ny10570

I've seen too many people just shake off a good blast of OC right between the eyes and keep on comming. I will never let anyone I work with bring something with them that would escalate a bad situation. If I'm in an apt, stair chair holds the door open, my back is to the door, and my partner and I are between the door and everyone in the room. You wanna act a fool, you can do so without me being there.

When you talk about a job requiring handlines to cover multiple exposures this usally means a a pretty significant fire. Thats alot of work for not alot of hands. I'd rather be able to cover each exposure with one man on a 21/2" with a smooth bore than two guys fighting a fog tip.

OK, so far we have a few pro food and acouple anti food. But I only have pro smooth bore. Most every truck I see out there and on alot of these forums people use automatics, tft's, and fog nozzles. Why?

Sorry, but I've got to drag this dead horse out here once again. I keep on seeing people go back and forth between what seems like smooth bore vs everyone else. Me, I'm in the smooth bore camp, so I'm trying to find out what it is that I am missing. Here's what I know... Flow - All things equal you will always get more water out of a smooth bore. It is a clear opening to the hose line. I have yet to see any other nozzle that can match the flow of a smooth bore given equal pump pressure. Reaction Pressure - Reaction pressure is generated by the friction of the water passing through the nozzel. In a smooth bore the friction is generated by the narrowing of the waterway. It is also this pressure that propels the water and gives the stream its reach. With an automatic there is significantly more reaction pressure due to the more complicated waterway. Pump pessure - When faced with a weak hydrant or a long stretch the 50 psi difference between smooth bore and automatics can go a long way. 180 gpm through 1 3/4" gets an extra 100'. Not bad for those of us out there that love our mile long cross lays out there. And for those with garbage hydrant pressure who can barely fill a hand line without collapsing the water mains, it also makes a difference. Reach - I always hear about how automatics and TFT's maintain a great stream with good penetration even at low pressure. But at low pressure you don't have the GPM to make a difference in the fire. I'll go as far to say that you are going to get into trouble and get hurt if you go into a fire without enough water. Heat absorption - Water puts fire out by removing heat and cooling the environment. The larger the surface area of the water being introduced into the area the more heat the water absorbs and the faster the environment is cooled. The smaller droplets from automatic nozzles absorb too much heat and convert to steam. This conversion does little to remove heat from the environment and will cause a thermal inversion. The large drops created by bouncing a solid stream off a ceiling are effective at absorbing heat and since they do not convert to steam; they can remove the heat without disrupting the thermal balance. Deploying - Now this is more subjective, but it is definitely easier to move a charged line with 50psi less pressure in it. The debate is over kinks in the line. Personally I would rather have a line I can operate effectively alone so that with two we can move it with little effort. Then you can send the third man to ensure there are no kinks. With the harder higher pressure line sure, you can handle it on your own, but how well can you advance it. With water flowing you're going to need three people and it is much harder. Maintenance - Unless you break the bail clean off you can do whatever you want to and flow what ever you want through a smooth bore. Debris can kill an automatic and you have to ensure they are properly adjusted. Versatility - The automatics and combination nozzles can flow straight streams, fog, and anything in between. In a fire you only want a straight stream. If you open up the fog you are going to kill a victim in the room and you're going to steam you and your crew. If you want to vent the room a partially cracked smooth bore can still do the job. I have even heard people say they want the fog so they can put up a curtain of water to protect themselves when things go bad. IT DOES NOT WORK. All it does is convert instantly to steam and cook you. Ask anyone who's been around 15 or 20 yrs about the water curtain device. They were suppose to protect exposures. They are gone for a reason. If you’re still reading, thanks for putting up with this. I look forward to your replies.

There is an effort by some right now to increase the abilities of CFR to the level of EMT-B and make EMT-B the level of EMT-CC(I). This would go a long way towards freeing up ALS from alot of calls and allow alot more people to recieve effective pre-hopsital care. But I think this is technically called a pipe-dream.

Outside of a very few communities the answer is no. I usually don't agree with you, but I completely agree with you. This is an area of our job that requires alot of skill and practice, not more toys. In fact the dpets I've seen extricate best don't have all of the toys. They are simple and well practiced operations. Many dept's I see are out there buying all this stuff for the big job that they haven't had yet but could happen. You absolutely must be prepared for the worst case senario, the extreme 1%; but first lets get good at the 99%. What good are all the airbags, support systems, and heavy lift tools in the world if you can't pop the door, remove the roof, and roll the dash fast enough to get the patient to the ER within that golden hour?

Currently in NY there are a few state fueling stations that carry flex fuel. There are none at this time available for public use in the tri-state area. As for saving money with flex fuel that is unlikely. You wind up trading fuel efficieny for economy. As NY's ethanol production grows there flex fuel will begin to appear.

For most medical emergencies what can you do for the pt by arriving in your POV. Assuming you have your own equipment, unless its an arrest or an injury what can you do for the person? Now if you have an emergency that you can make a difference with who's to say while you were driving down the street you weren't flagged down when they saw you driving by.

Babysitting wires down calls is something I really only see in the volley end of the service. If the wires are down and apear to be dead, tape it off mark it and go home. If they're live and pose an active threat to life or property then you have to stay. I have no problem giving up my time to serve my community, but there's a limit.

Thats my point. Nothing, not even an aluminized heat suite will protect you from everything. But the full encapsulation that bunkers provide will get you alot further than 3/4's and full length coats. Flashover is the perfect example because thats where the difference is absolute. In any other situation depending on how bad it is you cna survive without bunkers. If you flashover without bunkes you will not survive. In bunkers right next to the exit you've got a chance.

Those crews are f-ed and they deserve what they get. I know a tech who got restricted big time for taking a frequent flyer intox home instead of to the ER.

The biggest reason we should all be advocating bunkers over 3/4's is those worst case senarios. For once this isn't about the once in a thousand year incidents, but the bad sh!t that happens every yeaar. I think everyone has seen the phoneix FF who when trying escape a deteriorating roof stepped over the peek and fell right through. He climbed back out and escaped with minor burns. There's the FF that was discussed so heavily on here that was enveloped in a fireball when he opend the door on a grain processing facility. We also have the half dozen ff's who went through the floor in the Bronx back in August. How many would have made it without the increased protection? On you're average fire maybe a rubber coat, canvas pants, work boots and you face in the floor might work. When the room flashes, you lose the hallway, or your water supply fails, you're gonna want the full protection of bunker gear.

Date: 10/27/06 Time: 0400 Location: Bronx Frequency: Live from Jacobi Units Operating: Description Of Incident: Suspect reversed vehicle durring attempted arrest, pinning 1 officer behing vehicle. Second officer fired several shots into the vehicle striking suspect once in the face. Both suspect and officer are in stable condition. Writer: NY10570

We have to be watchful of the behavior of our brothers sometimes. You get a guy who keeps showing up first due for all the burning vacants, but can barely make last rig for everything else you've gotta ask why. Nearly half of all arsonist are or were firefighters.

No offense, but unless you guys have this stuff written down someswhere I'm a little nervous quite frankly. The details with which you guys recall is frightening.

CAn't keep anti-venom on hand, but Jacobi is the regional snakebite center. Thanks to the Bronx zoo they have a very impressive collection of anti-venoms.

and sometimes you just can't avoid a hospital on diversion when either the patient insists or there are just too many hospitals on diversion.

What kind of flow do you get from the TFT at low pressure?

Thanks for all the info guys. You've been immensely helpful. 50% isn't as bad as it seems. On paper, I'll take home about 85 to 90% of what my takehome is now. Remmeber, your pension contributions, taxes, and other deductions disapear once you start collecting your pension.

Anyone know where that photo was printed so we can stop speculating and get an actual answer?

Simmilar to what the fire side wears. EMS gear has flash, BBP and chemical splash protection. Its a simmilar shell with a BBP and chamical splash lining. The biggest difference is the EMS gear doesn't have the thermal protection Fire does.

Anyone know (not just speculate) about how much it would cost per year for health and pension benefits for a FF in Westchester. Looking for costs to the municipality not the individual. Thanks in advance for the help.

There are several depts that do some type of pay per call. I know for a fact there are several in Massachusets that do. The money is suppose to help offset some of the expenses incurred by members of the dept durring the fullfilment of their duties including time away from work. Its not nearly as much, but it helps.

Alot of people have mentoned driver confussion as a problem. When you hammer on the air horn and keep your siren cranked people have a much harder time determining your direction of approach. You have to modulate your siren and break up the horn blasts. The ear picks up subtle changes in the sounds that allow you to figure out which direction the sound is comming from. When the sound stays constant its much harder to pick up any changes.

I've had planty of people see me comming, stare me down and just give me the big f - you as they casually stroll across the intersection that ic ame up on lights and sirens blarring. Too bad there nothing you can do. in thislittle fight, they;ve won. Let your siren spn down give them an "I know you know what your doing" honk and wait for them to clear. By wailling on teh horn or siren you just look like an a**.