FFPCogs

Good topic. For many of us that have been around awhile it does seem as though Brotherhood in the fire service is dying, because by and large it is. There are a number of specific reasons why this is so, but all share one thing in common, a change in society to one which is far more self serving and filled with a sense of entitlement. Almost every TV show, pop song, movie or other pop culture medium instills the virtue of me me me instead of us us us. It's hard to reach through to someone that has been brought up on a steady diet of: success is measured in the number of thing I have and I must do whatever it takes to get them because I'm entitled to them. There's no room left for us, in fact there is no us in that equation, because it's all about me and what I deserve. And the sad fact is we have all contributed to this change to a greater or lesser degree, not out of malice or greed, but simply because we too succumbed to that constant barrage. To me the slow loss of Brotherhood is ultimately our own fault because we did nothing to stop it. Remember new members only know what they come into when it comes to the culture, camaraderie and tradition of our departments. They can only erode the bonds of Brotherhood within our organizations if we allow that erosion to take place or worse cause it ourselves by our actions (or inaction), even if unintentional. Now at the risk of offending I feel I must touch on an 800 pound gorilla in the room. In my experience if there is one area in which Brotherhood has taken it's greatest hit overall, it is in the relationship between career and volunteer. Years ago many career firefighters were active and in fact vital members of volunteer departments where they lived and worked. In my City it was a common sight to see a career member working alongside a volunteer, both in the VFD gear since both were members. For reasons stemming from legal constraints and politics to stubbornness and an inability to adapt to change this has waned over the years and now much of our service is plagued by infighting and outright animosity. We ourselves have driven a wedge into the very heart of the notion of Brotherhood because we ourselves are at odds. New members come into this environment and are told the grand tales of Brotherhood among all FFs, only to learn that the words and the reality don't quite mesh many times. And this disparity then undermines the whole principle. It becomes a case of actions speaking louder than words. In the end Brotherhood will only die if we allow it to. How we act and react, how we conduct ourselves on scene and off and how well we practice what we preach will ultimately decide the future of our Brotherhood...the choice and the future are ours to make. Stay Safe

I don't know firefighter Ruane, but I wish him the best of luck in the future. Capt Morris on the other hand I've had the good fortune of knowing, training and even on occasion, fighting fires with for all of my 33 years in the fire service. In fact he ran my first drill, portable ladders, all those years ago and many more since. He has been and continues to be a major influence, role model and teacher for all of the "Belltown Boys" and through those efforts has helped us immeasurably to maintain the high standards of our operations. We are fortunate to have him as a veteran member and for the fact that he is one who truly lives the motto of not "forgetting where he came from". And while I consider him to be my mentor and one of, if not THE, best examples of what it means to be a fireman out there, above all else I'm grateful and honored to be able to call him my friend. THANKS Cap for all you've given me and so many others...enjoy your retirement!!

The 1st Amendment is what it is and I support it 100%. Amendment I Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances As we can see it guarantees freedom of speech and assembly ...even offensive, disrespectful and down right idiotic speech by a gathering of libelous lunatics. But far better to let these A-holes gather and spew their nonsense, blocked in the streets by the multitude exercising their freedom of assembly, than to open the door to government censorship and the freedoms we would lose (and one could argue the present Administration is bent on taking)

Today July 4, 2013 is the 255th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. On this day each year Americans celebrate with cookouts and parties with families and friends, and fireworks and ceremonies full of pomp and patriotism. But how many know what we are really celebrating? Read on below the inspiring words of our Founding Fathers. The words that gave birth to our great nation and the freedoms that we, as Americans enjoy today and the words that all Americans should be ready to defend to their last dying breath. God Bless America!!! July 4, 1776. The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.–Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world. He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good. He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them. He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only. He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures. He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people. He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within. He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands. He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers. He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries. He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance. He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures. He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power. He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation: For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us: For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States: For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world: For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent: For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury: For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies: For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments: For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever. He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us. He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people. He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation. He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands. He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions. In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people. Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends. We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

I fondly remember the days of booster reels, pull up boots, 3/4 coats, no hoods, riding the backstep and even working without a pack on many occasions....and as far as I'm concerned that's where all that good ole stuff belongs, fond memories. Ultimately though if you believe your department has a use for a booster reel, spec it on you rigs and use the damn things to your hearts content. Like all debates though there are always at least two sides to every story. So on the flip side: Even though I don't agree with the tactic, having spent the last 2 1/2 years working with our British counterparts has shown that booster reels can be and are used effectively for interior fire attack in a number of circumstances, in fact it is a standard practice across the pond. But it is done in conjunction with a number of other tactical objectives centered around the 3D gas cooling method of firefighting prevalent in Europe.

May these four Rest In Peace and condolences to their family, friends and colleagues

At home: Each member has an ID Tag which is given to the officer on each rig enroute and brought by them to the command post from each rig. At work in a nutshell: we use the British system where one officer or FF is assigned as the B.A. entry control man. He is stationed at the entry point and he has a log in which he writes the time and cylinder pressure of each FF entering the building. He will dictate search direction prior to entry as well i.e. "team one will enter and do a left hand search on the 1st floor, team two will enter and do a left hand search on the 2nd floor" ect ect. This info is also recorded in the log and it is all passed to the IC. Members are pulled and rotated regardless after a pre determined amount of time based on the "risk assessment" of the building and conditions..usually about 15 minutes. The ECM has the authority to pull anyone at any time as he deems necessary as well.

As we head into it....

Dave first off thank you for your service both in the miiltary and the fire service and thank you for the very well put and spot on post above. That said and not that it all wasn't worthy, but this particular statement quoted stuck out to me. In our world of ever more intrusive and confining politcal correctness I think your point above is indicative the sense of entitlement this kind of forced "everyone is great and deseves credit" mentality breeds. Hard to earn something, be it accolades or respect or a host of other character building facets, when from a young age you've been "entitled" to them by political correctness. And you are right on the money reminding us all that Memorial day is a day of rememberance for those who sacrificed their lives for our freedom...and not just a beginning of the summer celebration of food, drink and sales.

I appreciate the sentiment, but deserve no thanks...I am simply doing a job out here in support of those who do. It is our soldiers, sailors and airmen past and present who deserve our support, respect and above all our thanks...so to all of them THANK YOU!!

Sad it is. We get the news from home here and I guess since these wars have been going on for some time now they are no longer news worthy. Much more importatnt to see what dress someone is wearing to an awards show or who's dating who than to make note of the sacrifices made out here by our troops daily. What message is that sending the "younger" generations?...Not a good one that's for sure!! Glad to see some still get it though and remember all who have sacrificed over the years...pass it on.

Just a little more food for thought...

Obviously a bit difficult for me to give any practical help from Afghan at the moment, but as soon as I am able I would love to be a part of bringing this institution back to Kensico.

I often spout off against events and regimes in the Middle East, at times especially Iran, but here's story of interest that clearly shows that firemen are firemen the world over..including Iran. I will let you read it for the details but just want to say that FF Abbasi is a true hero that gave and then gave more. http://www.firefighterclosecalls.com.../newsid/187799

Here's the story guys...sorry about the link. Tuesday, May 21, 2013 Iranian Firefighter Omid Abbasi was part of a team of firefighters that responded to a residential building fire in Tehran (Iran) last Tuesday. A young woman with her two children were trapped inside an apartment. The woman managed to escape along with her son, but her 9-year-old daughter was hanging from a window and was on the brink of a free fall when she was saved by the firefighters. When FF Abbasi learned there was a young girl trapped in the building, he rushed in to save her. He gave her his SCBA mask, but by the time he had gotten her to safety, Abbasi went down and they were unable to revive him. After his death, Abbasi's family donated his organs to three patients in need of transplants. According to Jalal Maleki, the spokesman of Iran’s Firefighters Organization, body parts of firefighter Omid Abbasi were offered to patients in need of transplants. High ranking Iranian officials, including Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, Tehran’s Mayor, attended Omid Abbassi’s funeral. They came to share the sorrow of his death with his family, friends and colleagues. Tehran Fire Department Spokesman told us what happened on that day and about Omid Abbasi: The little girl who was saved was also at the funeral and thanked the fireman who died for her. R.I.P.

In simple terms your arrival transmissions should be brief but thorough enough to paint a clear picture to incoming units/Chiefs and should cover the following: What have we got What's it doing/where's it going What are we going to do to start mitigating in keeping with RECEO-VS

The reasons why volunteer numbers are dwindling are many and varied, and too long to list here, but almost all of them can be traced back in some way, shape or form to the change in society. Statistics on the "success" rate of any number of R&R programs can be misleading, skewed...or sometimes down right wrong. To achieve success requires an understanding of the dynamics of what motivates people today, not what worked 10, 20 or 30 or more years ago. Coupled with that is R&R programs that then address those needs as they really are not what we want them to be.

From the Ragvocate: http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news...nt-4177726.php Congratulations Chief, looking forward to working with you.

To all: HAPPY NEW YEAR...2013!!!! Thanks for the service you've given and the sacrifices you've made in 2012. Looking forward to what we as a service can accomplish in 2013 Have a great day all and may 2013 be a far better year than 2012 in all the ways that matter most to you See ya 2012... Stay Safe

Willy, Fairfax is a very well run combo FD, and I for one am glad to have your and others input about what you think Stamford could do, even if I do not agree with it. That is the purpose of sites like this, the free expression of opinions and ideas. That said, to be honest I lean more torwards the Montgomery County MD model. In that FD officers are officers and firefighters firefighters across the board. This is done by requiring standardized training, certification and testing at every level. In stations where there is a career officer of higher rank than a volunteer they are in charge of the house for that shift, and vice versa. They also combine career and volunteers on an as needed basis. This most commonly plays out one of two ways. In stations with a strong volunteer base career members staff the hours when volunteers numbers are limited, usually weekdays 7 - 5, while volunteers staff nights and weekends and always to the same staffing levels. In stations with a lesser volunteer element they do something along the lines of Fairfax where career members staff an Engine 24/7 and volunteers staff additional units as availability allows. The most important aspect of Montgomery, PG and other sucessful combo FDs nationwide though is that they have managed to integrate the chain of command fully and without differentiating between status. This to me is THE model we should all aspire to. Knowledge is knowledge, experience is experience and fire is fire and the one thing they all have in common is they don't distinguish career from volunteer...nor should we. And let me be completely clear on this as well: volunteers should never be, and should not let themselves be, used as a bargaining chip or politcal pawn to decimate the career ranks. Conversely career members should never be, or let themselves be, used to eliminate effective volunteers for any reason. Both should build on the strengths they offer and support one another to best serve the community that relies on them.

With all due respect Willy, with so many details left to be figured out I think saying that this is over is a bit premature. While there will be one Chief there will also be much in the way of discussion as to how everyone will merge and become an effective combination FD. By the new Charter language volunteers must remain "an important part of the fire department" which means that, at least to an extent, their collective voice will have to be a part of the process. It may be more precise to say that what was is over, what will be remains to be seen. The volunteer opportunities available in the future will be dependent upon the contribution that will be expected from them and the resources available to meet those expectations. As far as volunteers responding to calls or stations downtown in the manner they do now in their own areas....highly unlikely. It may come to pass that volunteers will augment the existing career staffing downtown, but I would imagine only as part of a formal and organized assigned duty program. To the best of my knowledge, as it stands by the new language, everything concerning volunteers in terms of districts, status, membership, bylaws, property ect will remain as is, with operations being standardized citywide under the supervision of one Fire Chief. As time goes by and things level out this may and probably will be subject to changes as deficiencies and strengths become apparent.

Many unanswered questions to say the least. Quite frankly while I am optimistic I also remain a bit leery simply because so many details have not been addressed. I do know that the intention is to meld everyone together with input from all the stakeholders and I do hope that is exactly what happens. I forsee major problems if either tries to dictate policy unilaterally without the input of the other. In theory this should not happen by virtue of the granted appeals process before the Fire Commission. I suppose that if there is any disagreement it will be a matter of both "sides" arguing their case before that Commission and a decision being rendered based on the validity of those arguments. That is the theory anyway. The cynic in me though thinks that there is the very real potential that the Commission will become just another political pawn filled with lackeys....but make no mistake, I want nothing more than to be wrong!! If it were up to me I would like to see more of a confederated model, with each department maintaining autonomy while adhering to a standardized set of citywide SOP/Gs and a response matrix based on closest staffed unit reponse, be it career or volunteer. I think that was the intent of the revision commission, at least that's what I was told by them. I can say that I will continue to advocate and work for integration across the board and the means to achieve it. Both career and volunteers offer benefits and a wealth of experience that CAN make this the best damned combo department, if we work together to ensure it. So while obstacles will most definitely block our path, as professionals let us not be one of them. I extend my hand to my new partners and can promise this: Respect me and I will respect you Work WITH me and I will work WITH you Stand with me and I will stand with you I look forward to our future and all that it offers!! Stay Safe

Oh don't worry something tells me there's plenty of b!tching and moaning to go...

Ok I'll take 4200 posts and 300 pages in that pool.

And like the CT forum I will thank you here as well. I must say that many here seem to think I'm against consolidating career and volunteer, when in fact nothing could be further from the truth. I stand behind my beliefs and will always defend them vigorously, just as I expect others to do the same and truth be told I still think a more equitable and proactive partnership could have been created, but we have all had a chance to have our say and the people decided. No matter our opinions we must never forget that we all we serve them, not the other way around, so as a fireman in their service I must now follow the path they have chosen. The choice is made, there's nothing more to do than just do what needs doing...serve our citizens to the best of our abilities. Will Stamford become a model combo FD? I don't know but I sure as hell hope so and I intend to do all I can to ensure that's what happens. Stay Safe