KRF178

Knocking on wood as we speak

Sorry it took so long, but the aerial photo. More to come.

It was the old Mill Printing building. This was 1991 I believe, my father was 1st asst. chief(2342). They actually had a lot of smaller fires in the rear of the building in the weeks prior to this fire. The rear of building was all concrete block I believe, and the kids would get in and light small fires. Then one night they got in and lit a fire in the front which was all wood frame, and that was that. They actually had a lot of problems getting sufficient water to the scene and I believe that the Montrose VA wound up bringing a 4" line up from Washington St. to get sufficient flow to the scene. If I'm not mistaken, I think this was L-45 '89 Pierce's 1st big fire. I think I have some more pics of this fire from Mr. Stretz, as well as an aerial view that someone took from a helicopter....I'll see if I can scan them in later if you guys are interested.

1st off I wouldn't stop volunteering if they took away blue lights, the LOSAP system, or tax credits etc., and I don't think many people would stop for those reasons. Comparing a pension to a courtesy light? C'mon.... As far as LOSAP, I've seen through my experience that it doesn't aid in recruitment at all! Most of the people that join really want to help their community or be a FF. If a person approaches me with intrest in joining the FD, the last thing I lightly mention is that....and truthfully, its never really been a "dealbreaker" Has it aided in retention? The answer is yes, but in a negative way. Its retained the "free loaders," "bar problem solvers," and whatever other terms you may have for them. Everyone knows these people, they're the ones at the meetings, training sessions, that are only worried about the sign in sheet. But the one that really burns me is the ones that are looking for their point at a wake, funeral, or memorial service(literally, they will lay the paper on the casket to get that point). Its kind of like they are only concerned with getting an extra point than actually being there to honor a deceased member and pay their respects to the family. Maybe at one point these kind of members were an asset to the organization, but I don' t think that entitles them to turn into the blood-sucking mutants that they've become. And before the question is asked, yes I sign the sheets too. However, that is NOT my reason for being a volunteer. I do it because I have family ties to it, I love to do it, and to serve my community. I feel that if the above mentioned members are entitled to it, I and other members similar to me absolutely are too. We're the ones that get up at 2am for the auto alarms, participate in training, and help out in every event in the department does, regardless of whether we get a "point" or not.

Great looking rig and best of luck with it! I have to applaud the efforts of PVVAC, from the little that I hear on the radio, you guys always seem to have your calls covered pretty quick. It always seems that it's a guarantee that if no one else can get an ambulance on the road-Putnam Valley can! Not only a great resource for your own response area but for the surrounding jurisdictions who just can never seem to get out the door.

And the second thread tonight that's turning into a Career vs. Volunteer debate.

I think it is the responsiblilty of all department members career and volunteer to make that well known to the residents of the City of Beacon. If my city were looking to do something similar, you bet I would be there to support the Career staff of my department! As far as refusing to respond, I don't know if thats the best approach. That may send a message to the residents that the FD members are disregarding public safety and may in turn come back to bite you, there are better ways as previously mentioned. I agree it is 100% criminal to attempt to protect a city the size of and as diverse as Beacon. Best of luck to the City of Beacon Professional FF's!

God bless the Joyce family and the members of the Yonkers FD, give them the strength. R.I.P. FF Joyce, you will always be in our hearts. KRF

Well irishfire I think we know I was the best trainee, SCO D said so. But you can settle for second best.

Is there any Connecticut FD's that don't have all those requirements?

I couldn't have said it any better myself. Most of the people that are reaping the benefits are the "when I was a fireman" types. Any of the new guys/girls that join really don't care about the $200 that they might get if they stick around until they're 62, they want to do it. Personally I have never had anyone come to me and say "I want to join because I hear there is a great service awards program." To be eligible a member should have to make a certain amount of training, alarms, or anything else that is going to help the active side of the organization before they can recieve points in any other category. It's funny that I talked to two people this weekend that were interested in joining and neither one so much as batted an eye at the mention of the LOSAP. Not that I mention it as a "dealbreaker" but more to see what the average person's reaction is to it, and it's always the same.

Who said it was going to be twice the size of the county center? As PFD165 said this is very, VERY far from being final. As far as the size goes, it's going to be housing 3-4 engines, a rescue, a tower ladder, 1-2 paramedic flycars, and a utility vehicle. This station is also going to have to serve as the living quarters of the on duty career staff as well as the volunteers, meaning two separate "living" areas including lounge, sleeping quarters, etc. It will have a large meeting/training room, which will also be used for any public assemblies. For the most part just about every square foot has a purpose and it is being designed with the future in mind(more apparatus, increased staffing, etc). Yes it is a $15 million project, but it is going to be way more efficient than our current stations, which to bring up to "standard" would probably cost more than $15m. Six separate fuel eating, insect/rodent infested stations just don't make sense for the Peekskill FD anymore.

You never fail me metalcop LOL!!

Somers T16 and Yorktown T14 dropping off After a long discussion at work with MoFire24....This is probably going to wind up being a stupid question but felt we needed to ask it anyway. Keep in mind this comes from a guy from a city with hydrants and whose knowledge of tanker ops can fit on the head of a pin. What is the purpose of the length of hard suction between the two pools? Our guess was that if one pool is going to overflow that it will overflow into the other pool.

I 2nd that on the set-up of the truck...wow nice job!

Whoops, my bad!

What is Jerkwater?

Just to add the rest of the Peekskill FD officers Captains 23410-Len Varella III 23411-Vinnie Malaspina 1st Lts 23412-John Rose 23413-Patrick Maclennan 23414-Kevin Ferris Deputy Chiefs 2346-Jim Howard 2349-Bob Boddie Sr. Safety Officer 2345-Don "Spanky" Maclennan

Being bored at work last night I came across a very interesting article at 1st Responder news. It's a good read because I know that we all have at least one of these in our organizations. http://1strespondernews.com/webpages/news/...56-ece52a9d0a88

Oil burner malfunction which appeared to start a chimney fire, the mortar on the chimney was cracked and eventually the heat penetrated it and got the walls going in the first floor living room and dining room, heavy extension to the second floor. Great aggresive interior attack which led to an awesome stop! I wish I had some pictures of the interior, this was the definition of a Colliers Mansion....stacked from floor to ceiling with everything imaginable.

Didn't they realize last time they tried this it didn't work. K-rock IMO was at it's best just before it went to Free-FM, when it was "Great rock period." They used to play an awesome mix of rock from classic to current. We had Howard in the morning, Dani from 10-2, and Booker from 2-7....that used to get me and the rest of the Ferris Carpentry boys through the work day. The fact that Booker is a HUGE Pearl Jam fan (or so it seemed) made 2-7 that much better.

Nothing more comforting then attacking a fire and hearing that popping sound...HIT THE DECK!!!

Funny this came up, recently I was at a structure fire operating as the FASTeam and ran into solar panels on roof of a 1 1/2 story wood frame. It was upon my initial size-up/walkaround, I immediately transmitted it to the IC and we soon determined that they were in fact for heating the water. But there is still a hazard even if they're not energized, they still are a dead load on the roof. At this particular incident the main body of was pretty much directly underneath them so the interior crews had to use caution while operating in the attic.

Littering and....littering and....littering and........smokin' the reefer! C'mon ALS, "you go we go!".....or like we said in my FF2 class, "you go, I go outside and hope the best for your a**" LOL!!

223...That ladder was originally set up to access the roof for a vertical vent, because I called for the roof to be vented being that we had ZERO visibility in the attic where the seat of the fire was. Right when the vent team got to the roof, we cancelled that request because we realized we had the fire knocked down and decided to prevent any further damage. So I believe that ladder was moved to open up that window (or gable vent or whatever that was) to clear out some of the smoke. Though I can't tell whether that ladder is set up on the peak of that dormer or to the side of it. I know the person who set the ladder up is very proficient in ground ladder operations and he did have it on semi-level ground and it was dug in the ground pretty good.