x635

FULL STORY: http://www.emsresponder.com/online/article...n=1&id=9836

Really cool photos, and some familiar faces! Wish I could make it to see the exhibit!

Not really. The whole site kind of "snowballed". I really wasn't aiming for anything big, just a site to share my photos and news, but the site kept growing and growing, and I've spent the past seven years (wow) trying to keep up with and cater to the growth. My favorite part of the growth of the site is that I've made many friends along the way, and I am proud of some of the change this site has sparked, as well as the goodwill that was mustered on this site to help other members in need. As some of the earlier members remember, I started this site as a small one, to share my news and photos from Westchester when I was living in Boston. It kind of evolved, and has sparked conterversy several times, but before EMTBravo, there was really nothing like it for the areas that we encompasse. People from Commisioners all the way down to probies depend on this site for information on a veriety of topics. From day one, it has grown...and grown....and keeps growing to this day. Truck4 and his Incident Alerts have been one of the driving forces of this site, and something we are really proud of. With our current EMTBravo.net Team, the future of this site looks even more promising. We have some challenges ahead of us as the internet changes. We have to refine some of the information put out on this board, we want to see more members posting actively, and we need to improve on member-staff communication, especially regarding technical issues.. We have a lot planned for the future, and will continue to strive to make this forum better.

Thanks guys! EMTBravo.com started January 1st, 2003 and will celebrate our 7th birthday this January. EMTBravo.NET (THESE FORUMS) will turn 6 on November 12th, 2009.

Date: 07-04-09 Time: 0315hrs Location: I/F/O 3-7 Schroeder St Description: (2) Males shot, (1) with life-threatening injuries to Jacobi. Writer: x635

Great shots! The Tarrytown Ward, I've never seen that before! That is really cool......is that newly re-aqqquired....what's the scoop?

I agree...in such a large workforce, you're going to have some people that aren't content. And Austin is a VERY citizen involved city, everyone fights City Hall on everything,lol. There are some labor issues and contention within the FD, as with any large department. They have a new Chief, don't have a current contract, etc. But if they started browning out or closing stations, people would freak out. Other then some sort of catastropic financial situation, I don't ever see that happening here. In fact, most departments in the metro area are building new stations and adding companies. More about the FD: http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/fire/

See, Austin's goverment is not the same. The Mayor is really just a title, and he's just a member of the City council in the grand scheme of things. The City Manager really runs the show, and the Council has the final say by voting on things. From Wikipedia:

Somers Fire Department Ladder 48 PHOTO BY JOE PINTO

I was worried when I heard about this, but glad to hear everyone is physically alright. Wish everyone a speedy recovery.

I believe they are temporarily reassigning staff and making some other non-line staff changes. For instance, since they are not currently recruiting, they can temporarily assign some ff's and LT's from that division back to the field. They also are opening a new station this year, and added an extra engine to a station due to call volume-which means they have to staff those companies too. The plan changes almost weekly, and nothing will be set in stone until October, when the new fiscal year goes into effect. Again, the squads would be assigned to only the busiest of companies. Also, I should note Austin has 4-5 firefighters on an Engine, 5 firefighter on a truck, 5-6 firefighter on a Quint (which are usually housed with or very near Engines), and 5-6 firefighter on a Rescue Company

JFLYNN, Austin's a VERY different city. The ENTIRE City Of Austin workforce decided to defer raises this year in order to prevent their fellow empoyees from being laid off, and to preserve benefits and pay. The workforce and manager WILL NOT be touching benefits, because that's one of the main reasons people work for the city. I was incorrect when I said perks. However, he has solicited ideas from the workforce to reduce costs, and some of the ideas include things like reducing printing, decreasing library hours, energy conservation initatives, eliminating redundancies, etc.......over 1,000 ideas were submitted and can be viewed on the website linked below. All were considered and near 250 are being implemented, with those employees recieving incentives for their ideas. http://home.kxan.com/news_PDFs/Dollars_Sen...epted_Ideas.pdf The cops are still getting their raises, but when the economy improves. By TEMPORARILY deffering their raises, they are making it possible to put through a needed cadet class. http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news...11/0611apd.html Firefighters and the Paramedics are TEMPORARILY deffering their raises to avoid decreased staffing, which would endanger not only themselves, but the public. It would also lead to increased workload. They fight for their contracts, but they are doing the right thing. The City Manager has been very communicative with the workforce, and asked them how to reduce costs.The City is VERY transparent. A similar situation happened after 9//11 down here, but when the economy recovered the city payed out the raises and backpay. I understand your point about how the City could potentially use this as an excuse at the bargaining table, but it's just not the same here. The cost of living is VERY reasonable, and everyone makes a livable wage. They have to close a $30 million dollar bugget gap caused by decreased sales revenue somehow (there is no state income tax). This whole raise defferal thing is worded into their contract, and they usually benefit at the bargaining table by doing this when contracts come up. Also, by sending two man medical squads in busier areas, it will free up the 4-5 firefighters on the Engine....not decrease staffing. The firefighters assist EMS on scene and provide first response, even though we have one of the best third service municipal EMS systems in the world. The squads would also supplement firefighting and spec op duties. This would keep the fire engine free for fires, while still maintaining the EMS program. Unions aren't the same here. They are more concerned with safety, training, and staffing-but don't get me wrong- they still fight for their wages- and get them too. And there aren't as many unions in the city workforce as in the northeast. Here's an example from a newspaper article: http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/sha...p_raises_p.html Also, here's a link to the City's website, which will give you more of a picture about how the City operates (which is more like a business then a traditonal northeast government): http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/

White Plains Ladder 32

ALL PHOTOS BY AND POSTED WITH PERMISSION FROM JOE PINTO Somers MA-14

About 3,000+ members a month, and it fluctuates. There's really no need to. It would just create headaches, and more work for me.

FULL STORY: http://www.emsresponder.com/web/online/Top...ash/1$9354

From the Town of Greenburgh:

I stand corrected. I didn't realize what timeframe this report was....I did get two months of pay in 2008 which my wife pointed out, which must be what they are looking at. The salaries may seem a little ridiculous, but so is the cost of living up there. Having been on both sides of the equation, being a taxpayer as well as a former employee, I got to see the nuts and bolts.........no doubt some of these guys make great salaries, but there is a lot of fat that can be cut, and some of the pay is just downright ridiculous. I looked at the guy who I got on the job with and saw what he was making....but in retrospect I wouldn't trade my life down here now for anything, even though it was tough getting to that point. Firefighter pay in Greenburgh has always been a closely guarded secret. Hopefully now there will be some changes that will allow better staffing without comprimising benefits or salaries, while increasing public protection. Just one example.....Hartsdale has a "deskwatch" program.......where you basically dispatch and keep records. It is a 24hr shift, and is voluntary. People participating usually get two 24 hour shifts a moonth. That's roughly about $1,000-$2,000 PER shift x 2 times a month (straight time) for each firefighter participating, IN ADDITION to their regular pay. I took advantage of this program, and made really good money from it. Heck, I wasn't saying anything back then, because I was warned not to talk about salaries because they didn't want the public knowing, and as a taxpayer my sky high fire district bill sucked up a large portion of that extra money anyways! It was cake, considering Hartsdale's LOW call volume, especially considering they don't do EMS and only have 2 engines, a truck, and a deputy. Most dispatchers would kill to be able to sleep at night! Both Fairview and Hartsdale dispatch themselves. Even if they didn't want to use the free services of 60 Control, couldn't Fairview and Hartsdale share communications services, and put that extra firefighter and extra money into staffing their truck companies, which are only assigned a firefighter, who is also the driver......they could also work with GPD on a townwide communications center. However, the firefighters in Greenburgh are well trained, and have fought for good contracts with very difficult districts. I think they are very underutilized, and if you're going to make that kind of money, then I feel that it should be earned and justified-when you add in potential life hazards....it is....also, their fire prevention efforts and code enforcement have saved many lifes..but when you consider facts like Hartsdale doesn't respond on EMS calls or each district has a seperate, highly paid shift commander, or you're paying a small fortune for dispatch services, or only one guy on TL-1 and TL-15, then there is some waste.......

Thankfully, although the cities around me are tightening their belts, things haven't gone into brownouts or layoffs. In contrast, guys are giving up pay raises in order to keep staffing levels where they should be....police, fire, and ems- and to make sure no one gets laid off. One thing being considered here is sending a two man "medical squad" out in the busier FD first response EMS districts, to cut down on fuel and wear and tear on the engines (usually 4-5 guys). As a friend explained to me who works for Austin FD, he stated he would rather defer a raise and temporarily give up some other perks and go home to his wife and kids at night then reduce staffing and increase the danger to himself, his fellow firefighters, and the citizens. Politics down here are still politics, but thankfully, it's so much different here....different way of thinking about things.

I didn't really like how he screamed on the infomercials....it's not until I watched "Pitchmen" on the Discovery channel before I learned more about him and he seemed pretty cool. Another sudden and sad death. It sounds like he landed the day before on a US Airways flight to Tampa, which, when it landed, it blew out tires, and several passengers recieved minor injuries. I wonder if he struck his head....I would imagine all that screaming would make the blood vessels in his head kinda strained....sounds far fetched, but maybe.

Apparently, I'm the lowest paid Hartsdale Firefighter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LMAO! I didn't even work there this fiscal year and a half (nor did I recieve any sort of compensation whatsoever)........I wonder where that $15,000 is, lol.......I wish my name wasn't on there. http://www.lohud.com/article/99999999/DATA...amp;CPIorderBy=

Date: 06-27-09 Time: 0050hrs Location: 85 Riverdale Ave Units: YPD 3rd PCT Descripton: Male robbed and shot in both legs during robbery. Writer: Truck4

AWESOME!!! Thanks!!! I betcha it's headed for work as a plow truck......

Where does TMZ get this information....seems like they will stop at nothing. Also, seems like Los Angeles City Rescue Ambulance RA71 does some high profile calls...wonder what it's like to work on it....must be surreal at times. http://www.tmz.com/