Anthony Tester

MTA - New York City Transit is currently hiring a Fire Safety Specialist for our Fire Detection Division. Strong background in Fire Detection, Codes, Plan Review, etc. Excellent opportunity, pay, retirement, and benefits. This posting closes in 2 weeks, so if you are interested and think you meet the qualifications, please apply. Go to: http://www.mta.info/mta/employment/ Click on New York City Transit. The job posting is under System Safety Specialist. if you have questions, e mail me at: anthony.tester@nyct.com

I think LTPRG laid down the rules to follow if one was to create an "alternate playbook" (or any fireground playbook for that matter) in regards to reduced manpower situations. He gave you the basic rules. You do want you have to do as the situation warrants and expand on that. I am sure there are many here you can tell you story after story of what they had to do with little or no manpower. Why? Because they had to. Minimum staffing levels are just that, the minimum amount of personnel it takes to perform a task, safely. To start thinking about alternative practices because someone is looking to cut the budget, reduce manpower, etc., is ridiculous (to me anyway). Instead of progress, we regress? There is nothing guaranteed on the fireground. There are constantly split second decisions that have to be made. Risk versus benefit and working with what you have, safely, so that everyone goes home. We have the minimum standards that we follow. And they are just that, minimum.

Here was the reasoning in NYC: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/16/nyregion/city-is-ordered-to-keep-emergency-help-boxes.html?_r=1

Get some pre hung doors donated along with some 2 x 4's and of course, locks. Or, make a steel frame with the strike section of the lock out of wood (so you can replace the wood and the strikes). A simulator can get old after awhile. Change it up try different locks and combination's on different types of doors. For through the lock forcible entry drilling. you just need the doors and not the frames or hinges. You can also use 2 x 6's or larger and set up a mock up like a door. Be creative and have fun.

Good eye. That is why I posted the color photos (for a little perspective). Nice to see the scene from a different angle.

Knickerbocker Avenue & Bleeker Street, July 18, 1977. If you search around the web, there are some great shots of this fire. I believe this went to 10 alarms.

NYCT uses specially built train snow throwers and turbine powered snow blowers. Very effective, but the high winds (and probably the rate the snow came down) caused some serious issues throughout. Below are some pictures of some of the equipment.

Go on E-bay. There are a few Yonkers FD on there.

I hope this is the case. Maybe things can move forward in the County after this debacle.

Its sad all the way around. The fire victims, the fire setters family, the department, and the entire fire service. There are many factors that propel a person to do this heinous act. Know the signs and be aware. If there is anyone or anything that does not appear "just right", talk to an officer. It happens and has happened throughout the County over the years. If you have ever gone through it in your own department, it is devastating. It goes against everything we stand for, yet sometimes these people are standing right beside you. Glad to see justice was served. Be Safe.

For those of you who think that the training is minimal, you better think again. In your free time pick up NFPA 921 (or if you really want to be on up to date, the new edition should be out anytime now). I encourage you to read and comprehend the entire document. When you have completely absorbed all of it, pick up NFPA 1033. And when you have understood Daubert and Gate keeping, by all means do not stop there... Fire Investigation HAS NEVER been so comprehensive and scientific than it is right now. If you think a fire chief is going to stroll into court, state the facts, and not be shredded on the stand, it is not just going to happen.Cases are now being overturned because of "junk science". Look up the Todd Willingham case if you really want an eye opener. I have been doing this as a career for the last several years and it has become such a specialized field it almost to the point you have to be an engineer in the particular case you are working on. Most investigators now have so many letters and advanced degrees after their names its almost funny. Support the Dutchess County FID. They as a team serve a very important function for the county, and they do it without getting paid. If you do not realize their importance now, maybe you will when the DA cannot get a conviction because he / she does not have the resources.

Do everything possible to help the Brothers in Newburgh. Their backs are against the wall and literally, are in dire straits. The statistics do not lie. Talk to anyone who is over there. I have, and its a very dangerous situation (for everyone) that is on the table. Hang in there guys, you have our support !

Sadness, the feeling I get every time I read about a brother who passes. Line of duty deaths strike a nerve unlike any other, emotions run wild, and well my heart hangs heavy. If in this day in age you, your department , your town, village, city, etc., are not following what the Department of Labor says, OSHA, NFPA, NYS Building and Fire Codes, OFPC, Nationally Acceptable Practices, NIMS, etc., then please quit the fire service NOW. I do not know all the facts of the Tarrytown FD and cannot comment on this incident, but I would sure hope they have followed all of these guidelines and any other applicable guideline(s). If you really think it cannot happen in your department, you are sadly mistaken. My sincere Condolences to the Tarrytown Fire Department and to the friends and families of these two brothers.

LOL... East 28th between Z and Voorhies...between the two of us we probably know the entire neighborhood. Shoot me an e-mail: anthony.tester@yahoo.com Small world!

I rode my bike to the scene after hearing it on the scanner, I was 9 at the time (there is a picture out there with me and my dad online). I had never seen anything like it. Ocean Avenue was filled with apparatus, hoses were everywhere, ambulances, police cars, etc, lined the side streets. I remember standing next to someone who went to our Church (St.Marks) watching the fire when all hell broke loose. IT was just chaos. My Dad told me there where guys that fell through the roof and he was going to assist (he was an EMT at the time). I remember the exterior wall on the Avenue Y side that they breached, it was awful when they pulled those guys out. There were so many of us who knew someone or was related to someone. Everyone from the neighborhood was there lending a hand. A very surreal moment indeed.

Expect the unexpected, have it on. I never had a problem driving any apparatus with a coat on (although I preferred not to in the warmer months) and always had bunker pants on. Whether your a fully staffed career, a partially staffed career, or a volunteer, it does not matter. You never know what you might encounter when you first roll up. Are you willing to sit there and have to explain to a jury why you were not prepared when you arrived on the scene? Well you see your honor, I had to take off my sneakers, and my pants (because my bunkers do not fit when they are on), then my boot fell out of my bunkers, and yes this did delay things, but only for a few minutes... Yeah its extreme but you know what? I would rather pull up prepared for anything than not prepared at all.

Honestly, it is sickening. There should be swift action taken, but when politics and religion are involved, thats when it becomes complicated. You would think in this day and age, locked exits would be something we only read about in books. Hopefullly in this instance, the school does the right thing, and the code officials do the right thing.

Tabletops are a great start. It really does assist with identifying those "initial" areas where agencies are weak in. There has to be lessons learned from the tabletop or else all that work goes out the window. Sometimes it is easier said than done, not everyone is willing to accept an area where there may be an issue. There are going to be "helmets" that butt heads and there are going to be those who refuse to change their way of operating or even take a step back and take a look on how they are operating. Its the nature of what we do. At some point the better will prevail and you move on from there. We did a tabletop a few years ago (post 9-11) and during the exercise it was quickly realized the FD needed assistance early on, a no brainer you would think, but it was complicated process cutting through red tape. People do not always think the way we do and sometimes you really have to drive it home. We wound up having to create a hazmat team with a 100 members on top of specfically trained individuals whose expertise is with the train cars themselves. They work along ESU and FD when a car has to be lifted or moved. Alot of the track cart ideas came out of this and London was already using them. Initially the first carts where non motorized. This presented a huge problem ,there are inclines and declines, major ones. The carts where great for short distances but that was about it. The track carts now are motorized with an improved design. Stay with it, eventually it will all fall into place.

Well lets see, there was one in Mount Vernon (2009), one in Yonkers (2008)....It is definitely not limited. Maybe your departments involvement has been limited, but not the training. Like I stated earlier, there is always training going on.

Not too sure where you have been, but you are way off here. Metro North does drills all the time, in NY and CT. They have always been more than willing to help.

I could not help but chime in. After 7 years of being involved in all the Subway Drills and handling the Fire end of things, I had to comment. From my experience, go to the Drills and treat it as it is the real deal. You are going to have to work with all of the agencies involved, and if you have never had the pleasure, it is not going to be easy. A UNIFIED command post has to be to set up from the get go. And those IC's have to stay there. Representatives from each agency have to be there. Oh, and they probably are not going to be there as fast as you like, so you better have some contact numbers. Pre-plan information is really going to come into play here, hopefully someone has that information, especially if you are underground. If not, things are looking up for you. Hopefully, besides getting traction power off, train traffic stopped, and some of the immediate hazards identified, you better hope its not a rush hour train packed with passengers. You will need a calculator at this point to calculate how many passengers are on each train car then times that by how many train cars you have. Oh, and some train cars are longer than others and therefore can hold more passengers. But you have attended the Drills and already have been able to identify what kind of train cars you are dealing with. All the agencies share the same frequencies and can immediately go to those channels, right? You have tried out your radios in different areas to make sure they are in range, correct? There are going to be dead spots and hopefully you have learned to relay radio to radio, and get the information back to the Unified command post. Are you sure you are only dealing with the train involved? Or are there multiple trains involved. An incident I had a few years ago involved 3 trains. One agency was operating at one train, another on an additional train, and a third that had to reverse itself to get away from the fire. One agency had no idea that there were other trains involved. Hundreds of people were injured, thankfully not to seriously. This incident was outdoors AND underground. Enough with the war stories.... The acts of terrorism has crossed your mind and you have thought about primary and secondary devices, chemical and biological devices, right? You have a MAJOR MCI plan, you ARE going to need it. Its going to be a very hectic incident, hopefully you and your other departments have been working together as well as the other agencies and have all learned to place nice in the sandbox. I have been to every major incident down here for the last several years and have had the fortune to work with representatives from so many agencies. Utilize them and work together with them now, because when it happens, there is no time to work the kinks out. Just my few cents worth. Be Safe and don't be afraid to reach out to Spanky, Gerardi, or myself.

I will chime in, briefly... Relocating with qualified personnel is part of a bigger problem, lack of volunteers who are around. We have all seen it. I remember a time when you went to PFD, FFD, or AFD, it was a rig packed with qualified people. Whats changed? Our lives, drastically. How many Fire Departments have changed along with it? How many fire departements refuse to change? How many fire departments are being proactive and trying every avenue? And lastly, how many departments are in complete denial and cannot even see that they have a problem? As far as NFPA goes, even here in the City, it was adopted. It has taken many years to go from a guideline to a standard. They come to light when something goes terribly wrong (as we saw in the Lairdsville incident). As an investigator, you cannot even testify unless you are practicing and are fluent in NFPA 921, and you better know it from front to back, the opposing side will grill you on it. Its always when something happens, the codes come into play, as they should. Is it hard to follow all the codes all the time? You bet. Departments have been rolling the dice for years. I think it would really have to be a substantial amount of neglicence before it would go in front of the courts. So the interim, if a department is going to relocated to a neigboring department it should (as Jeff said) be worked out between the departments.

Taylor Avenue was chaotic to say the very least. First engine in with people trapped, jumping out of windows, and 500 gallons of water for an attack (oh and frozen hydrants). CC 15 called for 10 tankers, LDH up the streets from what seemed like every direction, and brutally cold. A tanker shuttle was set up with porta-tanks. It was a very long day with multiple fatalities. Exposures were a major problem as the houses were so close together. Was on the cover of I believe firehouse magazine and in the papers for weeks. The Morey fire was such a terrible tragedy. Enough said there. Sedgwick (Spelling) Machine was a good one, (2000?) there was 4 or 5 base pumpers (by the love / effron tanks) drafting out of the hudson feeding LDH and deck guns everywhere. There are alot of fires that can make this list.

Interesting. After reading this, I was persuaded to do a little research myself. There was a huge Playhouse in Hyde Park that had burned a few years prior to me joining the Fire Service. I read this article, briefly. It does not appear that that the owner mentioned in the other Playhouse fires owned this one. Interesting though. http://www.chronogram.com/issue/2008/6/Community+Notebook/A-Curtain-Call-for-the-Hyde-Park-Playhouse?page=1 This fire spread quick due to the buildings construction and close proximity to each other. Remnants of the infamous "missing tower bell" are still around, lurking in the shadows of an untold firehouse.

It is bad enough some departments are running with below minimum staffing levels, but the thought of laying firefighters off is sickening. Support the City of Beacon Brothers in their battle.