pv102

I agree wholeheartedly with you Seth I dropped my direct connect and went with Sprint about 2 years ago now and for the first year it was great but I've regretted it ever since. In fact when my contract is up in January I'm going back to the Nextel side, so I can have my direct connect back!!

There are three downsides as I can see them. 1) Cost, hybrid suv's aren't exactly cheap. But the flip side to that is the bottom of the line hybrid is still pretty close in price to the top of the line trucks that some of these departments are buying. Although if they were to go a toyota prius the price on those isn't too bad. 2) Untested technology, some departments have a replacement cycle for their vehicle that takes the vehicle into a length of service thats untested. Also the type of driving is rough with long periods of idling with high draws on the electrical system from all the equipment and lights running. I'm not sure but I believe that you cannot add an alternator to a hybrid the way you could put one on a normal ICE. 3) Warranty, these vehicles tend to have very strict warranties which you do not want to void because I know of several mechanics that refuse to work on these vehicles for lack of knowledge. Which means the dealer is just about the only place to get these vehicles fixed, it also however is the best place to get them fixed because they have been trained by and can call on the designers of the vehicle to fix any problems that might arise. on another note I'd like to say that I'm not against hybrid vehicles in emergency services, I'm actually one hundred percent for it but I just don't think the current hybrids will fit the bill. As of right now the way I see it is that in order to use these vehicle with all the equipment that we need and want in them everything would need to be done in the factory. All the electrical components (i.e. radios, lights, chargers, laptops, ect.) would need voltage and amperage converters, which the factory would need to install. The last thing would be how would the complex electrical system function with all this additional draw of power, would it cause the ICE to run all the time and if thats the case then you have just spent alot of money for nothing. Again folks just my 2 cents but thanks for your time anyway. This is something to look for in the future, I'm interested to see how this could pan out Thanks alot, Pete

To answer most of the questions and I' m sure that someone else can back me up on this. My understanding was if the agency has a tax bracket, meaning it is paid for and controlled by the town,city, or village it cannot bill. But most VAC's and all private agencies are corporations contracted to the town, city, or village to provide a service. So they recive a fee thats paid for by the taxes but the service provided is dictated by the mutually signed contract not by the town, therefore the agency only has to answer to town on items agreed upon in the contract. From what I understand New York has a law that says an agency with a tax bracket cannot bill, but one that has a contract can there are I believe rules dictating billing maximums but I could be wrong. Other than that it is up to the agency to decide on billing policies and procedures although most contracts provide stipulations as to billing. Now as to soft billing it does exist and my VAC uses it. Most places however refer to it as relaxed 3rd party billing which means 1 another company bills for the agency and 2 the agency accepts what insurance pays and will send out notices for the rest but wont actively purse them if not paid. But you should foward them to your insurance company just to CYA. thanks all ( all information provided herein in is known to be true to my knowledge and should be verified by the billing representitive of the agency requesting payment before following any advice, direction, or other statments made in this post) Sorry guys like I said CYA ,Pete

Truck 4 excellent job, I have no idea where you find the time to do all that you do. Just wanted give my thanks and show some love fo Truck 4

ill take 66 if you've still got it

As an answer to your last question it is possible, but Im not really sure how you would go about doing so. I know Mahopac High School has been offering an EMT course for at least 5 years. The brochure's, open houses, membership drives, and youth corps are all good places to start, but if the rest of your department doesn't recognize the need none of these things will work. You cant do it all yourself.

To Matt's family and to Jenn my deepest sympathies for your loss, Matt was a great person with a huge heart and he always had a smile on his face. Matt made the family that I was once a part of and still feel a strong connection at Empire a better place just by being there. Matt was one of the best EMTs and Firefighters this world has ever known. Rest in Peace Brother, You will be sorely missed. "The soul of man is immortal and imperishable." - Plato, The Republic. Matt, we all know that everytime the tones drop or that radio keys up and we go running off to the next big one you'll be there right by our side or the next time one of your brother firefighters becomes lost in a smoke filled room the light from your immortal soul will be there to guide him out safely. Matt love you bro and I'll never forget you, Pete

There is a program for a tactical medic, it is not however a state certification level, it's only a program certificate. The title Medic does not denote ALS necessarially it is a term for the medical personell on a tactical team so it can be an EMT-B. I was looking into taking the class awhile back but decided not too on the advice of a freind who took the class and said it wasn't worth it. I'm pretty sure there are a couple people on this fourm who have taken the class and can fill you in further. But in the meantime you can check out this web site which will probably answer most of your questions. New York Tactical EMS

Ok well I definately agree with the fact that the survivors probably didn't the anyone about their friends. But what I want to know is why does one article put the distance of the bodies at "about 60 feet" and the other one say "10 feet". This is starting to turn into another "News 12" story where instead of reporting the actual facts they are going to start shooting blame to make up some good news. Now why can't they tell it as it is a tragic accident where two young men lost there lives and let those men rest in peace, instead of smeared all over the headlines for weeks on end!

866 to precinct, send me a 35... hey listen my buddy tattoo' s so if your serious I' ll get you the name of the shop he works at and I'll even go with you when you get it. "P 35 what you know about that"

Well if I may, I believe everyone has some good ideas and we all know that something must be done because just ending this current system is about the worst thing that could happen to EMS here in putnam. I mean we are trying to increase the level of service, not decrease it. I think one of the best ideas came from paratrooper75, it would probably cost the least money as far as starting a countywide system which is where I believe the county is heading. But paratrooper75 is also right in saying finding deputies that would function in duel roles is going to be difficult. Although I think Paratrooper75 would have no problem filling both roles along with playing ERT Medic when needed.

congrats to you both, may you live a long happy life together, and we'll be waiting for the pics

Wow I definatly didn't see that one coming, I had to rewind the DVR to make sure I saw that right, well with an ending like that I'm gonna take a wild guess and say were in for a good season

hey, guys in case your interested the discovery channel just aired an episode of their show "How it's made" with a section on ambulances. They used the demers factory and showed how demers make their millenium series as well as some shots of other demers buses. P.S. having worked on demers ambulances I must say they are really pretty comfortable to work in and they handle pretty well. The lighting package isn't really that horrible either. Oh and when i say their comforable to work in I mean that everything is in reach and the switches don't confuse me, their still small as hell to work in and the cab ain't no grand canyon either.