The Deputy she was in search of had changed his portable to a tactical channel, off of dispatch, and was located in safe condition. Deputy Powers worked in Sectors 6-7, which covers our village. She leaves behind a husband, who is a Detective in Homesdale PD, and two children, a daughter and a son. She was 36. May she rest in peace. Monroe County Sheriff's Department has had five LODD's in Road Patrol; all of it on U.S.1, the Overseas Highway.

Besides the call volume, the topography of Yonkers probably takes a heavy toll on the rigs as well. Many of those streets are literally paved mountain sides.

Thanks Lieu.

Hey Sage, What is holding in the air supply? Is there a metal tank inside, or is it some kind of flexible bladder? Can you describe the front of the pack? Strap configuration, PASS alarm, etc? Thanks.

Yep. Four Billion dollars in taxes collected in Westchester. And who is this guy trying to attack? You mean those firefighters working in the fire districts that collected a WHOLE 2 PERCENT of the total tax levy? Or blame the cops? Are you freaking kidding me or what? http://www.lohud.com/article/99999999/DATABASE/100507014/-1

You know what really pisses me off when something like this happens? These brother cops and firefighters usually GIVE UP other career paths to get on the job. So what do you say to them now, in this economy, in this job market? "Oh, sorry you had a decent job at UPS, Verizon, or a union trade that you left to come serve the people of White Plains. Don't worry you'll find something else." Find something else? Thanks a lot. These are human beings you're talking about here. Not some impartial actuary's numbers and figures. Municipalities used to understand what I'm talking about. Obviously, something has changed. Shame on you White Plains. Talk about a knife in the back.

Check out this race car going up in flames and the driver has a hard time stopping the car because the brake line is severed; Note the firefighting equipment as well http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVI4OR2_kOI&feature=player_embedded#!