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Should departments require members to get flu shots? Indicate in the poll above. Many hospitals and other types of agencies are requiring it. If you don't get it, they make you wear a HEPA mask the entire duration you are in the building. There's mixed reviews about the flu shot, I know it doesn't completely prevent the flu, but from personal experience, I know it reduces the symptoms quite a bit, in most cases. Besides health, the flu also affects staffing. While I was in Texas, you could see when the flu went around that year by looking at the schedule and sick time. An analysis after requiring the flu shot showed better attendance during flu season. (people taking off because their child having the flu were not included). Also, there are a lot of places to get the flu shot. Does your department offer a free flu shot, or have someone come to the station or send you somewhere on each shift to offer it?

Great topic. As mentioned in some posts, dispatchers should have THE say in who gets relocated. They can see the bigger picture, and can make sure it will not strip down all resources in one area. When calling for additional apparatus to the scene, protocol and dispatch should dictate. For example, if the IC makes a S/C for Anytown's Tower Ladder, but doesn't know it's out of service or on another call, that wastes time. Mutual aid shouldn't be department specific, and alarm levels and S/C's should be pre-desginated. You don't hear major city IC's call for specific departments and apparatus, rather they request a second alarm or a special call i.e. foam unit. A task-force type concept should also be studied for Westchester. I mean, why even have a multi-million dollar CAD system if the IC is going to override it on every job? You could throw it out and just go paper with run cards again.

No classes are planned for now.

KME is developing a completely new cab for FDNY, and their are two currently on the line. One for a prototype, and one for crash testing. KME has the ability to deliver on this contract and has already invested a lot into it. There is a lot of frustration and speculation going on in various circles because there are a lot of engines that need replacing, but once the prototype is approved in the next few weeks, deliveries will start and go quite quickly. I don't think FDNY or KME wants to rush through the process, and is very exacting throughout the process. They also want this to be the safest cab yet, hence one prototype being sent out for crash testing, which wasn't in the contract, but KME insisted on it, especially being that it is a new cab and a split tilt one at that. However, both sides understand their are engines overdue for replacement. The final drawings will not be signed off on by FDNY until the prototype is completed and evaluated. When you are ordering 92 engines, you want things done right the first time, and not have major flaws to correct one every piece delivered due to a design error or overlook. A lot rides on them getting it right the first time with 92 Engines to build. FDNY loves Seagrave and they've done a ton of good by the city, and FDNY is going to put KME through the ringer. They want an EXACT twin to Seagrave's product, but can not step on any of Seagrave or Ferrara patents. Late Fall 2013 was the TENTATIVE date when the contract was officially signed less then a year ago in January 2013. You must also consider other factors, like the component vendors (pump, engine, transmission, buttons, dials, gauges, etc) providing KME with their product in a timely manner. FDNY has had several issues with Seagrave and other vendor orders as well in the past, so a delay would be nothing new or isolated to only KME. Again, this is a brand new custom designed chassis for FDNY. BTW, the KME Severe Service Predator was custom designed for the Los Angeles County FD, one of the largest fire departments in the country and uses exclusively KME Engines and Ladders. In 2006, they filled one order for 96 Engines and 8 tillered quints, and have delivered numerous pieces of apparatus in the past several years. This FDNY order isn't their first rodeo, and they have the capacity to mass produce..

This would be mine if I had the money! Website: 1980 Mack CF RM Quint on GovDeals

Somers Fire House Annual Pasta Night Saturday, October 26th 2013 270 Route 202 Dinner served between 4:30PM and 8:30PM Donation: Adults- $10.00 Kids 12 and under- $6.00 Kids under 3 eat free! 65 and over- $8.00

Bump for tonight!

Fire season is off to a tragic start. The past three weekends, there have been fatal fires involving children. Last night, in the Bronx, there was a fire that killed three children. It's reported that Con Ed had turned the power off the day before. The cause, candles. No smoke detector either. The building was near a fire in 2007 that killed 10, including 8 children. Last weekend it was in Elmsford, which according to sources, the child was in the attic....in which a bedroom is illegal. It also sounds like the house was overcrowded, according to news reports. We keep hearing these conditions year after year, and despite all the fire prevention done, people are still dying. I understand people are just trying to get by and living in poverty conditions, but what will it take to stop all these fires in that demographic? More code enforcement, social services? Isn't this one reason why there are laws that concern temperature in apartments? Maybe when Con Ed or other utilities shut off services, they should notify someone .

Great job, Mark! I'm so excited that it's finally in your FD's hands. Thanks for sharing the whole process with us here on EMTBravo.com, I really enjoy seeing this from beginning to end as did many members of this site.

Former Pleasantville Engine 90 for sale on Ebay. Will grumpyff bite? http://www.ebay.com/itm/1970-American-LaFrance-Fire-Truck-Pumper-1000-GPM-/131027394313?forcerrptr=true&hash=item1e81d75f09&item=131027394313&pt=Commercial_Trucks

The time has come. READ MORE: http://money.cnn.com/2011/09/15/autos/last_crown_victoria/index.htm

I read an interesting article about Rescue Pumpers in the Fire Apparatus and Equipment magazine. One of the lines I read was about the Rescue Pumper becoming the Engine company version of the Quint. It carries all the equipment, but it doesn't serve well as a pumper or rescue truck, and the amount of equipment it carries can limit functionality. It maintains a dual function with limited manpower and apparatus, but why are the same concerns about a Quint not applicable to a Rescue Pumper? Can it affect an ISO rating? Also, what is the definition of a rescue pumper, or pumper rescue? And which one is it? A pumper that's a rescue? A rescue with a pump?

I wonder if this show will be along the lines of "Jersey Shore" and all their other horrible programming, or actually Premieres tonight at 10E/9C on MTV. As always, MTV will repeat it numerous times. From the MTV website: From the LA Times: Full Article: http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-orange-county-scrubbing-in-20131024,0,1024521.story#axzz2ifhqiDTi

FULL ARTICLE: http://rivertowns.dailyvoice.com/news/ray-kelly-says-westchester-helps-stop-nyc-terrorism-crime

This is something that would cost a couple hundred to a couple thousand for a private company to come do the cleanup. Yet, Westchester County Haz Mat goes and does it for free. Is their any way the County could bill a private company for something like this, which wasn't a result of an MVA or anything?

A small crack in a 55 gallon drum of acetone, I believe. Westchester County Hazmat placed it in an overpack drum and sent the drum and truck on their merry way.

Thanks to Capt. Palmer and all the Stamford Firefighters that brought this film to Stamford, and having the proceeds go to such a great cause. To those who missed it, there were over 160 people in attendance in a beautiful theater in downtown Stamford. I wish it was a packed house, but the turnout was still absolutely great, and I feel bad for those who had to miss out. The movie was excellent, what I liked most was it was more about the FIREFIGHTERS and CITIZENS of Detroit then it was about firefighting, at least in my eyes. I love how the story was told. But one thing bothered me, from a firefighter standpoint, well, among many things, why couldn't they use the pump on the "Tac" units (Pierce Mini Pumpers using for manpower transport)? Because one of the upper ranks said so? So it had no hose, and they arrived at a fire where a 2 year old was trapped and they couldn't do anything. I urge everyone who has the chance to see this film to GO SEE IT. It was great to see it on the big screen and support a great cause along with it, but I think it is or will be available on DVD or Digital Download.

Let's make sure everyone can see this post so no one misses out....bump!

Congrats, Mike! Well deserved! From the Empress EMS Website:

I just wanted to give Elmsford FD and the other agencies involved much props in they handled this weekend's tragic fatal structure fire. Click Here To Read The Incident Alert It was a very difficult fire, to say the least. Units arrived almost immediately, and the attic was engulfed as was most of the second story upon arrival. Lines were stretched, and aggressive primary searches were conducted, with firefighters even trying to dig through some of the debris from the collapsing attic which they could not reach due to the fire. The Incident Commander has to make the difficult choice to remove the firefighters from the building, in which the structural integrity was quickly disintegrating. The child who was found in the attic bedroom several hours later (12:30PM the next day), and stood no chance, no matter what the firefighters did or when they did it. The firefighters who tried to locate the child are suffering tremendous emotional pain because of their heroics. There's obviously much more to the story, but that's just a quick synopsis. To the Incident Commanders, I can only imagine how tough your choices that you had to make must have been. Daisy, WCPD's Detective John Peter's Arson Dog, was also on scene assisting C&O trying to determine the cause, which I didn't see posted in the media. I was also told that Nicky Melillo was on scene with Valhalla VAC. As many of you know, his brother, Chucky Mellilo, died almost 1 year ago near the date of the fire. He was out there making his brother proud, and doing exactly what his brother would have done. Thoughts and prayers are with all involved while they recover from this.

The Weather Channel is horrible when it comes to "original programming" and putting things on when they are supposed to air. They don't even have this show on their site yet. I hope the show goes back to Nat Geo or Discovery. It's one of the most popular shows on Discovery Canada. My FiOS guide shows it re-airing on The Weather Channel this Thursday at 10PM and Midnight. As the show gets more episodes or viewers (like Coast Guard Alaska), it should air more frequently. Depending on your TV provider, it may be available on demand at some point, or on Hulu.

The whole crew is still there, plus a couple new guys. His stepson Brandon doesn't want to do it anymore because he's lazy.

Tomorrow night! Still tickets available, but they are expected to run out. Get yours now at the link above! I just bought my ticket, and I hope to see some of you there!

Awesome! Thanks for the heads up.....should be a great sight to see. Here's some more background I found:

Did anyone catch last night's episode? Since it's "unchartered territory", they didn't have fire coverage and had to sit back and watch a tractor trailer burn. Seemed a bit weird to me. They had their own engine to put out hot spots. What if extrication was needed or something else EMS related? I mean, they had PD coverage. Anybody from Canada know?