v85

Every agency will have this system set up different. But the basic version is:
 
A - BLS unit non emergency 
B- BLS unit emergency
C- BLS unit emergency and ALS unit non emergency 
D - BLS and ALS emergency
E- BLS and ALS emergency + closest unit (like Hazmat, fire marshals etc)
 
E is basically for what they call ineffective breathing and only a few calls are E (CPR, Hanging, Drowning/Submerged Vehicle occupied)
 
Now the agencies can change things. For example in Orange County it basically is
 
A - BLS non emergency
B - BLS emergency
C/D/E - BLS and ALS emergency
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The question about Echo responses is really up to the department. The thing about non traditional resources responding is really for paid departments that have a lot of staffed apparatus. This way if there was a CPR call across the street from a rescue company or Hazmat company they would respond along with the assigned box. 
 
I never got the BLS hot / ALS cold thing on the Charlie responses either, but that is thr model in the EMD training guides. Again it is probably designed for paid systems that have many more BLS units than ALS.  This way the closer BLS unit responds hot and assesses the patient and can make a decision on cancelling the ALS unit or upgrading them to an emergency response. 
 
Charlie level calls are most ALS calls that are not imminently life threading. (I.e.  Diabetics but conscious, Abdominal pain over age 35, Difficulty breathing but still alert and able to speak in full sentences; Stroke symptoms without airway compromise; Chest pain without altered mental status or severe diff. Breathing )

The question about Echo responses is really up to the department. The thing about non traditional resources responding is really for paid departments that have a lot of staffed apparatus. This way if there was a CPR call across the street from a rescue company or Hazmat company they would respond along with the assigned box. 
 
I never got the BLS hot / ALS cold thing on the Charlie responses either, but that is thr model in the EMD training guides. Again it is probably designed for paid systems that have many more BLS units than ALS.  This way the closer BLS unit responds hot and assesses the patient and can make a decision on cancelling the ALS unit or upgrading them to an emergency response. 
 
Charlie level calls are most ALS calls that are not imminently life threading. (I.e.  Diabetics but conscious, Abdominal pain over age 35, Difficulty breathing but still alert and able to speak in full sentences; Stroke symptoms without airway compromise; Chest pain without altered mental status or severe diff. Breathing )

TBTA is the Triboro Bridge and Tunnel Authority. They are a part of the MTA that maintains several crossings including the RFK bridge, Brooklyn Battery Tunnel and Midtown Tunnel
 
there is a rumor that their law enforcement was to be absorbed into the NYSP but given the truck, they may try to split them off from MTA into their own agency, hence why no agency markings 

TBTA is the Triboro Bridge and Tunnel Authority. They are a part of the MTA that maintains several crossings including the RFK bridge, Brooklyn Battery Tunnel and Midtown Tunnel
 
there is a rumor that their law enforcement was to be absorbed into the NYSP but given the truck, they may try to split them off from MTA into their own agency, hence why no agency markings 

TBTA is the Triboro Bridge and Tunnel Authority. They are a part of the MTA that maintains several crossings including the RFK bridge, Brooklyn Battery Tunnel and Midtown Tunnel
 
there is a rumor that their law enforcement was to be absorbed into the NYSP but given the truck, they may try to split them off from MTA into their own agency, hence why no agency markings 

that is  TBTAs new color scheme
 

How do they deal with the paperwork?  Or is that when they jump. I can't imagine anyone wanting to see hours of report writing 

Did Mobile Life get Transcare's CON?

Not saying this is the reason but I know there is still a train of thought among some departments that you need to play hopscotch when calling mutual aid. He line of reasoning I have heard is so that you don't deplete an entire side of the county for one incident. Also for fast teams I have heard that some chiefs will not call neighboring departments because they could get too emotionally involved if they had to make a rescue and make unsafe decisions
 
not saying that is what is going on here or that it is right, but it is a potential explanation

No I agree with you. I would not run a fire department like that if I ever got the chance, and I believe it has changed in my area as well. 
 
I believe the historical reason was that by leaving some local companies back, they could guide the farther away companies about local knowledge and hazards.  Of course now with GPS and CAD and computerized preplans that isn't needed as much or at all anymore
 
as far as the fast team thing, I don't know about FDNY but when I was dispatching in Maryland the fast was always the 1st arriving ambulance served as the OSHA two out until the fourth due engine arrived and was the fast. 

Not saying this is the reason but I know there is still a train of thought among some departments that you need to play hopscotch when calling mutual aid. He line of reasoning I have heard is so that you don't deplete an entire side of the county for one incident. Also for fast teams I have heard that some chiefs will not call neighboring departments because they could get too emotionally involved if they had to make a rescue and make unsafe decisions
 
not saying that is what is going on here or that it is right, but it is a potential explanation

No I agree with you. I would not run a fire department like that if I ever got the chance, and I believe it has changed in my area as well. 
 
I believe the historical reason was that by leaving some local companies back, they could guide the farther away companies about local knowledge and hazards.  Of course now with GPS and CAD and computerized preplans that isn't needed as much or at all anymore
 
as far as the fast team thing, I don't know about FDNY but when I was dispatching in Maryland the fast was always the 1st arriving ambulance served as the OSHA two out until the fourth due engine arrived and was the fast. 

As far as the leadership issue goes. Commissioners are elected by the general public. So if anything it is the public who needs to pick better leaders. Although the fire service doesn't often inform the public that there are commissioners elections

As far as the leadership issue goes. Commissioners are elected by the general public. So if anything it is the public who needs to pick better leaders. Although the fire service doesn't often inform the public that there are commissioners elections

I have many of the same questions. Does the fire chief believe his members/ employees were making the comments ?  Or that they are related to her death?  Why is the fire chief and not LE investigating? 

I have many of the same questions. Does the fire chief believe his members/ employees were making the comments ?  Or that they are related to her death?  Why is the fire chief and not LE investigating? 

I will play devil's advocate here and wonder why no one seems to want to acknowledge the downsides of consolidation.
Here are some that I know of, all of these coming from real life experiences with the centralized dispatch point in our county.
1. Lack of accountability. With the local dispatch centers there is better accountability in that if a dispatcher makes a mistake, the fire or EMS chief can go to the police chief and have the tapes pulled and appropriate corrective action taken. With the centralized center, any complaints that are submitted get dropped into the memory hole and you hear the same dispatchers making the same mistakes over and over again.
2. Lack of accountability (part 2). Local dispatchers follow local protocols designed by the agencies they service. Centralized dispatch follows their own protocols. Don't like it? tough, deal with it.
3. Loss of local knowldege: Even with all of the computerized maps and reference sources, there are some situations that you can't beat local knowledge
4. Competition for air time. With budgets being the way they are, this is a very real concern as you could end up with too few dispatchers listening to too many channels. Also could happen because of poorly designed radio systems trying to put too many departments on too few frequencies or talk-groups.
Now, I am not against consoldiation per say. But it needs to be done correctly, and after careful study to see if it is really the best option

I think everyone is missing the point
 
The point is that pre- dosed medication the same that are being used by haztac medics are already filtering down to the EMT level and thus there is really no reason. For haztac medics if that is all they are administering 

I'm guessing it is because of the meds but that must be a NYC protocol thing. EMTs have atropine of organophosphate poisoning and nerve agent response in the Hudson Valley region, and I heard something about (rectal) Valium in the collaborative protocols as an assistive medication in refractory seizures
 
So  not to much differnce there

I thought they already had BLS HazTac units ?
 
 

I thought they already had BLS HazTac units ?
 
 

I think it makes a lot of sense when used appropriately but the question becomes, what is appropriate. For example, if the fire is a room and contents fire on the 2nd floor rear side of a house, would lobbing in water from the front side of the 1st floor, yards away from the fire really make that much of a difference? Same thing with set back houses and any time you have a long stretch. By the time you pull all that hose how "immediate" is the "immediate water"? (although a transitional attack might still be indicated, which I believe is a different thing, because this seems more about speed of water to fire, transitional to me is more about making a situation too dangerous for interior more safe) The other issue would be of possible overkill. If the fire is so small a can could handle, but you decide to shoot a 2.5 inch line through a window without checking, I can imagine the homeowner might get upset when the water damage bill comes in.
On the other hand, I see plenty of times where this would be a great strategy. For example, pretty much anything other than those few times above. In fact I believe FDNY does something similar regularly, using a deck gun immediately on arrival of storefront type fires

I think it makes a lot of sense when used appropriately but the question becomes, what is appropriate. For example, if the fire is a room and contents fire on the 2nd floor rear side of a house, would lobbing in water from the front side of the 1st floor, yards away from the fire really make that much of a difference? Same thing with set back houses and any time you have a long stretch. By the time you pull all that hose how "immediate" is the "immediate water"? (although a transitional attack might still be indicated, which I believe is a different thing, because this seems more about speed of water to fire, transitional to me is more about making a situation too dangerous for interior more safe) The other issue would be of possible overkill. If the fire is so small a can could handle, but you decide to shoot a 2.5 inch line through a window without checking, I can imagine the homeowner might get upset when the water damage bill comes in.
On the other hand, I see plenty of times where this would be a great strategy. For example, pretty much anything other than those few times above. In fact I believe FDNY does something similar regularly, using a deck gun immediately on arrival of storefront type fires

How is that necessarily related to volunteer agencies though? I have seen paid emergency services that are just as toxic or hostile environments as anything in the volunteer services.