x242Steve

Agreed! It is an unfortunate truth, but on too many job sites a majority of the laborers who "hammer the final nail", so to speak, have absolutely no clue about basic concepts like point loading, shear, fire stops, etc... I have seen it all too many times in my capacities as a carpenter and as a firefighter. Management is only worried about the bottom line, and so they hire cheap labor, forgetting that many steps in the building process are ultimately critical to life safety. Again, this is not true of every job site. Its the usual story, someone has to get hurt or killed before changes are made... Sounds like a training issue that has been discussed on this site many times... and it translates from one profession to the next.

...but what does this mean for ??

...maybe by the company that your department uses to service their pagers? Just a thought.

Not necessarily... Westchester County offers this exam whether they have an immediate need for dispatchers or not. The test has been given every October for the last few years. So if you are on the list from the October 2005 exam and you still want to work for WCPD or 60-Control, it is in your best interest to take the 2006 exam because the list from the 2005 exam will expire once they populate a new list from the 2006 exam... ...did I make that as confusing as I think I did? Basically: If you want the job, take the exam. Again, and again, and again...

Dino- If they haven't changed the test since I took it in '04... You are better off spelling as many words correctly as you can even if you leave off the last few words in a phrase, rather than trying to complete each phrase and having typo's. Best of luck to all!

Congrats! Is this the first wedding of two EMTBravo members?

Not to get off the ToR E64 topic, but... I personally like the Turquoise (that's what the Captain in charge of the fleet calls them) cars because they stand out more in a crowd... the new ones aren't as easy to see in your rearview mirror, between the black color and the low-profile LED lightbars. More and more of the new Black and Whites are going into service, however (as well as more officers being trained on the MDT's that are installed in them). ...and speaking of MDT's, all of the SFRD apparatus now have them, as well as most of the first-due machines in Glenbrook, Belltown, Springdale and Turn-of-River

On behalf of the Poningoe Hook and Ladder Company of the Rye Fire Dept, I share with you our deep sadness as we announce the passing of Ex-Chief George Ballantoni. From the Journal News, July 31, 2006... George Washington Ballantoni, Sr., a longtime resident of Rye, passed away Saturday, July 29, 2006. He was born February 22, 1939 to Vincent George and Isabel Kunrod Ballantoni. Mr. Ballantoni married Marie Angela Colaluca on September 4, 1960 at Corpus Christi Church in Port Chester. Mr. Ballantoni was the co-owner and operator of Jay Dee Market Inc., in Rye, NY for 35 years. He was a proud and active member of the Rye Fire Department for over 30 years and served as Fire Chief from 1988 to 1994, and Chairman of the Buildings Committee from 1997 to 2000. He was the devoted father to his three children: Vincent George Ballantoni of Clearwater, FL; Laurie Ann Platek of Rye, NY; and George Washington Ballantoni, Jr., of Rye Brook, NY. He was the wonderful grandfather to Amanda, Caroline and Robert Platek; Lauren and Vincent Ballantoni; and Charlotte Ballantoni. He was the loving brother to Vincent Ballantoni of Rye, NY and Adelaide Ballantoni DeCrescenzo of Rye Brook, NY. Mr. Ballantoni was sadly predeceased by his wife Marie on October 19, 2005. Calling hours are 6 PM to 9 PM on Tuesday, August 1, 2006 at Graham Funeral Home in Rye, NY. The Funeral will be held on Wednesday, August 2, 2006 at 11 AM at the Church of the Resurrection in Rye, NY. In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of George Washington Ballantoni Sr. are greatly appreciated to: The Rye Volunteer Firefighters, Inc., PO Box 1, Rye, NY 10580. GRAHAM FUNERAL HOME 1036 Boston Post Rd. Rye (914) 967-0129

They probably say "Tee El Eight"... However you want your identifiers to be transmitted, it needs to be written in a SOG For example, Stamford uses "Truck" instead of "Ladder" (Truck One, Truck Forty-Five, Truck Sixty-Seven...) and there is generally no deviation from this. Westchester has clearly defined classifications on the DES website, and that's probably how 60-Control wants you to go over... I think Plain English is, as 636 would say, "Very Good"

If you drive by Rye Fire HQ, which is under construction, you will notice that the right (West) side of the building has grown considerably... This structure will house the new elevator, among other rooms.

beat me to it! also, I was in Beantown over the weekend and the Boston University PD has very similar new design (with fancy wheel covers)... http://www.bu.edu/police/graphics/slide_01.jpg

Today I officially lost all faith in my fellow motorists. I had multiple PD units baby-sitting intersections for the entire 8-hour shift, due to a power outage in the West Side/Woodside area of town. "Why weren't there temporary stop signs?", you ask. Oh, they were there! I saw them myself at 0630 and at 1515 as I went to and from work. What wasn't there was anyone's common sense! If you are approaching a traffic signal that is OUT, don't you think you should stop to see who is coming in the other 2 or 3 directions?

The real question is... Will it be on a commercial or custom chassis?

I am curious to know how many departments in Westchester have implemented the county-provided fireground radios? I know Rye was assigned Channel 3 and has put the portables in most of the rigs... 46.26 (or other main frequencies) being used as fireground frequencies is a major problem. If two neighboring departments are simultaneously operating at separate incidents and a Mayday is given over a shared frequency, then there could be serious confusion as to who/where is in trouble. To quote RWC130: "Use alternate channels, It may save a life!"

City of Rye, 16 Mayfield Street, 6/15/04 http://emtbravo.net/index.php?showtopic=1213 http://www.emtbravo.com/News/June04/061504.html

Anyone have the marching order of the Parade?

There's a burger joint a few doors down from the Trumbull Center Firehouse (in Trumbull, CT) that has a Kobe beef burger for around $30... There's just something about eating meat from an animal that was fed beer and given massages... Sounds like a nice lifestyle!

At Stamford, the four 911/Phone consoles and three Police/Radio consoles have no internet connection, since they are connected to the COLLECT/NCIC mainframe and I believe the FBI forbids these terminals to have any gateway into the worldwide web. The Fire dispatcher and Fire supervisor have separate Non-CAD computers that can access the SFRD Intranet, and also the Web. There is also a separate internet-only terminal for all dispatchers/calltakers to use for online classes and it also comes in handy for online directory assistance. I personally do not do anything personal or e-commerce related at work, even if its a very slow day, simply because I know that our CAD Administrator and the city IT people can track all of that info. You may occasionally catch me "online" on EMTBravo while I am doing Fire... however I do not post real-time incidents that I am dispatching. I feel that it is better to wait until after your shift so you can clear your mind and ask yourself "What information am I privy to that should NOT be included in an IA?"

Congrats from the rookies over at Stamford 911

Stamford 6-Alarm, Canal Street 4/3/06 (As seen from a "secure location" in Stamford) This pic shows why we got calls asking "Is UBS on fire?"

Brooklyn.... NOT a joke Anyone wanna take over my lease?

Stamford had a tree on fire this afternoon, on Houston Terrace... Engine 4 responded... possibly started by a flicked cigarette...

Rye Ladder 25 2001 Seagrave 100' Rearmount Lo-Pro OAH: 10'-0" This is largely due to low bridge heights at some key locations (Metro North bridges at Locust Ave and Purchase St)

I think "No Siren" rules often have to do with pleasing the taxpayers who live along the parade route...

Rye's Population: Around 15,000 Firehouses: 2 Elementary Schools: 3 "Mom and Pop" Hardware Stores: 0 Banks: 10