x635

I think he's trying to say when it's ready to go in service, it will go into service. There are a lot of factors that go into putting an several hundred thousand dollar state of the art fire engine into service- including training, radio and equipment mounts, delivery acceptance tests, driver familization, etc etc. When it goes into service, I'm sure it will be announced here (unless you are trying to plan your summer vacation around it, lol)

Good find! I think the TAK-4 suspension on the Arrow XT combo will be a nice truck for those dedicated hard working Mount Vernon firefighters. Hope the guys on the line were active in the comittee. Also, I'm liking that more and more dealers and manufacturers are creating "In Production" pages.

FULL ARTICLE: http://www.lohud.com/article/20110525/NEWS03/105250342/Rockland-s-code-enforcement-officers-volunteer-firefighters-focus-illegal-home-conversions?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Frontpage

I'm listening.....

For those wishing to discuss the shoutbox, please start another thread. This thead is about the quality of the Incident Alerts being posted.

Westchester County is allowed, I believe, to make law over or more restrictive the NYS law and local law. Someone could finally step up and say to the legislators that we need help, and create a "franchise agreement" needed to operate EMS in Westchester. Part of that franchise agreement would require a minimum response time. Cable companies need to present and prove certain things to operate in a community, and Westchester County's Bee-Line is technically run by contractors (Liberty Lines Drivers). For hecks sake, a taxicab,garbage truck, etc are more regulated in Westchester. But not a life-saving service? Bee-Line is one of the top transit systems in the country in "On-Time" pickup status. If Westchester schoolkids buses were late or their garabgae wasn't picked up, it would be a giant issue. But they have rules and polocies in place and mandated. Yet, waiting for an ambulance in a timely manner is not a guarentee, and neither is the level of care or crew you're going to get. Sometimes, you may get pre-arrival instructions and a appropriate response. However, if you go to a friends house in the next town over, you may not get lifesaving pre-arrival instructions and the ambulance may take forever. Or, this could be an opt-in program. Taking a fire engine out of service or police car off the street to provide ALS isn't a good solution to supplement staffing. I know it's not as easy as I'm saying, but it could work.

And, to add to THAT, the job is confirmed whe YOU hear a fire department IC confirm the incident (not PD or bystanders,etc) Also, the majority of your knowledge should come from the scene and other original sources....whether listening to it on a scanner, communicating with someone on scene, etc. If YOU don't have the information, then don't post.

Although these new planes are awesome, and I want to see what new markets they open us, jetBlue has lost me as a loyal customer and fans They are no different then any other airline now. They constantly have performance problems, the customer service sucks, planes are filthy, and most of the time friends, family, and I have flown- the TV's didn't work or worked poorly. Since that's one of their main selling points, you'd think they would do something about that-especially since they own the company who installs and repairs these TV's! And the "free snacks"...you used to get a large portion of snacks and a full can of a beverage...now the snacks sizes are minicule, and they give you this tiny can for beverages. They also don't have any plans to offfer Wi-Fi on board anytime soon. We'll see how this pans out.....hopefully they will become the jetBlue I knew and loved once again. Not that I'm planning to travel anytime soon, but whenever I do,it will probaly be whoever has the direct flight at the lowest cost.

This article is a few months old, but I just came across it and it is quite interesting: http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20110403/FREE/304039965 Free-standing ED's are becoming popular here in TX, especially in communities that can't support full hosptials yet. EMS has criteria, and can transport to a free standing ED. They have everything an ED has- CAT scans, lab, etc....but if a patient needs a higher level of care, they get transported to a hospital.

I don't know what to make of this. I know there would have been riots in Boston if they lost, but Vancouver was out of control. Does losing really neccesitate the destruction of property and threaten lives? And getting into fights intentionally with police officers? Is this the kind of behavior that is appropriate for losing a hockey game? I know its Canada's national sport, but still. http://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=A0oGdVs9xvpNPkoANrVXNyoA?ei=UTF-8&fr=yfp-t-701&p=vancouver+riots&rs=0&fr2=rs-top

Who built the body, and what department did it serve in originally? (R-6)

Loopy31, EXCELLENT POST! It should be noted that the 2005 incident killed Empress EMS Paramedic Lev Naoumov, who was taking flying lessons. The instructor was also killed.

I'm lucky to have been in the Probie class I was in and the staff who led it....they prepared us for everything. We learned, and had expert speakers and hands on training, with Aircraft, Trains (Frieght and Commuter), boats, Bee Line Bus, etc etc. We had many "field trips" to Metro North Croton Harmon yard to practice with actual trains, to Westchester County Airport to train and familiarize with operations, etc.

Engine 25's Pierce Arrow XT Hosebed:

It doesn't have to be a small plane, either. It could be a large frame aircraft, especially now with Southwest and jetBlue flying A320's and Boeing 737's into Westchester's approach and departure airspace. I pray it never happens, but anything could. Look at what happened in Far Rockaway in 2001: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Airlines_Flight_587

Easy everything on this engine, including climbing up to the hosebed (Plano, TX FD): Here's a few other hosebeds that have been specfically designed for their department's operations in mind: The hosebed height is because they (Austin FD) carries 1,000 gallons on it's first due: Houston FD E-68, one of the busiest engine companies in the city: Dallas FD, hosebed spec on new Engines: Lake Travis FD, TX Hosebed on their newest engines: Westlake TX Pierce PUC Hosebed (ladder folds out into a "pool type" ladder and lower diamond plate folds out into a step with "gator grip":

Awesome. Did Mount Vernon go out to bid on new apparatus? I know it was talked about that those appratus were only temporary and become spares at one point. Also, looks like E-23 got a new lightbar. Looking forward to seeing more "jjpinto goes digital"!

Happy Fathers Day to all our dads here on EMTBravo.com! Seth

Looks like East Fishkill has a new Utility under construction by Gowans Knight on a Ford F-550 chasis. This is awesome, Gowans Knight builds great apparatus and it's, as far as I know, a departure from Marion Fire Apparatus. http://www.gowansknight.com/eastfishkillpage.htm Where will this utility be stationed and used for? From the spec's, it sounds like a Fire Police/Traffic unit.

No, the area was really difficult to access and with the winds, terrain, and erradic fire behavior, I wasn't putting myself or any of the firefighters on scene in any danger trying to hike in to get any photos. The brush and terrain also blocked any view of ground operations even from a distance. Not worth it. But, for example, this is one of the brush trucks that responded: http://www.x635photos.com/displayimage-233-53.html

It was quite efficient. Due to the exceptional drought, this was the best and quickest water source they could get. That one helicopter made over 50 drops. Thanks! Here's a pretty good summary: http://www.statesman.com/news/local/60-acre-fire-in-leander-mostly-contained-evacuated-1544999.html

I had to sell my Uniden BCD 396T I got as a gift several years ago because it was too complicated for me and so were the digital systems....this brings back the fun of scanning...very easy and quick to use while on the road. I was waiting for the second generation HomePatrol but doesn't look like there is going to be one anytime soon. So, with the proceeds from the BCD396T sale, I finally got a Uniden Home Patrol HP-1. This is how I mounted it in my car (2008 Ford Focus)..wanted easy accesiblity that I don't have to take my eyes off the road to look at. And, since I drive stick, it had to be out of the way of my armrest and shifter. This is on a RAM mount flex arm that bolts to the seat bolt. This is the item and where I purchased it from: RAM POD 1 Seat Bolt Floor Mount with 1" Diamond Ball And you need the mobile cradle which screws on to the ball/swivel mount. Very easy to remove from cradle and take to your desk: Uniden Mounting Cradle for HomePatrol-1 Scanner

Thanks again Joe for your antenna advice! What I ended up doing was putting the anntenna above the rear seats, using the magnet mount attracted to a child seat restraint hook, which was steel and atached to other steel of the car. I also installed the GPS location reciever, and since I've done both, the reception is everything I need it to be.

I'm noticing more and more departments are coming out with official Facebook pages. In most of the pages I've seen, these pages are used to interact with the public, providing fire safety information, department events, recruiting, etc. Of course, many departments have websites, but social networking makes it easier to pass along information in a timely manner. Some departments are even using Twitter to get real-time messages about emergencies to citizens. Has your department adopted social networking as another way to reach the citizens you serve? If not, why not? If you have a page, share it here.

Looks like a great class! Just out of curiosity, can the Sutphen boom flow water at the angle in the first photo? Also, I love the precision game of getting the ball into the bucket.