FFPCogs

As alwas look south to MD and VA. for a template from which to build..not perfect by any means but take the good, add what is needed here and it COULD fit the role. Cogs

Excellent post Matt, Thanks. And mentioning EGOS was a good point ...I will do all I can to keep mine in check, thanks for the reminder. Happy Holiday All Cogs

As usual G, thanks for the update. Saves me a trip to the store... Cogs

Ansonia does a popcorn ball Sunday on,... you guessed it the Sundey before Christmas. All 5 companies drive their frst due area with a Santa on the Engine (along with a crew). Popcorn balls are thrown out to the happy kids in their yards. Free of charge. My kids loved it for the whole time I lived there. Joe, Nice pic. Hat's off to Long Hill for the fun. Always great to see the kids smile. Cogs Happy Holidays All !!!1

I can't believe this is even an issue. Pants always. No coat while driving, it can be or does hinder movement. Helmet while driving? you can't be serious. On scene depends on the duties required and conditions plain and simple. If your part of 2 in 2 out well DUH c'mon. If not why do I need to, I'm not leaving the pump panel or turntable. SCBA, well here again if you need it put it on, if not why in Gods name do I have to stand around with it on my back. Is the fire service becoming so full of firefighters with no experience that we have to be told when and where to put on PPE? You cannot regulate for every eventuality if you intend to do aggressive interior operations, there MUST be the flexibility, common sense and experience (even if only through training if your not busy) of the firefighters to make judgement calls. I have always said that I am all for safety, and I do take it very seriously, but the surest way to make a fire scene safe is to put the fire out! All these regulations combined can hamper an aggressive approach to that end. If we become so concerned about what we're wearing while we're doing the job, we're not actually doing it. Ok time to get a good bashing, I have always felt and still do that firefighting is an inherently dangerous undertaking, firefighters are going to get boo boos, it's the nature of the beast. No amount of SOPs or regualtions is going to prevent that if proative and aggressive firefighting operations are how you handle the job. If members need to be told when or where to "gear up" or go on air or any number of other basic fireground evolutions than their training has failed them. If we teach our people HOW to do the job, WHY we do it the way we do, and WHEN to take action and we won't need to regulate them. Bash away Take care and as always Stay Safe (but aggressive... ) Cogs

Honestly I don't know what the specifics of the City's argument in this case are. My post was simply to "enlighten" all to the fact that volunteers ARE and CAN BE "empowered" to act as a Fire Marshal in the State of CT. To be sure before I posted I called the State Fire Marshals office, and per my conversation with him was told that this statement...the state law empowering marshals does not apply to volunteers...is not true. Cogs

These terrorists are not only commited to doing us as much harm as possible, they are wily, smart and extremely dangerous people. I think we all know that it is only a matter of time before we are faced with the unthinkable, let us do all we can to prepare. As for executing this scum, well I was a proponent of the death penalty for a long time, but have since changed my view. In this case the fact that they want to be "martyred" is reason number 1 NOT to execute them. The last thing we should do is give them what they want, and make heroes of them. Number 2 executeing them will serve no purpose, all of the victims will still be gone, and the damage done. Plus making such a big deal about executing them gives them a power and exposure they don't deserve. I have come to believe that a lifetime spent in a 6 X 8 jail cell surrounded by photos of their murdered victims staring at them 24/7 would be a much more fitting punishment. Let them open their eyes every morning and the first thing they see will be the eyes of their murdered victims staring back and let that be last sight they see every night before they sleep. Cogs

The city has sued the volunteer fire marshal at the Turn of River Fire Department, saying the state law empowering marshals does not apply to volunteers. This is simply not true. Many communities in CT have volunteer fire marshals. Cogs BTW- Happy Holidays All and best wishes from my family to yours for a happy, healthy and safe New Year

Thanks for the link Pat.

Have a friend who was a NY cop, tranferred to the F.D. Why? "When I usd to drive down the street in my cruiser, peope used to spit and throw rocks at me. Now when I go down the street on the Engine, they smile and wave" No offense to cops, just a little anecdote. My hats off to all of the "Finest", and thanks for what you do. Me I'd much rather go into a burning building...all the scumbags have usually already left. Stay Safe Cogs

Apparently die it won't. thanks for the update Geppetto And Happy Holidays All !!!! Stay Safe Cogs

Fire Department sums it up just fine. If it ain't broke don't fix it !

I worked a couple of small jobs in N.H. where these were used. At both fires we had a couple of rooms going pretty good. They seemed to work just fine (I wasn't the Chauffer). At both the supply rig was a good 25-35ft from the water source with a slight incline and managed to get and maintain a decent flow. Both times the supply rig was able to feed the attack engine directly, so I don't have first hand knowledge of how well this works keeping up with tanker ops. The guys there say they regularly use them and are happy with it. They also say that they usually have no problem keeping up when supplying tanker shuttles either. Based on my limited experiences I would say these are definitely worth a trial run here and would probably be money well spent. Stay Safe Cogs

A sad day for all. May they rest in peace.

Come on now REDDOG, the Advocate has it's uses. Puppy wee wee pads, and as litter box lining being two good ones that come to mind. And everyone knows that even a crappy newspaper is great for cleaning windows... it leaves no lint. Great jobs guys, yet another example of firefighters doing what others can't or won't. Thanks Cogs

A Happy Thanksgiving to all from my family to yours Stay Safe Cogs

My parents had a friend who was working at the club that night as a bass player in the band. My father was supposed to be the drummer but was ill...(thank God). Jack received injuries from smoke inhalation and burns to his throat and lung damage. He made a full recovery and lived until a few years ago. He and my father both lost many friends as they were both born and raised in Boston and had come back from NYC for the shows before being shipped off to basic training. It was a terrible tragedy and a horrific experience for those who lived through it, firefighters and civilians alike. Cogs

Indeed they were Joe. The events like midnight alarm, bucket brigade, water ball, and of course drafting. Yep that was a good time and a great social get together. Joe do you remember the water ball set up behind the firehouse? You know for my eight years with the BFD every nite before a muster we had a working fire (all accidental by the way...LOL). And my first muster was the one from these pics. I made the mistake of going to the fire the nite before without socks...needless to say I had some nice big blisters from wearing those old rubber boots. But the young buck that I was at 16, I participated in every event...painfully...LOL. Wish they'd bring it back. Cogs

I've been stocking up on the Maalox and Pepsid........

First off I hope all are doing OK. As for the accident itself, well it was an ACCIDENT and these types of incidents are called accidents for a reason. I'm sure neither Chauffer intentionally set out to cause injury or a collision, so I don't necessariliy believe in sanctions. A little retraining maybe, but no punishment. What bothers me more than most accidents is the culture that looks to place blame when something happens rather than correct any shortcomings that may have led to them. I am not condoning unsafe practices by any means, but most firefighters are as safe as they can be, and punishments rarely, if ever have the desired results overall. As firefighters whether paid or volunteer we have chosen to enter into what is an inherently dangerous field. As much as I or any one here may never want to go to another hospital room to visit a colleague, or God forbid, to have offer solace to a grieving family of one of our own at a funeral, these things will happen. It is the nature of the beast we have chosen to fight. To me far to much emphasis is put into placing blame, as if these FFs didn't already have enough guilt or anger to deal with over an accident. Should we investigate, review and make the necessary corrections to place as much of a barrier as is possible between our FFs and accidents, YES. After that, well generally from there we should move forward with lessons learned. Why? Because rarely will placing blame on our own do anything constructive within our service, other than in cases of outright negligence. Sorry to go off topic Take care and as always Stay Safe Cogs

Interesting yes, but overwhelmingly biased towards Obama. The Big 3 (NBC CBS ABC) as well as CNN were unabashedly pro Obama. That McCain got 46.6% of the vote is what is truly unbelievable considering Bushes 24% approval rating and the "tsunami" (per Chris Shays R-CT) that did the Republicans in. Maybe rightfully so. The point here is that for all the talk of "change" it is apparent that Washington will be business as usual and it is we the middle class of America who will suffer. I feel truly sorry for any voter who thought that Mr. Obama will change the world. He was/is nothing more than a consummate Chicago politician. A politician backed by a party machine that went to any length and hundreds of millions of dollars to get the White House. A machine that he will have to pay back, or should I say we will. Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. Cogs

As I said prior to the election the Dem strategy is to take from the military while raising taxes to support all of the "Grand" social ideas. What we will end up with is another costlier war than anything we face in Iraq and Afghanistan. He who carries the biggest stick and knows when and where to use it wins..ours will be steadily shrinking and with it our National defense. Especially with Hillary the yapper as Sec of State who will blindly follow Obama's plan to "talk" to our sworn enemies. Can things get any worse? Whoa we ain't seen nothin' yet. Cogs

Maybe Joe, maybe. I don't know about a dead horse either, seems everyone has moved elsewhere to "vent" where there are no restrictions and they can remain anonymous to voice their rather colorful "opinions". Ah well like everything else this too will work out eventually. Cogs BTW Happy Thanksgivings all

Glad to hear everyone is OK. Nuff said Cogs

Just a quick answer to the question that has been asked a few times already. "Can things get any worse"? You bet your a** they can!!! We may be down but there are miles to go before we hit bottom folks. History lesson time again, the FULL impact of the Wall St. crash of 1929 wasn't felt until 1932. And we never really "recovered" from the Great depression on our own. It took a world war to get the economy moving full swing again, even with ALL of FDRs New Deal. Fact is there are many pitfalls awaiting the President-elect, and to me only truly revolutionary action i.e. the promised changes, will allow him to navigate them to pull us all up. I know also that the Cabinet carries out Presidential policy but by his own admission he intends to rely on those Cabinet members and advisers to determine that policy. I too support Mr. Obama in as much as he will be the President, but if his initial choices are a look at what's to come, well then I fear we got a whole heap of trouble a comin'. On a side note maybe throwing money at the problem isn't the answer either, not that I have them. Just a thought. Cogs