wraftery

OK it looks like story time. Once upon a time there was a very large strip shopping center whose parking lot straddled two jurisdictions. Quite a few people beat a few arrests because the "jurisdiction that they were arrested in" was wrong. The PD's agreed to paint the city line across the parking lot (3 or 4 city blocks long) so it would very clear where the arrest was made. Then, one day, an engine Co. from one of the jurisdictions was spotted by a politico, shopping at a market 300 ft out ot their city. (That particular Eng. Co. has no supermarkets in its company area) The poop hit the air circulator,(despite all the logic explained by the guilty Eng. Co.) and City A's FD was banned from shopping out of town for any reason. Along comes the Eng. Co. from city B. The supermarket lies in city B. Always willing to help a brother, the City B engine agrees to meet the City A engine at 10:00am every morning at the shopping center, both on the proper side of the city line. The shopping list was passed over the city line, along with the money and you know the rest. It didn't last too long. Logic prevailled, and logic will probably prevail in Boston, too. Footnote: I kinda liked the painted line, myself. You don't have to fill out the full NFIRS if your guys can push the car fire over the line before WP (oops... I meant to say City A) gets there.

WOW! CANADIAN FF'S PAY FOR THEIR OWN MEALS JUST LIKE US. I wonder what they do in Europe or Australia? SOMEBODY must be getting their meals paid for by the city. How else could this rumor have started.

Stop & Shop and A&P are working out the final details of a merger. The new chain will be called STOP & P.

Take a look! Mass. law requires meal periods just like NY FF's who eat at the House do not get these bresks as required...How many times have you guys left your lunch on the table to take a run? Look at the Mass labor law eplaiined: "Breaks during the work day keep us all sane and safe. Allowing breaks during the workday isn't just a matter of practice or what might be viewed as nice. In fact, Massachusetts law does regulate meal breaks and whether employers are required to pay employees for those breaks. To help answer this question, I consulted David Conforto, founder and managing partner of Conforto Law Group, a Boston boutique firm that represents workers in employment law matters. "Massachusetts employees who work more than six hours a day must be provided with a minimum of 30 minutes unpaid time for a meal. Employers who violate this provision are subject to fines ranging from $300 to $600 per violation" If you go on a run during your "meal period," the city sent you on that run and interrupted your meal period. The city then would be in violation and subject to a $300 to $600 fine for each person in your company. On the other hand, giving meal periods to all FF's working on any given day would be a costly administrative nightmare. My advice on shopping FF's? Let them sshop. It really doesn't cost a lot, and if you call, they'll still be at your front door in three minutes.

Barry, you never cease to amaze me. Only ONCE,20 years ago did I go to a Halloween party dressed as a swan, and you got my photo! And cas2383, primates are only one rung behind us on the evolutionary ladder. That monkey is just trying to get on YOUR rung and he's almost there. To keep this thread on a more professional level, I recall quite a few fires caused by birds who picked up lit butts and carried then back to their nest in eaves,etc

Times sure have changed...cigarette ads used to be on TV too. Why do I still smoke? Because it's the only thing I know of that separates us from the animals.

A good way to get this type of info is to take a look at FD's websites. You will get a good insight into the varoius programs in use in he county. Aside from that, I personally an a proponent of Company Inspections. All HFD personnel are certified code enforcement officers, but they only enforce the Fire Preventioh Code. All other code vioations (ie plumbing) are referred to the proper department. All multi-dwellings and commercials are inspected yearly. I believe that Company Inspections are the singlemost program contributing to the prevention of fires in commercials and multi dwellings. Company Inspections also contribute greatly to Firefighter safety in that Firefighters become familiar with buildings in their first due area. Construction, layout, contents, hazards, egress, etc. are all addressed in the inspection. With a good Company Inspection program, a company should never pull up to a building without somebody in that company having been in that building before. The reason for doing Company inspections can be summed up by the acronym F.I.R.E. F Famiarization of the building by Firefighters, and fill out or update a building record card showing all the vital info about the building I Inspect the building for violations R Remedy or Remove any dangerous conditions E Educate the public about fire prevention. Educate members so the building won't kill them. Guys will moan about doing company inspections, but try to look at the bright side: Its the only time you don't have to CRAWL and JFLYNN won't even yell at you.

You are right, Cap, who would have been a better pick to straighten out Stamford. Stamford's situation is kinda "Who's on first, what's on second, I dunno's on third.' Bobby's a tough negotiator. I've seen him in action. If he thinks somebody has made a bad call, he'll run right up to you and make his point. Back off if he turns hat around. That's when he really firm about making his point. I remember one time he was thrown out for kicking a little dirt. He showed up a few minutes in Groucho glasses. OK, so efdcpot115 and I are goofing on a serious situation, but what's wrong with Stamford chosing Bobby Valentine? Who would you guys pick...a Lawyer?

IN VERY COLD WEATHER I'M HARD TO START!

We used them in the Navy too. I'll have to dig out my Bluejacket's Manual for details. I do remember something about bend forwaard and spread yiur legs before you drop out the hot csnister. Dang, Mike, you're old!

"Yes sir we are. When you said the steel tanks, it just brought me back to when I joined thr fire service in my Volly Department in Dutchess, we had 2A's with steel tanks. We then upgraded to 2.2 masks in the mid 90's. We now use 4.5's pak For some of the younger members' edification, the Scott air pack has indeed come a long way. The 4.5 was a big improvement for the fire service. NASA got involved in creating the design. It removed the regulator (that used to be mounted on your chest with a low pressure hose connecting to the face piece on the model Don is talking about) and placed it on the newly designed facepiece. The facepiece afforded much more visability than the previous models, and this helped make it feel less claustrophobic." This is the Scott the good EFD Capt was talking about. I used to wear that tank? No wonder my back hurts. Note the steel back plate...bulletproof. Also note that it was kept in that suitcase looking box on the ground. I do believe that is a rubber turnout coat judging by the crimp at the waist. Take away the old guys and the old equipment and look real hard...the fire's the same as 2010. Believe it or not, those guys put it out.

There is a nationally established criteria for such marking. You have to be able to pay for the lettering.

Speaking of front of the building. Apparatus operators, fast guys, etc should light up the front of the building as soon as reasonably possible. Concentrate on the fire floor and floors above. An interior FF or company in distress is going to look for windows, especially the front. Of course you should liht the rest of the sides up later, but the front is the most important. If fire is in a rear apartment, inside guys should consider gaining acess to a "clean" apartment on the front side of the bldg. Do this before opening the fire apt door. This will give you an emergency escape route with a door and a ladder truck in front of the bldg. (Because the TRUCK ALWAYS GETS THE FRONT OF THE BUILDING)

If we all thought like that, we would get rid of deck guns, ladder pipes, fire hydrants (except for the one we used last week). We would then get rid of fire engines and us. There is certainly a criteria to figure out what you are going to carry, and you can't carry everything, but the 30-day rule is not the way to go about it. Let's save the "freshness label" for our salad dressing.

My all time favorite training tip: "The rabbit came out of the hole, around the... Well, you know the rest Sorry

Good Thread Capt Benz Here's a post I put out on a seemingly good thread that died rapidly. I thought it fit this thread as a fireground tip. Hpoefully, you are in a FD thata allows anyone to make this kind of call, and not have to wait for a Chief. "Having not answered your initial questions. let me at least share a rule of thumb told to me many years ago by a FDNY DC. He called it the 20-minute rule and has always worked for me. When do you call for a 2nd Alarm On Arrival? More than 2 Windows More than one floor More than 20 min. The 20 min Rule briefly explained: More than 2 windows: For the most part, a single room will have one or two windows. Fire showing beyond that indicates that this might be more than your 1 alarm room and contents job. More than 1 floor: Obviously, this fire is on the move and will require more resources than you have on hand. More than 20 min: If you don't believe that the fire can be completely put out in under 20 min, transmit the 2nd. Why 20 min? Because that's how long a SCBA (and the hardworking person wearing it) will last. Without incoming manpower, you would have to stop work on thf firefight to rehab/refill. And, while I'm at it, heres my own rule of thumb on SOP's, SOG's, and other rules of thumb: 1. Keep it simple. If it's simple, you might remember it under pressure. If it's complicated you won't. 2.Keep it flexible. Or else it won't fit your next incident"

Want to develop that light touch with your extrication jaws? Get a dozeen eggs and try picking them up without breaking them.

This had the makings of a very good discussion. How 'bout putting it back on the front page list?

Good thread starter. It stirs up a lot of thought. But to fully answer it would take a thesis, and the answers would be different for every communities situation. Manpower, time and distances of incoming companies, qualifications of Mutual aid companies, AND the fire itself all have to be analyzed before you can truly give your answers. ICS and SOP's cannot be written in stone, They have to be dynamic and be able to handle all the "either/ors" that the first post of this thread poses. Having not answered your initial questions. let me at least share a rule of thumb told to me many years ago by a FDNY DC. He called it the 20-minute rule and has always worked for me. When do you call for a 2nd Alarm On Arrival? More than 2 Windows More than one floor More than 20 min. The 20 min Rule briefly explained: More than 2 windows: For the most part, a single room will have one or two windows. Fire showing beyond that indicates that this might be more than your 1 alarm room and contents job. More than 1 floor: Obviously, this fire is on the move and will require more resources than you have on hand. More than 20 min: If you don't believe that the fire can be completely put out in under 20 min, transmit the 2nd. Why 20 min? Because that's how long a SCBA (and the hardworking person wearing it) will last. Without incoming manpower, you would have to stop work on thf firefight to rehab/refill. And, while I'm at it, heres my own rule of thumb on SOP's, SOG's, and other rules of thumb: 1. Keep it simple. If it's simple, you might remember it under pressure. If it's complicated you won't. 2.Keep it flexible. Or else it won't fit your next incident.

Theere is no reason you can't put together a FAST team of more than one company. IC-wise it now becomes the FAST GROUP and must have a FAST Group Leader. Need a hose line and two saws and a stokes and... Ic just makes his FAST Group 1 E and 2 T assigns a FAST Leader, and the problems like shortages of equipment or duplication of efforts go away. Hopefully by now we have all taken ICS courses. Now, let's learn how to use it to our advantage.

Great answer...you got my vote!

I would love to have a leather bucket. Rounded bottom of course. Why rounded? (First one to answer gets 1-Reputation vote) Now for the Navy nozzle: take a look at the new HI-RISE nozle in use recently. It sure looks like a specially bent, large diameter, straight bore Navy applicator.

Dig thru your pictures. Maybe you can post them for the younger folk

Favorites: Pumper= Newsham Ladder- Hayes You may have to look them up

There could be more, but ONE is minimum manning. You also need back-ups to cover vacations, sick time, etc. In a high trivia area some Depts run full company of know-it-alls. You've seen them. They show up at your job, rate you on a scale of 10, and tell you how THEY would have put the fire out. Lawyers don't count...different category, not covered under the manning clause. While we're at it, there's another firehouse group that is actually saving their cities some money, Cities across the nation are removing the sirens from their apparatus. This is because of the large numbers of guys who WHINE all the way to the fire.