ladder55

I'm a volunteer firefighter and a union Dpw worker also in the village I grew up in. Our mayor and trustees allow dpw workers to respond to alarms during working hours and it has benefited residents numerous times. The board understands that we are still providing a service to the residents and have always supported our response. I personally think you should use discretion and not abuse the privilege. If the call ends you return to work, if you are working on something important at work you don't respond to every smell and bell, but when there is a serious incident there are not many DPW jobs that take priority.

I'm a volunteer firefighter and a union Dpw worker also in the village I grew up in. Our mayor and trustees allow dpw workers to respond to alarms during working hours and it has benefited residents numerous times. The board understands that we are still providing a service to the residents and have always supported our response. I personally think you should use discretion and not abuse the privilege. If the call ends you return to work, if you are working on something important at work you don't respond to every smell and bell, but when there is a serious incident there are not many DPW jobs that take priority.

Another idiotic comment! The teacher may not run but how about members of the custodial staff?
" when the town is paying you to serve the town get to work" what do you call volunteering.? That is serving the town! volunteers are considered employees!
Your most rediculous statement " would you still go if your job stopped paying you?" , we are talking about a volunteer fire department, they respond and don't get paid. They get up in the middle of the night when they are not being paid to sleep and respond to alarms.
No one is crying yet! The taxpayers will be when they have to pay for a fully staffed fire department.
Career departments are necessary in certain places and I hope those firefighters get the best pay and benefits. But, the volunteer service serves the majority of this country and many places can not afford a paid department. This thread is not about paid vs volunteer. We can both make stupid statements about the other side.
This is about a municipality depending on a life saving volunteer service but not being willing to let there own employees volunteer. It just does not make sense.

When we get toned out and there are "no reported symptoms," it is for that reason.. no reported symptoms. When the alarm company calls and nobody answers that is the report we get. There is always the potential that the occupier is unconscious and cannot reach the phone. You just never know, and that chance is why we respond with urgency unless informed otherwise.

Yet westchester has the highest taxes in the country and pay nearly $7k a year more on taxes on average but every highway shuts down every rain storm. Time for westchester to rethink some things.

We have 58 Fire depts. in Westchester and many have trouble getting enough trained firefighters on scene. Many have more equipment then they can ever manage to get out the door and this situation puts the public & firefighters in danger.
I suspect nothing will change until a multi fatality fire AND a lawsuit against the fire dist /municipality and/or the chief(s).
Its really sad that depts are not willing to solve this problem.

Yet westchester has the highest taxes in the country and pay nearly $7k a year more on taxes on average but every highway shuts down every rain storm. Time for westchester to rethink some things.

Yet westchester has the highest taxes in the country and pay nearly $7k a year more on taxes on average but every highway shuts down every rain storm. Time for westchester to rethink some things.

Yet westchester has the highest taxes in the country and pay nearly $7k a year more on taxes on average but every highway shuts down every rain storm. Time for westchester to rethink some things.

Yet westchester has the highest taxes in the country and pay nearly $7k a year more on taxes on average but every highway shuts down every rain storm. Time for westchester to rethink some things.

Yet westchester has the highest taxes in the country and pay nearly $7k a year more on taxes on average but every highway shuts down every rain storm. Time for westchester to rethink some things.

I don't have an issue with career firefighters. I have an issue with you.
I, and so many more people, have grown tired of you only speaking up on these forums to beat your drum and stand atop your soapbox to deem all volunteer fire departments as incapable, lying, deceitful organizations. You think because you use big words and generally have ample grammar in your posts, that all of us are blind to your obvious dismay for the majority of us.
The issues ongoing in the Irvington FD are being beaten to death here with no true resolve. I agree with you that it's noble of the gentleman involved to stand for what he believes in. Just as I think anyone who stands up for what they believe in is honorable, because let's face it, too many people would rather not take a position on something and join the majority (drink the Kool-Aid, if you will).
Anyone that doesn't see you for who you really are and for the views you have of us evil volunteers is either naive or blind. We aren't perfect, not a single one of us is, but do you really, honestly think that coming on here and playing your game is solving anything? And am I alone on these forums to think that this story in Irvington is going to have little or no impact on anything?
There's so many more things in this world and in what we do that need our attention. And for me, those issues are ensuring we all are offering the best fire prevention training, fire safety education, strict code enforcement and adequate response to any emergency we're called upon - regardless of the community, department and whether or not those sworn to do these tasks is paid, period.
You're an intelligent man from what I can tell, with a wealth of knowledge and experience that could help better the fire service. Do you really think spending your time trying to dissect and disassemble the volunteer fire service is helping ANYONE?
Good day to you, sir.

Could you imagine how pissed they would be when they are told about how many guys go out on worker's compensation that aren't really hurt? Or how much is spent on overtime to cover them?
Holy cow!

Totally thought this was going in a different direction....

Strictly clarifying exactly what happened at this incident.

Did you not read the first sentence with the word volunteer emblazoned in all caps for all the world to see how we're the scum of the earth? Perhaps not.
Top to bottom, left to right. Group words together as a sentence. Many sentences comprise a thought. Maybe they didn't teach you that in elementary school.

Doesn't surprise me...unfortunately law enforcement has been painted as the bad guy thanks to the media.

6 years ago I wrote that what it would take is either a major disaster or the state forcing the issue.
Well the state has given us a tax cap, which is forcing almost everyone at a minimum to consider how it spends its money. I know of a dozen depts that are already cutting back. A few considering cutting manning. In the past year 2 depts had lay offs, another had threats of it. We have combo depts. that have zero volunteers, but think they can cover the town with 2 or 3 career members.
We have publicly seen depts. lose homes because they can not put a team on the field, others because they can not find the hydrant, others who have lose members because they did not want to train and follow OSHA laws. We have a local fire district that want to build new stations, after the public has said no, and the dept has no plan to staff the house. A few weeks ago I was at a town council meeting and the FD "leadership" stated: "we know we suck, but as long as the public does not know, it fine"....
Last week at a county fire marshals training class 4 different fire inspectors from 4 different towns asked: "what should the town do when the FD can not get a rig out the door or even 1 member to respond to a fire alarm"?
This is not an attack on firefighters, officers, volunteers, career, commissioners. It is an attack on a system that is a total failure. Yes there are some great depts here...but if you average them out county wide the numbers suck.
We have hit the iceburg, we all know there are not enought lifeboats but instead of working to save what we can, we would rather go down with the ship.

Ahh, another young inexperienced guy who only thinks inside Westchester County, as if thats the only county there is...Think outside the box before you make blanket statements like that.
I have been involved in pre-plans in every volunteer department I belonged to, even my current one who only has residential and rural areas, we pre-planned our only two sites in our area including a repair garage and an under ground natural gas pipeline pumping facility. As a Captain, I take our crews out on drill nights in the rescue and we drive to a house, and I have them tell me everything about it including construction type, exposure issues, water supplies in the area and other details. This is always a big hit on drill nights and it works.
Not every department is the same, each one is different and has their own strengths and weaknesses.

Date:12/26/2011
Time: @1200
Location: 6 Frontage st. (Romantic Depot)
Frequency:
Units Operating: EFD. 2111, 2112, 2113, E137, E237, L55, U86
Weather Conditions: Chilly
Description Of Incident: Reported as heavy smoke in the building, small fire in the boiler room, 1 L/S with quick k/d.
Reporters: Ladder55
Writer:

Apparently they made another change to lohud and stopped posting news

Apparently they made another change to lohud and stopped posting news

Apparently they made another change to lohud and stopped posting news

Apparently they made another change to lohud and stopped posting news

Apparently they made another change to lohud and stopped posting news