WFDC4

A lot of the equipment is purchased with grant money. And to be honest, isn't it better that most of it isn't deployed, considering if it is that would mean a disaster has occurred?
Better to be prepared then get caught with their pants down, no?

Tonight, at the State Of Putnam County address, the Putnam County Executive announced the new Commissioner of Emergency Services for Putnam County, Anthony Sutton. Commissioner Sutton is the former commissioner for the Westchester County DES, has held numerous other emergency services leadership roles in the area, and a very good man who I think Putnam County will be lucky to have.
Congrats to Commissioner Sutton!

As the Operations officer at this incident I think I can shed some light on this situation. First, the property conditions that first due units encountered where deplorable. The entire property was covered in 18-20 inches of snow with one, 12 inch wide footpath barely shoveled to the front door. The initial stretch alone was extremely strenuous and taxing on the manpower.
Once interior, crews encountered extreme Colliers Mansion conditions, preventing them from making an expedient advance on the fire on the first floor. The basement, where the heaviest fire was encountered, was a whole different story. Upon making entry to the basement, crews dealt with floor to ceiling junk as well as a well seasoned pile of firewood and the contents of of a woodworking shop.
As far as the apparatus on scene; in that geographical location, due to the lack of hydrants, we were operating from our tanker district alarm assignments, which brings more tankers than manpower carrying apparatus. The time of day is tough on manpower regardless of conditions. Factor in the conditions, and your burning through fresh bodies faster than you can get them there.
In closing, I would like to personally thank all Mutual aid departments for their quick response and assistance.

I know the question was specifically what ONE thing rookies should know. Unfortunately it is not that simple. When I teach I try to emphasize they need to learn to follow the Marine Corps philosophy of "adapt, improvise, and overcome." In addition, whenever I teach a probie class, I hand out something I got from Lt. Tim Klett of FDNY many year ago he refers to as "The Four Ups" which all firefighters, career or volunteer, should take to heart and live by.
“Listen Up”
“When you are first starting in the fire service, there is a lot going on. You are entering a culture that is unlike any other one on this planet. You will hear stories, tales and just plain B.S. But listen carefully. That is our past talking. All of the information has value….Listen to the older, over-the-hill, past-their-prime, malcontents, for the little ‘pearls of wisdom’ that aren’t in any textbooks. A lot of important information that will help keep you safe and alive on the fire ground is not written down. The fire service is very young. We are losing our experience. The firefighters that went to fires during the war years are slowly retiring. Talk to them before they leave. We are losing our history, we are losing our past. Don’t let this happen.”
“Clean Up”
“The firehouse is your second home. Treat it as such. And if you are the junior firefighter working, you are the lowest on the totem pole. You get the dirty work….This is based on the fact that all the junior people before you did it, or should have done it. You do it until the next probie (comes along). It is part of belonging, it is doing what you should be doing. And it is always pretty funny, because in my experience, the ones that piss and moan about doing the chores usually end up doing them by themselves for a long time. But the ones that just do it…usually find that they have help. They become accepted into the “family” a little quicker.”
“Step Up”
“Be involved in your company and in your department. Attend company functions, help run them if possible….Become a productive member of your Company. Above all, go to funerals and services, especially the line of duty ones. Pay your respects. Become a part of the fire service by deed and not by mouth.”
“Shut Up”
“Spend more time listening and doing than talking about it. Show by your actions and your deeds what type of firefighter and member of this great Brotherhood you are.”