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It seems like a source of drama in many departments stems or is blamed on the commissioners of fire districts. Now, I know fire districts may not take on the traditional boundaries of a town or city, but is having fire commissioners another layer of government? Who are they accountable to, besides the taxpayers? How can they take an objective look at things if they are involved in departmental "cliques" and usually members of the department or put up by members of the department? Not many "outsiders" seem to wanted to be fire commissioners anymore, and with 5 year terms, there is hardly any new blood resulting in things staying the same way longer then they need to,. Nor do many communities stir up interest in new fire commissioners, and does that encourage complacency and slow change? Are "Fire Commissioners" going to become obsolete? Is there a better way to govern fire districts?

I also want to add that I think that Fire Commissioner elections should be moved to election day. Having a independent voting day during the holiday season with limited poll hours doesn't help things much.

I agree with the comments that they should be given to the public, with no questions asked. Especially with the heroin that's been going around. I remember, I believe it was Baltimore, several years ago they had a pilot program for addicts to give Narcan IV directly via needle. After all, they didn't need training on how to find a vein. I also think that Police Officers who receive training should also be able to administer IN Narcan. They are often the very first on scene in a few communities. The only risk I see is the potential for violence of the patient when the high is reversed. Although I haven't seen that happen too much, there should be emphasis that there be no weapons nearby, and other safety measures.

Sounds like a great class. Isn't there one geared for the fire service as well?

Thanks for sharing some of the history of the station! Did this station replace a station, or was it a new station when it was opened? And what year was that, and what companies did it originally house?

RIP, thoughts and prayers. Full article: http://eastchester.dailyvoice.com/news/eastchester-worker-killed-after-being-crushed-sanitation-truck

They tried this already! So they are going to just keep paving over it instead of going for a more long-term solution? This state sure likes to squander money on band-Aid solutions instead of just paying to do it right the first time. FULL ARTICLE: http://somers.dailyvoice.com/news/paving-reduce-saw-mill-parkway-flooding-set-start

I agree with the notion that it's just going to sink even more the more times they pave to raise it. What about getting the US Army Corps of Engineers involved, like they did in Ardsley and Yonkers to mitigate the issue on the Saw Mill? They built large walls and created channels in the flood zones that created the most problems. Also, what about some sort of levee system, or flood channel? Or maybe just cleaning debris downstream? I know the whole parkway needs a major overhaul especially from the Taconic split north to I-684,, but I don't think that's going to ever happen. At least make some repairs that help avoid major traffic disruptions.

These photos are by my great friend and very talented and knowledgable Worcester FD and Central Mass photographer Paul Shea. He's an awesome guy, and gets some awesome shots on almost a daily basis. Today, he got some truck work in Worcester. Thanks to Paul for letting me share these photos I hope. And his photo site is: http://www.pbase.com/emergencyservicepics CREDIT AND COPYRIGHT: Photographer Paul Shea CREDIT AND COPYRIGHT: Photographer Paul Shea

PJflyer.pdf

Thanks guys for the info. It's interesting to see them putting it on a Marauder II chassis, definitely a departure from the Freightliner and Mack MR of previous generations. To my knowledge, Seagrave really hasn't built many of these type of units with the complexity of the interior? BTW, who staffs the Field Coms, and where are they quartered?

Date: 10-8-13 Time: 1452 Incident Type: Structure Fire Location: 55 Hancock St District: West Harrison Units: West Harrison 2502 (I/C), Engine 266, TL-9, Purchase Engine 240, Utility 101 and 2412 Valhalla FD Rescue 9 (FAST) North White Plains Ladder 47 and 2322 Harrison EMS 61-A-2 and 61-11 Harrison PD WCDES Battalion 19 Description: Reported dryer fire, 2502 transmitted 10-75 upon arrival. 14:57 Engine 266 stretching a line. 15:14 C-2502 reports fire knocked down, checking for extension 15:27 C-2502 reporting negative extension, releasing Valhalla and North White Plains shortly Notes: Operations on Fire 19

FULL ARTICLE: http://www.norwalkcitizenonline.com/news/article/Norwalk-dedicates-state-of-art-fire-headquarters-4872433.php

The past few days I spent in Austin/Round Rock/Georgetown, TX (and no, not the ACL Music Festival, to visit my mom). I got these photos while out and about. Port Authority-JFK International Airport EMS jetBlue tails at sunrise City Of Georgetown, TX Engine 3-2013 Pierce Contender Georgetown FD Station 5 (New additional station, opened 2012) Engine 5, Truck 5, Brush 1 in addition EOC and Fire Training Center Georgetown FD Station 2 (Replaced former Station 2, opened 2013) Engine 2, Battalion 1 City Of Georgetown, TX Car 64- 2013 Ford Police Interceptor SUV Round Rock PD Car E76, 2012 Chevrolet Tahoe PPV City Of Austin Medical MCI/Evacuation Bus 2012 Bluebird/Sartin Austin-Travis County EMS Mueller Station 2 International/Wheeled Coach dual medic ambulances and ESU-1 (Pierce Contender EMS Rescue) City Of Austin Engine 5 2013 Pierce Impel City Of Austin Chief Of Staff 2013 Ford Police Interceptor SUV Southwest Boeing 737 w/ State Of Arizona livery Bastrop FD Engine 41 - Ferrara City Of Georgetown, TX Truck 5 Texas National Guard Surplus Cargo Trucl Scott and White Round Rock Hospital ER w/ Scott And White 2013 Chevrolet/Wheeled Coach ambulances

How should EMS arrival time be measured? I believe it should be measure at the time of patient contact by a responder who is a certified and equipped provider (EMT, Medic). If you arrive at, let's say, 10:03hrs, and it's a multiple story building and you don't make contact with the patient until 10:09hrs, should the the actual arrival time? I know some agencies monitor both, but the arrival time and patient contact time can make a huge difference.

We're still seeing what the capabilities of this is, and how and IF it can be a useful addition to our community. I'll probably plan something soon where we can get a number of users online at once to try some things. We have had 5 people on at once, and it worked pretty well. Much like a Nextel used to work.

Since I started re-listening to my scanner again a couple of weeks ago, I'm hearing Chief's or first dues arriving with no size up given immediately upon arrival. I hear fire officers arrive to a dispatched structure fire, smoke condition, etc and not hear anything from them for minutes, if at all. Personally, I feel that the size up, even if it's a false alarm or other, should be given every time on mostly every call (excluding most EMS). It gives the crews and dispatch an idea of what they are heading to, and can start pre-gaming in their heads. What do you feel should be included in an arrival size up? Does any department post game their fire audio to see what can be improved?

I'm curious, what defines alarm levels in Westchester? For example, what constitutes an 2nd Alarm? Is it a definitive, county wide protocol yet, or subjectively determined by each department (run cards)?

More please!

From the "United We Share" Expo at the County Center: Does WCPD supply an Officer to MVPD now? FULL ARTICLE: http://greenburgh.dailyvoice.com/news/united-we-save-expo-focuses-westchesters-shared-services-program

Can't that actually hurt the department? "Oh, we don't need that many officers, the County or State will bail us out". I hope this isn't used as an excuse for not properly staffing a department, and more like it sounds, and enhancement.

Thanks Mark for taking me along with you today, it's very interesting to see how the truck is coming together and how much true customization there is. Here are some photos as of today. I'm sure Mark will do a better job of explaining them.

Here's some spy shots from today:

It seems like almost every department is switching to black and white cars. Is there something behind this, or is it just an aesthetics fad?

Does anyone have any recollection of incidents in Westchester that required massive amounts of water, past the capacity of the hydrant systems and the time a tanker shuttle would take to long to provide? I seem to remember the Fox and Sutherland fire in Mount Kisco and having to dam up the Saw Mill River to draft from. Is this a situation that could happen here, and how would we be able to handle it? I know Bedford and Pound Ridge have source pumpers with a lot of output and five inch, but would that be a solution to supply a fire of this size?