JBE

I guess having a hot wheels ambulance on the cake, or driving out in a bus is out of the question??

This is a great topic. Just from my limited experiences up that way, and taking into account some of my experiences in the city, as soon as more than one quality(caller reports visible fire, something substantial) call comes in reporting that structure, let the IC know, and get ready to put Mutual Aid on Standby. As soon as the IC pulls up and confirms it, re-tone the original FD for a confirmed fire and immediately tone out whatever mutual aid should be required(tankers, RIT/FAST, relocations). That being said, I am a firm believer in having run cards, and/or the Chiefs of departments, regardless of who gets elected, etc going to the dispatch office and sitting down with either a senior supervisor, or the head honcho of said office and saying, this is what we want to do when this happens. The only obstacle to that is, POLITICS!!!! One chief wants this department for a tanker, and doesn't want this one. My recommendation is every few years, the assignments get evaluated and adjusted as needed. Not something that changes with every new chief. Us Dispatchers have enough to deal with. My penny for the night.

Nice shots. Plenty of work to go around today. Fatal fire in Canarsie this morning, fatal fire in Rockaway this afternoon, 3rd Alarm and an All Hands in Howard Beach..

PD Answers the boxes as well as FD. There will be times where you won't get an answer, or you'll get the recording from 911 if the phones are overburdened. I don't know how many they get.

Let's face it, the guy does not like the Fire Department, never has. Since none of our unions backed him in the last election, he is going after us full speed.

Looks like I got beaten to it...Nice shots, Joe.

Figure 46,138,142,and 124 right off the bat.

Nahh I want a fight with City Hall. We've proven they work. The Blackout, Flight 587(first reported alarm was a pull box) and Sept. 11th(ERS Box 8087 came in before the first phone call) My job is being whittled away by this jerk at City Hall, I feel like lacing up the gloves.

We already do that. We could always start sending you out 24/7. That might also keep some firehouses open. Even though it ends up being an MFA, it still counts as a run. More runs=keeping companies open. Here we go again...I'm itching for a fight with City Hall.

The ones that don't live in the burbs will care when it's their local engine company getting shut down.

The rich won't care unless it's Riverdale, or Midtown, or one of those neighborhoods. Everyone is going to take a hit here. Every Borough is going to lose something. Will it cause a downward spiral?? I don't know, but the gamble isn't worth it.

Engine company waiting over a half hour for EMS. "Engine 2XX To Brooklyn, Continuing Saga of Box 637.." Me in my early days as a dispatcher and the nearing the end of my days in Lake Carmel. "17-7-1 to 40 Control, K" "10-8 from Putnam Hospital returning to quarters, K" 40 Control: "Recieved, 1427....LMNOP"

And under the rainbow!!! Anyways, I've been on a little vacation since the second week of July, give or take a couple of trips back to work for paychecks, overtime, and PSAC Training. But in my time off, I did a LOT of travelling. We're going to start close to home with the 4th of July. Stopped by R-1 to hang out for the fireworks and got some shots of the rig, taken by Kristine. Next up, Marine 9 doing a nifty little water display on the river. The following week, we went down to North Carolina for some sun, fun, and touristy stuff. I'll get to the touristy stuff later. Sunset Beach, NC Engines 1171, 1172, 1173, Truck 1160, Brush 1180

Yeah, try that here. The public would be flipping out, and everyone involved would get hooked up big time.

Here's a silly thought, maybe the flight attendant could have simple ASKED the kid what he was doing. But hey, what do I know??

Previous post from another thread on this board: How much more watered down does the test have to be?? I mean, there was a picture in one of the questions on the 2007 open competitive that said, "The fire chief wears a white helmet, find him in this picture." A drunken teenager could have passed that test. How much money was invested in the last test and recruitment?? You can lead a horse to water... Has it ever occured to the Vulcan Society that maybe, just maybe, there is a majority of the minority who DON'T want the job?? Kindly refer to my last remark regarding the horse. How much further backwards does the city and the FDNY have to bend over, before someone says, "That's enough"??? I took the written exam 3 times, and missed a 4th due to my military service. Failed the physical the first and third times, blew off the second due to personal obligations(rassum frassum ex-wife!!!!) Now, I'm 36 and too old. I have nobody to blame but myself. I didn't put in the training and dedication required. Furthermore I have no intention of saying I was discriminated against, I just didn't put forth the effort. Maybe that's something the Vulcans should look into, making sure the people they so desparately want to get on the job PUT FORTH THE EFFORT!!!! We may live in the land of opportunity, but the opportunity can only become a reality if you work for it, not if it's handed to you.

The changes have been in place for a month and a half now, and I have to say, it's getting to a point where we're taking the calls and interrogating the callers more and more. Although, I have filled out two more mistake forms in the course of my tour. One was routed to us as a Haz Mat conditon with no description other than the apartment number. My calltaker does the interrogation, and makes it an odor of gas. Turned out to be a sewage back up. Pretty crappy situation. The mayor is out of touch and doesn't understand the system as it worked prior to last year. Commissioner Cassano came out and said the system worked(HE'S SO FULL OF IT!!!!). We get incorrect locations from PD every day, every tour. It's a problem, like I said, that has been going on for years. But you don't hear about it unless it's a major screw up. I remember one from my dispatcher days in Manhattan. PD gives it to us as a fire on the 7 Train at Roosevelt Drive and 61st Street in Manhattan. It was actually in Queens. A number of years ago, there was a shooting at City Hall. The NYPD operators could not put City Hall into the computer without cross streets, whereas FDNY can put in City Hall and it automatically gives us cross streets. The same goes for EMS, they can't put in named locations like FDNY can. Example: The Hutch and Senger Place=Bronx side of the Whitestone. The biggest change that comes is now the focus is still on us, so if someone dies, the powers that be will try to blame it on us.

Favorite, Mack CF, followed by Pierce. Don't really have a least favorite. Hey Grumpy, why is it that Patterson seems to have such a love affair with the Sutphens, and when do they plan on replacing the present 22-5-1??

I say go for it. If I had somewhere to put it, I'd buy one myself and restore it.

How much more watered down does the test have to be?? I mean, there was a picture in one of the questions on the 2007 open competitive that said, "The fire chief wears a white helmet, find him in this picture." A drunken teenager could have passed that test. How much money was invested in the last test and recruitment?? You can lead a horse to water... Has it ever occured to the Vulcan Society that maybe, just maybe, there is a majority of the minority who DON'T want the job?? Kindly refer to my last remark regarding the horse. How much further backwards does the city and the FDNY have to bend over, before someone says, "That's enough"??? I took the written exam 3 times, and missed a 4th due to my military service. Failed the physical the first and third times, blew off the second due to personal obligations(rassum frassum ex-wife!!!!) Now, I'm 36 and too old. I have nobody to blame but myself. I didn't put in the training and dedication required. Furthermore I have no intention of saying I was discriminated against, I just didn't put forth the effort. Maybe that's something the Vulcans should look into, making sure the people they so desparately want to get on the job PUT FORTH THE EFFORT!!!! We may live in the land of opportunity, but the opportunity can only become a reality if you work for it, not if it's handed to you.

Once things warm up a bit, I'd like to come up and shoot it.

How about a 3 digit number for Fire and EMS??

The Hi Ex Foam Unit was taken out of service a couple of years ago. I believe the other foam carriers all carry smaller hi ex foam generators/foam cans. So, they got Foam 260, Foam 95, SAT-4/E-324 and the two Foam Coordinators. Seeing those pictures brings me back. My grandparents lived on Rochambeau Avenue around the corner from that fire until their passing in 1992. My grandmother used to go into that diner almost every day. There was a movie theatre across the street, not sure what it is now, my grandfather took me there to see Star Wars when I was a kid. There's a funeral home on the Perry Avenue side of the bank where we held wakes for a number of my relatives over the years. I also spent more time than I care to count in that Mc Donalds as well. Ahhh memories of days gone by. I was telling my aunt about it Christmas Eve and I could see her heart breaking at how her old neighborhood was being trashed.

Kind of mixed about this, especially after his testimony in front of the city council two weeks ago concerning UCT. We'll see what happens.

How bout this?? WATCH WHAT YOU SAY, WATCH WHAT YOU DO!! We are ALL public servants, regardless of where we came from, how much school we went to, or where we work. We are held to a higher standard, sometimes unfairly, but we are held to a higher standard nonetheless. So what if the guy got 8 plus hours of OT standing around. HE'S DOING HIS JOB!!!! He is protecting the city in which he works. I'd rather he was standing on that street corner, instead of having to chase some skell down a dark alley. I score 12 hours of OT sitting on my duff. So what?? I'm doing my job. We know that, the folks we work with know that. The public doesn't. I know, I'm notorious for putting work related stuff on my Facebook. Usually complaining about the really crappy commute to 11Metro Tech. But, I am sure as hell thankful I got a job. Bottom line here kids. The public, educated or not, is ignorant when it comes to what goes on in the Emergency Services Sector. They don't know much, if anything that goes on in that radio car, bus, or behind those big red doors. We gotta be a little smarter. Soapbox 10-9. Thank you.