hudson144

Exposed to chemicals-this is not to start a gripe between the pd/fd but police officers need to know the hazards involved and if they can keep themselves out of harms way they should do so. If there is no life hazard present its not worth it! Be safe and set up a perimiter to keep from being in the plume of smoke/chemicals.

It appears that many depts work differently and as B Benz mentioned manpower may dictate how things are done,in the dept I work for you need everyone you can get to be inside doing what your assigned task is and then if they need to use the stick it is either mentioned via radio to report to your rig or other members are tasked to operate the unit. Use caution for the guy(civilian) who might drive down the street to relocate the rig because he thinks its better on the next block. Yes this did happen! lol

at my height the 1st floor window could give me a lump or two!

Many times you can't get the "STICK UP" because of wires, location of the structure etc- a few years back in FDMV 2 people were plucked from the 4th floor window sill using a 35' & 39' ground ladder,the court yard IFO the building didn't allow us to utilize the Stick and it was a must to use ground ladders. That picture on #1 is great because it shows how more exits are made via ground ladders not only for the occupants but for us who may get trapped inside and need a way out. I recently saw a aerial platform being set up for a 2 story dwelling fire. Wires in the way etc-this is where size up comes into play and you need to have a plan. Properly locate the truck IFO the fire building and remember to leave room for a 2nd truck. Just because you don't have flames blowing out upon arrival doesn't mean that in time you might be going to an exterior defensive mode. Seen that many times and again because the trucks were properly placed rigs weren't being moved around during the heat of the moment to place themselves where they should have been in the beginning. For those with 2 trucks remember that some trucks have the ground ladders stored in the rear and you need clearance to pull the ladders out from the rear of the truck. This can cause a problem that you don't need. I am sure many other hints and tips can be mentioned here. * Last week I posted about hazards with A/C units,in this picture look at the 2 A/C units mounted in the 3rd floor windows,are they properly secured? Will they prevent you from getting out that window? What kind of injury will you suffer if that unit fell 3 floors (45 lbs). No good results, pull the units into the apt. instead of out.

They might put it back in service!

This morning I read an article on the terribible conditions of the firehouses that the Dallas firefighters have to put up with. From raw sewage to mold etc. It reminds me of the conditions that we at FDMV have to put up with. Sta #1infested with mold/mildew or should I Quote "UNACCEPATABLE AMOUNTS OF MOLD AND BACTERIA", Station #4- The question remains-is the apparatus floor going to collapse into the basement? Possibly the 2nd firehouse to be shut down because of the hazards. Station #3- infested with mice who continue to patrol the kitchen and S*** all over the place. As employees we do not have to tolerate this and if you have a problem you need to be vocal and help correct the situation. firehouses are supposed to be our 2nd home,well I know how my home is and I know I wouldn't let conditions get out of hand the way some depts let their homes get-just a thought!

Scarsdale FD recently recieved $15,000 for a repeater system to help with communications. Radios are a important item in the fire service and often a problem for most depts. A repeater system is really needed in the citys where buildings block the signals.Any depts here in Westchester have repeaters?

A commish who would fight for standards, discipline, equipment,cleaning up of the houses etc would certainly be to the benefit of the job,a couple of names thrown in the mix for the position and who are on the job stand for anything but standards/dicipline etc. In fact one of the guys is the mix is not respected by many guys at all and is known for not doing his job! Just what we need!!!

I see the numbers are up to 663? Have there been over 60 dispatchers since 1983?

lol-hell no I'm on the S*** List!

Date: 7 July 08 Time: Approx 1400 hrs Location: South 4th ave Frequency: Units Operating: MVPD Description Of Incident: 20 Year-old male shot in chest and shoulder waled into Mount Vernon Hospital. This occured during the day as kids strolled along 4th ave according to a local TV station Writer: hudson144

The cat RETIRED! Relieved of duty by a command decision of the Chief of the Dept. Meow!

Already with the spring behind us and the 1st day of summer here I always like bringing up the waterways in the region. If you can post what your dept has as far as boats,zodiacs etc. Mention what training is required to be on the "marine Unit". If you are familiar with any other services that are out there to include the coast Guard Aux, Sea Tow, Boat US it could be a valuble source of info for all of us. B Safe!

NO COMMENT!!!!!!!!

Conflict in Ossining for a new boat-protection on the river is a must and is needed! Many communities are not prepared for the river and some day we will see a large scale incident on the river.I often mention in the ARFF class that I teach that someday a large fram aircraft will end up in the river and the questionwill be why didn't the fire depts have the resources to handle the situation.

Recently read about a member of Eastchester NY Fire Dept. getting hurt this AM from a falling A/C unit. I hope he is ok. Being that we are in the summer season the above mentioned incident can be a reminder of the hazards that we may face. Many window mounted units are not properly installed in the window. I am sure that many of us on here have at one point or another just put the window unit in and shut the upper half of the window holding it in place. Fires above the ground floor may be a hazard because of the window units. I am not sure what the weight of a 5000 BTU unit is but just imagine the damage that a unit can do if it fell out of the 2nd floor and above windows. Even if a unit is mounted in with the proper mounting brackets the hazard is still present because if you have a fire condition that generates enough heat to melt or burn away the vinyl window the window may fail and the window A/C unit can fall below. This condition may still be present throughout the year because many units are not removed after the summer months and are still in the window for 12 months. Be safe and look for theses hazards * A 5000 BTU UNIT WEIGHS APPROX 43 LBS,USUALLY THE SMALLER UNIT THAT IS COMMONLY USED!

ok what do you do if you are inside the room,1 window with the A/C properly mounted and you are assigned to vent the room-worse yet you gotta get out through that window. Tools of choice,communication to your officer, etc.

In a very organized professional setting today Westchester County graduated 16 members from the career chiefs of Westchester Co. Fire Academy. Under the Direction of Deputy Chief Thomas Duffy (FDMV) Captain Robert Benz (NRFD) and Dave Russel (LT. FDNY RET) along with the staff of Westchester DES and the County Fire Instructors the 16 weeks of training was concluded today. Enjoy your career guys!

By Charles Babington AP writer; Washington- Barack Obama's politcal success might claim an unintended victim:affirmative action,affirmative action,a much debated policy that he supports. Already weakened by several court rulings and state referendums,affirmative action now confronts a challenge to its very reason for existing.If americans make a black person the leading contendor for president, as nationwide polls suggest,how can racial prejudice be so prevelant and potent that it justifies special efforts to place minorities in coveted jobs and schools? (GO TO YAHOO NEWS TO READ THE COMPLETE ARTICLE OR GOOGLE THE WRITER)

With regret the information is being sent out on the passing of Charles "Chuck " Cole sr formerly of Buchanan NY. Chuck passed away recently after fighting cancer. Chuck was well known throughout the northern westchester area being involved with both the Peekskill FD and Montrose FD. For many years Chuck was the dept electrician for the Peekskill FD, responsible for maintaining the Fire Alarm Box system throughout the streets of Peekskill. In Montrose Chuck was an active member for years serving as President of the Cortlandt Engine co. and an active driver for the Montrose Fire District. Chuck is survived by his wife midge, son Chuck Cole Jr (Career firefighter Peekskill FD) Scott (Chief Montrose FD) Steve and Daughter nancy. Several grandchildren also survive. Chuck was always well known for his quick one liners that kept you laughing. Arrangements will be posted as they are completed.

We have a cat but the mice are bigger than the cat! lol

The kitchen was re done not to long ago by the members, the health dept would refer you to the building dept and not get involved. Its not a question of cleanliness basically the mice are there and even the exterminator isn't helping. I guess it could be worse,we could be dealing with RATS!

For those of us that were around in the fire service prior to ch 12 I have to mention that before news 12 came around we as firefighters here in westchester/putnam/rockland never had any tv time. I have seen some bad reports on ch 12 but overall the fire service has recieved alot of attention from the public mainly because of the local tv. Not too often do you see a fire that is covered by ch-2,4,7,9,11. Think about it- you go to a fire in your district and ch 12 does not exist,who covers the story??? NOBODY!!!

Good to see somebody fighting for manpower etc!!!

I see this morning there was another incident off of Ossining, an elderly gentleman who has been on the river for years ended up calling for help when his fishing boat started to take on water, OFD again was involved with the rescue. In the article in LO HUD it was mentioned that the OFD boat is out of service. I know they have been involved over the yrs on the river and did have plans for a new vessel sometime this yr. Anyone have any info on the OFD marine unit?