x635

I agree with many of the above points, but I'd like to pose a new question/rant of my own.... What about BLS providers that have no respect for ALS?? As much as it's hard for some people to stomach the following comment, there is a certain "pecking order" in this field, just like in a hospital. Just like in the hospital, you have the pecking order of ( from lowest to highest) medical student, housekeeper, support aide, tech, resident, nurse, NP/PA, and Doctor. This order is generally based on training and job duties, and commonly accepted. Well, the medic has considerbaly more and more intesnse training than the EMT, which should warrant a certain level of respect for the medic. And just because you have an ambulance does not make you BLS. Being BLS means you have been trained in skills and apply them properly during every call. Poor BLS skills are not the fault of medics on calls, nor are they always the fault of the EMT's themselves. They are often a sign of poor leadership,trainig and oversight, and often lack of interest in the field or the wrong reason for getting into the profession. Lack of experience, although experience is extremly helpful, should not be an excuse either. Your basic skills sets should be standard and muscle memory. If you're not going to function as part of the team and use your training, then you are not shwoing respect for other members. And being nice to people during calls in progress should not be an issue, just get the job done. Treat people nicely, but people should not have to be coddled. Again, there is a difference between an ambulance and BLS. BLS provides professional quality basic prehospital emergency care, while an ambulance provides a very loosely organzied and delviered service where the main priority is getting the bus out, not the care delivered. Which one are you? BLS is a neccesity, ALS is just a luxury, as I was taught by my Tac coworkers when I was a newbie. WAS and ALS made good points, and I'm not going to repeat or get into those.. Overall, respect is earned, and given by me on a case-by case basis.

Does anybody here have Sirius???? Whaddya think of them?

An unknown medical is generally stated because someboyd called third party for an ambulance, and does not know the specifics. Unfortunetly, I feel a large percentage of the time,it is because there are some poorly-skilled calltakers who do not pursue the information further, or do not take the time to listen or comprehend what the caller has to say.

My issue with technical rescue teams is equipment and response time. A volunteer unit is great,better than nothing, but how well equipped and how fast can these units respond? In addition, how fast can the equipment be mobilized to a scene, anywhere in the county. The same goes for the career departments, but not really a problem.....many who have the capabilties have the manpower on duty already, with equipment, trailers, or trucks ready to go within minutes, such as the Yonkers Collapse Unit. Technical rescue in my experience is not a game nor is it a hobby.....it is a critical, last resort option where somebody's live hangs in the balance, and time from the scene to the trauma center needs to be as short as possible. TR is also an extremly complicated, ever changing discipline that requires numerous hours of intense, focused training. Unlike Hazmat and Cause and Origin, every Tech Rescue incident has a human being directly involved and affected! If I am a Medic with somebody entrapped in a trench or other situation (and I've been there before), and the patient needed to be out 5 minutes ago, I don't want to be waiting for a team to be paged out,who is going to respond, and have to assemble, and worry about who's going to get the truck, etc etc. I want to know that truck is on the way ASAP. Maybe if people put some egos aside, something better could be intiated.Maybe having a dedicated, 24/7 staffed technical rescue and hazmat unit or company that responds from a central location, and then have a volunteer auxillary. Sometimes people in this business forget, ITS NOT ABOUT YOU!!!!!!! It's about the people we serve! Sometimes comprimise is a word many fail to understand. Aren't you and your families living in this county? And about the union comments. First off, sometimes we may not like to accept it, but maybe what the unions are doing is what they are supposed to do.....looking out for their members, and looking out for the public. As hard as it is to tolerate for some, and despite how harsh it is at times, why are some people so threatened by the union? Yeah, there is a lot of BS politics, yeah they may be a little harsh and unfriendly at times, but they seem to be able to get things done. And BTW, Pagano isn't doing this , there are many, many other people involved in developing the career technical rescue services teams. Why do people view them as the enemy, instead of as partners and allys??? Has anybody tried to bring themselves to the same level as them, IC, cert or otherwise? Has anybody considered their viewpoints, or has anybody tried to legitametly counteract or debate their options..or put together a better option??...AND THIS DOES NOT APPLY TO PAYCHECK VS VOLUNTEER....the preceeding comment applies to how effeiciently and quickly our services our delivered! Hasn't anyone considered we may need career FF's in this county more and more in the future due to the economy and changing going on in the WC, why can't we find a way for positive relations now?? Don't just oppose something without knowing the facts or because of past bad blood...theres no time or place for that in this job!!! Support whatever will be best for your people and your customers, because this isn't about you or what you will do with your time, end of story!! The main hurdle in the TR team is egos.....many of the younger guys like myself and those who I know really don't care about who does what, we just want to get the job done as best as possible, however it may be. It seems to me like many of our "elders" refuse to put aside their differences or comprimise to get things done., or refuse to let go of the past. To some of the elders...grow up! It sickens me to go to countys comprable to Westchester and see all the progressive things that goes on, and we have NOTHING in the WC to even compare too, and it all comes down to egos and petty, BS politics......again, why are we in this business? For us, or for the people we serve? Rant off.

For those who missed this awesome mini-series shown last year on ABC, it is now available on DVD: http://www.fire-police-ems.com/misc/dn1080.shtml Thumbs up to ABC for releasing it! Note: Two episodes feature OLM*EMS EMT and Forum Member FAC911.

RIP Paramedic Lev Naumov of Empress EMS, who was killed in a small plane crash on the afternoon of April 23, 2005 in Armonk, while recieving flight instruction.Lev was only 23 years old, and had just graduated Medic school last June. He thouroughly enjoyed working the EMS sytems of Yonkers, Mount Vernon, and Pelham, where he had been an EMT since 2001. Lev will be sorely missed by all who knew and worked with him. Lev was also a member of this forum, and an aspiring pilot who aimed to buy his own plane as overtime permitted. Thoughts and prayers are with you and your family and friends. Also RIP to his flight instructor who was with him, Isaac Negron

I feel GPS is a great tool to dispatch the closest available and capable unit to a scene. GPS should be THE gold standard in dispatching, and all agencies and systems should use it to some extent. District lines and stations should be a thing of the past.....it should go by who is closer, who is available, and who is capable in this county as tracked by GPS positioning. In addition, all ambulances should have duty crews. If you are unable to staff the ambulance for that shift, the ambulance logs out of service and the next closest unit gets sent automatically. Enough of borders, egos, and this and that. I understand that everybody has districts they are required to cover, but at what point are the district lines actually doing residents a disservice??? Also, instead of Chief's requesting spefic alarm assigments, Chiefs should request a 2nd alarm (with SC for water source or whatever) and get whoever is the closest, capable, and availabe unit as determined by GPS and not who invited who to what. Overall, GPS, coupled with an MDT and CAD, is a great tool for real-time dispatching and tracking apparatus, and I think its use in this county will improve service and response times to all citizens.

If it's "Agency" - "Level" - "Unit," how come WEMS has 40-M-1 and 45-M-1? Shouldn't 45-M-1 have a 40 number? Two different systems. 40-X-X is Westchester EMS (Medical Transport/Private Emergency/Critical Care Transport) system 45-M-X is the Northern Westchester Paramedic system, a system that WEMS is contracted to provide. They are technically two different agencies. Like Empress has 33-X-X, 32-A-1, 43-A,1 Transcare has 30-A-X, 31-X-X, etc etc

There's what if's to everything. But the "what if"s that currently stall so many progressive ideas in this county were turned into "How can we"'s, who knows how much better this county would be??? Backup (As per SSM protocol) dispatch units by street distance from last known confirmed location or stated location. Dead zones are an issue, but a very minor and temporary one in heavily wooded areas. "Disabled" GPS transmitters is an issue. But proper installation and supervision should negate that. As far as taxes go, yes thats an isssue. But there's an ethical issue to that end as well.

Example: Engine One Five Zero would sound retarded! It's Engine One Five Oh!!!!!!

Except if you're a dispatcher, or an IC with a bazillion things going on, or it's 2AM , or it's a large scale incident. Also the noted confusion in apparatus identifiers, coupled with the way 46.26 is. Or remembering every unit, especially those that don't go out every day. The current numbering system, although SOME may be able to easily remember it, is not clear, simple, organized, or straightfoward. The way EMS is numbered in this county is perfect. (Agency)-(Level)-(Unit) For example Yonkers EMS Paramedic Ambulance 1 (AKA Medic 30 on the Empress system, or Yonkers Ambulance 1) 33-A-1 Simple! BTW, It's not that hard to remember, if you're an "enthusiast"....and I am, and I still have trouble remembering and keeping up with it all!!!

Red Diamond Fire Trucks: http://www.firetanker.com/ ...have a diamond as a logo In addition, this tanker by them is really, really hot:

I got a picture of it last month that is posted on the site somewhere. It's in VERY poor condition, and has seen better days....all the jobs and things it has seen in Yonkers has taken its toll, and I don't think anything is going to bring or be worth bringing it back :-( There is an ESU truck that is sitting there as well. The body of that truck, with some TLC, looks like it may have some life in it still as a FD rescue or utility or hazmat.

Excellent news!!

This car is HOT! I love it!! I hope some agencies around here add it to their fleet!! From:www.theautochannel.com

Flynn is just north of Tuckahoe Road on CPA. Sprain Brook Parkway ->Tuckahoe Rd. -Left on CPA Funeral home will be on your right immeditely after making the turn.

Here is the Empress Statement:

I'm curious about post-incident critiques. I think they are quite a valuable tool in learning and making improvments for future responses. I'm wondering if any local department has these after incidents, and how they go about it. Do they sit in a room and talk, do they review fire scene photos, etc and then what, if any, action is taken and how is it accomplished? I feel the post-incident critique can be one of the best tools around for finding problems in our jobs and fixing them. But it seems like they are rarely done, or rarely done on a proper scale.

Well said....I just want to add a little. Health is safety!! You need strength and endurance to do this job properly and safely. A fitness program is part of a safety program Numerous studies have shown that with fatigue and poor condition, job site injuries, such as in construction, go up. How are you going to save others if you can't save yourself? This is a tool that EVERY FD should provide properly and completly, just like they provide training and turnout gear. BTW, another benefit of better cardio-endurance is longer time on the air bottle. Getting back to the topic, the County has the resources and the money to fund something or to oversee something like this....now somebody in power just needs to take the initiative and make it happen!!

According to Choice Collectibles website, they will be releasing a Yonkers FD In Action Card Set Featuring Photos By Mike Messar of www.onthejobny.com http://www.choicefire.com/comingsoon.asp It'll be interesting to see which Yonkers jobs make it to the set. There certainly has been a pleothora of interesting incidents over the past couple of years, and who knows what Mike has been hiding/hoarding for exclusive premiere in this set. Also coming soon is FDNY Platinum Series II By Joe Pinto.....should be featuring some of everybody's favorite FDNY rigs in this continuing series. Both sets should be awesome, can't wait until they are released! Here's a little more on what the cards are about:

Eddie Byrnes, formerly of the Town Of Mamaroneck FD, has been appointed Fire Chief for the Federal Vetrans Adminstration Hudson Valley Campuses (Montrose and Castle Point VA's). Chief Byrnes is also known as Car 2441, and "RES20CUE". So, how many car numbers do you have now? Congrats.

I'd love to know how the term "whacker" started. Or Buff. I'd also like to know how the term of engine or truck was developed?

Because bus is THE true NY term for an ambulance! I can't call it anything else....except when around 636!! Seems like every region has its own term for a bus. New England it's car or rescue, in the midwest it's a squad, in California its a Rescue or Ambulance, etc etc And 648 is right, it takes entirely too much effort to say "ambulance"