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They should spell it Tear Six, because it really is reason to cry for the younger people affected by this. I mean this is what it's come to huh? All the sacrifices of those who came before us, and helped to build mediocre municipal jobs into the respected careers they became; gone in a piece of legislation? Poof. Decade upon decade of sacrifice, hard work, playing by the rule of law....all the ingredients mixed in to bring the job of fireman to the career of firefighter, the job of policeman to the career of law enforcement, the job of garbageman to the career in sanitation. To the younger members on this site who a pursing a career in civil service, what do we say now? "Suuure it's still a great job, but chances are pretty good you're signing a lifetime contract here, so be prepared to do this until you drop dead while doing it?" Should we start including Estate Planning into Firefighter I or II? You want to know why I think the issue of death and disability weren't even addressed apparently? Because they KNOW LODDs are going to skyrocket, on-the-job injuries are going to become epidemic as this affected generation are going to be great-grandfathers and still pushing lines into working fires, still carrying tons of materials every day on their backs, still going at it with gangsters to protect us all. Maybe they think Apple is going to come out with an APP that will reverse the aging process in the meantime. These jobs are primarily for younger workers. There will always be the need for senior men, and a seasoned officer corps, but with this new tier apparently EVERYBODY will be a senior man. No, that's not a ceremonial fire truck coming down the street in the local parade, carrying the honorary 50 year members. That's your first due truck. A special thanks to the NY newspaper that made it it's top priority to engage in a smear campaign against the pension system for many years. And the 15Billion dollar mayor. And the son GOV, who finished what the father GOV started. The hell with the sons and daughters of the Empire State. And in so doing they have added one more nail in the coffin of the Empire. And that empire's name is These United States of America Inc.

There was no siren on the bus. She just stuck her head out the window and whiiiiiined all the way to the wedding. Best of luck to the happy couple.

Same down here in Monroe County, but we also have village depts., as well as city depts.

In one case; The Westchester FF's Pipes and Drums got formed under the leadership of some guys, like retired EFD Captains Timmy Harte and Rick Lynch (feel free to add to the list). The band rose to notice and was asked to march in between large fraternal organizations of FDNY firefighters. Because of the vast number of FDNY members, it would take several minutes for the entire regiment to pass, marching behind the great FDNY Pipes and Drums who lead the way. To cut that up they inserted the Westchester band to help out. It might have had something to do with TV commercial breaks and the passing of contingents by the viewing stand. The Westchester Emerald Society had reformed in the '80's after the band. These members organized, under Lt. Joe Dolan(?) of the White Plains F.D., the color guard for the Westchester band. This lead to the Emerald Society members gathering to march directly behind their guys in the band, with the informal blessing of the city Brothers. Some other original color guard members; Tommy Moriarity NRFD Jimmy Lang FDMV Bruce Kerr RyeFD In those original years of the Emeralds, the marching members out of respect for where they were and particularly honored, humbled, to participate amongst the members of the city, in their city, began to march in formation because they were numbered in few and actually completed the Westchester band's compliment. Over the years, this lead to expansion of the people who started showing up and attaching to the emerald society. Finally, added for probably security reasons as much as anything else the parade peoples said the contingent behind the band had grown too large (it had with the stragglers), and would therefore have to...."disband." lol "End of the Pack'ers" didn't help, as many who joined behind acted severely unprofessional. NO WAY the FDNY guys are going to let anybody come in there, on one of their most celebrated days, in the city they protect, endure injury and die for, and allow anything unprofessional that might be associated with the fire department. This became particularly important in the years following 9/11. It went back to just the band and the honor guard still doing their job, last I heard.

Regarding these new rear-mounts, they are awfully nice looking rigs. They're the new Ferraras aren't they? Why does the entire aerial appear to be set back quite a bit further from the front of the cab, compared to most Seagraves I've seen, where a 100' ladder more often than not hung out over the cab. Is it the wheel-base, the cab length, or something else? Thanks in advance.

Repped for "Cisterns." Thanks for dusting that term off Izzy!

No, but I happened to have some of that tuna you gave me from your fishing trip down here, still frozen in a cooler in my truck. I passed it on with one request; please drop it from the sky back onto your house as a late Christmas present from me. I gave them your address and told them just look for the place with the alien box out on the telephone pole in front. Keep an eye out for two Black Hawks!

306 lost. Sorry fellas, that sucks. Yet, I still think it's pretty darn nice of the many members here, who made the effort to keep this topic up on the main board and active. I looked through this thread and have seen many posts of support and voting by many volunteer firefighters, and other supporters of YFD and the fire service. You guys should be commended for making that effort on behalf of the Yonkers firefighters working @306 Engine. PS: That video was awesome R1SE. lol

Yesterday was "Doctor Day," my visit to the doctor's office. It's about a 40 minute drive toward Key West from where we're at in the Keys. There's a great fishermen's cooperative out that way, so after the doc's we headed over for their famous "Lobster Ruben." The location couldn't be more scenic; right on the Bay-side, with outdoor seating in the shade. I wasn't initially surprised to see two servicemen in combat fatigues. What I was surprised to see was the "101st Airborne" patches on their sleeves. As we sat down, I nodded to them and they gestured back in a friendly manner naturally. Soldiers are like that. After lunch, I couldn't help myself, so I walked over and said "excuse me gentlemen, I'd just like to say thank you for your service to our country." We exchanged handshakes, and I told them I was a retired fireman. They were curious to know, so I told them where I had worked. They were so genuinely grateful for a simple gesture of thanks, I could just tell as we had a simple chat. I was curious myself. I know most questions shouldn't be asked regarding operations, etc, but I gingerly said "101st Airborne. You guys are a long way from home." One responded (I was able to see his Lt. bar in the middle of his blouse, the other's I couldn't make out) that they had flown down from Atlanta for the day on a training mission, and they were so happy to be at such a beautiful place for lunch. I felt inside such a feeling of happiness for them. I could imagine what these two soldiers of the United States Army had seen in the past ten years, and just the fact that they were able to be there, in that spot, having a great lunch......well most of us here on Bravo have not forgotten what our service members continue to sacrifice for the good of this nation, so you know what I mean. So here's a salute to the 101st Airborne "Screaming Eagles." God Bless them, and all of our other service members, out there STILL fighting the fight, dying for us, protecting us from the evils that exist in the world today. If you see a service member, don't forget to say thanks. NEVER FORGET! For information on the storied history of one of our country's most famous Army Divisions, check out wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/101st_Airborne_Division

Corrected youtube address plus the description of the video: youtube credit: bigxbry http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDqzKlbvRqI

Don't do it Goose. Don't give in. I'm wondering (the JFK conspiracy theorist within) if this wasn't a staged event pulled off by the perpetrators knowing it might accomplish exactly what you just said; try to discourage people from participating? Hmmm.... Whatever their "illogical" reason might have been, don't give up. It's worth the fight!

That's cool, your post helped me understand your efforts now at keeping focus on getting prepared. And just as with the Florida firefighter and that discussion yesterday, it's right to withhold judgement, find out the facts, and keep the members that might be prepping for this test focused on what they need to be doing. Best of luck to everybody taking the test.

CC your passion for the love of Brotherhood/Sisterhood is truly inspiring. It's not too many news stories that will get me choked up, as this one did. The content I removed from my post was because it needed somebody like you to make this point the way you did. Stay safe Bro.

And why not M'Ave? Why not make as loud and big a stink as the situation calls for? You've got a judge that the city itself is trying to get removed for trying to legislate from the bench. The situation is borderline chaotic. The Man I perceive to be The Voice of Justice is Paul Mannix. You've been instrumental here on this board pushing Merit Matters to our notice. Is this not a low point in the "Merit" category? Stay well.

Absolute disgrace that these potential test takers were denied entry to a prep course because of at least two excuses from the vulcans: 1. Not enough volunteers to handle the amount of people 2. Not having received an email confirmation to attend from the vulcans Who paid for the vulcans to put these tutorials together? Are they saying they received no public resources in this latest "recruitment" effort? If they received one cent of public assistance for this program, and then proceeded to exclude people who PAID the taxes for the tutorials to be possible, I hope someone files an immediate lawsuit, and I'd enlist the ACLU for help in pursuing the vulcans for discrimination. I'd also be curious to see the parameters the FDNY tasked the recruiters to perform within, and if departmental rules were violated, the members who are responsible for this serious breech of decency be held to account.

Hello Joe, You know how much we've communicated in the past, and I'm sure you know how much I respect not only your skills as a cross-trained responder, but also your participation here at Bravo. But I'm going to take issue with just a couple of your comments, before I bring up another idea, and probably finish with compliments about your ideas listed further down in your post. I don't think anybody participating in this discussion up to this point had exhibited any desire to "throw(sic) on a fancy uniform and saying you're now a TEMS Operator, and think you're going to save the day when the bell rings." The second comment I have to point out is " your plans of being the EMS hero that day will quickly dissolve." I don't think you intended it to read the way it does. Most of the participants I've read in this discussion are highly respected, and highly professional members of the board. They don't read like free-lancers to me. That said, I can't help but think of the analogy of this shooter situation, with the early actions police officers regularly undertake when they enter an occupied structure fire, many times with no actual firefighting training or experience, no firefighting gear, and begin or attempt to begin evacuations or rescues from the structure. What protections are these valiant officers afforded when they undertake action based on the "risk/benefit" analysis they themselves perform? They are putting themselves at greater risk, for the greater good of the population they serve. Now for the compliments on describing actually how to get the response organized, so as the chief from Maine who regularly takes his time to come down to this NY forum and offer some great information describes, the risk/benefit analysis is properly defined, people are properly trained, and hopefully never utilized. Without ALL of the preparation, rehearsal, coordination, and definition of responsibility you have aptly described in the latter portion of your post, I agree nobody should do more than they are tasked with doing at any scene. Stay well.

I'm not sure if this topic was discussed here on Bravo at the time. Back in July of 2010, in Great Britain, a mutt was released from prison by the name of Raoul Moat. He looked like one of those guys that liked to riot and fight at soccer matches. Turns out his girlfriend had taken up with another guy while Moat was locked up in prison, and she lied to him and said she was dating a police constable as the cops are called over there. Upon his release Moat went on a shooting rampage. He shot his ex-girlfriend, killed the boyfriend who wasn't a cop, and because the ex's lie had boiled in Moat's brain while he was locked up, he specifically targeted cops. His weapon was a sawed off shot-gun. He shot Pc David Rathband, who Moat ambushed while the officer was sitting in his patrol car. Pc Rathband took over two-hundred shot-gun pellets in the face, and was left permanently blinded. The incident is documented in Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Northumbria_Police_manhunt Tragically, They have found Pc Rathband dead, and has apparently committed suicide: Rest in Peace Pc Rathband. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2108496/Pc-David-Rathband-shot-blinded-Raoul-Moat-dead-suspected-suicide.html Edit: removed content

Fair enough Bro, you know I respect your opinion. And it's a good point that we shouldn't judge this firefighter, at this point. I think or I tried to emphasize that point, while saying things like "IF" and "apparently." I was trying to stay away from a conviction, but at this point I'm withholding any final respect or thoughts until we know what really happened. Yours is a well written post. Thanks for that. Stay well. Edit: I honestly hope my hypothesis based on prior posts and links to articles is proven totally wrong.

Indeed we have. One of those amazing soldiers from that great generation, when this country came together to defeat evil incarnate. Rest in Peace Sir. #Salute

Why would we automatically say that? Wouldn't you want to wait until the facts are known about this case? So far we have a firefighter apparently killed in a dispute over collecting a debt. A debt for what? He's dealing with people with "machine guns"? Would these same people use those same machine guns if confronted by law enforcement? Would they try and kill a cop? Apparently there has been discussion in Maine about a prescription drug running connection. 10 trips in 10 months in a rental car that isn't supposed to be taken out of state (in most cases). I'm sorry this smells to high heaven, and if this guy was involved in pushing drugs on a population of younger people who could get their hands on it, and die from it; pushing a deadly poison if abused by younger people, this is a possibly extremely dishonorable act. Just as if I would not wish a "Rest In Peace" on anybody else involved in pushing drugs on the kids out there today, I would not wish one for this firefighter, until I know from the facts, that his actions were above and not below the law.

How are you Chief, You may remember I've mentioned in the past, I own a home in Whitefield. Brothers from the Bangor FD, have been instrumental in doing important electrical work, pellet-stove installation, window replacement, it goes on. My house has been rented to the same woman for many years. Until 2011, the house didn't have locks. In Whitefield you didn't need ever need them in the past. Then the house was broken into late last year. They took my Honda generator, and some of the tenant's possessions. A smart cop searched the immediate woods around the house and located the generator, I guess it was too big for the burglars to fit in the car. Maybe they were going to come back with a pick-up truck later on. Turns out, the new door I had installed (with a lock, not because we needed a lock, because we needed a door) was left unlocked by the tenant; that's how they gained entry. As hard as it was to imagine that this had occurred in Whitefield, I find it harder to comprehend that this apparent murder has taken place. The mug-shot of the alleged murderer looks more like a preppie to me than a murderer. The Florida firefighter; 10 trips to Maine in 10 months? Unless he had a "gumade" up there, that's a bit questionable, the amount of trips in a rental. Most rental cars in Florida, you can't take them out of state. Since the enactment of the new Prescription Drug Monitoring Program here in Florida, the "pill mills" that operated up in Broward and Miami-Dade counties have done two things. First, many simply relocated to Georgia, one of two states left without a PDMP. So the "hillbilly heroin" pipeline continues into Kentucky and that area of the country. Oxycodone prescriptions issued in Florida are reported to have dropped by 98 percent since the enactment of the PDMP. As we saw with the recently busted Westchester County cop who was helping to mule pills and drug money through Westchester airport, it wouldn't be surprising to see anybody being involved in muling pills out of state, now that the pill mills can't just push them onto the streets down here anymore. IF this is the case (I'm certainly withholding judgement on this firefighter until ALL the facts are known), it resulted because of greed, or actual need to support a family. Either way, obviously if this were the case, it was an extremely bad decision on his part, as now he is dead and his family will be in dire need. I always ask myself, when I see a guy from a job go down because of a stupid decision to break the law; was it worth it? You lost your pension. You lost your career. You lost your benefits. You lost your reputation. For how much? Ten grand? One hundred grand? Was it worth it? There is a lesson for all brothers and sisters out there if it turns out this fireman was involved in muling drugs. Think twice before you go putting everything you've worked your entire career for at risk for some more money. Greed will kill you, one way or the other. And if it's out of need; consider a B job that doesn't involve anything stupid.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2107888/The-day-exhausted-firefighters-battled-New-York-subway-blaze-1915.html

Feels like I've been on the road for years. Actually, I have been. Since retiring from the job in '06, I left NY for South Carolina, and eventually wound up in Florida. It's been too long since I've been home. But I came home for a funeral of a beloved Great Uncle of our family. Uncle Vince served in the U.S. Army during WWII, and saw action in Europe for which he received recognition. He passed away at age 93. He was laid to rest in St. Raymond's Cemetery in the Bronx. Being back in NY after such a long time, is an incredible experience. First thing one realizes, is the scale and perception of this area changes when you're away for a long time. Westchester is tighter and smaller than ever. It makes me shake my head even more when I realize this small place has such a problem with combining fire service protection. Then my Brothers from my former job caught a two-alarm fire in an OMD at two something in the morning the other night. They did a great job with aggressively attacking that fire, and keeping the damage to a minimum. The mutual aid companies also helped out. Great job by all. Seeing family and friends has been such a wonderful experience. If you take all the people in your life for granted, go on the road for four or five years, and see how your perspective changes. Seeing Brothers I worked with has been an amazing time. To wrap it up, there really is no place like home; especially when home is the greatest metropolis in the world; New York. I'm loving every single minute of this visit, every single minute spent with my dad, my uncles, all retired firemen. Thank God for family and friends. Special thanks to Brother E. Lynch and the entire crew at 28/11 for their hospitality in my time of urgent need of a restroom! lol Stay well everybody. Hug your family today, shake your friends hands, enjoy this world and the people God chose to be your family and friends. They are literally irreplaceable.