ajsbear

M/A up in the northern areas is sometimes for a different reason than southern Westchester. you guys inthe north should know that. If you have a fire in an area with no hydrants, you need at least 3 tankers. Exposures? You may need 2 or 3 ladders and no one has more that one really. Thats one set of reasons. Yes, manpower is another.

VACGUY where have you been? I've seen Diesel up here for $4.89. Many on Wall Street say it'll level off after it hits $4 till the next round after the summer. Milk and Beer are cheaper than gas today. But as fuel goes up consumer goods will surely follow.

Several Wall Streeters have predicted $5 a gallon next summer. The one thing to remember is that between the state, federal and sales taxes it adds close to 75 cents a gallon here.

There are many dangerous intersections and turnoffs off of 9A. You guys got most of them south of Croton. From Croton to the circle people tend to speed well above the posted limit. Then they come to the circle and comtinue north with no barriers between north and south. Jack Road is the side road. Cars going north come over a hump in the ropad and next thing cars are stopped to go left and theres no place for a car or truck to stop when going 60. Continue up and there still are no barriers and there have been many collisions near South Mountian Pass, Winston Lane, Tavers Cornors and so on. Just travel and look at the spots where people have left floral pieces for loved ones who died there. It's an antiquated road that cannot handle the speed, traffic volumn and the large trucks.

The problem with the Charitalbe deduction it's a lot less then the business deduction and really does not cover the cost of running your car with gas at $4 plus.

The Officers and Members of the "GARRISON VOLUNTEER FIRE COMPANY" are happy to invite you to attend the DRYDOWN (no water) for our new Engine 15-2-1 2007 MARION Where: Garrison Firehouse 1616 Rt. 9 Garrison When: Sunday, May 18, 2008 1300 to 1600. There will be great food, t-shirts and of course we will be showcasing our Truck!

I was out there 10 years ago when they had the Pine Barrons fire on eastern LI. I was with one of the IC's and we watched the fire jump Montauk Hwy, that was a scarey sight to see. Those guys out there do Forestry Training and are well equipt. Jump suits were what they all had. You're right Chris, PPE is not what you want. You also don't want jeans and hiking boots either. They also had the specialized trucks for this type of fire on LI, Stump Jumpers with full roll cages.

Jimmy wiat, next winter when you have to shovel a path inthe snow from Station 1 A to the bays.

Were's the new Station 1 trailer park?

From the drivers standpoint when you look into those mirrors you don't have to take your eyes off the road as you would door mounted mirrors. Also if you have a large person in the officers seat and they lean forward you can't see that mirror.

This past summer Garrison bought the Res-Q-Jak system

OK I have been corrected by someone who's memory is better than mine. the 58 Mack was Engine 5 and the foam truck at that time was a 51 seagrave. Now its coming back to me. Hey they were both convetables.

Years ago the oil companys were approched and that's how the first Foam 1 came about. I think it was Mobil that funded it and the then mechanic "Gouch" and some of the members bith career and volunteer did all the work. I remember the "58 Mack convert. Made its way down to Red Hook for a tank farm fire on a December night with guys riding the back step and an NYPD escort. It was an old workhorse. Wonder what happened to it as it was a classic. Big chrome grill with the bull dog ornament.

In NYS unless you have an "Personal Employment contract" you are an "AT WILL" employee. This does not mean a union contract. That means they really do not need a reason to fire you.

Doesn't that create communication problems when M/A with Putnam departments?

If my memory is correct it was not too long ago they redid the apparatus floor. The rigs were next door in the chair place. I remember for years the floor was held up with 4x4's. That firehouse dates back to the early 1900's and no I wasn't around then. The floor was an issue way back because it was never s designed to hold the old Macks that were there in the 70's much less todays rigs altough Ladder 2 was there way back and it was a open cab seagrave. After they did the floor they rehabed the whole building didn't they?

Andy-----The perfect world is everyones Fantasy. Who can afford it?

You know the Paid vs Volunteer issue is as old as the hills. It's been around long before most of you were even thinking of becoming FF's or EMS. It'll be around long after we're all gone. The answer of you want quicker response, hire more paid has been said by some and when you think about it, it both makes sense but is also rediculous as well. All departments, municipalities face budget problems today. If money were no object go ahead and replace everyone. But that won't happen. Have Vollys outlived their usefulness? Yes in some areas. Mt Vernon just had too many alarms and the problem. After they did away with the vollys the city really didn't do anythnig to replace them. Up in Putnam and further north where the call volume is under 200 a year the tax base could not afford them. The guys who are screaming one way or the other need to take a step back. Yes you want more manpower but can it be affordable? Whats the cost of bringing any one of the paid departments up to NFPA standards? Think of what a FF 1st grade, with vacation time, benefits, sick time, etc cost and figure just one man per shift. Now add to bring each rig up. Whos going to pay? Get realistic. In 10 years my taxes have tripled. I'm not going to pay for it. How many paid guys live in their district? Of that who owns a home and pays taxes? Think of how much you can pay above what you pay now. Training? In the perfect world everyone would have all the training they need. Get over it, its not a perfect world. How many of you guys work 2 jobs and a spouse that works as well? All I know is I want to spend time with my kids and they with me. We all have the same problems, making ends meet and making the most of our time. It is about time we all learned we need to get along. Lets get better saftey standards we can live with, safety bail out ropes, better lighting at highway scenes, more bottles so we can wear a pack during overhaul, The list can go on and on. Work together like the theme of this site. We're our own worst enemy. If we all got together and marched on city hall in MV do you think the Mayor would notice that our FDMV brothers had the support of every FF in Westchester? It would speak very loudly, the newspapers and other media would notice as well. It's time to have one voice, we're all firefighters.

I have been quiet on this but now I must speak up. Seth, you're doing a fantastic job and have since day one. For the most part there is a tremendous amount of info here on this site and a lot to learn. The one or two uneducated (I changed what i roiginally wanted to call them) who complain have no clue. Those are the same who have been to one or two workers, an MVA or 2 and think they know everything. 35 years and I'm still learning. Everyone of the instructors I know are still learning new things as well. Times keep changing and with this site it helps keep up because everyone has a different view of an experience. Look at it this way. Take 2 people and walk down a trail for a mile. Stop, turn around and look back then list everythnig you saw quickly on a paper. Then exchange papers. You'll be surprised that more than half is not listed on both papers. Eveyone has a different view. That is what makes this site so good. Everyone no matter how moronic (is that a word) has an opinion and a view and so long as its not antagonistic the moderators let it go. So ok someone doesn't like the ads. He doesn't know that is what keeps this site going, He doesn't have a choice, either live with it or don't use the site or help support it with a donation. Some people don't understand scalability of servers. Yes more users mean more horsepower for the servers. I'll bet a lot of the out of the area sites have gotten donations too and adds so everyone of the sites as a whole is not the major drain. Eachj one is not carrying itself. I have given before and will do so again. As someone said IF EVERY MEMBER GAVE 1 DOLLAR. How about just half? I don't mind the ads. What pop ups? Guess someone needs to learn to keep off the p**** sites or uise a pop up blocker. I've never had a pop up on Bravo. I will return this tread to the normal channel.

Tooo bad there is no real oversite government agency that can come in, say working in the FDMV is unsafe Therefore, this , this and this must be done now. There is no federal oversite for this.

Rob; I don't think any of the politicians in Mt Vernon know what proper staffing means other than lining their pockets. While the PD has grown the FD has shrunk. The PD gets an additon to the station, the fire houses are falling down around the men. All the mayors friends get city jobs. You're right. There was a day when we were a proud department. Today the guys there work their asses off and make due with what they have but its not nearly enough. Morale? It's in the dumpster. The games being played and who is going to suffer. The guys will do their jobs but its only a matter of time as you know before the S#%% hits the fan and something happens. Why do they have to wait till they count the BODY BAGS before someone wakes up. It's going to happen eventually. When it does, who are the citizens of MV going to blame? Who are the papers going to point their fingers at? The people of Mt Vernon have know ideal city hall is playing games with their lives and well being.

Next you'll have a choice of clean or recycled air. $10

I'm really begining to beleive most drivers out there are either blind or dumb. We had a kitchen fire tonight and on these dark roads we had the trucks partailly in the road. I ended up doing traffic around my rig. With my gear on, surviver light and a vest I directed a driver to stop. He almost ran me down. When I walked up to him he said he didn't see me. I had enough reflective striping and there were enough scene lights on the Rescue he had to be blind and no, the rear spots were off so they were not in his eyes. All the side and ground lights were on, the arrow stick was set to bear left. Flashing reds, whites etc.

Pay for legroom, now some airlines are only allowing 1 checked bag and charging for a second, pay for your meals (if you call it food) Call it anything you want but its all AAP. (ADDITONAL AIRLINE PROFIT)

I'm going to go back to something I said in an earlier thread. "CONSOIDATE" We have so much duplication. Why does every department need a Rescue? Why can't some departments share. 2, 3 , 4 ladders with the same number just 5 minutes out? It's time to think BIG PICTURE and forget the little fifedums. Like one of you said, the younger chiefs will survive. Maybe its time for a few retirements. I am not aiming at anyone so don't hang me. The greater good it to start consolidating resources. Just go to the county website and look at the amount of rigs in this county. We're not far behind Long Island in duplication of services. OK I know I'm going to get shot for that statement. It's time we stop bickering and come up with a solution. Hiring 2 zillion more FF's is not the answer. Taxes are out of control everyplace. In 10 years my taxes have nearly doubled and I say enough. We need less government, more working together and its a shame none of the people see it. This thing about size of department arguements have been around for 50 years. Start sharing and you start to solve the problem. The agument "I come to more fires in your district then you to mine" is BS. As long as there are fires we'll all come lets face it. Just remember its a calling not just a job for most. We all do this because we love it. Who among you won't stop if you see a job or an MVA with no apparatus on scene to do what we can? how many career guys started as Volly's? How Many still volunteer where they live? As this site stands for WORKING TOGETHER solves more than pulling separate. Who wants the soap box next?