Quickness

Unfair to characterize all the officers of PCFD. Many were kept in the dark about this.

Lighten up. It's funny.

Lighten up. It's funny.

It was only for an EDP, not a medical emergency. That can wait shouldn't be going by ambulance anyway.
And the title shouldn't read Sleepy Hollow refusing mutual aid if it was only one call and they didn't refuse anything.

Relax. He's not going to get cancer or anything else from a few whiffs.

Relax. He's not going to get cancer or anything else from a few whiffs.

Date: 12-6-15
Time: 18:12hrs
Location: 466 Castle St C/S Rossmore Ave & Marquand Ave
District: Yonkers (Squad 11's First Due)
Units: (On the Initial Assignment) Squad 11, Engine 313, Engine 312, Engine 307, Ladder 73, Ladder 75, Rescue 1, Battalion 2 (I/C)
(On the 10-30) Engine 310, Ladder 70 (FAST), Battalion 1 (Safety), Mask Service Unit
Yonkers PD, Empress EMS

Description: Fire in a 3 story "stone castle" type structure (See this link for photo)

18:14 Yonkers Fire Dispatch advising initial caller saw fire from Bronxville Rd and did not have confirmed address, second caller on the line advising her house is on fire and she has self evacuated

18:15 Engine 313 on scene with fire showing from the stone castle portion

18:20 Battalion 2 transmitting 10-30 (Fill out the assignment)

18:26 Battalion 2 reporting 3 story stone dwelling with no exposures, chimmney fire with extension into structure, main body of fire knocked down, holding all units
18:47 Battalion 2 reporting fire knocked down, companies overhauling
19:11 Battalion 2 reporting all units picking up
18:12 Rescue 1 10-8 (in service)
19:54 Battalion 2 10-18 (return all companies but 1)
20:09 Battalion 2 All units back in service


**Please PM me with any updates or corrections**

Date: 12/07/15
Time: 0900hrs
Location: 1214 River Rd. c/s Silver Spring Rd.
District: New Windsor
Units: NWFD, Vails Gate (E481, T482, T484), City of Newburgh (1&1), West Point (FAST), 36-13, NWEMS, NWPD
Stand-By Companies: Good-Will (Engine) @ NWFD/Conomer Valley (Engine) & Middlehope (Truck) @ City of Newburgh Public Safety Building.
Description: Working fire in a 2-story brick OMD
0900hrs-New Windsor dispatched for the possible structure fire, caller reports smoke from a 2nd floor window.
2nd alarm on arrival (some companies were AMA upon dispatch).
Companies made an aggressive interior attack, making quick work of the fire.
Fire was placed under control by the 30 minute status check.
Link to News12;
http://westchester.news12.com/news/two-families-homeless-after-new-windsor-fire-1.11205022

There seems to be a ribbon of young guys who demand respect before earning it. They don't give a crap about the older guys or their insight. A good leader needs to be built off those that came before them. I never went to college but have had extensive training in my profession since getting hired. I recently had a newly promoted officer tell me that he deserved it because he went to college to better himself while others didn't.

I've participated in two tactical simulations for promotions in departments other than my own. One was to hire a career Fire Chief and the other for a lieutenants promotion process in a career FD. The aspect I thought was missing, that is a real factor, is the urgency of the situation. Candidates are very calm, collected and methodical in the simulation, almost algorithmic, whereas we know some people who are challenged on the fireground when faced with some many factors all at once. That being said, I like this better than not having any evaluation of practical tactical applications.
One of the factors we use to evaluate leadership potential in firefighters is their ability to teach others. A hallmark of nearly every decent officer I've worked for or with, was their ability to pass on knowledge. Some don't have it, and that is generally reflected in how tight their crew is. Some crews have a few bright individuals that "get it", but others that don't, but where the officers are good, the baseline of the whole crew is raised.

What should be ended in New York is the cherry picking that goes on with the one out of the top three law. If a man writes the mark has a good fitness rating he should be awarded the promotion on a 6 month provisional basis. If he does well the job is his and the politics are taken out

While both written testing and seniority are good barometers to use for promotions, I think there is a third leg to the triangle that is often overlooked, and that is an actual ability to lead. The senior man may be the most experienced and know his way around the fireground and the good test taker the most knowledgeable with a wall full of certifications but that doesn't mean either can actually lead others. Remember too that much of what officers do takes place off the fireground, especially the higher up the chain one moves. Keeping a crew or shift or department working smoothly with the myriad of personalities, pressures and administrative demands in play is no easy task, and it's been my experience that some who are promoted just aren't up to it. Personally, although probably impractical, I would like to see some form of practical testing used to gauge a candidates all around leadership skill, on and off the fireground, coupled with the written and seniority criteria.

I would like to see a system that takes all of this into consideration. I have no problem with tests, but I think seniority should count. Certifications are not the be all and end all of a good firefighter or officer, but they are the best industry standard we have right now. So if you had a test, and then after passing points were added for certifications and seniority, that would seem fair to me. A senior man would have an edge, so would an educated man. a senior & educated man would be neqarly unbeatable, unless he had retained nothing and scored low on the initial test.

I like a testing system that allows experience to show through but doesn't hurt an eager firefighters motivation. In as small FD like ours, this can easily be done, I'm sure it's not as easy for large metro departments to conduct a promotions process that's on the up and up, but allows for verification of a firefighters skills and abilities. I know of decent sized career FD's that stripped away so much of the experience and officer's input that the smart kids promote every time. Then there's the Detroit method: all seniority. I cannot see a no testing promotion fairly gauging one's abilities. I've seen years on the job and training certs do not equal the best candidate.

http://uniformstories.com/articles/opinion-category/why-seniority-should-be-the-major-player-in-fire-department-promotions

I could see this being a thing that would work well in SOME situations/agencies, like utilities. It's really no different then having a fire extinguisher on board.
Very well written article for a civilian and a very good perspective by the agency(s) involved.
ARTICLE: http://wcfcourier.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/cedar-falls-gets-foamy-firefighting-equipment/article_d7a3d334-449c-5b68-978b-a050de992a3b.html

Definitely an interesting concept.

Too much equipment could allow some inexperienced persons to lose sight of the big picture and become directly involved at the task level. Much like having booster reels, if it's there it can be misused where strict guidelines are not routinely followed. When the IC gets directly involved at the task level, other things get missed. And if you had it on board and did not deploy it, it could bite you. Anyone remember Dallas FD not maintaining the pumps on their quints yeas ago? Having equipment and failing to use it can become a legal nightmare when people are looking to pint the finger of blame, which is sadly becoming ever-more-present in public service.

Yonkers FD just announced over the air that a Signal 51 is in effect for today. My Google search shows "AFI Cancelled" but what does that mean?

I know some of you will think this is wrong and dangerous, but I am an animal lover and think what this fire company did is take a calculated risk to be humane to a suffering bird. They did a great job and got some good PR in the process.

If they deleted your name even at your own request, you'd probably cry about how they "banned" you. Easier solution. Log out and don't come back.

Then why did you return? Are you seeking some kind of validation through your grammatically inferior posts? For someone that espouses freedom, you have the freedom to leave at any time. Why in the world would you spend so much time on a forum that you despise? It's beyond illogical. You must have something else to do with your time. Take up a new hobby. Why do you need anyone to delete your old posts? You are actively adding new posts to a forum you want nothing to do with.