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Hey I'm sorry for Pete's Park Place too. But let's not forget Johnny's Pizza in Mt. Vernon, The Candlelight like you mentioned, Ciaos in Eastchester, and old places revived like The Quarry Inn in Tuckahoe. I never got over losing Costello's Tavern in the heart of Eastchester; spent a good part of my twenties and thirties in that landmark bar (I was even there when a certain Captain who posts here frequently met his wife for the 1st time. I won't mention demps121 by name lol). It's a shame. Time marches on and things change. But if Johnny's Pizza ever goes out, I'm going into therapy.

Sure is ugly.

aacofd40; thanks very much for taking the time to put together an excellent post, and starting an interesting conversation about the incident, floating with full gear and SCBA, Capt. Nechis bringing up the RIT/FAST ops for this type of fire, and it goes on. I've learned a lot from this thread. ~Stay safe.

Rest in Peace. I'm sure the community he served and died while serving, and of course his family, are all in shock and mourning. Hopefully he gets a big turnout at his funeral; all the Long Island Depts. add up to quite a number of members who should make the effort to pay their respects and give him a large send-off; to say thank you and show support to his family. It is very comforting for the family to see a "Sea of Blue" at the funeral. ~God Rest.

Sure "Patriot Ambulance" is going to "help fill the void". The void could also be showing in Patriots' bottom line, and adding runs for the ambulance company means more $$ for them yes? I'm sorry, this is an absolute shame for the LFD, and the City itself. They must be in some tough economic times to pull such a drastic step. In my experience, I can't tell you how many times one of the members in our crew, ended up in the back of our VAC; performing CPR, setting up lines, and providing support services to VAC. It's a great system that works everywhere in the United Sates, the three tiered response for med calls. When I was working, our VAC could always COUNT on our crew to provide every and all need they might have had; extra sets of hands on the ride to the hospital was/is common practice. We used to (still do I imagine) get the fly car for the Medic back to the VAC, saving him/her possible life saving time. And what about the carries? The 300 pounders down the flights of stairs? You know, the reasoning behind three tiered also has a lot to do with P.D. and their multiple responsibilities. You think a tour commander over at PD would want to pull a sector car out of service for that officer to ride in the bus, to help provide patient care, on a regular basis like FD does all the time? The logic was, yes PD gets in first most times, and FD support to EMS frees up those first in PD to the hundred other things they have on their plate every day. The logic behind the three tier system is so apparent it is a national model pretty much, and Lawrence citizens will suffer losses because of this policy change. In a way it's kind of a tax increase; for emergency medical response. There must have been many times an FD patient RMA'ed, and now that RMA might turn into a $300 bill from Patriot. I can understand a City having $$ problems in this economy; but really how much are they going to save by eliminating EMS runs for FD companies? On EMS supplies? On diesel fuel? On a little stipend the firefighter makes for becoming an EMT? Great, just have the members sit there instead and read the newspaper or do some more training. It makes no sense, PD is going to have extra burdens by the move, FD is going to now become under utilized, and the EMS provider (no disrespect to for profit EMS companies in all honesty, I have many friends in the field, and many of them started at our VAC and went on to become awesome Paramedics for Empress and the like) ends up with a higher bottom line from another unit assigned. Wait until the first heart attack victim dies who lives across the street from a Lawrence firehouse. Then the public will BLAME THE FIRE DEPARTMENT. "Buncha bums sitting right across the street playing checkers." Can't you just hear it? The Chief in Austin, Texas made an adjustment to their "response policy". It's not too late for the Lawrence Chief to step up and do the right thing; make an adjustment to the running code, call priority, maybe pull FD from some types of EMS runs, but to sweep the whole system under the rug, is too drastic. A compromise can and should be made to this policy asap. And this quote from the Chief tells me he wants to do the right thing; "These were the calls that represent most of our runs ... This is where the department needs to get back to in the future. We should play a larger role," Takvorian said. But I have to question the statement about the "special rescue vehicles" the dept. purchased for the mounting EMS runs. Why is he talking about tying up pumpers at EMS runs when they have these vehicles? Okay they lost two stations and a number of firefighter positions. Obviously the City is in dire straights. But why not designate just one on these "rescue vehicles" for EMS runs? With 58 working fires this year, it doesn't sound like the City is burning down. What's the major concern about call overlap? With three engines in service, you run a rescue for EMS with an engine company o.o.s. A working fire comes in, the FD activates the third engine and automatically EMS runs for FD are diverted. The odds of this occuring are quite low with the number of working fires on the books for the year. Finally, if the City is in the red, why aren't they thinking about making FD the primary EMS agency? Then they could turn FD service into a money maker for the City, and maybe rehire those poor lads who got laid-off. I wish the brothers up there the best; and hope they can remember that famous quote from FLSTP "this too shall pass." ~Just IMHO, thanks.

Scroll down to see the video taken from a traffic camera. Hard to believe none of the brothers were seriously injured in this one. The photos and video also tell me that whoever designed the Tillerman's cab did one hell of a good job. http://firefighterclosecalls.com/fullstory.php?91844 PS: $750,000 ladder truck....totalled.

Hi guys, hope everyone had a nice Labor Day Weekend. I can't believe how fast this summer went; time sure is a flyin'. Anyways, a very eloquent Tiller truck Chauffer sent this along to me in an e-mail, and after getting his permission I'm adding it to this thread. I found it interesting to finally know how they communicate and operate a tiller; so for all of you "tiller-less" guys out there like me, here's a little tidbit of insight into how things go, or maybe it's how they "went". The brother has been out since 9-11, so maybe they changed something, not sure. But here's what he sent along: Note: the similarlity to the communication system on aerial ladders, and buckets: "In L5 we had directional's in the tiller cab to let us know when the chauffeur was to make a turn (provided he used them - most did), and an intercom between the cab and tillerman. The cab intercom you had to engage the talk button to talk, the tiller intercom the tillerman could just converse and you would hear him. Sometimes it was funny hearing the "new" tillerman talking or singing outloud to himself and not realizing we could hear him in the front. Concerning speed, he (the Raleigh Chauffer) was moving way too fast- I agree about "open intersections" but this guy did not have control of his vehicle, one hundred and fifty feet before the intersection "what if" a family van was passing through with the green light- the rig had a dead red light and could never have stopped in time. Make up the time- get dressed fast and on the rig, how many times do we "stroll" to the rig for a response. Then when we get to a scene can we stretch hose without flaw, do we "really know" how to properly VES, do "all hands" know what is required (and proficient at...) before the dude with the white hat shows up? That's how you make up time, for starters." The brother makes a lot of good points. ~Thanks to one of FDNY L-5's great Chauffers.

"More than 800 World Trade Center rescue and recovery workers have died since 9/11 -- and cancer has killed at least 270 of those heroes, new data show. The figures also show that 33 WTC responders committed suicide. State researchers have tallied 817 deaths of workers and volunteers who toiled at toxic Ground Zero or the Fresh Kills landfill, where rubble was sifted. "It's still a huge undercount," a source told The Post, adding that cases were still being collected." http://www.nypost.com/p/news/regional/toll...8JIitcAhMF6AZ7M

NY Daily News: elephant updater http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2009/0..._official_.html Note: Forget the Daily News link, something isn't connecting. I tried fixing it again, no luck.

This is such a nice event, and the location couldn't be better. I've been to a couple of them and highly recommend everybody try and make it. A fun time shall be had by all.

Maybe the members of the engine company are also members of PETA and have a philosophical disagreement with the treatment of circus animals. Maybe with the seriousness of engine company closures being planned or already implemented, the company felt like it would look inappropriate at this point in time to be seen "making light" in a firehouse.

You fellas have given me a GREAT IDEA for a new business! This is Billy Mayes for: Welcome to "JOB DONE." Tired of picking through those dirty and twisted hose lines after a working fire? Tired of having to disconnect every length, drain it out and re-pack it properly? Not to worry! For a small fee $$$$$$ "JOB DONE" will come to YOUR WORK-SITE. WE will take care of untangling and cleaning up that dirty hose for you. Come on; you just busted your @ss putting out a hot fire, and saved a few live in the process. There's no need for you to have to put up with those tedious details of "after-fire" work anymore. At Job Done, our number one priority is YOUR satisfaction. We are so confident in our service that we offer free donuts to all firemen who are waiting around for us to repack your hose bed. And if you act now, buy four hose repacks and get the fifth one free! Sorry of course I'm just kidding; but I had to put this one up in honor of all the passed-on old-timers rolling in their graves when they hear firemen talk about someone else doing firemens' work. But first for firefighter safety of course, and secondly, I'd agree with 38ff and the whole liability issue as the reasons why you really need your hose pro-tested.

That's very nice Seth and the Team, thanks very much!

"The Station fire is the largest blaze in Los Angeles County's modern history and is continuing to grow, said county Fire Department Capt. Jerry Meehan. "This is the biggest ever," Meehan said. He said the fire was unusual for other reasons as well, including that it was not wind driven and that flames reached reported lengths of 300 to 400 feet. Meehan studies the history of fires in the county and describes himself as "the wildfire guy". "This is the hottest-burning, most damaging I've seen," he said. The Station fire passed what had been the county's biggest blaze, the 1970 Clampitt fire. But the Station fire is still much smaller than some of the biggest fires in state history." http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009...ty-history.html

The site is up and running for the 9-11 Memorial & Museum. Check it out; http://www.national911memorial.org/site/Pa...gename=New_Home Those of you who know Dan Potter (FDNY ret) through his efforts to help the Eastchester Fire Department might be interested to see this; Many people have donated "things" to the museum. They asked Dan for his turnout gear from 9-11, due to the famous photo of him taken that day, as well as the one small story of personal triumph and survival that Dan and his wife Jean experienced; as was chronicled by Dennis Smith in "Report From Ground Zero". http://www.national911memorial.org/site/Pa...lection_Attacks There are many stories here, some about victims, some about survivors. Scroll down a bit to see the piece about Dan. ~It's that time of year again, to remember, reflect, and pray for the thousands of victims and their surviving families. God Bless all of them. Never Forget.

Maybe it was the largest in southern California history..........I don't exactly remember, only thing I can say for sure; this is one hell of a big/bad fire with two LODDs, big freakin mess.......

Some really hot shots of the LA wildfire sent in by readers on this site: I read this has become the largest fire EVER in recorded history out there? Disclaimer: Leftist, liberal website Good pix though: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/03/h...b_n_276165.html

The photos just keep getting better. How about that two building cockloft getting ready to burst into a wide open burn. Gotta love the Company dogs; responding of course...... How 'bout this brother Danny Gainey, Ladder Company 31. You think that guy had a few stories to tell? Tommy McTigue (ret) Rescue 3; the guy is a living legend. He's the drummer in the FDNY Pipes & Drums with the HUGE white handlebar mostache; I think he only does the band part time now. But what a nice man. I made friends with him at a parade YEARS ago (in Dobbs Ferry, FDNY band played, I was with the color guard for the Westchester band who also played) and he just treated me and everybody with a lot of respect; and he already had a reputation as being a great fireman. Through the years, and particularly at all the post 9-11 funerals I'd see Tommy and just go say hello; I'm quite sure he knew a hundred "me"s. But always greeted me with a fraternal smile and a genuine greeting and handshake. I respect stuff like that. That's the thing about guys from this generation (the guys Mike Dick photographed); firemen with great reputations, and enough medals on their Class A's to fill a small wall, but you'd never know it to talk to them. Humility is a religion to these men. ~R1ES: thanks for the updater K

Not a dumb question IMHO; rather a very good point. The dispatchers are UNDERPAID, just like many of our EMS brothers and sisters in Westchester County.

Charleston FD Tanker 1 1988 Volvo 3500 After viewing the accident photo I'm sure what we're looking at is Charleston FD Engine 3: 1970's International/Maxim 2500. I think this is the rig the member just died in, may he Rest in Peace. (just IMHO) Action plans need to be developed. One tanker LODD is too many, but like you pointed out; this is WAY TOO COMMON an incident, that we read about year after year. Departments need to get proactive about the issue before it happens to them. Starting with an internal department review of policy and current understandings of dept. specifications of tanker/engine tankers in the fleet, a fire department could institute changes; from going to an amber warning light system (only for tanker units), to a new policy regarding transport of "additional supply water" to and from fire scenes, or any other type of call. Charleston FD Engine 1: 2004 Sterling/Metalfab 1250/1250 When you think about it, if your 1st due attack includes a pumper with at least a 500 gallon tank, that's adequate to "BEGIN" with. If your interior attack can't be effective with those first 500+ gallons, the tanker response SOG can reflect that in a policy of "standard cautionary response" because more than likely the IC is going to switch tactics, and if you are going defensive, the time needed for the 2500 gallons to be on-scene, pooled, waiting will be set back a bit; as the companies go to work setting up the appliances, supply lines, attack lines, monitors, etc in preparation for the arrival of the tank, and the subsequent defensive operations to commence. You are really on to something with this Chief (in IMHO). Still would like to hear from some northern Westchester guys who could share some of their knowledge with tank supply systems, response policies, really any info/experiences/input would be interesting.

~Thank you for the info!

Wow, it's pretty hard to look at the photo of that rig as she was before this accident. To know that a member just died driving it.... I see what you mean about top-heavy, and I think your ideas regarding tankers are well worthy of further consideration, and discussion here as well. ~Thanks for the link and info

What kind of camera does the photographer use? Aside from being a very good and comprehensive series of photos; covering overviews to up-close personel shots, I don't think I've seen better QUALITY photographs of ANYTHING maybe ever! Nice job.

"Fire and police investigators now believe that the voices witnesses reported hearing at the burning deli where two firefighters lost their lives actually came from an unrelated argument on the street, The Buffalo News has learned; likewise, a motion detector was set off by merchandise exploding in the flames." http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/story/779013.html

Aside from the obvious advantages this could give an emergency agency; the commercial applications for something like this are endless. I want one for my motorcycles!