CLM92982

This topic is one which I am extremely passionate about.  In my own personal experiences, it is tough to implement any changes in the fire service which go "against the grain", such as focusing on our own health/fitness.  Why you may ask? A lot if it is because the majority of the time, we make it back to the station.  And thank God for that.  But at the same time, it is our downfall.  Many simply do not understand the possibility for much worse outcomes due to our own health/fitness levels, which we have almost complete control over.  
 
When I started working out at the station, I was alone.  It is a combination department, so neither my own career guys or any volunteers had any interest in joining in on a workout.  I heard and still hear it all the time "Im getting tired just watching" .  But I realized I hadn't asked them if they wanted to, so one day I did.  And since then the guys on my own crew have pretty much worked out with me every tour, as well as one of the volunteers.  But that's not enough!!!  I don't always work on the same crew with the same one volunteer showing up.  I have brought up the idea of a yearly FUNCTIONAL fitness "test", and not so much a pass/fail test, but one that we can gauge ourselves on.  Can you gear up, climb x amount of flights, crawl with weight on your back, drag someone x amount of feet under stressful conditions in the physical state you are in?  It was met with resistance from all ends.  Why? Because just like in training, we are afraid to admit what we don't know, or in this case what we cannot perform.  The fire service is UNFIT, and this is unacceptable.  And you know what.....THE PUBLIC HAS NO IDEA!  To them everything is fine and dandy, but if only they knew what lies beneath the turnout gear....how maybe that one time they need us to make it up 3 flights, force the door and search for their missing child but we can't....we can't because we are too out of shape.  
 
I look at some of the members in my department, career and volunteer, and think to myself sometimes...if they go down, can I get them out?  And you know what,  more times than not, that answer is no.  And that scares the hell out of me.  How can we look at each other this way and not do something about it?
 
I started a firehouse cooking blog, with the goal of sharing any and all recipes.  This quickly changed to a focus on healthier eating in the firehouse when I started my own personal change in lifestyle.  As with nutrition, fitness is also a huge part of the equation.  I feel like we all need to start somewhere...
 
Stay safe, eat well 

The mutual aid request to relocate was declined because their spare truck was out of service.

The mutual aid request to relocate was declined because their spare truck was out of service.

The mutual aid request to relocate was declined because their spare truck was out of service.

Looks like a good job by the IC in what (hopefully) will be a once in a lifetime incident.
I hope Critical incident stress debriefing was offered to the first responders and I would hope Metro North would offer something to the passengers as well. By what I have read some very horrific images were witnessed by first responders and civilians.
Chiefs and commissioners...when you swore in the 18, 19 year old gung ho members they put their trust in you. Physically and mentally. So did their parents who probably signed "consent" forms. You don't want them resigning over this, leaving your organization and being forever "broken" over what they witnessed.
Good job guys.

Based on some of these posts, I can't help but wonder if some of you were dropped on your heads as babies. What is even more concerning is how little some people know, armchair quarterback and jump to conclusions.
I have a fairly good amount of training regarding trains and train emergencies. I have - what I believe - is a wealth of knowledge of the fire service, including resources in this county and around us. I also have responded to and run a handful of incidents involving mass-casualties.
I have never - nor has 99.5% of you - had an incident like this. The people running it did a TOP NOTCH JOB, and the fact that some of you are sitting back, typing away and criticizing any decisions of the Incident Commander or any others at this incident just fortifies why I have little faith that we can ever become better as a county. Some of you posting here are officers, past officers or - God help us - aspiring officers in your respective agencies. As the Maitre D' in Ferris Bueller's Day off said, "I weep for the future."
/rant
And for the record, this is me, as a person, voicing my opinion which has no reflection of any affiliation I have or have had in the past.

What I never understood though is why do individuals who perform the Job of a FF have to be begged, persuaded,encouraged, etc.etc. to stay in some kind of good shape. We all know how important it is and how physically challenging it is so can we please just show a little initiative and start our own work out regiment on our off time. After all we as PFF have a pretty good work schedule and there should be no excuse for members not to work out on their own. Let's stop blaming Management for guys being out of shape and not providing a "Workout Program" and take some personal responsibility. I see plenty of Gyms in Stations with only a handful of guys utilizing them. It's like trying to persuade guys to learn their Job and become proficient at it when they have absolutely no interest at all. Here's a novice idea, put down your ipad and iphone, get up off the couch or push yourself away from the bowl of ice cream on the kitchen table and do some cardiovascular. Don't wait for the Powers to Be to tell you to do it! Many of us all have families at home we should be concerned about! JMO.

Fork and Hose Co. strives to provide inspiration for firefighters in the kitchen. We try to feature as many healthy meals as possible because as we all know, the biggest killer in the fire service is cardiac related incidents. We recently filmed a couple episodes of Firehouse Kitchen with my good friends at 555 Fitness, in which we featured health-conscious recipes as well as workouts that require only equipment commonly found in firehouses such as apartment-packs, foam pails, hose and a stokes basket. I am curious to know if any departments in the area implement any fitness and health programs. If so could you explain the details and if not has anyone ever tried to and failed? The statistics do not lie and the fire service is ridden with mindset "it's not going to happen to me", which is something to be concerned about because WE are the only ones who can change that. You must think not only about yourselves but your brothers and sisters backing you up and your family.
Stay safe!
AJ
Fork and Hose Co.
Founder
Find us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @forkandhoseco !

Well guys after 43 years as a Port Chester Firefighter [ 18 years very active volunteer working at DPW then getting the dream job getting paid to do what I love to do this is my last day. It didn't end the way I wanted it too but away I go . I was fortunate to catch the war years when we went out every day for a job worked side by side with many dept.'s and made a lot of life long friends on mutual aid. I saw a lot of death and sorrow [ Gulliver's 24 DOA Stouffer's 26 DOA 9/11 world trade center ] and saved a few along the way but my greatest call was closing a large window [ life savers building ] for a 84 year old lady who was freezing because her window was open and she needed help. The next day she baked a apple pie for me and my partner. So I say good bye to it all and hope that I left a small mark somewhere. To my 2 sons that are following or trying to follow in my foot step's keep up the good work in this most rewarding profession . Good luck to the guy's that are left on my job and hope that thing's get better for you and the people we were sworn to protect.
Angelo Sposta [ Retired Local #1971 ]

What about quality not quantity? I just think its a better assessment as far as hall of fame stature goes. The guy who shows up to the most calls isn't always the best fireman, we all know that. So how about a ratio of reputation points to number of posts, who has the most likes per post? Just an idea

If there was a job in Port Chester, that's where we'd find you. The fireground will never be the same. Rest easy, Charlie.


68 Munson Street - July 29, 2007

If there was a job in Port Chester, that's where we'd find you. The fireground will never be the same. Rest easy, Charlie.


68 Munson Street - July 29, 2007

If there was a job in Port Chester, that's where we'd find you. The fireground will never be the same. Rest easy, Charlie.


68 Munson Street - July 29, 2007

If there was a job in Port Chester, that's where we'd find you. The fireground will never be the same. Rest easy, Charlie.


68 Munson Street - July 29, 2007

If there was a job in Port Chester, that's where we'd find you. The fireground will never be the same. Rest easy, Charlie.


68 Munson Street - July 29, 2007

If there was a job in Port Chester, that's where we'd find you. The fireground will never be the same. Rest easy, Charlie.


68 Munson Street - July 29, 2007

If there was a job in Port Chester, that's where we'd find you. The fireground will never be the same. Rest easy, Charlie.


68 Munson Street - July 29, 2007

I think this is a good SOP and would work well for most departments. The 35 is a good number to go on air if you are encountering it by the door. From my experience when I get 35 at the door it will be above 100 somewhere inside. I would also add that I never really like to rely on 1 meter. We wear ours all the time and even the ones we have now have a tendency to get saturated at times because we wear them into fires. I feel much more comfortable giving the all clear to the occupants when it's confirmed with two independent meters. I also like to make sure I get someone to the heating plant. Many times just viewing it can let you know what happened.
Here's a story of a run I had a few months ago. 3 AM run for CO detector activated. More than 1 detector activated. Readings in the teens. Rain and damp outside. Occupants have no symptoms but are drunk. They say the alarms went off earlier in the day (more than 12 hours ago) and the landlord changed the batteries. Some of my guys think it is the rig parked outside so we move it. With doors opening and closing readings go down to single digits but the voice in my head says something is not kosher. So I make sure the OV gets into the basement to see the furnace even though it requires him to force the door. And he finds the flue detached from the furnace. Would it have killed anybody? Probably not but would we have done our job if we left? Not in my opinion. Be thorough resist the pressure from the troops to go back to bed quick. Many officers at one time or another have gone back to the firehouse and laid in bed wondering if they did everything they should have. I have and it's not a good feeling so I learned from it.

Negative. If memory serves me correctly, the breakdown for agencies dispatched by 60 Control are as follows:
Staffed Fire and EMS agencies: (Dispatch) - One minute to respond
Unstaffed EMS agencies: (Dispatch) - Three minutes to respond - (Redispatch) - Three minutes to respond - (Redispatch) - (Dispatch) mutual aid agency
Unstaffed Fire agencies: (Dispatch) - Five minutes to respond - (Redispatch) - Five minutes to respond - (Redispatch) - (Dispatch) mutual aid agency

Negative. If memory serves me correctly, the breakdown for agencies dispatched by 60 Control are as follows:
Staffed Fire and EMS agencies: (Dispatch) - One minute to respond
Unstaffed EMS agencies: (Dispatch) - Three minutes to respond - (Redispatch) - Three minutes to respond - (Redispatch) - (Dispatch) mutual aid agency
Unstaffed Fire agencies: (Dispatch) - Five minutes to respond - (Redispatch) - Five minutes to respond - (Redispatch) - (Dispatch) mutual aid agency

This is one of the sorriest excuses for a document I have ever seen. All it does is "recommend." Yes, NY is a home rule state, but it does Require 229 hours of training for career firefighters under their document Administrative Standards for Firefighters. Where's the "home rule" in that? I believe the State could require a lot but just chooses not to. Even the 229 hours is minimal. Responsible fire departments are giving their probies somewhere in the range of 400 hours before they hit the street. Along with that, the required 100 hrs per annum cannot scratch the surface of the things they should be training on annually.
Where was home rule when the state mandated PASS devices and personal escape systems? The state jumped right over home rule when enough people demanded these items, and the state can do it in regards to training. All you have to do is get together and make a stink to enough stste legislators.
The argument for "home rule" and "recommendations instead of requirements" over the years has usually been something along the lines of "If we force too much training on firefighters, we will lose volunteers." Well, how would you rather lose them, because you require too much training, or would you rather carry them out in stokes baskets and put their name on that ever growing stone monument in Albany. (By the way, that monument sits in front of the place where they only "recommended" training. Ironic, isn't it?) This is not a salvo aimed at volunteers, either. The vols that see the need for training will stay.
I spent almost 35 years on the fire department and I cannot remember a time when I didn't want more skills and knowledge. Even in retirement, I am still learning. The Authority Having Jurisdiction should be within yourself. You should be begging your department for more training and knowledge.
How would you feel if you were personally responsible for losing a guy because you chose not to train on whatever killed your fellow firefighter? You have to live with that for the rest of your life?
Never let a man say that his training let him down.

Sounds like that they sent appropriate resources as they received updated from information from the PD units on scene. Also looks like the FD runs medic engines, so while it may have taken a few minutes to gather the transporting resources the victims were, i'm sure, being treated aggressively.
In all honesty, this is why 60 control needs to be the sole provider of dispatching and EMD resources for this entire county. I can't imagine the additional chaos decentralized communication would have added. Sad part is, it will take an event of this scale here to ever see that change happen.

All,
I was on an authorized & approved by the Palisades Interstate Park Commission hike out to Iona Island today, I took a picture of the Iona Island Fire Station, build by the US Navy when the island was a Naval Ammunition Depot. Anyone know of what kind of apparatus they had there back in the day (1900's to 1957) The island is closed to the public. I could see evidence of a fire pole going from the 2nd to 1st floor peering thru a window.

I think most of whats going on here has nothing to do with either agency, frankly I don't care who gets the job done as long as everyone comes out OK. It more has to do with the fact that the media seems to have a bullseye on the FDNY and at the same time is riding on the NYPD's nuts*cks. If the ESU officers involved were able to gain entry and extinguish the fire with no SCBA and no PPE, then this wasn't much of a fire, it was more of a fortuitous situation where the PD happened to come upon a food on the stove with a lock-in. How many times do you see the FD going to a food on the stove where the apartment is banked down to the floor and they have to go in, wake up the residents, take them outside, and put out whatever is burning on the stove. Its common, but you don't see it in the paper, ever. Mostly due to the fact that its not a big deal. The NYPD definitely has a better press desk than the FDNY, hands down. This isn't anyone trying to claim bragging rights, this is one agencies press desk doing a better job selling themselves to the media than the others. Why the media goes along with this is another story.

Dropped off one of our engines at Ferrara in NJ this past Monday and took some pictures of the rear mounts that are getting their final touches. Beautiful trucks and extremely well planed and thought out.