gpeifer

I am sure it is NOT the 911 business that is making them money, but the private inter-facility work keeping them in business. Private ambulance services are struggling just to stay afloat. Medicare has changed the reimbursement rates, have set limits on payments, will not pay the ambulance service if they feel it was not medically necessary, but the ambulance had to answer the 911 call. Third party insurance companies are now looking to streamline and match Medicares low rates. Individuals paying the balance or any part of the bill??? LOL Salaries and cost of doing business have been steadily increasing. The days of an ambulance service being a cash cow are over. Good luck to those still in business. Communities should develop a contingency plan for the day when their ambulance provider shutters their door without warning.

At the end of the day it comes down to this.... how long does it take to get adequate resources onscene to do the job people of your community expect. I being somewhat of a buff, listen to the scanner all the time. I hear a career department get dispatched, they go enroute within a minute (with apparatus, not a chiefs car) and are onscene performing their duty within 4-5 minutes. The volunteer department gets toned out..... 3 minutes later, gets toned out again, 6 minutes later gets toned out again, a chief finally decides he/she will respond. 9 minutes later more tones......and so on. I will not debate that some of the VF's are trained to very high standards. SOME is the key word. I will not debate that VF's give up a lot of time to volunteer. I know that weekly meetings and drills..followed by cups of tasty beverages, take up a lot of time. I will not debate that VF's have been injured or killed while performing FF related tasks. I will though ask WHY? There is always the career vs volunteer argument. Let me ask all of you that volunteer as firefighters....if someone volunteered to the your day job, meaning work for free..would that upset you? You would be unemployed. Where are all of the volunteer Police Officers? Sanitation workers? DPW workers? Why do communities feel that their fire departments can continue to be volunteer. Can volunteer firefighters still provide essential services? How about at 11am on a Tuesday? And please do not throw the mutual aid song in there...what is the mutual aid department doing at 11am on a Tuesday? I really have no problem with volunteer fire or EMS agencies. Staff your quarters 24 hours a day with sufficient personnel to meet NFPA standards, both in numbers and training. I don't care whether you compensate them or not. Guy

If only everyone had the harmony that exists in the city of Yonkers between the public service representatives (notice I left out the words cop and fireman) providing emergency services the world would be a better place. LOL

I don't know if staging a public assault on an establishment that serves alcohol is the best representation of police and firefighters right now. Was what he said in very poor taste, absolutely, but it is his constitutional right, the same constitution that we refer to to protect our rights. The Journal News and News12 will twist this story to make us look bad.. I can see the headline now "Police and Firefighters Boycotting Local Water Hole, Where Will They Get Drunk Now". Go elsewhere....there are dozens of other great places to hang out.

We are putting in a helipad so Chris can stop by for a donut or two

Operate at all times with "Due regard", low speed non-aggressive driving will get you there as fast or faster than out of control aggressive driving.

How about Texas? Shorter drive for Seth.

2009...... As per the "Mander" Yonkers Rescue 1 1300 runs Yonkers Squad 11 1800 runs. Like FDNY Rescue 3 we are also the citywide collapse rescue unit. Do the math..........

LOL.... Ouch.

Hey.... Rescue guys, Does not matter whether you ride Rescue 1 in Yonkers or Rescue 3 in NYC. It is the SQUAD companies that do the real work. Keep that Buffbox on the west side.

NO... he got promoted to chief.

I would be happy to pay a nominal fee to keep the site open.

Where was the helicopter?? Could have had some great roof shots.

The King Airway is primarily a rescue airway device. If you are not getting good ventilation you probably had incorrect insertion or chose the improper size. Providers that have used the combitube prior to the king airway might insert it as though it was a combitube which is incorrect. If not inserted from a 90 degree start position you increase your risk of tracheal insertion which you do not want to do as the King is a single lumen airway. Why are you inserting a bougie into the airway.. it is in the esophagus. The LTS-D does provide for easier tube exchange, but most people are not purchasing the LTS-D, instead they are purchasing the more economical King LT. The most efficient new product on the market to assist with endotracheal intubation is the SALT airway. Guy

Work???? Didn't you see the marshmallows?

What do you call a boat on top of a very large rescue?

Hey...is that girl on the left an ambulance driver.

Barry, Good luck with the new rig. That bumper scares me! Is that a PINK connection I see? PINK?? Guy

LOL. The seat idea sounds good.

Isn't now a good time to discuss County Wide, County operated municipal EMS?

Why not just contract the service out to Yonkers. We have all the equipment. We are trained. We are available 24hrs a day. Seth... now that should open a can of worms.

I just fell off my chair, I was laughing so hard. Big Sexy it is.

Anyone have any idea why I am hearing Liberty Lines Bus chatter. I am using a BCT15. Both sites are correctly programmed. Only the Fire and EMS talkgroups were programmed. Programming was done with ARC software and radio reference internet link. Guy

Seth, Tell that to the mayor.

True, no one agency can handle everything, but an agency should be able to handle a routine medical call. MCI's, HazMat, etc.. require a large response that an agency is not prepared for on a daily basis, that is why mutual aid was invented. The problem, as you well know, is that the day to day routine EMS runs are often not handled in timely fashion (ie: appropriate response time) and often the proper level of care is not available. When this happens once a year it can be explained, but we are seeing this too often lately. If you are going to provide a promised service, then just do what you promised. It seems the fire departments, be it career or volunteer, have no problem calling mutual aid. Why do certain EMS agencies feel it is a black mark if they call someone in mutual aid. For my 25 years as a paramedic my main concern has been quality patient care, I don't really care who delivers it or what color the ambulance is. Leave politics out of it.