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This is airing tonight at 10PM CST on our local Austin, TX PBS station. I don't know if other PBS stations have picked it up or if they are going to show it, but if they are and you find it, please share.... Website: www.fdvideo.com

Great job by one of the finest PD aviation units on the east coast! FULL ARTICLE: http://www.westchestergov.com/news_aviationunit.htm

Really, there are so many ways you can respond to a comment like that,

Here's a link to the show: http://www.bet.com/ontv/betshows/firstin

http://www.lohud.com/article/20091001/NEWS...drunken-drivers

I can't find the article on their site, do you have a link? I still don't understand, maybe one of the Mount Vernon FF's can help me out......is the Fire Chief role an appointed position, or a civil service position? Also, what is the difference between the fire commisioner and fire chief??? Does Mount Vernon feel that this move is going to benefit the department somehow? Why was Everett demoted to CAPTAIN? I want to put money on Mount Vernon hyping they got the "new" used apparatus because of this captain who's now Chief.......

Austin (TX) Fire Rescue placed the new Engines 9,11,12, and 16 into service today. Engine 45 (a brand new company) willl be going into service soon. All are 2009 Pierce Contenders, and all are the first Austin FD vehicles to sport the new AFD logo (on the front door) Austin had previously been using the Pierce Quantums. These Engines cost the City considerably less, and still have many and most of the features that the Quantums had (except the enormous interior and pneumatic flip down steps). The Pierce Contender is really a great deal for an Engine. (Austin is the state capital of Texas, located in the Central Texas hill country......about 3 hours south of Dallas-Fort Worth, 1 hour north of San Antonio, and about 4 hours northwest of Houston). I live in a suburb directly north of Austin.

Front ground sweep nozzle.....just kidding!!! I think they put it there so it didn't get lost or misplaced when 12 was switching into their new engine. It will go to a front bumper 1 3/4 line.

There is still room in this awesome class, http://www.stiloskis.com/training.html IT IS THIS FRIDAY AND SATURDAY, SO REGISTER ASAP See link below for details on the class and how to register.... ***PLEASE PASS THIS INFORMATION ALONG TO ANYONE YOU KNOW WHO MAY BE INTERESTED IN ATTENDING THIS HANDS ON CLASS********** To register: http://www.stiloskis.com/training.html

CUT APART A SCHOOL BUS!! There is still room in this awesome class, http://www.stiloskis.com/training.html IT IS THIS SUNDAY, SO REGISTER ASAP See link above for details on the class and how to register....open to any agency/personel in the metro area wishing to attend!! ***PLEASE PASS THIS INFORMATION ALONG TO ANYONE YOU KNOW WHO MAY BE INTERESTED IN ATTENDING THIS HANDS ON CLASS********** To register: http://www.stiloskis.com/training.html

Yesterday marked 4 years since "Jimmy Boy" left this world, leaving our hearts scarred but teaching us many lessons. Jimmy Boy's spirit is still in my heart, and he was an unbelievable child. And, to this day, his parents work tirelessly while Jimmy Boy looks down from above to turn their tragedy into hope and courage for many other families. Thoughts and prayers are with the Arena family on this difficult day. (If you're new to this forum, or don't know the story about this amazing child, please read the many topics and updates in this forum)

Wow! Even though cars are built with cheaper materials nowadays, it really shows how far engineering and safety has come. Dramatic, thanks for posting!

http://www.lohud.com/article/20090929/NEWS...ester%20tonight

FULL STORY: http://www.officer.com/online/article.jsp?...=1&id=48610

What about the "everday harm", like the 44 people who've been shot in Yonkers so far this year? I think a team needs to be dispatched to combat that, or does Westchester not really care about the citizens living in these urban areas being terrorized by gangs and thugs every day?

From other sources and forums, Ferrara is designing/building a custom chasis of their own specifically for this order. Probaly similar to what they did with the "Ultra" chasis they designed specifically for the FDNY engine contract they got a few years back.

Where am I not relaxed? I am simply replying to your post. Although Toronoto handled the SARS outbreak well, there are vast differences between the way healthcare and emergency services are delivered there then in the Hudson Valley. You have a mish-mosh of all different types of agencies, with different types of staffing here. Additionally, healthcare in Canada is socialized and available to all citizens, in the US, it can have a significant economic effect, especially with the state of our economy. There are lessons we can learn from that, but we are so fragmented as an emergency services community, that many of their lessons learned wouldn't be applicable to many of the HV's communities. Also, you have to look at other factors, even if you are just looking at it from an EMS perspective. Who maintains your ambulance? Where do you get your supplies? Is the agency that dispatches you properly prepared, and what happens if they're not? Who keeps up with all your paperwork and payroll (can they work from home)? We can look and learn from other agencies lessons, but I think that strong emphasis needs to be placed on each individual agency having a multi-faceted plan to address staffing that goes beyond just the first response side.

Flus can mutate quickly, and not everybody can get vaccinated.Flu can spread easily across emergency servicves personel, with the shared facilities and equipment we all use. Not just EMS, but PD, Fire, Communications, ER's, etc. Even with as much prevention as there may be, people can get sick. Cops are married to nurses who work in the ER, who could bring home the disease. Firefighters are married to teachers, the possibilites are endless despite as much prevention as there could be. My question was worst case scenario there was an outbreak of the flu in your region, how would your agency deal with staffing challenges? You mentioned having sick employees out for 24 hours after symptoms appear. Well, when those providers call in sick, who will fill the gaps? If someone has a family member to attend to, how are those absences going to be handled? While I also don't see this flu getting to a pandemic level, even though statistically we are due for one, we must be prepared staffing-wise. Many agencies are shortstaffed as it is, and during a normal flu season things can get hectic enough with scheduling. My question was not about what to do to prevent the flu or to prevent it from spreading, my question was in regards to how agencies would handle normal, everyday calls if they are down a significant amount of staff? Many agencies mandate overtime when people call in sick on a normal day- are the healthy people going to be required to work an outrageous amount of hours to fill in the gaps? Will call responses be handled differently? How will the overtime affect the budget? What is the return to work policy going to be? All these are issues that need to be thought out and planned for in advance.

Austin, TX PD rolled out this promotional tool recently: (Photo by me) *THESE ARE NOT ON PATROL, BUT ARE DISPLAYED IN THE DOWNTOWN DISTRICT.....(See story at link below for more details) FULL STORY: http://www.myfoxaustin.com/dpp/news/crimew...ch_APD_Cop_Cabs

Here's a better shot I was able to get of the "Cop Cab" recently....

I always enjoyed his columns......he will be missed.

Again, I will ask this question. Also, has Mount Vernon officially announced this to the public, via press release or promotial ceremony?

When I started at "Fire Control", that's the way it used to be. Simple, effective, clear. BTW, thanks for coming on here and pointing out some positive aspects of the system!

Previous training, such as auto extrication, technical rescue, or other relevant classes. The instructor wants people who already are knowlegable with the basics of auto extrication, and some background using the tools and equipment that may be called into play during a technical rescue. Rescue ops training, etc. Someone who is rather new and just took the AVET class wouldn't qualify.

I couldn't watch past the opening scene...absolutely horrible....hope this show gets cancelled quick. I'm dissapointed, as I had high hopes for this show.