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Believe me, if the staff at DES had their way, Westchester's training facilities would far surpass Rockland. It's the Westchester County politics that get into the way.

Would this new WCPD Headquarters be relocated from Hawthorne, or supplement Hawthorne? I know for a while there they were talking about building an "Executive Building" for WCPD, AKA Public Safety, on the Grasslands reservation. Also, I hope the money for WCDES includes funding to give 60 Control a new, expanded, modern facility.

Oh, if they pull into a certain corner of Sunoco for a cup of coffee, and I look out my window and see it, I'm on it!!! Ah, it still looks great, proud of my hometown PD for having currently the nicest SUV in the county, pulling ahead of WCPD's Explorer.

Thanks to tjd1012 for the following info: I cringe every time I see these trucks sitting at Brookfield, mostly Coca-Cola's. They make great support units, and shouldn't just be scrapped. Many of them, with some TLC, will make excellent, non-front line, support units.

Apparently, brush guards are being installed. Too bad they're not white, the black disturbs from the Storm Trooper look, as someone pointed out earlier in this thread. Also don't know if they will be mounting lights on the grill guard yet. I really think it would be unique if it said "Storm Trooper" in small writing across the front hood, just above the grill where it currently says "Police". These trucks weather every storm Greenburgh sees, so the names fitting! (except Trooper may be confused with another agency). I think I'll attach a little note with my tax bill, lol. Anyways, here's the photo. Sorry for the blocked shot:

Congrats to all, and thanks again to Lt. Brian Sacher and other MFVFD for their hospitality a few weeks ago!!

I'm working on a "Reference Desk" feature of EMTBravo.com. It's intended to be a quick departmental reference for all Fire & EMS Departments in the NYC Metro area. It's a work in progress, and right now, it hasn't been "launched". I need your help to fill in the blanks, wherever you can. If you go to http://www.emtbravo.com/info, you'll see what information I need. To make it easier on me, please EMAIL the information to my EMAIL address x635@EMTBravo.com That way, all I have to do is cut and paste the information. Thanks in advance for your help.

The new rescues look nice, however I wish they would have stuck with the "centennial" paint scheme. It was unique, for a unique city.

Great shots Mike! Saw many of the apparatus pictured from Kaui and Maui in July while on my honeymoon....

It seems the more new deliveries I photograph, the more I notice a "lever style" transmission shifter (as pictured below). For a long while, the "Push Button" transmission shifter was the standard, and seen in most apparatus. I don't know if there's a technical or manufacturer reason behind this, but the lever style I would prefer myself as it gives you a more tacticle feel when swtiching gears.

Seems like the many times I've drilled with foam, with different agencies, methods, and equipments, there's always been problems getting the right mixture of air, water, and foam to produce a satisfactory foam blanket. Granted, I've been there when it's succesful, but it seems that's the exception. Now, before I start this story, I want to say that I'm a supporter of CAFS.....especially in rural and urban interface situations, and areas without adequate water supply- such as interstates. I recently heard a story about a department officer who was pushing for a CAFS system on a new engine. Supposedly, it cost $40,000 extra. He brought in a demo from the manfacturer, and the manufactuer's experts who were doing the demo couldn't even get the system to work right. This demo was supposed to show how easy CAFS was to use for the pump operator, apparently just the flip of a switch, basically. But the experts couldn't even get it to work. Now, this department officer suddenly lost some more credibility, and tarnished the image of CAFS in already skeptical firefighters eyes. I hope this officers history of dissapointments and failing people for his own personal gain won't deter this depatment from making a progressive move and adding CAFS to their engine- albeit guarenteeing it will work properly first. I also heard of another department that was trying to use Class B foam from their 5 year old engine. The engine had a 30 gallon Class B foam tank- that was used once while training on the, at the time, new engine. Since then, the foam hadn't been touched, and had "gummed up" in the tank and was useless. Does foam ever work without hickups, 100% of the time in typical engine company (non-airport crash truck) use? The only time I've seen CAFS and foam systems that are intergrated into a pump work properly is the Pierce Husky foam system (past 2 model years).

Stiloski's Autmotive Corp. is currently seeking qualified canidates for the following openings: Truck Mechanic (Valley Cottage, Rockland County) Truck Mehanic (Tarrytown, Westchester County) Above positions will maintain the Stiloski's company fleet, which includes wreckers, roadside service units, and other related equipment, as well as commercial fleet maintainence accounts Light and Heavy Tow Operators 2 Shifts available, part time OK. Clean Class A Driver's license for trailers and heavy wrecker. Willing to train knowledgable applicant. All of the above positions come with benefits such as health insurance and paid vacation. Contact John (914) 631-7878 during regular business hours. Send resume to: Stiloski's Automotive Corp., 155 Wildey Street Tarrytown NY 10691 or fax resume to 914-631-5166 Questions: Email John@Stiloskis.com

Updated website for Stiloski's Job Openings: http://www.stiloskis.com/jobs.html

Port Chester FD seems to have a strong community heritage in the early to mid 1900's, before much of the village's downtown population dynamics changed, as well as the economy. That heritage translated into a large and strong volunteer FD, something that continues to this day. However, I'm curious when and why were Engine 58 and 59 added, and the career firefighters hired?

I'll second Izzy's question, and also, does anyone have photos of this engine while it was in service with Verplank?

With the predicted cold weather coming our way, it's the begining of Carbon Monoxide season. The following entries from the LA City FD Blog give some good insight into the silent killer:

WOW. HUGE news. NBC's Burbank facilty is massive. Also, the NY changes are equally dramatic. Really a shakeup in infastructure. And I guess that NBC let the cat out of the bag that Conan "is slated" to move to LA when he takes over "The Tonight Show" from Jay Leno in 2009.

According to TVShowsOnDVD.com, Third Watch: The Complete First Season will be released on DVD in Febuary of '08. This will include the entire first season, including the pilot episode, and many special features. I liked the first season a lot, I'm glad to see a lot of my favorite shows getting released on DVD (like the recent release of CHiPs, and Emergency. Third Watch On DVD: http://tvshowsondvd.com/news/Watch-Season-1/8222

I'm just curious if anyone paints or puts reflective striping on the (top) tips of their ground ladder, like they do on aerial ladders? Seems like this would be a simple idea for ground ladder visibilty.

In Tappan Zee Bridge news: Today, I notice they are placing new barricade/side rails on the bridge to replace the small obosolete (IMO) grate-type rail currently there. I can't get a photo, but the barriers look like a steel or heavy aluminum tall "Jersey Barrier", with a rail along the top. These seem much better then what they have now. It seems it would contain a car or truck from plunging off the bridge, and also make anybody contemplating jumping off the bridge think twice, as it will be harder to scale this new style barrier. It's currently installed on the northbound side, on the causeway portion of the bridge right before you enter Nyack. I don't know if they're going to do the whole bridge, or those are just prototypes. I hope they do the whole bridge, because it's sorely needed. Also, a new Wrecker 1 is about to be placed into service for the Tappan Zee Bridge Patrol. It's currently being readied at the NYSTA West Nyack Equipment Maintainence Section. Photos on http://www.EMTBravo.com. Chasis is a Sterling Acterra, body is by Weld-Built, a Long Island based company that specializes in special service wreckers for tunnel and bridge patrols. Although this appears like it can tow a medium size truck, I'm suprised they didn't get one of those self loading wheel lift wreckers, where the operator doesn't even have to get out of the truck to load the car. Seems that would be safer and more efficient. Anways, it's good to see a new addition to the Bridge Patrol fleet, it's sorely needed and deserved as there current fleet is showing its age...and mileage. These guys deserve top notch equipment and staffing, just like the George Washington Bridge has. This is a heavily trafficed, (proven) dangerous bridge, and needs more funding for the Bridge Patrol program.

It's amazing how populations grow and become more affluent, but more and more community hospitals are closing, especially this hospital located in a very affluent area. Is it not getting enough back from insurance, or poor financial managment? Patient census low? Why? Pascack Valley Hospital also provides the Paramedics for the VAC's in the area of the hospital, which butts up against Rockland County. Does anyone know who may take that over?

vodoly, Pascack Valley also had (2) AEV Type II's sitting in their parking lot, seemingly brand new. What are these units used for? Seems all the hospitals that once ran just the MICU's are now also operating ambulances? Are these back up BLS for the community, or do they do interfacilty transports? I wonder who these will go to, or maybe they will just be sold. Still shocking that PVH is shutting down, seemed to be running smooth then all of a sudden...

Today, I had the pleasure of shooting most of the fleet of the Hackensack, NJ FD. I also got several other Bergen County departments, of which I'll post at a later date. Hackensack is a lot closer then I thought it was, and has a very interesting setup. Busy department, is the county seat of Bergen County and is very densly populated with a mix of residential, commerical, industrial, institutional and highways. The apparatus is definetly put through it's paces, and though it won't win any parades, it shows how hard the FF's of Hackensack FD work. Northern NJ in general has some very nice apparatus, and I think I'm going to start shooting over there some more! Special thanks to FF Mike Martinelli of Hackensack Truck 1 Platoon 1 for the invite. It's really appreciated, and helps to take my mind off other things going on and gives me somthing to do. Also, thanks to the members of Hackensack FD and the other departments I shot (keeping them a secret for now) for their AWESOME hospitality! If it wasn't for my tight gas budget, and limited time, I could have stayed all week shooting apparatus! Anyways, I had a great day today, the photos are posted on http://www.EMTBravo.com

Does anyone know what's going to happen to their M.I.C.U. program? I wonder if the area will be absorbed by Valley Hopsital?