mfc2257

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Posts posted by mfc2257

  1. Posted

    Great. That's my wedding anniversary.

    Hey, my wife made reservations for the Kettlehouse. Thanks for the gift!!! :-)

    Kettlehouse?... Or Kittlehouse?

    If going to the Kettlehouse you'll need her to make airline reservations to Montana. If you're going to the Kittlehouse a quick drive to Chappaqua will suffice.

    Can I come? I had my engagement party there a few years back and miss the food very much.

  3. Posted · Edited by mfc2257

    This isnt just our problem, other countries (trading partners) are going into the same situation.

    How long before the next revolution/revolt?

    Put your money in govt bonds and not the smarket.

    Why would you want to put all your money in government bonds? Do you know that you CAN lose money by purchasing government bonds? Take some of the factors below?

    What maturity would you purchace? How many pieces of individual paper would you need to be properly diversified across the yield curve? What is your risk tolerance? Are you planning on holding those bonds until maturity? If not, are you aware of the inverse relationship between yield and price? What will you do if you put all of your money in government instruments and need to access that money before the bonds reach maturity AND the bonds are trading a a discount? Are you looking for income or total return from these bonds?

    I wouldn't be handing out that kind of advice or authoritive statement unless you know how to navigate the tricky waters of investment management!

  5. Posted

    I'm thinking the best thing that is going to hold up with that much weight on NYC's crappy streets is a Mack Terra Pro Cab Over (Just like the last generation of Mack's that came from the same line as the ME series did). Then shop the body construction to whomever...

    SVI

    Hackney

    Pierce

    Seagrave

    ALF

    Sutphen

    KME

    Ferrara

    E-One

    They all my heavy squad boxes

  6. Posted

    I would like to read the same as well.

    I'm not convinced that glue isn't a better solution than a tin gusset plate. There are plenty of synthetics out there today that can be manufactured to withstand tremendous temperature loads.

    A gusset plate will always warp and begin to separate from the truss, however high temp synthetic glue or an epoxy that is forced into the wood grain during the manufacturing process may indeed be a better solution.

  7. Posted

    MFC- Irvington does not have a tiller, Hastings on Hudson does. This is probably who you were thinking of. Stamford I think had 2 at one point, long before I ever worked there, Truck 1 was replaced in 1996, I believe.

    Absolutly right... Total brainfart on my part. Hastings Truck 22... Century Cab ALF if I recall correctly.

  8. Posted · Edited by mfc2257

    There are tons of Tillers left on the east coast... I can think of a crapload off the top of my head

    Berwyn Heights MD

    Chillim-Adelphi MD

    Owings Mills MD

    Hastings-on-Hudson, NY

    Mamaroneck, NY

    Albany, NY

    District of Columbia

    FDNY

    Hyattsville, MD

    Pottsville, PA

    Eden, PA

    Somerville, MA

    Suffern, NY

    Reading, PA

    North Hudson Regional, NJ

    Hoboken, NJ (maybe replaced with RM)

    New London, CT

    Baltimore City, MD

    Baltimore County, MD

    Virginia Beach, VA

  16. Posted

    Yawn !

    I love how a bunch of blowhards opine on how the driver was at fault and how he/she didn't check their rig when in reality, they may have checked the rig and there was a piece of equipment that failed causing the zodiac to come free.... I don’t think we’ll find out after the friendly commentary shown here…

    Shame on us for not remembering that these guys are perfect and have upgraded hearing that allows them to hear a strap failing at 50mph over the sound of the radio, Federal Q, and electronic siren... Not to mention the officer in the seat next to them that is issuing pre-arrival instructions to the crew.

    Maybe I missed it, but I didn't hear any of the righteous EMTBravo all-stars mention the fact that a pig walked away with fire-rescue property and is probably sitting in their garage with a six-pack trying to figure out how to discretely cover the "Fire Department" writing on the side of the boat.

  17. Posted

    I had this happen to me when I rolled into a dryer fire at a Chappaqua P.O.....

    Homeowner: "The fire is out..... WAIT, what do you mean the Millwood FD covers my house? I live in Chappaqua!'

    Capt. Smith: "Sir I'm aware, I live in Chappaqua too, but the Millwood FD covers most of the Town of NC west of Roaring Brook Road including both of our houses, can we see if you compeletly extinguished the fire your wife reported in the dryer?"

    Homeowner: "Well..... Ok!"

  18. Posted · Edited by mfc2257

    that answers my question, now for another since i am not that familiar with this type of system. Is it an all Vol house? Do Live In members get some sort of college credit? Are they required to "work" a set amount of hours per week / month?

    Many fire stations in the mid atlantic (PA, VA, MD, DE, WV) have a combination setup with "live-in's" Hyattsville in PG county has a small complement of career FF's that staff the station during the day along with volunteers. At night the live in's or other volunteers who happen to be in the station at the time of the call run the rigs. There is no blue light brigade in PG county.

    The live in's don't necessarily have to be college students. Many are 20's professionals or tradesmen who at this point in their lives aren't tied to a home or property and are essentially willing to trade the comforts of home for a single bedroom with a dresser and a desk. They don't pay rent, electric, or water but are required to run a certain percentage of calls on a weekly/monthly/yearly basis.

    You can typically tell the stations that are running a large complement of vollies if you listen to the radio while you're down there OR via dcfirefeeds.com online. Shortly after dispatch, communications does roll call of apparatus to give the BC's or DC's an indication of what resources are enroute. When you hear Hyattsville's truck say "Truck 1 with 8" you know that there is a bare minimum of 4 vollies on the rig b/c career staffing is never greater than 4. A few stations are 100% vollie... Ritchie and Bladensburg (Stations 37 & 9). Kentland is 100% vollie on the fire/rescue side but two PG county career FF's staff the ambulance. A few stations are 100% career like Tuxedo Cheverly (Station 22) and Chillum (Station 44). The majority though have a good complement of career and vollie FF's that staff the rigs.

    PG county is a single pull dispatch system meaning that only the most important first due apparatus is pulled from each station UNLESS that station has called communications to tell them that they are staffing multiple crews. Typically on a first due structure fire, a single pull would be the engine from the closest station, the next closest truck, next engine, next truck, engine, engine, truck in that order. NOW if the job is in Hyattsville's first due and they've called communications to say that they have 12 members staffing three pieces of apparatus, then communications will call them first and fill in the remainder based on additional local station staffing.... That is to say that Hyattsville will have the first and second due engines, and the first due truck.

  19. Posted

    Who really benefits from this? I can think of so many scenerios where an IAFF member can make extra money for their family AND help their community but this resolution (the language has been around for years) seems punitive. Who the hell is the IAFF to tell a member who needs to make additional dollars to support their family that they can't work a side job, public safety oriented or not.

    To me this sounds like a waste of energy. Unions were originally formed to protect their members while they were doing their jobs and to get fair pay for fair work. Now we live in a world where unions are telling members how to live their lives when their off the job. Big brother at it's worst.

    Resolution No. 2

    COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENT: Constitution & By-Laws

    Re: Secondary Employment

    WHEREAS, Article XV, Section 3 of the IAFF Constitution and By-Laws states: "Any member of the Association found working a secondary job as a paid-on-call firefighter or an employee of a public employer, nonprofit corporation, or a private contracting firm providing fire protection or emergency medical services to a city, county, municipality, or a fire protection district as a volunteer, reserve, part-time, part-paid, police officer, police reserve, or public safety officer may be subject to charges being filed against that member"; and

    WHEREAS, delegates to the 2006 IAFF Convention adopted Resolution 9, which, as revised and amended, called upon the IAFF to establish a committee comprised of IAFF Executive Board members to review the history associated with Article XV, Section 3 of the IAFF Constitution and By-Laws and its current impact, including enforcement, on our locals and our union as a whole, and directed this Committee to prepare a report complete with recommendations to be presented at the 2008 IAFF Convention; and

    WHEREAS, in accordance with this resolution, General President Schaitberger appointed five IAFF Executive Board members to the Secondary Employment Committee; and

    WHEREAS, over the last two years, this Committee has undertaken extensive measures to fulfill its mandate, including researching, assembling and reviewing the history of Article XV, Section 3 of the IAFF Constitution and By-Laws, which was inserted in our Constitution at the 1998 IAFF Convention; analyzing previous interpretations of this provision; collecting and reviewing misconduct charges, trial board decisions and appeals enforcing this provision; and assessing the political impact that enforcement of this provision has had on our affiliates; and

    WHEREAS, the Committee also issued a survey to IAFF affiliates which asked them to provide information regarding the prevalence of secondary employment among their membership, the type of secondary work being performed, whether misconduct charges had been filed on this basis, the outcome of those charges, and their views on whether the current Constitutional provision should be changed; and

    WHEREAS, the Committee also received testimony from affiliate leaders regarding the issues covered in the survey; and

    WHEREAS, a number of affiliates informed the Committee that the current language has been interpreted by its members as being less binding or enforceable than other constitutional misconduct provisions because it is not listed in Article XV, Section 1, which sets forth the definition of misconduct, and because it states that a member engaging in secondary employment "may" be subject to charges; and

    WHEREAS, a number of affiliates also informed the Committee that their efforts to enforce the current provision have been hampered because it is poorly drafted and does not clearly set forth the type of conduct being prohibited, and because it has been unevenly enforced through misconduct charges, causing members who are engaging in such misconduct to allege they are the victims of selective enforcement; and

    WHEREAS, numerous affiliates expressed strong feelings that the language of this provision should be amended to ensure clarity of intent and consistency of enforcement and to clearly prohibit IAFF members from working secondary employment as a firefighter, emergency medical services worker, public safety or law enforcement officer, or as a worker in a related service, where such job is within the work jurisdiction of any IAFF affiliate or materially erodes the conditions of work of any affiliate; and

    WHEREAS, as one of its recommendations, the Committee concluded that the current constitutional provision on secondary employment should be revised to remove the word "may" from its current language; to reclassify it as a form of prohibited misconduct listed under Article XV, Section 1; and to clarify its purpose and include recommended penalties for its violation, with the intent of ensuring that it is better understood, more easily enforced, and more uniformly applied; and

    WHEREAS, the Committee has reported its findings and the basis for its recommendations in a report which shall be submitted to the 2008 IAFF Convention; and

    WHEREAS, upon reviewing the Committee's findings, the IAFF Executive Board believes that the Committee's recommendations should be enacted; therefore be it

    RESOLVED, That Article XV, Section 3 of the IAFF Constitution and By-Laws shall be deleted, and that Article XV, Section 1, which sets forth misconduct prohibited by the IAFF Constitution and By-Laws, shall be amended by adding the following new subsection to the list of defined misconduct:

    "(N) Working a secondary job part-time, paid on call, volunteer or otherwise as a firefighter, emergency medical services worker, public safety or law enforcement officer, or as a worker in a related service, whether in the public or private sector, where such job is within the work jurisdiction of any affiliate or which materially erodes the conditions of work of any affiliate. Upon a finding of guilt of working a secondary job in violation of this subsection, it is recommended that the penalty include disqualification from holding office in any affiliate and/or expulsion from membership for the period that the misconduct persists. Charges filed for the misconduct described in this subsection shall be preferred by a member of the charged party's local and/or a member of an adversely affected affiliate." and be it further

    RESOLVED, That the IAFF shall create and maintain a database to track the experience of secondary employment among our affiliates, including the prevalence and type of such employment, the filing of charges related to such employment, and the outcome of trial boards and appeals deciding those charges; and be it further

    RESOLVED, That the IAFF shall create and distribute educational materials to IAFF affiliates regarding the constitutional prohibition on secondary employment, including the basis for this prohibition, and the experience of our affiliates in dealing with this issue.

    Submitted by: IAFF Executive Board

    Cost Estimate: 1 cent

  20. Posted

    Mfc2257: I don't think it was so much the truck door that took out the center pillar as much as it was the truck backing in itself. But there was a door incident at the factory for the new E247.

    Also similar incident at least one time for an Ossining engine going to a structure fire off Main Street.

    COMMANDCHIEF

    Maybe I've got my stories mixed.... I thought the E-248 incident (well before my time) was a result of the rig pulling out with the compartment open and the column coming down that split the bays....

    The backing incident well..... The only one that I can recall (not that it's very hard) was when the original wooden jumbo door that replaced the two that E-248 took out got hung up out of mirror view and I (thats right ME) backed into it with the turntable of TS-2 (E-245).... Hence the new composit material jumbo door that is on there now and the new strobes in place of the rotators on the back of TS-2. That was 12 years ago which means that E-248 taking out the bay would have been AT LEAST 10 years before that.

  21. Posted · Edited by mfc2257

    Some may remember that Millwood HQ used to have 4 single bays not the current 2 singles and the jumbo.... The same incident happened in the early 1980's when the old E-248 (1982 Kenworth/E-One) the twin to TS-2 (current E-245) was pulled out of the bay with a similar above-the-wheel compartment open.

    Needless to say the E-One construction was awesome (at the time) and the center column of the two right hand bays was pulled down.....Which is why there is a jumbo bay in it's place today...

  23. Posted · Edited by mfc2257

    The benefits to front or bumper mounted pumps are limited on a first due rig. However, they work great on the following rigs:

    Commercial mini pumpers & commercial tankers because they eliminate the pump housing midship and usually cut the length

    Supply engines because the allow you to pull directly into the water source

    Combination brush truck/mini pumper because it allows a driveline operated pump (front mount) and a seperate high pressure brush pump to be mounted on the same rig... Basically a 1000gpm front mount with a seperate high pressure diesel fired brush pump.... This makes a great mini pumper/source pumper/brush truck on a standard p/u chassis. See link below to an example for Harney MD Brush 115 which acts as a source pumper for lake drafting in the Gettysburg, PA - Emmitsburg, MD area.

    http://www.pawebworld.com/sgt11/hvfc/hvfc004.htm

  24. Posted

    More useless stuff that the public (me) doesn't need to know....

    The Communist News Network.... I mean CNN reported as their primary story this AM that the USS Houston, a Los Angeles Class Fast Attack Sub leaked radio active water while in port in Japan, Guam, Indonesia, and Pearl Harbor. At the very end of the story, the amount of leaking radiation was quantified as .0000005 microcuries which equates to less radiation than you'd find in a 50lb bag of lawn fertalizer.

    Wow ! A regular Chernobyl in the works..........

  25. Posted

    Damn, I'm all for supporting regional services as opposed to individual town departments...but 70 miles with one station? Unless the area you cover has more moose than people, that seems like asking for trouble.

    70 sq miles isn't that big...... A 10 mile long by 7 mile wide district is very reasonable in rural areas... Especially with a sub-station or two.