JBE

PM Me, my buddy is an aide in the 19th.

If I remember right, DeNigris is still there. They also have a showroom on Tremont Avenue over by St. Raymonds Cemetery.

All the best Jim!!!

I think you're missing what I'm getting at. I'm trying to keep this on topic here, but if something out there happens, the first persons that get the finger pointed at them are the dispatchers. I am not in any way insinuating anyone is going to drive recklessly. I've seen it enough times in my experience. I agree that a quicker processing time may mean the difference between a one room job to a whole floor involved. Yes, we have to deal with brass whose fingers are not on the pulse of the rank and file. My whole point was, it wasn't broken in the first place, there wasn't any need to fix it.

Now that I've explained it, I just read the story. The mayors spokesperson calls it an innovation. Innovation, my lily white keister. This pre release "innovation" has been in place since the Starfire CAD was put into place nearly 30 years ago. When I came on the job in 1997, I was taught how to use it, but only to be used in rare circumstances. In 1998, or 99, we were told to stop using it because of a glitch in the system. Now, since the city doesn't want to pony up the money to open a few fire companies in places that could use them, like Queens(especially Southeast Queens) and Staten Island(Engine 168, anyone??), they order my brass to make us use a system that is still flawed. Thank heaven for term limits. By the way, the City Councilman from Queens NAILED it. You throw in an accent, and a confusion of a street name or number, like 71st lane, 71st drive, 71st avenue, 71st street. Guess who is gonna hang when the wrong address gets turned out, and the actual address is a job with numerous 10-45's that could have possibly been saved had the first due companies not been going in a different direction or still sitting in the firehouse. Or, who is gonna hang God forbid a rig wraps up and someone gets hurt or killed?? You think the bosses downtown?? The 2 and 3 star chiefs?? Nope. Try me, my colleagues, along with a boss and chauffer of a company.

If you think you can handle it, go for it. FDNY pays better and has better schedules. But, you need some sort of experience.

OK, since I'm the one who has to supervise with this new system, let me explain the old way, and the "new and improved" Uncle Nicky way.(SARCASM!!!!) Prior to February of this year, we would interrogate the caller as such: I'm paraphrasing What's the address?? What streets are on the corners?? What's wrong?? What apartment, what floor?? What's your phone number?? FD is on the way...release the incident into CAD Then the "Pre-release" program What's the address??(get address, hit enter, cross streets displayed) Pre-release to CAD and the decision dispatcher and turn out a structural assignment. Get the rest of the information and release into CAD Announce the alarm and then turn around non necessary units. This is where the complaints started coming in from the uniformed guys. It was modified into what it is now. Address, (Enter and cross streets displayed) What's the problem?? (and mark appropriate code for fire, emergency, and what type of response) Pre-release into CAD Ask for cross streets Ask for phone number FD is on the way, release into CAD Now, I have had a number of instances where the run was pre released, units were responding, and it turned out to be the wrong address because the cross streets were not verified prior to turning companies out. Any FDNY Alarm Receipt Dispatcher worth their salt can properly process an alarm in the old way of doing it in less than 45 seconds. The problem HQ was having was with processing times and response times combined. How long it took us to process an alarm and get a unit on scene. Instead of enforcing existing criteria, and taking any anomaly of alarm processing on a case by case basis, this broad, poorly conceived plan has been implemented. What it also boils down to is that in certain areas of the city, fire protection is not adequate enough. Simply put, not enough companies. Some of you may have heard about an incident in the Bronx a few months ago where there was a delay in sending the appropriate first due units to a structural fire, and the 3rd and 4th due went in 1st and 2nd due. It turned out to be a job. There was a glitch in the computer that we didn't know about and were not told about. The hierarchy at HQ blamed the dispatchers, and said that it was human error. It wasn't. HQ also said we were trained in how to do this. We weren't. We were handed a sheet of paper that said, You will do this... and that was it. Just to answer the previous post, CIDS comes out on your tickets if the address you're going to has CIDS. If there is an address three doors down in either direction, we will know, and if we get numerous calls, reporting one of those addresses, we will relay the CIDS either over the radio, or to the BC responding via MDT. Has this system improved total response times?? Yes, I'm not going to deny that. But, with the way it is now, it's only a matter of time before something gets messed up and an accident involving apparatus occurs. My personal feeling was that prior to February, we had 2 minutes from the time we opened up an alarm screen and started the clock, that if there was an issue with the alarm processing, it had to be dealt with on a case by case basis. I felt this way because of so many variables we have to deal with. Thick accents, people giving incorrect addresses, or giving intersections as addresses. Example: Where's the fire?? 145 Lincoln Avenue. Interrogate for cross streets, and the person is panicky and just says yes. Turns out the fire is on East 145th street and Lincoln Avenue. And not 145 Lincoln Avenue, which is down in the 130's. Example number 2, and it amazes me how I see this one all the time: 2475 West 144th Street, 8th Avenue. What they really mean is 2475 8th Avenue off of 144th Street. Some of these common problems were not, imo, taken into consideration. the system in place now is only good for reducing total response times, and doesn't necessarily address the bigger problem. Soapbox 10-9.

The first engine was a 1965 open cab Crown Firecoach. They used 2 of them. One was E-60, assigned to Universal Studios. The other was E-127. They did use a few older Crowns for some scenes, and you can tell by looking at the beacon light, and siren configuration. Adhesive decals were used to cover the 60 on the doors, front and rear. There was a larger red decal used to cover the Carson city seal on the jumpseat portion of the cab when E-127 was used. E-127 was used primarily for stock shots of the rigs leaving the station and responding to incidents. The WLF replaced the Crown in the third episode of season 3, and continued to be used until the show ended in 1978. The LACo Museum is in possesion of Engine 60, and it looks just as good as it did in 1972, just needs a little gold paint. Almost forgot. Capt. Mike Stoker(Ret.), the driver of the Engine worked at FS 69 in Topanga Canyon during filming of the show. they have Call Firefighters attached to that station(paid per run volunteers). They ran their own engine, E-269. It was most recently a 1974 Crown, that is now in the possession of the Fire Museum.

From what I understand, there were very few major cosmetic changes made to the rig. Now, if Captain Joe at the museum can get his hands on a Crown Snorkel.

Nelsonville had one of these, if my memory serves me right, as did Lynbrook, LI.

Ward LaFrance had a contract with LACo for I believe about 50 pumpers in 1972. They donated the WLF for use on Emergency, with the provision it was picked up and taken across country. There are still a few WLF's floating around in LA, at least as of last year. As for Backdraft, the rig was a WLF pumper from 1970/71, and was refurbed in the late 80's by Ranger and E-One. Chicago had a few of them and they used one or two of them for the movie.

OK here we go. Manhattan 5,6,20,34,40 Bronx 39 SI None Brooklyn 101,104,106,118,147,175 Queens 143 151 and 173(sniff sniff, sob) lost their tillers about 8 yrs ago. I doubt the floor at 331/173 could support the weight anymore. LA County is almost exclusively tillers, and LAFD is all tillers.

Unfortunately, I'm not gonna make it. Got a baseball game to go to.

Considering they just started hiring off the top of the EMS promotion/open competetive list from the test given in January 2007, I think you got a little bit of a wait.

Almost forgot, where's the Frog???

Very nice. two birds with one stone it looks like.

17-2-1, 1989 Lance. 1,000 Gal Tank. 17-4-4, 1994 Dash 6 man cab, 1500? Gal Tank.

Damn shame. But there is one comment in there that resonates. Many suffer in silence. I just hope more guys and gals get the help they need. Sucking it up doesn't make the problem go away.

I guess that ex Cop from Florida is gonna be bummed out.

Looks like a Sterling Chassis. I am presuming this is replacing 16-4-3??

I'll wait till monday, and beat the crowds with a $6 matinee. I saw Hellboy and the Hulk this week. Hulk was ok, never was a big Hulk Fan, and Hellboy was simply awesome.

Definitely can't fix stupid. Subway surfing has been around for years, except you only hear about it when someone falls off.

I think it had something to do with the first rig they had, which was purchased from the Boonton, NJ FD. It had the same color and they just stuck with it. If I remember right, Fishkill Protection Engine has Blck/Red, so the Town has red rigs. PS, I was giggling pretty hard when I saw this, how could you not??

You could consider the dock or pier to be an exposure, especially if it is not of fireproof construction. I would ensure no danger to life or health and set up, like Seth said, monitors, deck guns and maybe even some elevated master streams if feasible to prevent fire spread. Especially if waterborne support is either not available or feasible.

Maybe it's just me, but seeing stories of an off duty foul up just reminds me that we have to hold ourselves to a higher standard, both off duty and on duty. I just find it unsettling that when an opinion is posted that a moderator or administrator does not agree with, or may be in the slightest way construed as a bash, either on a person, department, or heaven forbid a member of EMTBravo Management, it is immediately deleted, and/or the discussion closed. You can't take the positive without the negative, and I find this change in policy to be negative. To Seth, Duane, and the other mods, Sorry, but I'm gonna have to disagree with you on this one and we'll leave it at that.