gamewell45

If your unhappy with the leadership of the IAFF, then you should vote to remove them next time you have elections in the union for officers.

Amazingly, the IAFF has shown, once again, poor judgement. How many of its members will now apply for CORE membership due to this onerous resolution. I honestly wonder how much thought they gave to the possible negative ramifications it might cause before passing it. For those of you who are non-union, New York is an Agency Fee Payer State, which means they can't compell you to be a member of a labor union as a condition of employment; rather you pay a fee that would be equal to what your union dues would be and this satisfies your obligation. Many of these so-called union Brothers & Sisters, are the same people who undercut the housing trades unions when they work non-union off the job thus taking money out of the pockets of Trades Union Members. They are the same ones who do their shopping at Wal Mart which has the distinction of being classified as one of the most anti-worker/anti-union outfits in the United States. Not surprisingly, many unionists view both the IAFF and PBA as a bunch of opportunists, who only become "union" when its contract time or impending cuts in service/layoffs. If the IAFF and their affiliates are smart, they'll repeal this ridiculous resolution from their constitution/bylaws/policies. Trying to dictate to people what to do in their spare time doesn't flow well with people in general.

Amen to that chief! Be safe!

If this instructor is training his firefighters, the chief has every right to call him in on it. But nonetheless i'm glad you got a good laugh; we need more of it in here.

I believe that number is pretty accurate; additionally, New York City also has 10 volunteer fire company's spread out between 4 or the 5 counties which comprise the city.

Very good anaolgy Doc; 99.9% of the time maybe nothing goes wrong; but God forbid if someone gets hurt or killed. Then you'd see alot of hand-wringing and second guessing. As you mentioned, the instructor should have been wearing safety glasses and gloves and perhaps even a helmet, if not fire, then safety helmet. In defense of the instructor, he was probably a little over confident. Might be a good idea for the dept. chief to call him into the office and remind him of the necessity of wearing proper safety gear.

Spin The Wheel, excellent response to some of the criticism posted here. As good intentioned as it may be, all too often some of us may think that the way our department "does it" is the only way it should be done. Whatever works best for each individual department is what they should be doing. It helps to make for a smooth running department in most cases.

If the issue at hand helps to sell newspapers or get higher television/radio ratings, then rest be assured, its going to appear in the media whether we like it or not.

Amen

All the more reason why its important that we police our own from within our ranks, whether you are public or private sector if at all possible. The public tends to stereotype based on the actions of a few without looking at the overall picture. As some in here have suggested, image is very important when it comes to the public as in most cases, they indirectly control the purse strings.

Cogs, I do agree that the city has a serious breach of credibility with the volunteer forces and this is an issue that may take years to heal. My point in regards to the career forces was--as i'm sure you'll agree--the city has a legal obligation to bargain with the union over the terms and conditions of employment of the career personnel and as in any collective bargaining process, credibility and trust are an important factor is achieving a viable agreement. While the relationship between the volunteer forces and the city are strained to say the least, nothing positive could be achieved by abrogating or modifying the existing agreement between the union & city. I concur and am glad that you did point out the lack of trust between the city officials and VFD's and rightfully so, it should be noted.

I've got some news for you; EMS is never going to improve unless the public demands it and then, and only then are the politiicans going to get off their collective butts and cause change to happen. Unfortunatley, most people are happy with the way things are now, until they need EMS assistance, then for them it suddenly becomes a priority. Look for any meaningful changes to be a long way off.

Its like putting lipstick on a pig.

Maybe a 15 passenger van might be more cost effective.

Sure isn't good for their public image.

I think the rational for compensation for school superintendents salary is due to their level of education; most if not all school district superintendents have PHD's and as such command the salaries that they do. Its all part of the free enterprise system this country operates under. You get paid what you can due to market conditions. Cutting salaries of other highly paid employees of the state might violate personal service agreements (PSC) that might be in existance; tho' if there are those with no PSC's they could probably legally do it, but you risk the quality of workers you employ being reduced.

Bill A7699A was signed into law by Govenor Patterson Friday. This will allow volunteer Emergency Services Workers to participate in certain municipal public employee health Insurance Plans. The cost of the participation will be paid for by the volunteers. Its nice to see the state recognizing the valuable contributions made by the volunteers . Likewise FASNY did an excellent job looking out for the best interests of the volunteers of the State of New York. The law goes into effect in 180 days from the signing of the Bill.

It appears that this is going to be a serious shortfall in monies and its expected that no one area is going to escape unscathed. I'm sure the budget mavens are sharpening the knives and the fire service will most likely be one of those areas impacted. I wonder how New York city is going to deal with the budget crisis as well; some of you who are old enough might remember the mid-1970's fiscal crisis where it came to the point of the city cutting jobs in both the police and fire service. I guess nothing is sacred when it comes to cost cutting these days.

I"m sure down the road (tho' who knows how long that'll be) you'll see the bill become reality. I'm sure the dispatchers union is working on getting it passed in Albany.

Thats why you have probies.

I was factoring in the EMT, Driver, 2 fire police for traffic/scene safety and 2 additional hands incase help lifting is needed.

If i'm reading your post correctly, its most likely because EMS calls don't require the manpower you'd need for a MVA or fire call. Having 40 or 50 people show up for an EMS call would be a waste of manpower and time. If you have 5-6 people to assist at an EMS scene normally thats all you need.

The answer is pure and simple; they can't. Especially if your at home. If your at the fire station (for whatever reason) and you can't reasonably respond to the call, thats where it ends. Most, if not all volunteer fire departments understand the nature of the system and won't even tread into that territory.

vacguy, you are correct in your thinking. Excellent response.

If you have reasonable assurance that the house is clear, then you tell the chief, sorry, no can do until we have proper staffing. Better call another engine or ladder or wait for the volunteers to show up if you have any. No need taking unnecessary risks or putting someone in danger by cutting corners. God forbid that the initial entry crew gets into trouble and someone gets hurt or killed, they are going to point the fingers at you and cite the law and they would be right.