mfc2257

Although not in the NY Metro Area.... Don Gantz Vice President of the Gettysburg Fire Department and Past Chief of the Barlow Fire Department just south of Harrisburg, PA passed away at 0409 this AM after suffering a massive heart attack earlier this week. Don was in great shape ant it was certainly a big shock.

Don was a dear friend of mine and will be missed terribly in Southern Pennsylvania.

Although he has been a fireman for almost 40 years, he never got bogged down in the "that's the way we've always done it" attitude. He was very progressive, yet when he never lost his basic firefighting roots. He also welcomed new college students to the department and worked very hard to help increase our skill set when other folks hated us because we were outsiders only there for a 4 year tour.

Don taught me more in 4 years than I could have ever expected. He is one of the folks that prepared me to be an officer when I returned to Millwood from College.

Don also helped me to research and eventually complete the restoration of Millwood's 1924 Brockway Torpedo in Gettysburg as well as brokered my purchase of Gettysburg's old 1957 Mack B Model from the department 2 years ago.

He was one of those rare folks that every member from every department in the county knew, respected, and turned to for advice.

Rest In Peace brother. You helped a lot of people along the way.

http://gettysburgfd.com/

Chappaqua couple shot in road rage incident

By BRIAN HOWARD

THE JOURNAL NEWS

(Original publication: November 19, 2006)

A Chappaqua woman was shot in the head during a road rage altercation and was driven to the hospital by her husband, who also was shot in the abdomen during the same incident.

The double-shooting happened at 11:15 last night on Route 100, just south of Route 133.

Carlos Perez-Olivo told police said he was driving south on Route 100 when another motorist cut him off and forced him to pull over. A man then entered their vehicle with a handgun, and a struggle ensued.

After the shooting, Perez-Olivo was able to drive to Northern Westchester Hospital Center in Mount Kisco where his wife, Peggy Perez-Olivo, remains listed in critical condition.

Police described the man they are searching for in connection with the shooting as Hispanic, about 6 feet tall with brown hair and a mustache, and wearing a baseball cap, a dark jacket, dark blue jeans and white sneakers.

The suspect was accompanied by two other individuals in a dark colored sedan, possibly a Toyota Camry.

Anyone with information is asked to call the New Castle Police Department at 914-238-1566.

Police have scheduled a 1:30 press conference this afternoon to discuss the case.

Anyone use this?

I remember seeing a Piercing Nozzle used for Car Fires but Structure Fires?

Interesting.... 

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Here is a long story for those who might be interested. For those who aren't the answer is yes I've used an old fashioned piercing nozzle to slow down a fire moving under a roofline at a refrigeration facility.

Not that one in the article... But I've used a piercing nozzle once...in my college days in Gettysburg we were the first due truck and second due engine (the engine almost rolled over going through town but that’s a different story) to a refrigerated apple storage warehouse for Knouse Foods (makers of Musselmans Applesauce) about 15 miles away. At this huge structure there were several hazards that prevented the truck crew from opening up the roof quickly. Most importantly the refrigeration lines filled with Anhydrous Ammonia that were present in the building. A few months before this call the Chief of the very department whose box we were responding to was killed while working as a contractor and servicing one of these refrigeration lines when it ruptured. We were all a little on edge...

Unfortunately the fire was running though the void between the cement ceiling of the refrigeration unit and the metal/tar roof. The building was preplanned by the first due department as well as our department being that we had first due truck responsibilities. A part of this included having diagrams of all the vital areas of the building. Using these plans and the help of the building manager we found a safe place to insert the piercing nozzle through the roof. The result was an impinging fog that bounced off the cement ceiling of the refrigeration unit and significantly knocked down the fire until the building manager and roof ops officer could determine safe places to cut into the roof without compromising FF safety with a potentially deadly leak of Anhydrous Ammonia

Everyone is off on a tangent here....

Here are the logical conclusions from everything that's been said:

During suppression operations the incident commanding chief should not be inside.

If there are multiple chiefs on scene and a proper incident command system can be established like the one myself and ALSFIREFIGHTER were talking about before then it is absolutely feasable for a chief to manage interior command.

For the folks out there that are arguing that no chief at any time should be in a structure fire then you've got to sit down and take an Incident Command Systems Class & also take some time to sit and read the SOG's and SOP's of large city and county run departments where chiefs are routinely assigned to interior or roof operations as that division commander.

Finally in the world of mutual aid, if a chief responds mutual aid with a piece of apparatus and the department commander who is recieving mutual aid does not need that chief to act as part of the Incident Command System, then that chief should be operating with his crew and not standing around doing nothing.

Mfc:  Finally someone has kind of gotten how the ICS could actually work the correct way.  If everyone operates with those functions on the radio its getting even closer.  All that would be needed is to have other crews filter under their respective "supervisors." 

The only thing I would add to your scenario of personnel...is an operations officer.  You can still break it down by division as interior/exterior but having a single person they answer to will avoid conflicting tactical decisions by both.  Again this function can be filled by the IC also, but why do that and add another responsibility if you have the person to accomplish it.

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Operations Officer I agree on... I omitted it in error while typing fast.

As far as these teams communicating through their proper "supervisors" I couldn't agree more. I think it is very important for Communications to provide the OIC with a rollcall of incomming apparatus... For communications to indicate to the apparatus who their contact is and on what channel when they "go responding", for apparatus to request an assignment as they approach the scene (just because E247 is from Millwood doesn't mean that it will automatically be filling the 2nd due spot behind E245 or E248... E105 from Mt. Kisco might already be onscene operating in the 2nd due capacity as per command's orders thus significantly changing E247's role), and for the the appointed contact for that piece of appratus to clearly instruct that team from the moment an assignment is delivered.

This cuts down on freelancing and the unfortunate LODD's when people become unaccounted for because there wasn't an assigned officer monitoring thier progress.

Depends on the department, scenerio, and other chief's on the scene. Do chiefs belong inside when they are needed outside to run operations no. If there is a chief available to handle operations inside should they be there yes...

Take the following example... We'll use my old stomping grounds for example...

2.5 story SFD with fire from the #2 floor. 2253 arrives first and establishes command, E245, E248, E247, E105 (Mt. Kisco) TL-27 Chappaqua, E270 FAST(Yorktown) are all on scene. When 2251 Arrives he assumes command from 2253. Now you in theory have 2252, 2253, a chief from Chappaqua (2061) A chief from Mt. Kisco (2281), a chief from Yorktown (2531) plus Millwood's Junior officers (2254 Captain, 2255-2257 3 LT's)

2251 Has command

2252 Has exterior operations

2253 Has interior operations (this is the controversial "chief inside")

2254 Is the officer on the search team

2255 Is the officer on the primary attack line

2256 Didn't make the call

2257 Didn't make the call

TL-27's officer (person riding the seat) has roof ops

2061 Has staging

2281 Has Safety

E105's officer (person riding the seat) is the officer on the backup line

2531 Has FAST ops

As for the porsche thing well no $hit Any Dumb@ss knows that, I spelled it differently because in other places such as AOL "Porsche911GT3" was not available, So I spelled it Porsha911GT3, which I use everywhere and it really doesnt matter if its gt or GT still says the same thing doesnt it. Its sort of the same way that I spelled the other nice words above, You can't spell it one way so spell it differently, but it still means the same thing

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Gotcha.... Again wasn't trying to be a dick... Just pointing something out.

The Police Packages have a lot more horse power than the ones that are available to the public, I think its over 400

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Porsha911gt3... You are incorrect regarding police package cars these days. There is no difference in the amount of power available in a Hemi Charger police package vs. a stock Hemi R/T.... It's 340HP. Now if you are Joe public and want more ponies yes you can buy an aftermarket chip, intake, and exhaust for the car. Eventually someone will start making a bolt on supercharger as well (if Paxton or Vortech haven't done it already)... If you want to spend a few grand more, you can buy the factory optioned SRT-8 model whose Hemi produces 425hp. More powerful horsepower motors for police cars went out the door in the 1970's.

I'm not trying to be a dick but to you realize that you've spelled Porsha incorrectly in your screen name? The correct spelling is Porsche and if you're referencing the model its a GT3 with capital letters.

Sorry as a former driver and owner of a Porsche race car I'm a little sensitive about butchering the name and nomenclature

Anthony's in Mamaroneck... Hands down.

Kearn's Larchmont Deli...

what about it is making it so great? is it cheaper or more fuel efficient? and how much does it add to the cost of the car it self? seems like its not worth it until there are some more stations

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Buyer be ware of alternative fuel vehicles.... Most of the time they are not more effecient than a straight gasoline vehicle. The point of most flexible fuels or mixtures is to extend the amount of fuel available. Often times it requires more fuel to go the same distance when replacing straight gas or diesel. There is a great article in Road & Track this month (link below) that debunks a lot of the myths about alternative fuel sources.... Including the amount of energy required to produce the fuel itself.

http://www.roadandtrack.com/article.asp?se...article_id=4060

Done tons of diesel research.... I used to pull a 44 foot enclosed race car trailer with a GVWR of 18,000lbs.

Chevy - GMC: Great motor made by Izuzu. It makes good power and is silky smooth and quiet. It just doesn't put the torque to the road as quickly as the others. This is the diesel you want if you are occasionally towing or doing heavy work but for the most part it's your daily driver and you'd like the quietest, smoothest, diesel on the market

Dodge - The Cummins is the direct oppisite of the Izuzu in the GM rigs. It's loud, rough, and raw. Puts the torque down at the lowest RPM of any and makes gobs of power. Only comes with a 4 speed auto (instead of a 5 speed auto) if you don't want to row the gears yourself with the 6 speed manual.

Ford - The Navistar Powerstroke is the best combo of what folks are looking for and it is why you see more of them than any other diesel on the road. All the teething problems with the new 6.0 Liter engine are gone. They get great mileage, they are relatively quiet, the make plenty of power. A great all around motor. It is also why you see an version of this motor in tons of new school busses, and medium duty commercial chassis like wreckers, utility bodies, etc.

If I recall correctly, Conrail used to provide the passenger service on the Hudson, Harlem, and (not sure) New Haven... until 1983 when the MTA took over.

Also, I think someone mentioned that the Harlem line is all commuter, but I doesn't the lumber yard off 684 get it's deliveries via freight? I think there is some freight service on the Harlem line

Wow, the boys and girls on Engines 39 & 44, Truck's 16 & 13 have been busy the last few days.

Around the corner from my wife's old appartment.

Just spoke with one of my friends who is a Nurse at NY Pres. Cornell... She lives in the Helmsley Building directly next door (hospital housing) and was sleeping off the night shift when the smoke woke her up.

Says that FDNY worked wicked fast.

This is 39 Engine and 16 Truck's first due. They have Highrise #2 quartered with them on 67th Street b/t 3rd and Lex...

This isn't intended to be condecending, but there are some people who don't know how air brakes work (some of whom are probably driving apparatus with air brakes)...... Here is the over simplified version.

First: When you hear the emergency brake applied and a large rush of air is heard, this is not air being put into the system, but air being removed. The way the emergency brakes functions is that heavy springs hold the brakes on. Air pressure is used to hold the springs back when the emergency brakes are off. Thus the rush of air you hear when the emergency brake is applied, is the removal of the air pressure that was holding the springs back.

Second: When there is a leak in a modern air system, or in the case of the aforementioned 1971 Maxim, when the system drains, there is no longer enough pressure to hold the emergency brakes springs back and the brake is applied.

In actuality its a very safe system

over use of the air horns kills the air brakes and you dont want to mess up the whole air pressure on the truck.  Use them when you have to get through an intersection that has a lot of traffic dont blast them at people ecspecially at old people because that is rude and it proves that the person who is operating the truck is a total moron and a show off

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Thats a myth.... Air horns have a seperate tank than the brakes. Hence the reason why if you are on the horns for too long blasting little old ladies off Queens Blvd, the air horns will run out of air, but the truck brakes are unaffected. There is no way that an emergency vehicle would ever be built with a device (airhorn) that could cause the brakes to fail due to human stupidity (hangin on the horns)

Disclosure: There are plenty of folks who read this board who I've been the chauffer for or have been mine when I'm in The Seat.... I am 0occasionally guilty just like every body else of taking my frustration out on the "Q" and the horns.... This being said.....

The simple answer to this is that it's a decision that needs to be made based on each situation.

On Queens Blvd, no matter how much noise the guy riding the seat made, that lady wasn't going to get across any faster. The result... A jerkoff move by the officer.

On the other hand, there are times where the situation requires emergency apparatus to drive in the wrong lane of travel, through an intersection with multiple approaches of oncomming traffic, etc. where a once up and down on the "Q" and a few toots on the air horns just aren't going to do it.

Use your brains... If you are making noise to protect your crew and the public then fine. If you are making noise for the sake of making noise... Well, eventually you'll get pinched.

Are Fire Police trained in crime scene investigation? I was just wondering because when I was watching this on TV yesterday, there was a line of FF's in turnout searching the field and there were refered to as investigators in the articles.

My condolences go out to the family and community.

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Fire Police in PA are utilized for traffic control and support duties. In this situation they most likely would have handled crowd, traffic, landing zone, and other support operations.

They are not "Police" like law enforcement.

Most of the time, Fire Police are older members of the FD or other folks who want to participate, but who have reasons that prevent them from acting in a Fire-Rescue-EMS role. They free up FF/EMS provider time to perform their duty.

Initial MCI Dispatch By Lancaster County Fire 911... Units ending with CHE denote a Chester County unit.

AMBULANCE-21-1-CHE

AMBULANCE-28-1-CHE

AMBULANCE-28-2-CHE

AMBULANCE-29-CHE

AMBULANCE-3-9-1

AMBULANCE-4-3-1

AMBULANCE-4-9

AMBULANCE-5-2-1

BRUSH-26-CHE

FIREPOLICE-4-2

FIREPOLICE-5-1

FIREPOLICE-5-7

LIFENET-6-1

MEDIC-100

MEDIC-2-13-1(M)

MEDIC-3

MEDIC-6-12-10(M)

MEDIC-6-12-9(M)

MEDIC-7-7-1(M)

MEDIC-7-7-8(M)

MEDIC-7-7-9(A)

MEDIC-9

MEDEVAC-6

PENNSTAR-2

PENNSTAR-4

QRS-5-1

SKYCARE

SPECIAL-UNIT-6-12-1

SQUAD-5-2

Millwood Engine 247 - The first (and possibly the only) CAFS engine in Westchester County.

As a former Officer, MPO, and FF that ran often on E-247 out of headquarters I've got a decent amount of experience with CAFS. I've also been involved with several units in the DC/Baltimore/PA metro areas.

IMO the biggest problem is the lack of heat dissapation. CAFS does nothing to help cool the room. Inexperienced or excited FF's quickly extinguish the flames, but the room is just as hot as it was seconds earlier. They proceed deeper into the room to search for more fire OR stand up in the room and encounter deadly temperatures.

Second problem... You cant vent a room with CAFS.... Two reasons... It flows like shaving cream & the nozzles that it is discharged from cannot create a fog like an automatic can.

A minor problem that I've seen a handful of times is when the MPO for whatever reason (runs out of foam, system failure, etc) converts back to straight water while operations are underway, the hoseline goes from being like a garden hose as far as nozzle reaction and weight, to a fully charged line with 100+psi coming from the tip and weighing 8.6lbs/gallon. It will knock a crew on their a** if they aren't prepared for it..... Sometimes it's funny during training, other times at a fire it's dangerous.

I have never seen CAFS used and there be an actual problem with suppression (like it didn't do its job).

CAFS although a wonderful tool for knocking down residential fires that are mostly room and contents, has its limitations. If you are rolling up to a well involved structure, leave the CAFS switch turned off. You are going to have multiple pieces of apparatus besides your CAFS rig that are flowing straight water and you will lose the benefit of CAFS. You will put part of the fire out with CAFS but the area will remain hot enough to reignite as soon as someone washes the CAFS foam off the surface you coated. The best use for a CAFS pumper at a fully involved structure is to protect exposures. There is no substitute for GPM at a fire that cannot be put out from a single CAFS line.

Hope this helps.

JM15..... CAFS stands for Compressed Air Foam System. An over simplified definition of CAFS is Class A foam (which isn't much different than laundry detergent) solution is mixed and then an air compressor will agitate the mixture to create a shaving cream like substance. When you flow this mixture it coats surfaces and seperates with amazing speed the heat, fuel, oxygen mixture that creates fire. So long as the mixture continues to coat the surface of the fuel, it wont burn anymore.

As of my last trip home....

Rescue 36 (Headquarters) - Full preconnected Lukas set including spreaders, cutters, rams, etc. Gas powered backup unit for the same. Port-A-Power and Rabbit tool as well.

Engine 248 (Station 2) - Gas powered Lukas Combi Tool

On order OR in the budget - Another full set of Lukas tools like Rescue 36's that will go on E-248 out of Station 2 and the Lukas Combi Tool will come back to E-247 out of Headquarters.

I was on both the WP and the Briarcliff Jobs....

WP w/R-36 at 18 years old.

Briarcliff w/E-247 as Captain

Unless you've actually seen it in person, it's hard to imagine what a 9000gal tanker looks like after it's come apart.

I'd prefer to not have to see that kind of damage again.

Controversy for a flag that has been unde controversy since 9-11.  The flag that was raised by our three brothers that day was supposed to be taken for a boat somewhere berthe off Battery Park, according to the owner of the boat if memory serves me correct.

Reguardless of this, I hope there was no "back door" loosing of this icon of our nation nor anyone trying to replace it or taking it for their own needs.  This flag is our nation's icon, Our Flag, and it better be found soon.

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This is a true story. The Yacht was/is owned by the parents of a former co worker of mine.

I can't confirm this part, but I believe the missing flag problem began several months after September 11th when as a courtesy, some officials went to return the flag to the people who owned the boat. When they saw the flag they indicated that the flag couldn't have been the one taken off the boat on 9/11/01 because it was too big.

Regardless, whomever has the flag should do the right thing here.

Outside NYC when you hear a box card read over the air today most often it will include the company #, followed by the geographic area the alarm is in, followed by any special notations.... For example a common format in the DC, Baltimore, PA, MD, VA metro areas might be

Tones followed by.... "In box 20-8-30 at 43 County Line Road for a resported structure fire in a single family dwelling.... Company twenty is due, also alterted to fill the box, Engine 1-1, Quint-1, Carroll County Truck-5, Medic 28, Engine-Tanker 21, Tanker 14, Tanker 2 in place of Caroll County Tanker-6"

All of this becomes very easy to identify on a map..... The call in in Company 20's first due, in thier box area #8. Now the last number would indicate anything... in this case the "30" indicates that the address is in an un-hydranted location. if it were down town in a hotel the 30 might be replaced by 70 to indicate that it's a high occupancy building. Finally, the list of apparatus is what the dispatcher sees that the chief has indicated his first alarm structure fire assignment is for box 20-8-30.... In addition, Tanker 2 is not on the first alarm assignment rather it is the first tanker on the 2nd alarm assignment and has been dispatched in place of Caroll County Tanker-6 which is either on another call or OOS.

The amount of info that can be contained in a single box card on a CAD or simple filing system is limitless.

Millwood, Mt. Kisco, Fairview, Greenville, Hartsdale, Grasslands, Pound Ridge, Irvington, North White, Vista, Montrose VAFD are dispatched off 33.96 also if my memory serves me correctly... Don't be confused if you hear these departments broadcast over 46.26 on a simulcast or retone as well.