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Can the above be confirmed? I can't imagine, first off, that the County would cancel having 10 ambulances on stanbdy for a worldwide dignitary visit. Then again, this is the one of the wealthiest counties in that nation where some agencies can't even handle a papercut at 10AM on a Wednesday. I know Empress spent a lot of their money on overtime to staff additonal buses, but hoping someone can elaborate on the DES side of things.

I've heard Greenville (Town Of Greenburgh, Westchester County NY) FD has awarded the bid for a new Rescue that can carry all their collapse/trench rescue equipment from the current Squad 6 trailer, as well as other rescue and USAR equipment. Does anyone have the details on this apparatus? If anyone wants to anonymously feed me the info to post, feel free to PM me.......

I completly agree with ny10570. The department I used to work for issues polyester "Dickies" pants and polyester uniform shirts. I never really knew there was an alternative, until I noticed while riding along in LA City and County that they had uniforms SPECIFICALLY made for firefighters with a nomex blend. I believe California's State-OSHA actually requires it*. There have been instances where firefighters have been burned or exposed to high-heat scenarios where the polyester-blend uniform has actually melted and adhered to the firefighters skin. It's my personal belief that all station uniforms should be purchased from a source that makes uniforms specifically for station and everyday firefighter use, that ENHANCES the PPE. There's a pretty good article on this at the following link: http://cms.firehouse.com/web/online/News/C...-/46$56188 FULL STORY: http://cms.firehouse.com/web/online/News/C...-/46$56188

Earth Day 2008 is tommorow, and I'm just curious if there are any agencies that have taken steps to be more "green"? For example, does your department recycle newspapers, bottles, cans, etc? Do you have an electric energy conservation program, or use energy effiecient lights and heating/cooling systems? Do you compost, or do anything to reduce the waste stream? Does your department do anything to reduce emissions, or cut down on fuel usage? Does your department conserve water as much as possible? I know a lot of people think that the above is "tree hugger" liberal stuff, but we all live on this planet, and what's it going to be like for our families 100,200 years from now? Is what we do now going to make an impact then? There's already enviromental disasters due to humans....for example, the massive drought in the southeast, or how Bejing is shutting down factories during the upcoming Summer Olympics because the smog is so bad...

A while back, I shot this bumper of an engine. I must say, I really like it and it really makes the apparatus stand out in traffic. Much better then traditional chrome, and I feel this adds to the safety of responding apparatus. And, it's a cost-efficient addition to safety.

MEMBERS: I just want to preface this by saying that, first, this was found posted on another great forum by "JoeG", of Railroad.net. It's very applicable to our type of forums as well. Although the majority of you are awesome and there's a higher level of respect between members of EMTBravo then any other forum I know of, we all work togetether to help maintain that and this message just serves as a reminder especially to our newer members who may not be familiar with the EMTBravo ways. It also is annoying me lately that people have been slamming one another just for posting their thoughts, opinions, and ideas. Know that I am proud to be part of THE BEST forum membership on the entire 'net!-and want to keep it that way So, "Please Treat Our Topics As Conversations Between Real People"

In Southern California and other muncipalities across the nation are changing the terminolgy of "Motor Vehicle Accidents" These incidents are reffered to now as "Traffic Collision" or "Traffic Incident". From what I've learned via various sources, the change in terminolgy was for a more accurate description of the incident....not all MVA's are MVA's. Take the drunk driver who hits a pole on the way home from the bar at 4AM...is that really an "accident"? Is the lady who's blood sugar dropped and went into diabetic shock really an accident? Is a driver who's talking on a cell phone and hits a pedestrian an accident? I know "accident" means not intending to do harm, but is dispatching an MVA as an MVA giving some tunnel vision? Would dispatching it as a "Traffic Collision" or "Traffic Incident" spark the curiousity in some responders, possibly getting them to the root cause faster? Also, totally unrelated, from a legal standpoint, is defining a "motor vehicle accident" helpful in some cases?

In this month's "Popular Mechanics" magazine, there is an excellent article on planespotting, and commercial airline photography. It's pretty cool to see this unique hobby get attention, and it's nice to know that there are places where you can still take photos of jets and not get in trouble with the law. I love to photograph planes when and where I can, I just wish more airports had "observation decks", much like LaGuardia did (?), and Westchester does (except at Westchester the fences stand in the way of your lens)

Congrats on your entry from the lurker to poster world, and welcome, lol! Thank you for the information- seems like smaller is a new trend in Northern Westchester to fit down the long narrow driveways of the many exisiting and newly built estates. Also, I didn't know it was a 3" hose reel- does Chappaqua use LDH?

Bump for curiousity about who was awarded the bid, and as mentioned above, the firehouse expansion-is that still in the works?

Surely, someone from Chappaqua who is a member here can elighten us as to what is being replaced..... I think the hosereel is a cool concept....if they're replacing that, I wonder if the new unit will include a hosereel? Also, how many times a year does hose from the hosereel get deployed, and how often is it special called for M/A?

Looks like Greenville's Rescue is really coming along... http://www.ferrarafire.com/apparatus/in_pr...tion/index.html Also, looks to be the first Greenville apparatus with chevrons to the rear.

I noticed that twice this week, The Journal News used front page photos from fire scenes, taken by firefighters at the scene. The first was the fire in the gazebo in Chappaqua that was on a private gated estate, only Chappaqua firefighters were allowed on the property. The second was the double fatal in New Rochelle. They used a page one photo taken by a New Rochelle firefighter inside the house (which I assume was a crime scene since it was a fatal). Now, this firefighter is also a professional photographer and has taken numerous excellent photos for NRFD, but the question is if the photos should appear in the Journal News? One firefighter even gave the Journal News the photos for free via their citizen journalist thing, or whatever they call it. They were also used on LoHud in special galleries. I'm not sure if these firefighters were on duty, but my question is, do you think firefighters should be giving the media photos from scenes where the media is not allowed ? Is there a liability issue here? Were the proper procedures followed in the release of the photos? Should the media be allowed the same access? Also, are these photos that are being submitted for free, to a FOR PROFIT enterprise, taking away work-and pay- from the photojournalists at The Journal News? We complain about the media not covering us, but then we circumvent them........does owning a digital camera make someone a " citizen photojournalist"? Is the media taking advantage of this for profit? And, are those who are photojournalists for a living being shortchanged? Is the line between hobby and profession being blurred?

Although it's not a high-tech energy conservation SUV, the Chief Chief Of White Plains FD uses a low key Ford Escape, which is much more fuel efficient then some Suburban's, Crown Vic's, and Tahoes other jurisdictions use for someone at the same level. We have a responsiblity to the taxpayers to keep costs down. If we're going to give people take home cars, INCLUDING volunteer Chiefs, with fuel prices the way they are, then we need to re-evaluate the whole situation. Restrictions on use, more efficent vehicles, proper dispatching and routing, and proper routine maintainence are some of the ways to save on fuel costs.

Sounds like an AWESOME idea, to improve departmental relations. Kudos to those progressive minds at Putnam 911, and I hope I can attend!

Thoughts and prayers are with EMT Ames, her family, friends, and the ENTIRE Rockland Paramedics-Regional EMS family. If the EMTBravo sites or community can be of any service at all, please don't hesitate to contact me at Seth@EMTBravo.com -Seth G.

Journal News: For-profit CORPORATION with career photojournalists who make their money by going to these scenes and getting photos. 1st Responder is a for profit company. Your photos get people to read the paper, which in turn makes them money. EMTBravo: Photos shared for exclusive use WITHIN the emergency services community, no profit involved, and you don't have to pay to see the photos. Most incident photos that are posted to this site are by enthusiast photographers, and are posted for shared use such as training, satisfying professional and industry curiousities, and letting other agencies know of one another's capabilities, such as where the in-depth new delivery photos come in. The feature photo on EMTBravo.com isn't going to take pay away from anyone, the feature photo in the Journal News is. It's also not fair that someone with better access could circumvent this guy. Are we going to do away with the media, and start covering the incidents ourselves? Last I understood it, most news photographers get paid on a scale which includes what position in the paper their photo is used. If someone could fill us in more on this, I'd greatly appreciate it.

KEY WORDS: Just a side question, aren't all NYC fire hydrants black? I feel, even if there low pressure, they should still be painted a more visible color, or at least have a band of color.

If the taxpayers pay your salary, why is it such a secret? I know where I used to work, it was a closely guarded secret becuase they feared the taxpayers may find out what a "good gig" they had and revolt....however I understand that if the numbers are really publicized, then that opens politican's eyes to "cuts". It's perfectly fair....although it limits the amount, and sometimes, the caliber of canidates they have to choose from, people who grew up and live in that City should have the first right at jobs in their hometown.

And his work is outstanding and very professional, especially in the right channels. What those "right channels" are is what I'm trying to gauge. My issue isn't so much with him, it's that they used his photo for the front page...meanwhile, the photographer for The Journal News who was on scene and got many outstanding shots lost a "Page One" photo, which means loss of $$$ for someone who earns their living that way. I mean, it's not the NRFD members fault, but still, especially if he was compensated or was allowed acess to where the media wasn't...... For example, if volunteers came to New Rochelle primary to fight the fire, and the NRFD guys weren't allowed access, I'm sure NRFD members would be upset....... Respect one another's PROFESSIONS.

The Journal News is reporting one of the MOS lost their arm. Thoughts and prayers are with those involved. The photo at the following link shows significant damage to the Type II ambulance: http://cmsimg.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs...650&title=0

OK, so I need a refreshed on Stat-Flight operations: Last I knew, services were provided by LifeNet, a large medical helicopter company. Are they still operating with 2 BK-117's? If so, I assume one is still based out of the Medical Center. Towards the end of the Stat-Flight being run by WMC, I had heard they wanted to build a hangar at WMC for maintainence and inclement weather storage. I know when it snowed, they used to garage it at the FTC. What do they do now? Where is Air 2 based out nowadaysf? Are they still branded "Stat-Flight", and also are ground operations still affiliated with Stat-Flight. Any other updates that I'm missing?

Is there anyone out there who's out at FDIC, and can give us the lowdown what manufacturers launched new products, what was displayed, etc?

From what I understand, Miami-Dade has a new Spartan Furion/Braun ambulance on display that was really nice (I have seen the photos, just can't find a link to them or permission to post) Also, as mentioned Pierce had a variety of PUC units there including a side-top mount pump panel AND a quint w/ PUC....seems they are really pushing that concept.

There's no one out there that can answer this question?