mfc2257

I'm in Winter Park about 50 miles away. No noise, just a great view about 15 seconds after launch... Through the seperation of the solid booster rockets... and finally it blurs out of sight and all you can see is the massive glow of the main engines remaining.

I watch from my house with beer in hand.... It never gets old.

All you cry-baby's can vote for whomever you want in the next election. I would suggest however that you look beyond the simple "he's the guy in charge... he's to blame attitude.

If you'd like to continue on that agenda... let's look at it this way; NYC has had a Democrat mayor in office for the entire 20th century (actually most of the 19th century too) with the exception of Fiorello LaGuardia ('34-'45 strangely enough a war period), John Lindsay (strangely elected as a republican during Vietnam, turned democrat in '70 for re-election when war times got tough) and Rudy (a semi liberal Republican who was loved after the September 11th attacks.) Lets elect a liberal now and f-ck it all up again.

Why didn't anyone oust the democrats in the '60's, 70's, and 80's when NYC was a filthy ("The Bronx is Burning") crime ridden dump. During what era do you think Tonka Truck (TL-124 got its name... How about "Fire Factory").. How come no one was calling for Democrat heads then... Yawn!

Why is it that everyone is crapping on Rudy and Bloomberg (two historic liberals who happened to move a little to the right) who happened to lead NYC through some of the most prosperic times EVEN in light of the September 11th attacks.

I'm not hearing any blame going toward FD brass that was in place on 9/11 about the radio problems. (which I'm not debating that the problems existed)

So the union can say it was Rudy's fault.... But at the end of the day, was it really his fault. A lot of times unions bark and their members are supposed to respond. But all too often, their members are following the sheep's rear end in front of them without looking up.

Before 9/11 how much had the FD and the union fought with the mayor over radios.

Ahh... Starting to like what I'm hearing... FD's that are equiping for their needs and not their wants.

A 75ft Quint would be a great choice for Katonah as I had thought the same for Hawthorne.

NOW if we can see a true example of proper sharing of resources.... Bedford Hills should add Katonah's soon-to-be Quint to all "residential" confirmed structure fires just as TL-57 has been on the auto to Katonah in the past.

Let BHFD rely on the Quint for residentals and let Katonah rely on the Tower for commercials.

I would say that the following are the most important:

Incident Alerts: (broken up by geography)

Incident Workshops: (catch all)

Fire/Rescue Operations:

EMS Operations:

Law Enforcement Operations:

Emergency Services Equipment (non-apparatus catch all)

Apparatus/In Quarters: (catch all)

Training: (catch all)

Media Share: (catch all video/photo/protection from the past)

The Lounge: (This should represent Fire/Rescue/EMS discussion not held in the main forums)

What I would limit is the discussions that don't pertain to emergency services. There are plenty of sites out there that discuss planes, trains, and automobiles. EMTBravo happens to do a good job discussing emergency services without degrading people like similar forums do..... So I say lets stick to what EMTBravo does best.... Emergency Services &......Leave the other stuff to those who don't protect others. If we need it, Google will find a website to explain it to us.

There are 11,884 people in the U.S. named Edward Smith.

If I'm not mistaken, that will leave E-245 (formerly TS-2) as the only TeleSquirt left in service in Westchester.... And E-245 is slated for replacement in the next 12 months.

I am a big fan of departments like Millwood, Bedford, Chappaqua, Katonah, etc. running TeleSquirts as first due engines. These districts have long driveways where the usual tactic of having the engine pull past the driveway and the truck position on Side Alpha doesn't always work. What you most often find is the engine pulled as far into the driveway as possible and stuffed in the corner with the truck pulling in behind and covering the A-B or A-D side of the home.

Having a TeleSquirt run as the first due engine gives the added flexability of an elevated waterway, or emergency escape ladder extremely close to the side/rear of the structure where a truck most likely wouldn't have enough room to work.

I'm not a fan of running TeleSquirts as trucks, or in place of trucks. But again as an engine. The hardware for the boom doesn't take up much space, you still have full engine compartmentation, full hose bed (E-245 carried 1200ft of 5in when I was Captain) full pump and tank capability.... All on a short wheelbase.

The desire to have full blown ladder trucks by almost every department in Westchester has caused us to lose sight of the fact that Telesquirts serve a great role.

I would hope that these rigs will wind up going to a department that can use them, OR keep the hardware for the booms and the next time an engine is spec'd by these departments that the booms would be remounted.

Just my 2 cents.

30% CLUB

And you may even be seen with a slight grin on your face when one of the pretenders rubs a dirty glove across his face…

That makes me laugh... I can think of a particular Ex-Chief who had a habit of this before he wore the white hat.

Mamaroneck village - 5 engines(1 spare), 2 ladders, 1 utility staffing is all volunteer and is dependant on who is in town. manpower will try to get to the houses but if rigs are out they respond to the scene. average response is approx 10-15 personnel.

Sorry, I thought that the Village had some career jakes, thats why I said Mamaroneck(s). Does the town have career staffing?

Thanks yfd910 that is the simple answer I was looking for. Hopefully others will follow. I'll PM folks if I have individual questions.

Please keep this a strict by the numbers answer.... No bs'ing about what's right and wrong, vollie vs career.... Just the facts. I will not use this information as a tool or leverage point against any departments/individuals.

I am curious, what is the staffing of career departments in WC? I'm looking for average staffing numbers. For example if xyz has a standard for a 4 man truck and 3 man engine, but one unit is in a slow station and always has a man detailed out then that isn't what I'm asking for. What is the number per unit that is being strived for per shift.

1: How many on the engine (including driver & officer)

2: How Many on the truck (including driver & officer)

3: How many on the rescue (including driver & officer)

4: How many on an ambulance/medic available to supress fire/effect rescues along with above units

5: Are the above supplemented by volunteers (always, special call, no volunteer members)

For the following departments (and others that I may miss) although I realize that a few have staffing that is more obvious than others

Mount Vernon

Yonkers

Pelham

Pelham Manor

Greenville

Fairview

White Plains

New Rochelle

Larchmont

Mamaroneck(s)

Hartsdale

Scarsdale

Eastchester

Harrison

Rye

Portchester

Mohegan

Peekskill

Veterans Affairs

Yea, the C-5's and the C-17's are still active, while the C-131 was active during the 50's. The WWII transport was the C-47 Dakota.

C-17 Globe Master is definatly still in service (The WWII C-17 Super Vega was a 1930's era small craft). The C-17replaced the C-141 Starlifter (think Hanoi Taxi).

C-5 still in service.

C-130 still in service (4 engine turbo prop) Also in service as the AC-130 Gunship currently seeing service in Afganistan and Iraq.

F-16's out of AC and Syracuse have several notable traits.... Single big jet engine, large air intake under piliot, single rudder control surface

F-15's, F-18's, F-22's all have twin smaller turbofan engine's, twin air intakes on either side of the airframe, and twin rudders in the rear.

I applaude that move.... Getting out of the saturated mid-Westchester/Mt. Pleasant tower ladder market

Good for them... So what's it going to be... Meanstick, HME/Smeal, KME?????????????????

There are certain states where volunteers are issued red/siren. Texas comes to mind. Maybe Vermont, Michigan.

In other states, the "assistant" to "a" chief may also run red/siren. For example an ems captain or fire police captain is the head of an individual divison of an emergency serice agency and thus because they are in charge of the daily running of that unit, they are an assistant to the chief and can run red/siren.

I just bought a new Dodge Ram 2500 Laramie Mega Cab with the new 6.7L Cummins, Aisen 6speed auto, and factory installed Jake Brake.... Awesome rig. I've historically been a Ford man and loved my F-350 Powerstroke, but it doesn't hold a candle to the new Dodge. I'll say that the Ford has a slightly higher quality interior. The new 6.4L Powerstroke feels great in the highway, but the twin turbos don't spool up nearly as fast as the Cummins with variable nozzle technology.

A few things though... The motor when equipped with the automatic is rated at 350hp & 650lb/ft of torque. The manual trannie has a de-tuned rating due to clutch issues and is rated as advertized at 305hp & 650lb/ft of torque. I'd assume that meat wagons would be coming in auto's so I think they are under reporting the engines power for this application.

My brother-in-law has the identical truck as mine but with a Hemi and 0-75mph or so he can't keep up with the diesel rig.

Can't wait to see a few ambulances on Dodge chassis.

Harrison a**'t fire chief driving to accident crashes; Route 127 closed

I hate the media. The way the title is written, it's like they are already saying that it was his fault.... Regardless of who's fault it is, an initial headline would more appropriately read

"Harrision a**'t fire chief involved in moter vehicle accident while driving to emergency"

The Fire Service as a whole (with no bickering over whether or not your city or rural, union or not, volunteer or not) needs to come together with OSHA, NFPA, ISO, and any other agency who can act as an advocate and begin to change the way that building construction is looked at.

We've outlawed drinking & driving, smoking in bars, use of certain pesticides.... We've got setback requirements that say I can't build a pool house within 15ft of my property line or have a fence that's too high, and I have to put Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel in my pickup truck..... BUT

WE STILL ALLOW LIGHT WEIGHT TRUSS CONSTRUCTION....

The lives of these Firemen and any others that have been lost to the failure of lightweight construction were the direct result of cost savings to developers....

The way I feel about it, our country has too many laws and the government controls every move we make so lets just add one more.... If you want to build a LWC building, you may save money on construction costs, but you should be require to keep insurance reserves to cover tragedies like this and pay higher premiums for fire insurance. In addition the building should be required to have been preplanned with the local FD and county dispatch (at the cost of the developer) for how a major situation should be handled. AND finally, all LWC structures should be labeled as such so that if all occupants are out upon arrival OR once all occupants have been removed, that the fire attack take a semi defensive route where no FF's are allowed more than a few feet into the structure with 2.5in lines or a deluge set.

Make the people who want to use these buildings pay for the safety of those who all too often lose their lives because of the cost savings to the developer/owner

Chicago has Snorkel-Squads that are built off of HME (I think) chassis that are no more than 10 years old. They are short devices though... probably about 55-60ft.

The point isn't to spec your equipment by the number of calls that you run, but rather what the needs of your 1st due are.

If you cover a ton of interstate highway that is heavily traveled by trucks and a high volume of cars.... AND the next due Heavy Squad & Hazmat are a great distance away or have a difficult time accessing your territory, then who is to say that the equipement isn't justified regardless of the number of calls.

Do departments with 9000gal tractor drawn tankers have to justify the equipment by running them on 1000 calls per year, or is the equipment justified by the fact that there is a fire risk combined with a lack of static watersources, hydrants, and mutual aid?

It would be unjustified if similar equipment is available nearby within a reasonable response range and this department just decided to create a monster for the sake of having it (think Tower Ladders and Cascades in Westchester)

I drove past the Carleton Place / Canadian Seagrave factory at 6:00am on Thursday morning on my way into my fishing camp north of there. I'm obviously not sure if they are building a rig with an identical chassis / cab / paint combo up there, but it looked like New Canaan's rig was sitting outside nosed up against the side garage door with the body off of it.

Any word on progress from the factory. If the body is off, I'd assume that it's probably in the process of getting painted.

Ummm right!?!?!?!?

Lets see if I can help a little

Back in the day there was an a push to move away from 46.26 as a dispatch channel to free it up for communications. Departments like Millwood and Mount Kisco were quick to move to 33.96 because it was in the best interest of the county to do so. Unfortunatly other departments didn't agree and there were only a handful of agencies that actually moved over.

The reason for the 33.96 repeater (which was installed at Roaring Brook School due to it's elevation) was that there were some soft spots that the original county tower broadcasts wouldn't reach. The retone through the Roaring Brook antenna covered most of the soft spots.

AS for the 46.26 simulcast, there are a multitude of reasons for it including but certainly not limited to.... Better coverage of the alarm announcement given that most of Millwood's M/A partners use 46.26... The fact that until the late 1990's New Castle PD dispatched Millwood and they seemed to be more in tune with the Chappaqua FD freq of 46.26.... etc etc etc.

Try asking some of this stuff at the station after drills on Tuesday's. There isn't much about the MFC that I can't tell you. But I learned it by asking (and most importantly listening) to people in the station.... You'll figure out who's full of it and who's not, by where the most consistant story comes from and whether that story comes from someone you see on the rigs at midnight.

Whenever possible take the time to pull the person to one side and say your opinion respectfully and quietly.

Whenever not possible to take the person aside be polite and try not to involve the public's ears. You don't want the bleeding guy who just ate pavement to think that there is a debate going on about their care.

Whenever you have to blatently ignore someone make sure you catch up with the person as soon after you ignored them as possible and explain yourself in a calm and cool matter. Back your reasons up with the opinions of others if you can. If the discussion turns heated, remain calm and take the high road. Let the situation settle and readdress later.

Remember..... You better be DAMN sure that you are 100% right if you challege an order from a superior. Make sure that your reasons for disregarding are based in knowledge, training, and experience and NOT because you've got a personal beef with following a certain person's orders. The spotlight's going to be on you to prove that what you did was right.

I fly in and out of Westchester all the time... both commercial and on corporate jets... Parking is a concern... So is terminal space.

A few things to keep in mind when flying out:

1: The checkin stands are VERY ackward and it is tough to decipher which line is for your carrier. If you're flying out during the morning rush, leave your self at least an hour.

2: The amount of waiting space once you've gone through security is VERY limited. There is usually standing room only. If a JetBlue Airbus, and AirTran 717, and a US Airways Regional Jet are all in the gates at the same time, you'll be hard pressed to find space for your butt, bag, and newspaper.

A few things to keep in mind when flying in:

1: There is limited gate space. If there are a bunch of Delta or Continental Connection Jets at the gate, there is no way to get an A320 or 717 in there. I've waited on the runway for 15-30 a few times until space was cleared. Don't get me wrong it's better than driving from LGA, EWE, or JFK.

2: There is one baggage claim belt. If there are several planes, be prepared to jockey with people for your bags. Best to send the wife with the kids to stand on the outer wall and you run bags out to them

3: Rental cars go quickly.

Don't get me wrong... My experience with flying out of Westchester Commercial have been GREAT. Much better than flying out of any of the big airports. But the premium you pay for the ultimate in airport location and simplicity is cramped quarters.

Flying on a private jet is a totally different story.... walk up to the FBO (Field Base Operations) building for whichever outfit services the aircraft (NetJets for example) drop your luggage walk to the plane and you're in the air 10 minutes later assuming that the people you're traveling with are on time.

Check this article out on FireHouse.com I know that mutual aid between states and counties happens all the time (Putnam to Westchester, Westchester to Fairfield, etc) but I never thought that regular mutual aid would be rendered across the Canadian Border from Sutton, QC to Richford, VT.

FireHouse.com - Fatal VT House Fire

Anyone who has/does live on the NY and New England boarders to Canada, please opine if you've got any experience with this.

Does the border crossing get notified by fire dispatch that an inbound piece of apparatus is responding. Does the rig stop at customs and get a quick and dirty search. How does all this work?

Correct me if I'm wrong.... Some folks older than I may be able to opine on this...

I think the State Law doesn't prohibit members from joining two departments, but rather from participating in more than one benevolant association and being elegible for two sets of benefits.

When I was joining the Gettysburg FD in 1996, there were a bunch of folks in Millwood who said "you can't do that, you'll have to become a social member in Millwood before you join in G-Burg..."

In the end, I was able to join G-Burg, be a fully active member, and be covered by their insurance.... I just couldn't recieve any future benefit other than medical care for an injury sustained while operating at a GFD alarm.