PFDRes47cue

Date: 1-31-2011 Time: 15:00 Location: 1824 Peasleeville Road Frequency: Clinton County Dispatch Units Operating: Saranac FD; Cadyville FD; Dannemora FD; Keeseville FD; Morrisonville FD; Peru FD; South Plattsburgh FD; Weather Conditions: Very cold! Description Of Incident: Working fire in a 1 story residence. Lone resident parished in the fire. Reporters/Writer: PFDRes47cue

Date: 1-31-2011 Time: 21:00 Location: Chazy Lake Road Frequency: Clinton County Dispatch Units Operating: Saranac FD; Dannemora FD; Cadyville FD; Morrisonville FD; Lyon Mountain FD; South PlattsburghFD; Bloomingdale FD; Weather Conditions: Very cold! Description Of Incident: Working fire in a large 2-story residence. Reporters/Writer: PFDRes47cue

Date: 2-1-2011 Time: 15:30 Location: Colton, NY (unknown street) Frequency: St. Lawrence County Central Dispatch Units Operating: Colton FD; Colton Rescue; South Colton Rescue; Pierrepont First Responders Weather Conditions: Cold, snow Description Of Incident: One car rollover with injuries. 3 Patients requiring extrication. Reporters/Writer: PFDRes47cue

Saw this article while sitting at the fire station this morning after a call and finding out my classes were cancelled for the morning... Several SCBA Manufactures Develop Low-Profile Prototype Personally I have a few concerns about the low-profile designs. One would be trusting the flexible containers when filled to high PSI's. I like the idea of a flexible SCBA that allows for better maneuverability but I do not know if I will trust it as much as a traditional rigid design. Is the soft and flexible material as heat resistant as tradition designs? Also, sometimes firefighter need to attach rope to the sturdy frame of traditional SCBA packs. How would you go about doing this now? The article address firefighters concerns about its length...I am interested to see how much short new prototypes are. Will fire departments be willing to get new seats for their rigs, buy new fill stations, redesign SCBA storage on apparatus? Traditional packs can also be changed very quickly without being removed. Two advantages are that the design is lighter than a traditional SCBA and that the low-profile will leave less firefighters taking their packs off to fit through tight places. This will save time and energy in the event of being trapped, injured, etc. Interest to hear some other opinions...

Nice call! You beat me too it. ENJOY!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_JtoW7GrdY

While most fire departments are now outfitting firefighter with the DRD, and harnesses, I have found that most training still focuses on using the SCBA frame. I have spent time working with firefighter rescue, etc using the DRD and the harnesses but more frequently the SCBA frame. FF1, Firefighter Survival, F.A.S.T., etc are a few classes that to my knowledge still talk about the SCBA frame. I personally think that we should be focussing more on the DRD and harnesses...maybe this new style SCAB will push this switch along I can't wait to be able to see one of these in person. Hopefully, there are opportunities to test them out in the near future. This might be the next big thing for the fire service.

I would imagine that these can just be stood up one in front of the other in a box or something to store. As for he wheel well storage, I wonder if these can be rolled up and stuck into the storage compartment.

Date: 2-2-2011 Time: 06:54 Location: 1121 US Highway 11 (Gouverneur Gardens) Frequency: St. Lawrence County Central Dispatch Units Operating: Gouverneur FD; Richville FD; Gouverneur Rescue; SLC Car 5 Weather Conditions: Cold, heavy snow Description Of Incident: Working fire in a single-wide trailer home. Reporters/Writer: PFDRes47cue

Just out of curiosity, on cars with a master fuse connected to the positive wire, can you just pull this fuse out?

Nissans have them in the fuse box. This is either under the hood or in the passenger or drivers compartment. I believe most cars have these fuses. Often times, if the airbag light comes on and stays on it means the fuse is blown. Or in a worst case, the air bag is "dead." check your owners manual to double check but there should be an airbag fuse on most if not all vehicles. Not 100% sure though...

I agree with people needing plenty of time in the back of the rig. I am actually trying to set up some sort of system like that for Drivers in my VAC. A certain amount of time in the back before being able to drive should be mandatory. They are not trained to run over innocent people...only threats. At least that would be my assumption. If there was a suicide bomber or some person who posed such a threat as death to me and my crew, I would probably run the person over as well if it would save my life and my crew members lives. A lot of people have mentioned issues with NYPD driving requirements. Does the NYPD allow PO's to drive as soon as they start patrolling? I have no idea how many young cops (21-23 lets say) there are in the NYPD but probably a good amount. Can anyone elaborate on the driving training for the NYPD? This is an interesting subject for discussion. It seems to me that for the most part everyone is agreeing but wording things different. To edit my original post to better express my opinion, it should read... something along the lines of 18 or 21 years of age not being too young as long as you pick the right 18 or 21 year olds. The exceptions as they have been called in this thread.

That is a great point. I was not aware that there was enough gas left over to re-deploy and airbag. Or any gas at all for that matter. After removing the airbag fuse you can remove the deployed airbag with little to no risk I would imagine. It seems that no matter how safe you are, you are never 100% in the clear in terms of safety. Airbags are dangerous things to emergency personnel.

Date: 2-1-2011 Time: 17:00 Location: Bagdad Rd. Frequency: St. Lawrence County Central Dispatch Units Operating: Potsdam FD; Potsdam Rescue Squad; Weather Conditions: Cold, snowing Description Of Incident: Motor vehicle accident requiring extrication. Reporters/Writer: PFDRes47cue

I actually have used these before. They work great for top posts. Some side posts do not have enough clearance for the terminal puller. But nevertheless, great addition to any rig!

I agree that the majority of 18-21 year old members do not have the experience or maturity to operate emergency vehicles. But, there are some safe ones out there (as the "older" and wiser members have agreed). Also, as another member touched on, there are less and less "older" members around. A younger wave of drivers is coming through. Is this safe? Not the safest trend by any means but it is a reality. This should really be a new thread if people want to discuss the dangers and liabilities of young drivers.

I'm sorry for communicating this poorly. I was not in any way comparing agencies to the military or comparing training. I was just talking about 18 being a number. My point was that there are some exceptions to the general assumption that young people should not be driving. Sorry if I offended people, by any means.

Thanks, I tried to search for the thread, but I could not find it.

I agree that there is a huge difference. But my point is that 18 is just number and everyone is different. Should 18 year olds be able to crawl into a working fire to search/rescue the trapped people? I think that if someone is 18 and is responsible enough and is willing to train and follow the correct training guidelines and proves to be a solid driver under emergency conditions, they should be allowed to drive. Of course, if Johnny Smith is no good behind the wheel he should not be behind the wheel. If there is an 18 year old who is a cautious driver in all weather and proves this, why should he not be able to drive an ambulance in the snow while people are doing CPR. Age does not always equal skill. Experience comes with training, talking, and more so doing. There needs to be a fine filter on driver certifications.

Thanks for clearing that up. I have head that things can be power for up to an additional 30 minutes!

I recall hearing somewhere, from someone, at sometime that airbags can still deploy for a few minutes after the battery is disconnected. Is this accurate?

I do not believe 18 or EMS and 21 for FD's is too young for drivers. With that said, I do feel that these must be filtered. Perhaps even more filtered than some agencies/department do. I do not think the number should be focuses on as much as the ability of the driver. Numbers are stupid and just provide a guideline. I know some young drivers that are very good drivers as well as some whom are not so good. There must be in depth driver training and certification requirements in agencies/departments. This process also must not be rushed through and all issues with someone driving must be addressed. Our country trusts 18 year old to go into Iraq with a bunch of explosives and powerful guns and kill people to protect our freedom. We allow these same people to drive tanks that have the capabilities of running over vehicles, people, or the ability to blow up entire buildings, villages, cities etc. These same people should be able to drive fire trucks and ambulances. On a side note, they should be able to drink to!!!

Motor Vehicle Fire. Socket set or open-ended wrench?

Date: 1-31-2011 Time: 21:30 Location: County Route 58 IAO Chapel Hill RD Frequency: St. Lawrence County Central Dispatch Units Operating: Parishville FD; Parisville Rescue; SLC Car 8; Weather Conditions: -8, cloudy Description Of Incident: Chimney fire with extension to house. Reporters/Writer: PFDRes47cue

Another GREAT topic for discussion! Car batteries pose a very large threat to emergency personnel when at the scene of a MVA or even an MVF. The battery acid inside can leak out and irritate/burn our skin and ruin our gear. Batteries can also explode or cause a painful shock. Several years, ago while cutting a battery at a MVA I cut the battery cables with a bolt cutters. However, someone thought it a good idea to have a chain on the bolt cutter to hang it in the cabinet. Well when I was cutting the negative wire the chain hung down and touched the positive terminal resulting in a big pop and flash. Luckily, I was wearing rubber gloves! I have always been taught to leave cutting the batter wires as a last resort and only if the car is clearly totaled. When possible, I always take the extra few seconds to grab a socket and disconnect the battery properly. This allows the battery to easily be hooked back up by the tow truck driver if needed. It also is one less thing that has to be fixed on the car if it is not totaled. When you do need to cut the battery, it is a good idea to do what Remember585 said, cut a 2 inch section out of the cable instead of just cutting through the cable once.. This minimizes the risk of the cable coming back into contact with the battery post. I often times see FD's go overboard with the tool selection for popping the hood on a car. very rarely will you need a Partner saw to remove a hood! 99% of the time a halligan will work fine. Even easier, just pull of the plastic grille (if it id not fly off in the accident) and pull the hood release cable...believe it or not this WILL open the hood (unless it was severed in the accident). Often times, the batteries are located close to the quarter panel on cars. This makes it very easy to just pry up the corner of the hood with a halligan to access the batter terminals. Remember, some batteries have terminals on the top and the side...be careful of all four terminals on these batteries. they are all live! Stay safe!

No, the problem was that the New Apparatus posts were "wiping out" the Protection From the Past and the Rockland & Orange County I/A's. The change I was referring to is stopping that from happening.