x635

Here's another article. Scary. Chicago police see spike in cop killings, assaults http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101204/ap_on_re_us/us_chicago_police_shootings

I really like Mike Holmes, and his TV show. He comes across as a knowledgable, modest, caring and genuine guy. Now, he's come out with a magazine, which was a nice suprise at the newstand.It's very well laid out, with some really good advice and informative articles. They've been publishing in Canada for a year, and this is their premiere US edition. I highly reccomend it. http://www.holmesmagazine.com/

George, check your PM's for more information.....

City Of Austin, TX Quint 27 2010 Pierce Velocity PUC 105'/1500/500 All photos by me

I'm just curious, in your department, does a probie count towards staffing, or does he/she need to complete probation before they count toward staffing?

I'm waiting for KME and Pierce to release their 2011 Apparatus Calendars for sale on their site. Seagrave has theirs up for sale already. Or if anyone can hook me up with one, PM me. Besides the commercially available ones, does anyone know of any good "local" apparatus or fire scene calendars? I say this every year, but this site should make a calendar.

Probationary firefighter. Completed academy, but hasn't completed "probationary" period on the streets. New guy. Rookie. Whatever you call them lol.

I'm trying to figure out which online college to pick to go to to complete my Associates and eventually my Bachelors Degree in Nursing. I really want am interested in one of those Paramedic to Nurse online classes, but I don't know how legit they are, and I don't even know if Texas accepts that. Maybe I could test out in NY or a state that does, then get reciprocity. I've contacted "The College Network" which advertises this program. What scares me is the hound me, calling 3 times a day, which is something a good school wouldn't need to do. I've yet to call them back With a 3 month at home, it's hard for me to attend school. Our local community college has a mobility track, but it takes a year classrooom and clinicals. They (ACC) just built another campus accross the street from my house, which already is at capacity. They are planning to hold the nursing school mobility track there in a few years. Texas State is next door, but they only have AS-BS and Masters tracts. Any advice or experience with becoming a nurse online would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks for the advice, guys. Much appreciated. I'm still deciding what's going to work best for me. Texas is VERY strict about licensure so I've got to do my homewok there too. I get different answers from different people when I ask the question. What concerns me is, that when I fill out interest forms to some of these schools, they hound me worse then a car salesman. They incessentally call day, evening, and even night, even when I ask for email only contact. The College Network is the worst about this. I would much rather communicate via email. I am looking into the Excelsior program, so far I like what I see. I have to do a lot of my general coursework first, though. I'm looking into college loans, which is another whole ordeal but there's lots of programs for nursing students. The enviroment for nurses in Texas is great. They will need thousands of new nurses in the next several years. You can work basically any specialty, inlcuding ER and L&D, right after certification. Most hospitals will want you to get a BSN or MSN sometime early in your career. There are several new hospitals in the Central Texas region being planned, built, and opened. That's one of the reasons why I want to be a nurse. It's great pay, so many different oppurtunities and options available here. I'll keep you guys advised, thanks again for the Excelsior reference, looks promising.

I just got the book "Calculations for Medication Administration Paramedic" from the AAOS series. It's an excellent book and very compehensive. They also have a lot of other books in their series for Paramedics. However, I find I learn better when I have a computer quiz software. Does anyone know of any EMS-oriented software that quizzes on drip calculations and the such? I know of the Knightlite software, but that is just general test software.

I'm also glad Rye FD will donate this to the training center, hopefully they will make use of it and not let it rot awat like EFD R-5. It's also sad that the training center can't have dedicated training apparatus, spec'd with things like an acrylic see through pump panel, etc. But this top mount looks like a nice engine to train on. If they were to give it away, I know that there are numerous poor, rural departments that would love to have it. Thanks for the update!

I'm wonder why so many fire apparatus exhaust systems come out the side, creating a carbon monoxide incident around them, And, with the new 2010 EPA requirments, even more superheated exhuasts. If they work for dump trucks and over the road trucks, why not fire apparatus? Someone here must know the logic to this....I know Houston (pictured below) spec'd top exhausts for a while there. (Sorry for the crappy photo, taken by me of Houston FD Engine 49)

http://www.lohud.com/article/20101125/NEWS02/11250377/Yonkers-ranks-itself-2nd-safest-among-big-U.S.-cities What I'm seeing- he's trying to justify having less cops! This guy is disgusting, does he have any morales besides his ego?

Awesome aqquisiton! I've always felt EFFD could benefit from a tower and a straight stick! The department must have a strong apparatus commitee, as the past few deliveries have been well thought out. Will this take on the new department colors of black over red? Looking foward to seeing more photos!

My question is for someone in the know, was this building written off due to the intensity of the fire on arrival? Auto Body shops can be dangerous just beyond the chemicals stored there, which run off could create another hazard. Was protecting the exposure the priortity, was foam use, or was the decision made the it was safe enough to make an offensive?

WOW! Looks like a very dangerous fire! Great arrival shots, and thanks for sharing them with us!

I'd like to take this oppurtunity to wish you and your family a happy and healthy Thanksgiving, and hope this will usher in a wonderful holiday season for you all. Seth Granville Thanksgiving is America's national chow-down feast, the one occasion each year when gluttony becomes a patriotic duty. ~Michael Dresser

If you're working with tools or out of a compartment on one side of the rescue, it can switch it to the other side.

Today, I had the oppurtunity to attend the Texas State EMS Conference 2010 expo floor. Aviation was big, all the major helicopters had a presence there, with at least 5 helicopters on the show floor. Austin-Travis County EMS, and their aviation arm, STARFlight, had all their toys out on display except for their ESU truck. Click below for all the photos: http://www.x635photos.com/texemsexpo10/ MORE PHOTOS: http://www.x635photos.com/texemsexpo10/

Good call, Nate! I forgot about that! One of the cooler innovations I've seen, and I wonder why more departments don't use it. Cheif Kramer showed me how it works, very neat!

No problem. It's a huge issue down here. I'm proud to live in a place that embraces it so passionately. We have a huge solar and wind farms going up across the state, especially the vast expanses of west Texas. The company that makes the turbine generators is about a mile from my house (TECO-Westinghouse), which creates hundreds of jobs in my city, which is also home to Dell, which power a lot of their campus on solar energy. SunPower, a large solar power company, just announced today it is opening an office in Austin and hiring 450 people. Numerous buildings in the area already rely on solar and wind power that's generated on their property, and get credit for feeding back any energy they don't use into the grid. Living green is HUGE down here, and it isn't just touted for PR reasons. Visit Austin and you'll see exactly what I mean everywhere you go. And, with the ambulances, besides the enviromental aspects, the financial benefits is if they do save the fuel and can save as much as they say, that's more money for them to hire more medics and add more trucks or buy new equipment. As you said, there's still a lot of things to be figured out, but we have to start somewhere. The two links I posted are a more realistic look on how Austin is using solar power. Here's a good article in our local paper about the benefits and drawbacks of solar power: http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/2009/08/29/0829energy.html http://www.muelleraustin.com/thinking-green/austin-energy-green-building-program

One of the most progressive truly municipal EMS systems in the country. Very little turnover comparitevely. The average Medic makes over 50,000 a year, and that comes with all the civil service benefits plus a 23 year retirement pension. There are numerous avenues and oppurtunities for career advancements, and many specialty units to work (SWAT, Rescue, Hazmat, Rescue Aviation, District Commander, etc). Equipment is top of the line and the latest versions available. It's a great city to live in with a very low cost of living and a ton of recreational activities. For some more info- I'd be here typing all night: http://atcemsce.org/home/

It's not so much about the cost savings, it's more about finding ways to reduce emissions. They can run the module air conditioning and refrigerator off these solar panels with the vehicle turned off, and supplement when the vehicle is turned on. I've witnessed it. There are numerous succesful solar powered projects in the city, and I predict this to be succesful for ATCEMS and the EMS community in one way or the other. Sorry about my statement on the amount of cloudy days versus the statistic which varies widely year to year, I only live here, what do I know, lol? The weather here is really just a guessing game, it changes by the minute. The NWS can take it's statistic back, since they are the wrong most of the time with their warnings in this area. http://www.solaraustin.org/

This is an experimental project, and involves some of the top people in the field. They have been studying this for a long, long time. I give them kudos to try and make the effort to make ambulances more eco-friendly, especially ones that may sit on post or are on the road all day and spit exhaust. The ambulances also use biodiesel, and they have strict idling rules. You can run the Air Condition off of shoreline power when in the station as well. They will be working to implement having shorelines at the ED's soon. And this is Austin, TX. Although we have some cloudy and cold days, it's sunny 98% of the year, and enough sunlight gets through on some cloudy days to be able to be absorbed by these solar panels. Plus, we're closer to the sun, lol. We're a very green city, and being that we are a college town (University Of Texas) and have numerous industries such as Motorola (make semiconductors for NASA), Samsung, Apple, Facebook, Whole Foods, Freescale Semiconductor, Dell, and so many more, we have a lot of smart minds and very active citizens. Here are some of Austin's "Green" Iniatives: http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/greencityfest/gcaccomplishments.htm

Thanks for the compliment on the photos, George. PD uses the same model BMW's, although they are looking at the new Honda Police Package for the future. Most of the officers assigned to the Motor Unit own and ride Harleys recreationally. Harleys are too heavy and run too hot for a 10 hour shift. The BMW's run cool, are lightweight, and are very nimble and quick. They are perfect for zipping around the highways and running traffic.