dwcfireman

I know it's past Halloween now, but this article popped up on my Facebook feed: http://www.firerescue1.com/history/articles/134758018-10-of-Americas-most-haunted-fire-stations/?NewsletterID=139022063&utm_source=iContact&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Exclusives1LeftTitle&utm_campaign=FR1Member&cub_id=usr_uxlWcZsGs9HGgKpG I figured that it was worth sharing....I also figured it would be cool to share some of the more supernatural incidents that some of us may have encountered in our fire houses. I will be more than glad (as an intrigued believer in the supernatural and "Ghostbusters" fan) to begin with a few haunted tales of my own. My hometown fire house gives me a few tales. The first come from a night that I was sleeping on the couch upstairs. My car was in the shop, and it was just easy to walk to the fire house and sleep there. Any way, I fell asleep with the TV on. I woke up to the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs, and I noticed the TV was off. I peer over the top of the couch, towards the door, and I see the figure of an ex-chief who had passed away years ago (natural causes). I called out, "Jimmy?" I heard him say, "Go back to sleep," and he just simply walked back down the stairs. I did not go back to sleep. I turned the TV back on, along with the lights, and stayed up the remainder of the night. The second story from home was when I and two brothers were in the lobby on the first floor. It was New Year's Eve. At the stroke of midnight we heard clapping and hollering from upstairs ( in the same lounge that Jimmy scared the bajeebuz out of me!). There were only three people in the fire house, and we were all in the lobby. After moving to Westchester, the department that I had transferred to had/has some strange happening late at night. The gentleman's name is Herman, and if you recognize the name, you know which fire house I'm talking about. Well, late at night he roams around the fire house. You can here his heavy feet going up the steel stairs to the attic in the apparatus bay, and you can here him walking up and down the halls. It seems like he's just keeping an eye on the place, but it also seems like he's keeping an eye on you. Sometimes it sounds like the footsteps are following you. Where I am now, in a smaller and much older fire house, the strange things keep happening. One night, while sleeping on the couch upstairs (yes, there is a theme), I was awoken by a serious thud to my chest. It felt like someone had punched me dead center on the sternum. I have no idea what happened. I woke up in a cold sweat. I didn't sleep for the rest of the night. Another guy told me he saw a random person walking around the apparatus bay, just to disappear through a wall where a door used to be. Alright, now that I've told you me scary experiences, I want to here yours! What supernatural things have you experienced in your fire houses?

If I had to guess, the new law applies to rear loaders because this type of waste collection requires people to be in/on and out/off the truck to load the waste. Hence, the law is aimed to protect the people working around the vehicle, as such the "move over" law does for emergency and service vehicles on the side of the road. A side loader with an automated arm should be treated with the same caution, but does not have people outside or around the vehicle (unless there is a malfunction). This is the hard part OVERALL with the "move over" law. Unless there is a police officer free and sees the offense, there is going to be no proactive enforcement. However, if you hit a sanitation worker who is outside of the vehicle, you are definitely going to have the extra infraction against you.

Just looking at the term "heavy vehicles" in general....If you get caught driving a commercial vehicle with ANY alcohol in your system, it's an automatic DUI and license suspension. So why should it be different hen driving fire apparatus? I really hope that the Swiss incorporate rules or regulations (whether at the national or local level) to prevent firefighters from driving buzzed.

Having operated in fires with both MSA and Scott products, I can completely agree with you. I grew up with the MSA (we had the Firehawks before I moved downstate). The whole system was comfortable, except the mask had a design flaw that the regulator could easily find it's way back into the mask if you didn't remove it from the hinge point. When I moved to Scott I found it heavier, as well, but the mask/regulator design is much more simple. IMO, if you could incorporate the MSA pack with a Scott mask, BAM! That would be awesome.

I don't know how I feel about this. On one hand, you gain a few extra personnel in those small communities to come to the rescue, but on the other you have responders that are tipsy and are slightly impaired. Granted, the majority of people (especially in Europe) have no ill-effect from one or two adult beverages, but there are a few people who react much differently to alcohol. One person can be absolutely fine where another can be a bit lightheaded, or in some instances, drunk off of two drinks. Then again, this isn't too dissimilar to our accepted practices here in the States. Many departments, and I'm talking about those smaller communities, allow their members to have one or two and still respond. It allows the departments to gain a few extra bodies whereas they wouldn't if they had a zero tolerance policy.

In the aviation world we have a term for this, "revenue diversion," where money generated by an airport is differed to another account to pay for other things. It's actually illegal at the federal level, though almost every publicly owned airport is a victim of this crime, and eventually the federal government will catch you (it takes time because there are so many cases of it). IMO there should be laws protecting all money that is supposed to be set aside for a greater good. The money that NYS was supposed to dish out for better 911 coverage and system upgrades should be going to just that. The money is appropriated for a specific reason, and that reason alone. I would say this is akin to Congress stealing money from Social Security to fund anything and everything else other than Social Security. It's just plain wrong!

I'm having a little trouble wrapping my head around this statement. I understand it's in reference to the need for larger drive-thru bays, but what exactly are the front line and secondary apparatus? My research has turned up two engines, a tower ladder, and a rescue. I imagine that one of the engines is considered secondary, therefore the front line engine, ladder, and rescue will occupy the three drive-thru bays. The boat and several utility vehicles I obviously understand are secondary and would go into the old bays (not the aforementioned museum). I guess the question I'm reaching for here is what is considered 1st line and what is 2nd line in the eyes of the Board of Commissioners? Additionally, I have to ask about the location of Chappaqua VAC. Are they also located in HQ? I'm asking because if they are, do the new plans incorporate space for the ambulances and crews, or is there a CVAC building that I am not aware of?

$15.3 MILLION!? Really?

Thank you, guys! That's here my thoughts were leaning. Thanks for confirming that!

I see the Box 1-X and 2-X are location based. Do the other boxes (in the 5, 7 and 8 range) also have specific locations? To me it looks like the 7 range is for MVA's and rescue type calls (hence R14 being in them); but the 8 range is specific engines, would make me think that each engine is either responding to a specific area or carries some sort of special equipment.

I see the article mostly talks about people within the company that have either been promoted or moved to new positions. Does anyone have information as to what their move into Westchester would consist of? I couldn't find any other information, but I was wondering if they were trying to vie for contracts with municipalities or to assist with general coverage/transports.

Well, then I'll give you something different! My hometown is a good example. In 2001 the village decided to hire a paid driver/EMT. That person (though it has changed hands throughout the years) works Monday through Friday, 0800 to 1600, to make sure the first due gets out the door. This is the vary definition of a paid driver/chauffeur/MPO/etc. This position never, EVER, goes inside of a burning building. I give this example because there are MANY suburban and rural departments that have gone this route in recent times because of a shortage of volunteers during normal business hours (9 to 5 jobs). The paid driver concept gets the rig out the door with at least a handful of volunteers to respond to alarms. In essence, this is where a lot of people get the idea of paid firefighters being paid drivers rather than being called firefighters, and the general public thinks that this is normal (again, this is more in the outer suburbs and rural areas). Now, let's move towards major cities, like NYC, Atlanta, Dallas, or Fargo. The closer you get to major cities, the more paid firefighters you see. Suburban firefighters tend to be in combination departments or small paid departments. However, these guys and gals are working in the area that separates the major paid city departments and the outlaying volunteers with paid drivers. So, now these firefighters, who have been through the academy and are fully certified, are thought of by the public as just drivers and not firefighters. MAJOR misconception. Here's the difference. A paid DRIVER is a person who is hired by a department with the SOLE PURPOSE of driving and operating the apparatus. A FIREFIGHTER is a person hired to drive/operate the apparatus AND conduct all other fireground activities. Yes, this definition can be contested that a paid driver is in fact a firefighter, but the true definition will actually falls under the job title and job description as laid out by the hiring municipality. THEREFORE, and technically speaking, every body that comments on the difference here is wrong because the difference falls on individual situations of individual municipalities hiring specifically detailed positions for individual situations. Yes, we are all wrong on the definition issue, including myself (because my definition is based on my experience and no one elses'). As for the original content of the thread, Good Luck to Kingston with their new TDA!

What always bugged me about News 12 was that they're supposed to be the "local" news source, but they wouldn't cover as many stories as they could. They simply record a 30 minute spot and rerun it for hours, then do an update spot and rerun it for hours, repeat! There's so many more stories that people could have payed attention to, say if News 12 did a 2 hour spot and reran it 2 or 3 times before doing an update. BUT, now that there will no longer be a specific local news channel, even more stories will go to the wayside.

I like the folks at 60 control. They're just like you and me. the only difference is that they are not at the scene. They have to put together a picture of what's going on through your words, and piece together the information of what's going on. It's a difficult and thankless job, and I'm glad they're there to do it! Praise to thee, dispatchers. Your are the ones that are sh@t upon when things are going sour, but you are the ones that can get us the sh!t we need when the tough gets going! Keep up the good work!

Random question...As someone that has never driven a TDA from either seat, how difficult is it to drive from the tiller position? What is the visibility like? Is it difficult to maintain opposite direction from the cab? What's the experience like?

"Two-driver fire truck." I guess the reporter really knows what the T and D stand for in TDA! hahaha I find it a bit funny when people are surprised that a TDA requires two drivers, but it is absolutely awesome what the rig can pull of when it needs to make those tight turns. Even better, those two "paid drivers" also happen to be firefighters, so once the rig is placed and the stick is up, they go to work! Amazing how that works!

How.....How do some of the officers fit in there? I'm 6' 4" and I complained about driving a Chevy Colorado.

"The truth is, the public is completely responsible for the high number of calls that the fire department responds to. " The real truth is not just in the public. Yes, the public is becoming more reliant on 911 services to assist them to see a doctor, but another statement from the article shows the other side of the story, too: "Her doctor told her to call 911 for a ride to the emergency room; he didn’t have any appointments until later in the week. " Is this really what doctors are advising their patients to do? I understand in some extreme occasions where someone is extremely sick, such as a 60 y/o female with bronchitis, where 911 service is possibly necessary, But, how many doctors are telling their patients to just call 911? And, before I get ostracized for this question, I am completely aware of the medical services shortage when it comes to doctors and nurses (my girlfriend is a RN and she is called into work on almost every day she has off). "When 911 is called for rides to the emergency room, resources are squandered, urgent care for those who truly need it is delayed, and myths about firefighters padding their numbers responding to little old ladies who just need a ride to the ER are born. " Let's break this down into two parts. The first, which is already evident to us, is the squandering of resources. If doctors and nurses are already short-handed, what would make any medical professional think that there are enough ambulances to assist with day to day medical issues? Doctors know that 911 EMS services are also short-handed, so why would they compromise the 911 services in the same way that their own practices are compromised? Calling 911 for a non life-threatening issue seems to be the way of the game these days, and it's getting a little out of hand. Then again, I'm sure the insurance companies love it! The other part from the above quote is the padding of numbers. Why would there ever be a myth that FDs "pad" response numbers? I thought we had the common goal as EMS and the Police to save lives? Or am I wrong on some weird political agenda? I'm glad the writer (Michael Morse) mentions that sometimes an EMS trained engine is more than often closer than an ambulance, and that interventions can begin well before a transport is available. This comes hardy as we are in a time, as stated above, 911 ambulances can be scarce and we need responders on scene "applying band-aids" to the problem to secure the best chances for survival. *sigh* I'm more than sure I could keep ranting on about this, but I'll leave it at here for now.

New utility, new chief car, refurbed air trailer.... Now to start working on a new ladder! In all seriousness, NWP has been extremely proactive and is doing an excellent job moving forward!

This is a major factor why firefighters are generally not trained to properly deal with gas and electrical emergencies. It takes a great deal of training, qualification, re-qualification, and maintaining the equipment to the mandatory standards; It's much like the standards for bail-out devices or EMS certifications. It's a great deal of work, especially for volleys who barely have time these days to have them time put out fires or respond to car accidents. Then again, if firefighters really want to be able to do the job,, they will take the training and maintain their currency. And, as far as the skills go, you're right. You can't teach it. It takes a keen eye and a smart mind to identify curb valves versus main valves and understanding where they are located, never mind knowing the construction of the gas line system and what kind of pressures it's producing. Only over time and responding to these incidents will you eventually become comfortable with how the system works and and how to mitigate a situation properly (I work in aviation, which is HEAVILY regulated. I know the pain!).

I'll put it this way, because mutual aid is just that. Someone is coming to help your citizens when you are unavailable. If you are in a town that has a volunteer ambulance corps, or even a city with a contracted EMS service, and they cannot get a bus out, then under mutual aid the next available bus will be sent. It doesn't matter if your town has a contract or not with an outside private EMS provider, because they are going to respond if they are the next available EMS provider. Your town does not need a RFP/RFQ with a second agency to respond as mutual aid. You only need it for your primary response. Yes, there are some towns/counties/states out there that do require a RFP/RFQ for private EMS agencies to respond as mutual aid, but this is generally on a case by case basis as it is not common.

I think the chief likes it! lol

First off, when you get on scene the FD IC should be giving you an update on everything they HAVE done (which should include information like evacuation, monitoring, shutting a gas valve, and securing a safe perimeter) and then ask if you need anything else to be done. My professional opinion, though. But is slapping red lights and sirens on utility vehicles necessary? Like I mentioned before, if you're coming from 15 or 20 minutes away, the RLS doesn't save you much time, never mind the extra risk and liability that the company and drivers take on for driving "Code 3." A fair example is the weird experience I had in Georgia. Driving on the highway around Atlanta I saw a yellow truck with red lights and a siren blaring. I move to the right, and the rig blows by me. My friend pipes up and asks, "Was that a tow truck?" And, yes, it was. A tow truck! RLS through heavy traffic....for a fender bender that the FD was never called on. Now, this tow truck driver could have caused a major wreck, mainly because he was driving without due regard (and I know some firefighters who do the same with fire trucks), but the point is we really don't need more people one the road driving with RLS to a scene that is already mitigated, especially if the scene is no longer an emergency (like a tree down on a power line and the road is shut down from wither side). Yes, there are some utility emergencies that require an expedite from the utility companies that I can agree RLS would assist in a faster and safer mitigation of the situation. Live wires down on an occupied vehicle with injured passengers is a great example of that. I can actually recall this situation in my hometown, where we had to secure the scene and keep people away until NYSEG shut down the lines. Another example is a contractor ripping up a gas main with an excavator. The line needs to be shut down quickly. Then again, how often do these incidents happen that would require a utility service to have RLS on any of their vehicles? I will pose this question though: Would it be a good idea to teach firefighters how to shut off the gas in the streets to stop a major gas leak that is occurring? Or is it more complicated than shutting valves on either side of the leak?

I'm 100% with you on this one, Dinosaur. Adding red lights and sirens to civilian operated vehicles will just cause more chaos. And never mind the law, but the distance that most utility vehicles have to drive to assist the fire department heavily outweighs the need for RLS. They would save maybe two minutes? If the FD is already there to secure the scene and make it safe, then there is no need for utility services to speed to a situation that is already being mitigated. It's not like they're second due for a working fire. I have also noticed these red vans. My understanding is that these vehicles are equipped to respond to major emergencies, such as a gas main that has been ripped open. Essentially, these vans have the basic, necessary equipment to stop a situation from getting worse or stopping the situation all together (i.e. stopping the flow of gas and emergency clamping/closure of a line).

It's like this in a lot of upstate NY, too. I remember when my grandfather had a burn barrel for trash, and an open pit for yard debris. But, to stay on topic...I don't see the harm in fire pits, especially the ones that you can get at Home Depot or WalMart (like chimneas or covered fire pits). As long as you're being safe with it, I don't see the big idea about it. Just keep a bucket of water nearby, don't leave it unattended, and enjoy some beverages around the heat in these cool autumn months!