FFPCogs

Yes their supposed to be. The pic is a few days old so I believe they are back on now. Last I heard 45 was due back in CT for lettering yesterday.

Enclosing the cab would involve moving the turntable back about 3 feet which means re chassis-ing the rig. It also means the rig wouldn't fit in the firehouse well enough to make the turns out of the bay. For our circumstances the refurb option was/is the best choice. This rig has plenty of life left in her, especially in our little corner of Stamford. Keeping her pretty much to her original design is actually a benefit here since she can go where no other new monster aerial can.

In the neighborhood of 250K

Beyond that Alan there is also the cadre of officers/leadership that meet a requirement or creates their own standard and then prevents anyone else from being able to attain it. Some call that job security, I call self serving, but either way it ultimately causes big problems in succession not to mention morale.

Top section Alan sorry...poor choice of words on my part

A crack was found in the last section of the boom on TL-45 and it is now being replaced. With that there are no longer any components on the rig that are original.

Made racial slurs, admitted it and got suspended (IMO should've been demoted) = justice. Got booted without being able to defend himself (even if he was dead wrong and may deserve it) = injustice. Wants reinstatement and $10.2 million in damages = Insanity

Happy to say things are moving along pretty well with no real issues lately.

This Saturday April 9th is the start of National Volunteer Week and in conjunction with that a number of Connecticut FDs will be hosting Volunteer Firefighter Recruitment Open House events from 10am - 2pm. Please spread the word Here's a bit more info. Just FYI the correct address of the Stamford event is the Springdale FD @ 987 Hope St. http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/bulletinboard/article/Seeking-recruits-local-fire-departments-7227197.php

When a man becomes a fireman his greatest act of bravery has been accomplished. What he does after that is all in the line of work. -- Chief Edward F. Croker, FDNY, Our recognition comes from within - within our communities, within our departments and most of all within ourselves. There is no accolade, award or prize that can ever adequately acknowledge the service of a fireman and none of us stand above the rest. Yes, it's true, some may perform acts above and beyond the call of duty, but the simple act of becoming a fireman has already placed each of us in our Hall of Fame.

Date: 3/24/16 Time: 3:40 Location: 18 West Putnam Ave (Rt 1) District: Downtown Battalion: - Channel: - Weather: clear Units: Writer: FFPCogs Description: Greenwich had a job early this morning at the Barcelona restaurant at 18 West Putnam Ave (U.S. Rt 1)From the Ragvocate:http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/loca...nt-7004967.phpNFI

Even though I would probably disagree with some of your solutions I'm sure, Good luck on your mission Willy...fighting an entrenched system is no easy task and a thankless one at that. As far as the entire department quitting, well without knowing the whole story I can't say I endorse such a move no matter how much politics are involved. But then again I'm not one to quit regardless of the obstacles. In fact the thicker the wall the harder I push...or go over, under or around. There's always a way to set things right and get things done....quitting is rarely one of them IMHO.

Personally I have no problem with the phrase "In God we trust" but this has to be taken in the larger context of what is appropriate to the community at large. The separation of Church and State is one of our founding principles as a nation and a damn good one of you ask me. That said, I did a quick google search but didn't find an answer as to whether this VFD is a municipal agency or a private non stock corporation. My take on it is this, if the town buys the apparatus with tax dollars than it shouldn't be on the rigs. If on the other hand the rigs are bought and owned by the company and the company is a private non stock corporation than they can put whatever the Hell they want on their rigs.

There's no doubt that in our collective neck of the woods, (i.e. NY, CT) the level of redundancy borders on the absurd and that this is a costly and unnecessary waste. But on the flip side there is also no doubt that volunteers are far less costly than an all paid service, even with all that waste. To that point, I would contend that this would be so even if stations were consolidated and staffed by paid FFs and property/insurance losses were reduced by having that staff able to effect more positive outcomes sooner (although there's no empirical evidence to support that claim to the best of my knowledge). There is also no doubt that a paid service would provide a higher degree of protection in terms of trained personnel and the availability of that personnel, but as I stated earlier that too comes with a trade off, as less stations means longer response times in getting those trained personnel to incidents. Bottom line here is that volunteers will almost always be cheaper (and that's not even counting the transitional costs of shifting from a volunteer to paid service) and since they are, Mr. John Q. Public will happily live with having them as his sole source of fire protection. He doesn't think he'll ever need the fire department in the first place so he see no need to pay more for it then he already does, and besides, that's how it's always been. And if God forbid he does have a fire, well then...when Blubbery Barney and One tooth Willie (as some see volunteers) show up in their big red shiny parade piece firetruck and squirt water in his window, he's ok with that because his friends and neighbors came to his aid in his time of need and he's got home owner's insurance. Career FFs will never fully replace volunteers, nor could they. The cost is just too prohibitive and thus there is no political will to make it so. Unfortunately for far too long the volunteer fire service in general has lived off that fact and refused to take steps to provide the best possible protection to those we serve. Like most of the rest of America it seems settling for mediocrity instead of striving for excellence is the new normal. ​And one last point that although it's been said before it bears repeating. Many of our predecessors on both sides of the paid / volly divide worked tirelessly to make our service better for us and our communities. When we spend more time infighting or pushing this or that agenda then we do serving, I think we are all doing a great disservice to those who came before us and those who will come after. We are all in this together and we could accomplish so much more, for those we serve and for ourselves, by building each other up than we do by trying to tear each other down..and that is something we should all strive for, because in the end there's nobody looking out for us but us.

Well now there's a dose of reality for ya, btw AMEN FirN...and I'm a smoker

Yes I am aware that a good number of cities/towns/departments do provide two sets of turnouts, but I think they are the minority overall. There's alot of cash strapped departments out there barely getting by now. I mean I'm all for it, career or volly it doeasn't matter, this job is hard enough without the specter of another way of getting cancer hanging over us. Sadly though even with grants I just don't see how many departments would be able to do it.

This is the only way to make it work, but as with all change there's always a trade off. Some areas would benefit with paid crews available 24/7 right down the street, other would suffer from the longer wait for anyone to show up at all as stations are consolidated to gain savings. Most county systems work and save money because they are combination in one form or another, but the ones that work best require 24/7 staffing utilizing both career and volunteer personnel to ensure there's always crews on duty in house.

I don't think it's all scare tactics, cancer is some serious sh!t. That said while having two sets of gear would be great and necessary the bottom line here is who's going to pay that tab? I have a feeling that no municipality or fire district is just going to happily pony up another $2500 minimum per firefighter. I find this to be another case of sounding great (and completely valid) on paper but next to impossible to put into practice.

In 2016, more so than at any other time in most of our lifetimes thus far, Democrats are going to vote Democrat and Republicans are going to vote Republican. The country hasn't been this polarized and divided in quite some time. Fact is there's nothing any candidate can do to swing voters of the opposite party, the line are too firmly drawn. The middle ground, like the middle class, is disappearing as rhetoric replaces reason and ignorance overwhelms intelligence....and that's bad for the politicos and bad for us.

You bet I do Willy. Those of us who lived through Danny boy's tenure as Stamford's mayor know full well what the rest of the State had in store. It's no surprise to any of us he's ranked as the WORST governor in the country and this debacle is just one more on a long list of him living up to that well deserved honor.

Thanks Danny boy...good job.

Agreed. Excesses and outright theft abound across the spectrum of departments nationwide and more often than not it turns out such activity was / is no secret. The corrupt are usually only a very small percentage but the root of the problem goes much deeper than just the guilty. Bottom line: knowing this stuff is going on and doing nothing about it makes one as guilty as the guilty...and a coward too.

Ho Ho Ho Merry Christmas everyone!! Here's a Christmas time joke I heard many moons ago, hope it gives you a chuckle and brightens your holiday just a little bit more... One snowy Christmas Eve Santa was out delivering his toys and making his rounds. After a few stops he came down a chimney to find a bright eyed little girl standing there with a glass of milk. As Santa turned to go she asks - "won't you stay and have a glass of milk with me Santa" to which Santa replied - "Ho Ho Ho gotta go, gotta deliver toys you know" and in a flash he disappeared up the chimney. A short time later Santa comes down another chimney to find a wide eyed young boy standing there with a plate of cookies. As Santa turned to go he asks - "won't you stay and have some cookies with me Santa" to which Santa replied - "Ho Ho Ho gotta go, gotta deliver toys you know" and in a flash he disappeared up the chimney After a few more stops Santa comes down yet another chimney to find a gorgeous nubile young woman lying on the floor, naked. As he turns to go the woman asks seductively - "wont you stay and fool around with me here on the floor Santa" to which Santa replied - "Hey Hey Hey gotta stay, can't get up the chimney anyway".... I'll leave the rest up to you From my family and I to you and yours, Merry Christmas all and may 2016 bring each of you the bounty to sustain your wants and needs and the blessings to fulfill all your hopes and dreams. Stay well and Stay Safe

Amen to that M

Well it's that time of year again so time to post my favorite Christmas song. Greg Lake, disgusted with the over commercialization of the season released this video in 1975 and his message is as fitting today as it was then, if not more so. They said there'll be snow at Christmas They said there'll be peace on earth But instead it just kept on raining A veil of tears for the virgin's birth I remember one Christmas morning A winters light and a distant choir And the peal of a bell and that Christmas tree smell And their eyes full of tinsel and fire They sold me a dream of Christmas They sold me a silent night And they told me a fairy story 'till I believed in the Israelite And I believed in father Christmas And I looked at the sky with excited eyes 'till I woke with a yawn in the first light of dawn And I saw him and through his disguise I wish you a hopeful Christmas I wish you a brave new year All anguish pain and sadness Leave your heart and let your road be clear They said there'll be snow at Christmas They said there'll be peace on earth Hallelujah noel be it heaven or hell The Christmas we get we deserve From my family and me, God Bless and Happy Holidays all. May your Christmas be bright and the next year bring you all the happiness and success you deserve.