JBE

Would be nice to see Harrison keep it as a parade piece. Fitz, your pictures are pretty good, you just need to work on the angle of the shot. Look at some of the pictures Seth and Mike Martinelli have taken. I wasn't too good at taking them myself, and I still can improve, but I did take some cues from them, and other photographers I know.

Isn't Hancock waaaay up in central NY?? Kinda surprising to see Harrison E-11 running MA with them.

it's on there. officers side next to the siren.

I got a vest for about $100 at Modells, but it's only 40 pounds. I am probably going to take these classes as well.

Yup, that was the first multiple. Row of taxpayers. Various volunteer departments were either staged or operated with the FDNY in the days following, but you'd probably have to check records from those departments.

While it looks like a great idea on paper, and very well thought out, the negatives outweigh the positives of it. The biggest obstacle is money. Are we talking paid full time staffing?? Or, are we looking at a model like Baltimore County Maryland, where you have a paid County FD, and then a number of volunteer houses scattered throughout?? There go the already high taxes going that much higher beyond stratospheric range. Secondly, like you said the unions would probably not want to go along with this. I hear discussions like this brought up amongst the Long Island guys in my job. My own feeling, if this had been done, say 30 plus years ago, it might have worked with less opposition than you may get if someone tried to implement it today.

B, I want to thank you for your response. I am basing my ideas on past experiences and presumptions about how things worked in my vollie days(10 years removed). I felt that some of my opinions could be put into practice in a perfect world, paid or vollie, doesn't matter. As far as who takes responsibility when a unit from a Mutual Aid department can't make the required response, it's pretty hard to place sanctions on the department with all the variables you have to deal with. When it came to Coordinators, I was under the impression that they handled Incident Command in one way or another when they responded/operated at an incident.

If my memory serves me correctly, there were strangely enough, no multiple alarms in the days that followed the attacks. Might have been a 10-75 or an all hands. Westchester's Field Comm was still operating in the Bronx CO on the Friday after. I stopped in before I headed up to my mom's for the weekend.

Just to add to this, if for the sake of argument, after a certain amount of time (we'll say 8-10 minutes) a requested mutual aid unit has not responded to multiple tone outs, the dispatcher will tone out the next closest department, or re-direct the relocator into the scene and back fill as necessary. Say Brewster doesn't get out with the FAST Team, Somers gets toned out as FAST. Kent doesn't get a crew up to relocate to Carmel, Lake Carmel or Patterson gets banged out to relocate, or Kent responds on the relocation and someone else doesn't get out, Kent goes into the scene and Carmel gets backfilled from Patterson.

Let me ask a question, and I believe I have asked this before. This subject has been brought up numerous times in the past. Why doesn't the county Fire Coordinator step up and say, "We are going to formulate a county wide Mutual Aid system." 1. The Coordinator and the Deputy Coordinators set up the plan and tell the chiefs of each department that this is how it's going to be. 2. Any issues with it will be taken into consideration, and they will try to accomodate the requests of the chiefs. 3. Mutual Aid will be dispatched by location of incident, and CLOSEST AVAIALABLE resources that the IC requests. I'm going to use the Carmel area as an example of what I mean because it is where I have more knowledge. Fire in Vista on the Lake on Stoneleigh Avenue. 12-1-2(IC) has a fire in two townhouses in the development. Requests 1 engine, 1 tanker and a FAST Team to the scene with 1 Engine on Standby into Carmel's firehouse. Putnam 911 complies with the request. Dispatches Croton Falls for the Engine, Mahopac for the Tanker, and Brewster or Somers for a FAST Team, then makes the relocation of an Engine from Lake Carmel or Kent to cover Carmel. It may be wishful thinking, but you should want what is best for the people you serve. and not have to tiptoe around BS disagreements or personality conflicts between chiefs of local departments. If the chief doesn't like what the coordinators have set forward, gee, too bad. Gotta play nice in the sandbox. When a multiple alarm is transmitted, this is where the chiefs of each department can have a say as to what constitutes response on a multiple. We'll say two engines and a tanker with an ambulance toned out. However, where they will come from will also come under the closest available criteria. 12-1-2 dumps a second alarm, he gets another Engine from Mahopac, an Engine from Brewster, a Tanker from Lake Carmel or Kent, and 31-7-1 from Carmel VAC. Any responding chiefs from other departments will be given tasks by 12-1-2, and then ordered to assignment by either the Deputy Fire Coordinator, or Fire Coordinator upon arrival at the scene.

Gotta love the kids these days. This is why I condone spanking.

Thanks for refreshing.

This wasn't a second alarm. It was an all hands with an additional Engine and Truck special called. It was down in 96 Engine's area, with 54 Truck making the grab. If I remember correctly, the fire was set after a domestic dispute. It was over the summer, and the press pretty much swarmed Story Avenue afterwards. I just don't remember what street it was on. Partyrock, memory serving you well??

So I guess 3 over 4 and out the door is out of the question.

It would have to be a VERY big window.

I would suggest looking up the comp laws the state has, and see if there is something in there that would be of help to you. If you haven't already done so.

When it comes to something like a line of duty injury, most comp laws state an hour before and after your shift.

Oftentimes we get reports of emergencies, and the locations are way off from where the incident actually is. I find this a lot on the highways here in the city. We were getting numerous calls for an overturned car on the Bruckner Expressway, in the vicinity of anywhere up to White Plains Road, down to Hunts Point Avenue. We dispatch the necessary units. About three minutes into it, we get a report of a pin job at Palisade Avenue and West 254 Street. That's a good 8 miles away, if not more. To give you an idea from a unit standpoint, from E-96 to E-52. However, in the text of the incident, the text states it is on the Bruckner near the Bronx River Parkway. The callback comes back to a cell site a few blocks from the expressway. I look at that and let out a "WTF, K!!!?!?!??" I call EMS and ask them. They tell me it came through the computer relay from NYPD. I pick up the phone and call the supervisor at PD. I am understanding of the call volume they get, but this sort of thing happens quite regularly and I want an explanation. The supervisor tells me that the location that was put out is what the caller must have given the calltaker. I called her on it and said "I highly doubt anyone can confuse Riverdale from the Bruckner and the Bronx River." This is where she gets defensive and says, "You didn't hear the call, you can't assume," and "Did you do a callback??" I advise her I am assuming nothing, and we don't do callbacks on anything related to EMS generated incidents.(Liability issues since we are not EMD trained) I ask her to play the tape back and get back to me. Never got a callback from this Supervisor to explain to me what happened. I had to wait to talk to her relief to get some sort of an explanation, and by then, It was pretty much too late to really take action on it(nearly 4 hours after the fact). I don't like seeing people get jammed up for making an honest mistake, but God forbid this were to happen on my tour, the person taking the call would be hung out to dry, especially if it resulted in injury or death. And I'd get my rear end handed to me for not catching the mistake. It almost seems like there is no accountability. How would you guys handle a situation such as this?? Discuss.

PS, happened again the other night. PD gave the location as an address on University Avenue. The text stated it was on the Deegan and the caller was a looker from her window. Not as bad as the first one I described, but with a few adjustments to assignments, and locations and box numbers, we were able to get the units out to the right spot.

Over the past couple of days, I've been doing Toys for Tots runs with some of the local firehouses to a few hospitals in the city. On Thursday, I was at an unnamed hospital in Manhattan. I'm in my Santa hat and got a bag slung over my shoulder when up walks a female employee of the hospital. She politely asks me if I could give her a present for her nephew. At first, I said I didn't have a problem with it, but I directed her to the fellow who was running the program. She walked over, flashed her hospital ID, and asked again. Her request was rebuffed after she was told the presents were for the kids in the hospital. I thought about it some more and got a little angry. I wrote it off as someone just being a cheapskate. It happened again today in another hospital, this time in Queens. An ER nurse asks if we can give her a present for her autistic nephew. This time, I did the talking. "Is he in this hospital??" "No" "Is he sick??" "No" "Sorry, these are for the kids HERE." I felt a twinge of guilt when she threw in the Autism, but for the love of all that's holy, you're too cheap to go and get a present for a kid, and have to resort to hitting up someone who is donating to kids who are in the hospital, I think you've sunk pretty low. Comments?? Discuss...

Nope, that's how it looked when it opened. There were a whole batch of houses built in the late 60's/early 70's.

It does give you the warm and fuzzies when someone thanks you, or throws in a God Bless. Just to see a smile on that kids face is enough, or the look of shock when they get something. Makes you stop and think how good a lot of us have it. Steve brought up a few good examples. That's why we only do hospitals and and orphanage or two.

If you ever get into a situation at Icahn Stadium, Wards Island, Randalls Island, etc. You can give them the address of 600 East 125 Street, or for FD, Manhattan Box 1460. When it comes to real time updates, we get them, but with a slight delay. With the abundance of cell phones, the point being brought up about the Bronx River is at least a once daily occurence. Here's the one shining point about FDNY Starfire CAD, for all its drawbacks, (Speed, age, lack of suitable interagency interfaces) It's one of, if not in the top three best systems out there. Simply because it has stood the test of time.

Forgot to add, please keep in mind that as it was explained to me, the computer dispatch systems that EMS and PD have, they cannot put in certain locations by using a landmark name. And oftentimes, they put in a location that is unverified and force into CAD. We can put in most intersections and get a box number, or landmark names and get one as well. Any EMS or PD member on this board probably knows this, especially when it comes to the bridges, tunnels and certain landmarks. I could give examples till I'm blue in the face, so I'll give you two big ones. 99 Cross Bronx Expressway= the George Washington Bridge (Manhattan Box 8490) Hutchinson River Parkway and Senger Place=The Bronx side of the Whitestone. (Bronx Box 8995 for the Hutch, Bronx Box 8950 for the Bronx side of the bridge past the toll booths)

Interesting read. Brings a whole new meaning to things going up in smoke. Wonder if they mean by searching the walls, they mean using a thermal imager, Or, was this stuff in plain view?? Brings up some legal questions, I would think.