x635

Miami-Dade uses several of these 2006 Spartan Evolution/Rosenbeaur Quints and the guys really like them, from what I am told. [attachmentid=2941]

jjpinto's June 2007 Recent Westchester Deliveries has been posted on http://www.emtbravo.com Among apparatus of interest, the "new" New Rochelle Ladder 14.

And that is much the part of my point. And Stepjam, I completly understand yours as well, a lot of the "racial politics" part of it is bullshit and the Sharpton type people are hindering instead of helping things. Standards should be equal for everyone, but we are all human beings and need to start learning to help one another instead of helping ourselves. You may have grown up as the minority, but I'm sure that your/our history hasn't had segregations, racism, and oh yeah, slavery. Our ancestors have caused a lot of the inner-city problems, and my generation I hope willl be the start to changing things. You wanted to learn...exactly....you didn't want to learn to better your community, you wanted to learn so you could get out, no reinvestment there and understanably so. But how do we help others to do so? I completly understand your frusteration, but the current situation cannot continue. From the way most people sound on here, it's everyone for their own. Is a city that's 95% African American and has a 100% white male firefighting force, of which 100% live outside the communtiy they serve and have never lived in it, and therefore have no real vested interest in it...is that justifiable? BTW, there's nothing personal here....it's just a debate.

The Fleet Day isn't a public event, and I don't know about Mt. Pleasant, but Greenburgh PD did not have a recuriting drive....BUT, they are a very diverse department that does represent the community. The PD's are much more diverse then FD's. I also want to add that I think points should be awarded on tests to those who have certain courses, college, etc. Also, traditionally, these jobs have been held by caucasian males. So there's not a big chain to the minorities like "my dad was a firefigher", etc. Nor do these kids live in jurisdictions where there's a volunteer department. They probaly don't know anyone that's been or is a firefighter. I GUARENTEE you that in 50 years, this will all change. This is about OUTREACH!!!!!!!

Photo of this unit is currently posted as feature photo on EMTBravo.com. Thanks to jjpinto for the photo.

Calm down, and read what I'm trying to say. I think many people are afraid of the competition an job education/public relations campaign might create. Also, I still hear people in this business referring to these minority groups by using racial slurs, which I find offensive and disgusting. And, although no one is going to admit it, I think this is still a strong reason. For years as a society we have opressed people, and continue to be completly ignorant of it, as this thread shows. PLEASE! Reread my comments- I'm not advoating pushing for minorities and handing them a job, or for lowering standards, I'm for EDUCATING the community AT LARGE about our job- a recruitment campaign- the more people you have take the test (which is whole 'nother story), the better the pool of firefighters you have to pick from. A good firefighter doesn't have to come from a firefighting background.......do we want somebody who can be trained to be a great firefighter, or somebody who justs wants to be a firefighter? I AGREE and understand that some of the "politically correct" hiring tatics are very, very wrong and are done for the wrong reasons, and a lot of people are screwed by it. Standards should NOT be lowered in order to recruit for the wrong reasons. But I do feel that there's a majority of the "in the know" who think that if people are interested in a job, they should know how to get it. I think a lot of people are just threatened by this. Uh, yeah they do. Many of the afformentioned institutions have targeted recruitment efforts, especially at colleges.

Members This morning, I made a phone call to a retired FDNY Firefighter who lives in the Fort Lauderdale area. I connected with him though another retired FDNY firefighter that I am friends with. His mission is to help the rural volunteer departments of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama that were devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and didn't have much to begin with. He’s gone up there and helped them in numerous ways- securing donated apparatus that he refurbishes himself; donating supplies he has to beat the bushes for, and goes up there and trains them on the equipment. He's constantly trying to aqquire more for these disavantaged departments right here in the United States Of America. I hope you will take a moment to hear me out. When many departments dispose of apparatus, they either sell it via auction, or in some cases, donate it. Many departments choose to donate their apparatus to some foreign country, where the person (chief and others) that donate it and go down there are made out to be kings…they have streets named after them, have the best place in town to stay whenever they want, etc. A lot can be traced to politics and under the table moves. Some even send perfectly good apparatus to Brookfield Wreckers for scrap metal, or sell them to a used fire apparatus dealer who will take them and export them for triple the profit. However, there are many departments IN OUR OWN COUNTRY that need equipment desperately. When I am better, I have been invited down to document in photos these departments, how the operate, the devastation they suffered, and the neglect by the government to this day. Let me give you a couple of scenarios. -Just a few weeks ago, Rosenbaeur shipped 15 Engines to Halliburton, to serve FD’s in Iraq. (Halliburton, who, by the way, is moving their corporate headquarters to Dubai in the Middle East to avoid paying taxes on their HUGE contracts awarded by the US to “rebuild” Iraq). OK, so we can send 15 BRAND NEW fire engines overseas, that probably will get blown up at some point anyways, but we have departments in our own country that are operating, for example, with a 1966, yes Nineteen Sixty Six American Lafrance Pumper that's on it's last legs and is pushed to its limits and then some as their sole front line apparatus-when they also, besides modern apparatus, need a tanker and aerial, in some communties and ambulance and rescue truck, not to mention so much more.. -Morning Pride has a contract to supply thousands of sets of brand new turnout gear to Halliburton and Iraq FD’s. Meanwhile, these departments in the states mentioned above, consider themselves “lucky” to have 3 sets of full turnout gear. - A typical PAID firefighter in Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana makes $9.50 AN HOUR to start, and it doesn’t go up much. An overnight stock boy at Wal-Marts in the same area make $15.90 an hour. - Departments, such as Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Los Angeles, FDNY, and many departments across the nation have ignored pleas to send their apparatus, Fire PD or EMS, to these departments, instead sending their apparatus to departments in South America. Liability is not the issue- there was a federal law passed that any department that donates equipment for emergency services cannot be held liable. -Prosperous departments routinely get money to purchase more and redundant equipmen that uneccasrily duplicates what they have- thermal imaging cameras, extrication equipment, smoke trailers, AED’s, etc. Meanwhile, there are departments in the US that are in desperate need of HOSE and other firefighter essentials. There's a town in Mississipi that had three fire deaths last year....yet they have applied and applied for grants for a thermal imager and other essential equipment....yet have gotten $0 every time. Meanwhile, some of the communties mentioned above have no fires, yet an arsenal that would be more then needed for any fire, ever, in their or neighboring jurisdictions. -Many fire departments are packrats. How many departments have back rooms filled with gear and equipment they don’t need or use anymore, and probably won’t in the future? -Departments in these areas have a code that new buildings need to be a minimum of three stories due to flooding, yet the nearest aerial or good compliment of ground ladders is over 40 minutes away. There is no or poor hydrant systems, so tankers are crudely built using whatever materials they can find. -Imagine you were driving through some of these communties on your way to vacation or whatever, and gf, got into an accident and were pinned, and needed the help of these disadvanted departments that don't have extrication equipment, EMS training much less an ambulance, and have to wait for a tool to come from 40 minutes away and wait for the next available helicopter to come and START first response medical care and then to take you to the hospital since there is no ambulance to do so. -And the list goes on........ How much sense does the above make to you? We’re all worried about “homeland security” and preparedness, but we’re turning a cold shoulder to departments in our own country that our in desperate need of apparatus, equipment, and training. Instead of keeping the apparatus and equipment in our own country, and keeping every community safe and protected, we’re sending it out of the country while our OWN fellow citizens suffer. Did you know that Mississippi is one of several states that doesn’t require communities to provide fire or EMS. Also, Fire Departments there can’t do EMS. Many of these guys form rogue FD's themselves to protect their community. Where are the unions, where are the Volunteer Fire associations to help these people? We do MDA boot drives, have huge convention parades that costs thousands of dollars, car shows, and other events, yet how many benefit charities that help our own? It was once said to me by someone who is very pro-career and I QUOTE "Ideally every community, even the smallest, should have a full professional paid force, much like Law Enforcment, but the Volunteers exist and at least we can do is make sure they are just as well equipped and trained as we are". Sure, when there’s a disaster we’re quick to send help and money…..and the Metro NY area and nation did that after Katrina. But how quickly we forget……..imagine having a disaster in your community, and two years later having truckloads of supplies that you need drive right through your town to a port to go to a foreign country. In the coming week, I hope to launch a grassroots campaign that gets my new friend Patrick’s mission across…..a federal law that mandates departments, when they dispose of equipment, that they donate it to a place that’s in need in our own country. My eyes were opened today, and we seriously need to start helping OUR OWN in OUR OWN COUNTRY. Sure, it’s nice to help around the world….but we need to worry about our own communities-and people- first and foremost! I sincerely hope that some of you on this forum will help me out with this. More information on this initiative will be announced later this week on EMTBravo.com. -Seth

Exactly. And much of that is OUR fault for not educating our citizens, and covering up our flaws. It saddens me that it seems more people are in this for themselves, not others.

So, are you saying it's not possible to have a department that reflects the community, and that it's not possible to help people that are at a disadvantage? Is old school firefighting rationale about helping yourself, or helping OTHERS? It's NOT about "shoving" the jobs at people, it's about BREEDING a love and want for the job in a community that's typically been opressed by the fire service. It's about HELPING the community YOU serve. The rest of my response to those comments you can read by my previous reply above.

CAFS ends the routine car fire in much less then 500 gallons. Plus, if you use your water efficiently, then 500-750 should be plenty to knock down a routine care fire. If you dispatch a 750-1000 gallon engine and a tanker to a car fire, then you have some serious firefighting tatic issues (given extrodinary circumstances) As for apparartus, Engine to suppress, truck to block on a highway and manage traffic and open the hood and trunk. No need to waste resources and/or commit them to a highway if the fire doesn't threaten property or lives. If a car burns, a car burns....we put it out. Typically an engine company job- use the least amount of resources for this, and keep the rest in service for LIFE and PROPERTY.

With the whole job being a cancer risk, anyone who smokes is just knowingly increasing their risk. Many FD's have instituted a tobbaco use policy, and rightfully so. Just like you have to meet physical fitness standards and can't have a beard, you can't suck into your lungs a posion stick a few times every day. Especially if you expect the departmen to cover your healthcare and and respiratory injury since it most likely will be attributed to the job, and compounded by the tobbaco addiction. Tobbaco is evil. It's been proven. If you want to introduce this poison into your body, then that's your choice. If you want to be a healthy firefighter, then that is your choice to. And do yourself a favor, go visit a former firefighter in a cancer hospital or has emphsyema or chronic bronchitis that used to smoke and ask him if that's a good decision. It's also disgusting. I'm glad people can't smoke in resturants or bars anymore. It's nice being able to taste your food, and not having to come home having your clothes wreek. I'm sure some of the afformentioned reasons is why EMS probaly has the lowest percentage of the three services of smokers. We witness all stages of smokings....and it's effects. AND, children and non smokers WHO CARE about their health and care about their families (cancer and DEATH have devastating efffects on FAMILIES!) shoudln't have to be exposed to the posion. If you want to fill the air with known carcinogens for others to breathe in, I'm glad that's no longer your choice, and you're sent to a remote outside area. I'm embarrased every time I see an on duty Police Officer, Firefighter, or EMS Personell smoking in uniform. WE ARE ROLE MODELS, AND SMOKING IS NOT SOMETHING WE SHOULD BE PROMOTING!!

I'm not saying having to persuade people to take the job, and I agree that's wrong. I'm preaching outreach here. Do you ever go to a call in the projects, and see a toddler and wonder what his or her future will hold, given the assumed oppresive upbringing? They've probaly never had a real role model to follow, and no one in their family has ever amounted to anything. Chances are, as this child grows up, he or she will also probaly be resigned to "life on the streets" or some low paying, minmum wage job and start the cycle over if they have a child. Now, take that same child. Remembering that it's your departments duty to educate the public about what you do, you go to a High School and make a presentation about the job. Have a mentoring or Explorer program. Now that child sees a challenge, and oppurtunity. He gets on the job, has a succesful career, is able to be a role model, able to provide for his family, send his kids to college....and with that one person RECRUITED, how have we impacted the community at large? You know why the Fire Service and PD has a rich Irish and Italian heritage? Because being a Firefighter and Cop used to be a really tough, low paying job that not many wanted to do. So the Irish and Italians, who were MINORITIES at the time, took the job. And those same people fought for making the job rewarding in many communities. Now, we basically only want the thousands of buffs and family from the suburbs who want the jobs, granted for the right reasons, but don't want to BREED enthusiasm for the job from the community within. Now, please don't misunderstand my comments- I am against dumbing down or lowering requirments just to meet politically correct numbers, BUT, I am for bringing the people up to meet the requirments from an early age. It's also sad that more people haven't weighed in.

It's not so much about the taxis, it's about the priorities of goverment. It seems like Westchester, can find a way to regulate and govern just about anything. If school buses are late or trash doesn't get picked up, the Town Hall or School Board fields dozens of calls. If an ambulance takes a half an hour to arrive, or a fire engine shows up with a driver and a 65 year old exterior only member, it doesn't matter to the public. And people in our business, for whatever reason, think that if they hide things, that it won't be a problem. Many people are quick to dismiss any kind of solution, citing home rule. But does that really have to exist? It's BS, because the politics and egos prevent anything that would progress the Fire and EMS service in this County. Fire Districts can get away with just about everything, but there are checks and balances, and the goverment CAN find ways to place regulations on Fire and EMS in the County. (If you argue, then what's WREMSCO? If they can make all kinds of protocols, and they have to certify EMS Agencies and employees in the County, how come they can't regulate response times? And if not, how come concerned people can't take this to Albany? There needs to be a revolution. And with such, comes a fight.

Music, as we all know, is a form of expression, and I just wanted to share a couple of songs. My favorite style of lyric is Modern Rock/Modern heavy metal. I like Disturbed, Linkin Park, Stone Sour, From Zero, Motograter, Five.Bolt.Main, Element Eight, Dogfight, I, Unnloco, Korn, etc etc... Recently, I've been listening to "Fort Minor". It's Mike Shinoda from Linkin Park's side band. Their most popular single is "Remember The Name", used in a few commercials......"This is ten percent luck, twenty percent skill Fifteen percent concentrated power of will Five percent pleasure, fifty percent pain And a hundred percent reason to remember the name!" However, on his album there are some powerful songs. These are the lyrics of the two that got me thinking, and appreciate (more) all that I have. The songs have a nice beat, I highly reccomend the album, kind of rock/rap but not very "hardcore", at least to me. These songs are off the album "The Rising Tied" by Fort Minor (Lyrics From Online Sources) "Kenji" tells the story of a Japanese immagrant in 1945, and the atrocities commited against him by the US Goverment. Can you imagine this happening nowadays? "Right Now" just is a story, and I found it interesting. "High Road"

Date: 6-13-07 Time: 1600hrs Location: Maple Ave at Congers Road, IAO Clarkstown Town Hall Frequency: Units Operating: Description Of Incident: See article below Writer: x635

First, I never knew Simon from American Idol was a judge on Britain's got talent.....definetly better then the crappy David Hasselhoff we have on our version. Secondely, the fact that Simon got a kick out of it is priceless.

Last night, on the National Geographic Channel (Cablevision 162), they aired a program entitled "Critical Incident: North Hollywood Shootout", which was a detailed documentary portraying the Febuary 28th, 1997 bank robbery and subsequent shootout in North Hollywood, California where two heavily armed men robbed a Bank Of America, clad in complete body armor weighing more then 50 pounds. They outgunned the police with modified AK-47's with large clips, armor piercing steel plated bullets, and fired over 1,100 of the rounds during the robbery and after they exited the bank and took the shootout to the streets. They were given the oppurtunity to leave by the LAPD, but they decided they wanted to stay and fight. 9 police officers and two civilans were shot, all miraculously survivied. One of the bandits commited suicide, and the other was shot in the unexposed ankle by LAPD SWAT and bled out and died. This incident lasted for a terrifying 45 minutes. It's this incident that proved the need for LAPD PATROL officers to carry more powerful weapons. Although officers had been asking for years for more powerful weapons to be more readily available, a politically sensitve envirorment in Los Angeles had denied those requests. I highly reccomend viewing this program when it reairs. The next reair is scheduled for Saturday June 16, 4P et. I remember watching this live on TV. It's incidents like this that makes me thankful, that although LA has top-notch SWAT, that we have ESU that's ready to go and out there 24/7. Did anyone else catch this?

The care at the hospital is horrible. It's uncoordinated, nobody communicates with one another and the list goes on and on. Documentation....the charts are a mess. The "very high standard" to reassess and document pain every hour is a bunch of bull. The nurses there are so overworked and undertrained that they can barely do what they need to do. WMC needs some serious help. I hope one day one of the big, good hospital systems comes and picks them up.

Should EMS and Medical Transportation Be One In The Same? For instance, we all know about BLS NON-911 transports. Is it really neccesary for most of these people to have an ambulance, or will an ambulette with a stretcher do? Does medical transportation dilute EMS's image, and should it be associated with EMS? I realize it's a moneymaker, but I personally feel that Medical Transportation and Emergency Medical Services should and could be two completly seperate and distinct things, for the benefit of both. And with O2 being so freely used nowadays, is there any reason why a "Medical Transportation Technician" can't be made, and a stretcher van created- and put the EMT's and ambulances on the streets where they belong? I know this would require a lot of change, lobbying, and legislation, but everything starts somewhere. ALS and Critical Care transports for the most part, I agree with being EMS.

Read Billy G's commentary below, and then I hope some higher-ups and EVERYONE will push and encourage their local city council, town board, whatsoever to push and lobby or make a resolution supporting dispatcher retirment. As Firefighters, Police Officers, EMT's, and Paramedics, we stand shoulder-to-shoulder with dispatchers. They are as much a part of the response,operation, and community as us....even though we may never see or meet them. Dispatchers deserve this. 20 years in the chair is just the same as 20 years patroling or putting out fires.

Absolutely horrible. RIP Officer. Prayers are with you, your family, friends, coworkers. And hopefully, someone shows those photos to Ford. I hope one day they intergrate a rollcage into Highway Police Cars.

Good luck with the new truck, L-70! Make a trip north on Central Ave. so I can get a shot!

http://www.westchestergov.com/ps/Contact_U...Default_TLC.htm

What I'm trying to say is that if the County (and towns) can set requirments for Taxi Cabs and Drivers, how come they can't set standards for Fire and EMS? Such as a first due engine company needs to have 4 guys with such-and-such training and has to be on scene within a reasonable amount of time based on the response area. But, how would this be enforced? Disbanding companies and having other jurisdictions take over if the fire company does not step up to make improvments.

Date: 6-12-07 Time: 1410 Location: Old Colony Road (OMD) Frequency: Units Operating: 50 (I/C),60,73,69,66,67,94, and multiple other Greenburgh PD Units, GPD Housing Unit Description Of Incident: Report of male with violent history and warrants trying to gain access to a residence with a 16 y/o female inside. Prior history with owner of residence. Mother contacted GPD about situation. Perp is her son. Writer: x635 1413: Perimiter being set up 1415: Negative clothing description, negative phone number to residence. Mother is awaiting ride to residence. 14:21 Car 73 (Police Officer-Paramedic Car) has perp collared @ 376 Old Colony Road, requesting a cage car. Car 66 enroute. 14:24: 50 (I/C) requesting a unit return to headquarters to pick up camera. Have a weapon and a possible burglary. Car 67 assigned.