firedude

Hello everyone it has been years since I used this log in name and that's because I resigned from the city of Rye Fire department 5 years ago.  
I chose to write a response to the above letter.  The letter below was submitted to myrye.com  as well this morning.  And will be to any other media outlets in which Captain Millman sent his letter. 
The following is my statement and does not represent any former or current members of RFD. I am also not affiliated with any fire department at this time. 
 
 
From: Richard P Suarino 
           Ex Captain Poningoe Hook & Ladder Company
To: Letters to the editor,
I am writing in response to a recent letter that was submitted by Fire Police Patrol Captain Lester Millman in regards to the recent changes that have taken place at the Rye Fire Department.  I would like to start by stating that I was a combined 14 yearACTIVE member of the City of Rye Fire Department. I spent two years as part of explorer post 700 as a junior firefighter.  Then 12 years as a member of the Poningoe Hook & Ladder Company, where I served as first & second Lieutenant and then as Captain before resigning from the department in 2012.  I have a combined 17 years in the Emergency Services.  
The picture that Captain Millman has painted for the Rye citizens and would have one believe is that this change is a big surprise to the members of the department.  It's not.   Volunteer membership has been on the decline since probably the 1980’s,and since then the bleeding hasn't stopped, it’s only gottenworse. In the late 90’s, early 2000’s, the department voted in several new members and it helped a little to put a patch on the crack in the dam.  In the 2000’s as an active volunteer firefighter, a lieutenant and then captain, there were several ideas that myself and other active volunteers proposed to make some much needed changes to the department structure to help with rapidly declining membership.  Recommendations were brought to the attention of the Board Of Wardens, who at that time, controlled all decision making within the fire department.  The problem was that the Board was consistently controlled by veteran members of the department who were not as active and ignored any and all input by young active members, to the point where some members were turned off and stopped showing up. Others resigned and some went to other departments. Rye’s changing demographics has had the biggest effect on membership. Gone are the blue collar families of Rye.  Many of the old long time Rye names that were connected to the fire department making it generational are no longer in Rye, forced to move because Rye is unaffordable to those that would volunteer.  For every one member gained three are lost.  A member joining as a college kid at 19 has to resign by 23-24 because they are forced to move out of Rye. And it's not just Rye membership that is down, nation wide volunteer firefighters are declining.  Being in emergency situations, dealing with and seeing the things a firefighter may see is not for everyone. It's a calling, and the hours of training involved will take most free nights away, not to mention the required alarm response.  
Turnout at alarms; even 10 years ago at the most recent height of active membership-. We had 25 interior qualified firefighters and still sometimes we only had 4 volunteers at an alarm.  All working fires required mutual aid from our friends in Harrison and Mamaroneck.  
 
Leadership was and is non-existent under the Volunteer Chiefs of the department and when a chief did try to implement positive change he was quickly pushed out by older voting block.  At Fire scenes, basic accountability of members was lax.  Meaning,God forbid an explosion or collapse happened at a scene, the chiefs had no idea who had actually showed up at the scene.  Some chiefs had nothing more than basic firefighting training. Most were being relied on because of their 30+ years in the department, yet they had taken no classes to sharpen their skills or update their knowledge.  Any good leader in emergency service will tell you, you will never know everything and you are always learning something new until the day you retire.  This business is always changing and evolving.  
The Rye Professional firefighters often find that they are the only ones on scene. Sometimes I was the only volunteer on scene with them.  During the winter of 2002 I was the only volunteer on scene for an afternoon house fire. Three career firefighters and I, with one of those professionals manning twopump panels and one ladder.  
Commissioner Corcoran didn't just come in and decide to shake things up.  He's a very educated man with years of experience and after speaking with numerous people connected to the fire department he saw there was a need for change.  He has a job to lead the men and women of the Police and Fire Departments and the fire department problems are 20+ years in the making,ignored by past Board Of Wardens members and past chiefs of the department who kicked the can down the road.  The public might be surprised that over 100 years of volunteer service are coming to an end but many of the current and past members are not.  
Regards
Richard P Suarino
Past member and Captain Poningoe Hook & Ladder Company
 

Here are the new cars. This car does not have a new lightbar, But the otheres have the new whelen liberties.

Med flight is called based on weather, timing and obviously at the ER MD's descretion. We only have ferries running from 6am-945pm but we rarely will go off island after 8pm so we don't get stuck off island until the next morning in "America" as we call it....
Based on how serious the pt is we will do the Med Flight run but we are all Critial CareParamedics and can take vented puts, drips, etc...
On average I can say we go off 2-3 times a day during our peak season (April-October) and once a day off season.
It's definitely different being a municipal service doing long CCTx and being with a patient for that length of time but also it s cool as we can be a paramedic vs. doing renal roundup or having 10 min tx and moving on to the next call.
It can be challenging tho as during peak season we regularly get called in early and get out late for off islands holding from the night before, and discharges from the Acute/ICU floor to another hospital in "America". A typical 10hr day shift turns into a 14-16hr shift.
And yes we have power, lights, A/c and heat on the ambulance during out 45 min ferry ride because we have 30amp shoreline power and plug into the ferry. We do get priority on the ferry and if they need to they will bump cars to fit us. We can also ride on the open Frieght ferries if needed..
Great perks of the job to go to sea and watch sunsets as the picture below show.

Other then some I-95 traffic... today is a perfect day to go.
Thank you! I only saw 1 ambulance, 1 Medic Flycar and Playland EMTs. But according to others, there were 2 ambulances there. They staged at the enterence until the scene was deemed safe. I do not know if anyone was transported.

Not sure and I can't find it online. Im sure EMTBravo member billwiegelman can help answer some of your questions, since he's the captain of Playland EMS.

I really want one of these snow cats now, but they cost around $350,000!!! These too are equipped with sirens and PA.

Finally, It was time to head home. EGE-JFK on American Airlines. The Eagle County Airport is Awesome. Only Airport I know that has FREE PARKING! It is also one of the only aiports to still have a online live webcam

This airport is also interesting because the FAA does not own the Air Traffic Control Tower. It is owned by the county and air traffic control services are contracted out to a private company

Fire Apparatus Journal had an article about this airport ARFF Department a couple of months ago. Here is the Airport OPS building. The 3 bays on the right hold their 3 ARFF rigs. The White truck in front is the ARFF Supervisor. The window was dirty, so the image didn't come out so good.

My plane...

Inflight...

And finally back to New York.

So, I’d like to hear what you think about my photos or how the county emergency system runs. I do not have access to a photo editing software, so I couldn’t edit really edit them. All of the photos I tool can be seen on my flickr page, there is a link bellow. I am welcome to hear any constructive criticism and or thoughts you have.

The Vail Police Department followed the Aspen Police Department when they switched their main patrol vehicle to Volvo 4x4 SUVs. I was really on the lookout for one. But, I could not find any in town. I stopped by the police station to look but found that all police vehicles were kept in an underground heated garage. Instead I found some other interesting police vehicles. The Vail Police Department does a lot more then you would think, they have a volunteer program were residents help out the police force in certain events. They also do code enforcement and animal control. All these divisions drive White Chevy Colorados with "Vail Police" on the side.



Here is one of their old Ford Explorers.

Here is one of Vail Shuttle busses at the Vail Transportation Center (VTC)

The Brand New, Four Seasons Vail!

Town of Vail Snow Plows


Eagle County has two EMS Providers, The Western Eagle County Ambulance District and the Eagle County Ambulance District, both are paid. The Western Eagle County Ambulance District covers the west part of the county including the towns of Eagle and Gypsum and the eastern part of Garfield County. The Eagle County Ambulance District (ECAD) covers the County Airport and the western parts of the county, including the ski resorts. According to their website, ECAD has 3 stations, 8 ambulances and 4 staff paramedic supervisor vehicles. They have 53 employees that cover 770 square miles. Here is some of their fleet. Interesting Colors.

Here is one of their ambulances, sorry for the fence. This was taken last year with a different camera.

Here are some sights around Vail, home of the 1980, 1999 and 2015 Skiing Championships.



Missing Hydrants are not a problem when you have heated sidewalks and roads.

And here is Beaver Creek Mountain...


If you have $3-5 Million to spare, you can own one of those slope side Duplexes or Condos

I departed JFK at 5pm. Here is my Plane...


We landed at the Eagle County Regional Airport in Eagle, Colorado at 8pm local time.

Beaver Creek has a fleet of snowmobiles. They have initials showing whose uses them. For example, "SM" is for snow making and "SP" is for ski patrol all of them are fitted with LED emergency lights and a siren. Beaver Creek Ski Patrol has one dispatch center and 4 outpost scattered around the mountain. They cover all 1815 acres of the Beaver Creek Ski Area. In the event a skier needs medical attention, the Beaver Creek Medical Center, can treat some injury’s. Major injuries call for an County ALS Ambulance, run by the Eagle County Ambulance District, to respond and Transfer the patient to Vail Valley Medical Center in Vail, Colorado. Here is one of Beaver Creek Ski Patrol's snowmobiles.

The Beaver Creek Metropolitan District is protected by Beaver Creek Public Safety. They respond to all EMS, Police and Fire Calls on the mountain. I do not know what kind of training they have but I do know that they are all EMTs. They are always first on scene to any emergency of 911 call. All they carry is a radio, so I assume they do not have arresting powers. So, if Law enforcement is needed, they would call upon the Avon Police Department or the Eagle County Sheriff’s Department. The public safety officers patrol in Toyota Pickups and Toyota SUVs. I have seen the light bars with red lights so they must be "emergency vehicles". They also have an old tow truck.



Here is one of their officers hiding behind a pole. I do not know why they have two radios. The whole resort is on a trunked system.

The Beaver Creek uses a Unimog to plow snow. I did not ever think I would see one of these in the United States, but it makes sense here. Here is some of the Beaver Creek Metro District's plows...


The Beaver Creek Metro District and the surrounding area is protected by the Eagle River Fire Protection District (ERFPD). They have 6 fire stations that cover an area of about 240 square miles, including one of America's deadliest roads, I-70's Vail Pass. ERFPD is a paid fire department with 60 full-time firefighters and 21 resident-intern firefighters. I believe they have around 20 Apparatus including 9 engines, 2 tower ladders and 5 brush units. They respond to all EMS calls too. I tried to contact someone at the station but my emails were not returned. So I had to settle for some outside shots of station 11, at Beaver Creek.



I decided to spend an afternoon in Vail. Only a 20 minute ride for Beaver Creek. The Vail Fire Department only has one station, located in the center of downtown. They have 1 Tower Ladder, 2 Engines, 1 Brush Unit and some support trucks. I believe all of their apparatus are 4x4. They are in the process of building another station to support the demand for calls on the Westside of town. The West Vail Fire station is scheduled to be completed this fall. Here are some pictures from outside their HQ...

According to a local blog, called MyRye, The Rye Fire Department will declare Engine 194 as a 'surplus'. Engine 194 is a 1982 Hahn Top-Mount Pumper and has earned the nickname "Yellowbird". It will be donated to the Fire Training Center. In the blog post, the author refered to saying it was "headed to the dumper". It will be announced at the December 1st Rye City Council meeting.
From the blog post...
Here it is... (my photo)

I am glad RFD will donate it and not sell it at auction. I guess the next apparatus for replacement in Rye would be Engine 191 or Utility 39. So, are there any plans to replace or refurbish Engine 191, A 1994 Pierce Lance, or Utility 39, a 1989 International/Saulsbury?

Video of flight to Denver:

Video of flight to New York (LGA)

Thanks for viewing. If you have any questions, just ask.

Over to Vail…

Avon Public Works and Parks Department


Eagle River Fire Protection District (Avon Station 7):



Beaver Creek Ski Patrol:

Eagle County Ambulance District:

Beaver Creek Office of Public Safety:



Avon Police Department






Colorado State Patrol

Avon, CO

CDOT at Eisenhower Tunnel


Don’t have these in the east...

Very dry winter…

Finally…

Eagle River Fire Protection District Station 11 (Engine 11 % Brush 11)

New Photos of E-105 2013 Seagrave -Photos by E106MKFD

Forget false alarms. I'd like to issue a violation everytime someone dials 911 for something that CLEARLY ISN'T AN EMERGENCY. Seriously....that stomach ache you had for 3 days didn't become an emergency at 2am this morning......

Here are some photo from my trip to Ireland

Some of the "Best" firefighters I know were and still are "Buffs"! Id take them any day over the s*** that's coming on the Job! It's as if your not allowed to have an interest in your Profession, God forbid you do that!

Well, it would appear that the Captain is not as smart as his name implies.
Buffs have been around since before cameras, I doubt they are going away anytime soon. Although they can at times be quite annoying, most departments seem to either ignore them entirely or at least tacitly accept them at scenes.
Based on the begining of the video, I would say that the firefighter shown to the rear of the engine in the roadway was responsible for maintaining the perimiter, which he seemed to be doing. By the fact that he was in the same video as the rest of the incident it was pretty clear that the buff was outside of this perimiter. This was also clear by the multiple cars that passed between the camera and the LZ. If for some reason the perimiter needed to be expanded, I would think that the firefighters on the perimiter would have been notified and been responsible for shutting down the roadway and notifying any pedestrians there.
When the captain and the other firefighter approiached the buff, the first guy motioned and said to stop filming and then before any question could be asked, the captain became beligerant, rude, and demanding. He lied on the radio when he described the buff as "combative". He then seemed to use excesive physical force to more the buff. In some cases , although this video was too limited in view to determine, this could have been an assault. I also notied that while pushing the buff he was wearing goiled gloves with the patient's blood on them. Dangerous and not too classy.
I also noticed that he kept yelling into the radio and speaking over the buff thus creating a recording of his side of the argument but due to his yelling and the normal background noise of the LZ probably no recording of how calm the buff was.
I am sure that Capt. Smart is the exception and not the rule when it comes to MDFR, I hope that he is not used as an example of the right way to interact with the public, and frankly I hope he has to explain why he should keep his job after such a performance. At the very least he should not be treating patients or supervising anyone with that kind of behavioral issue.

Holy he#%! What an ass.
Yes, the Captain. Not the guy filming. He was polite and respectful. There was NO good reason for him to ask the guy to stop filming, or to tell him to leave. It only got worse from there.
Smile and wave, you're a public servant on camera. Act professionally and carry on with your work. If you want, ask for guidance from higher ups about people filming. Pretty sure they'll tell ya to ignore the cameras and go about your work.
Instead, you're now on the news making the fire service look fantastic!

and the body is mounted and shall be headed to paint

Thanks.
We used riding lists for each rig. The chiefs aid would collect them at a fire. In the late 1980's there was a push to tags.
Sidebar: I remember there was an incident in a VFD (in PA I think) with a late night fire and after the FD picked up a ff's wife called the chief to find out when her ff would get home. They went back to the scene and found the ff dead in the building. The tags in general were a way to know who showed up. when everyone grabs their tag to go home, any left is the dead ff. At least the wife would not have to start the search.
Our tags were color coded by rank (all members are interior, so thats not an issue) and gave the members name and were placed on a ring on each rig. They were collected at fires. All of the problems listed previously occured with these tags.
About 2 years ago we went to an electronic riding list. All dept. computers have access (watch desks, station offices, HQ and rig computers) It allows members to slide their names into a riding position, it identifies the portable radio & SCBA they have (including covering spares). It can be updated easily by anyone in just a few seconds. A printed report lists all riding positions (withnames, radio ID & SCBA) on a single page and can be updated/printed in the chiefs car or at a CP. Having the SCBA ID is very helpful when dealing with Pak Tracker. Most import the electronic riding list was put in play with the anticipation of an Electronic Firefighter Accountability System (E.F.A.S.).
Now the riding list is not very useful to depts. that are not fully staffed or arrive in POV. But there are some things in the works with the company that does this to work around that issue.
We still require tags, but they are not collected and are only intended to be used when a rig goes mutual aid to another community.
We also added Position/Radio ID tags on our SCBA. This has been useful on the fireground in see who is who.

The E.F.A.S. system development and testing is complete and we are rolling it out this month. We had a very sucssessful test last week with FDNY who is also using a variation of it. I will go over it in detail in the future. But in my view, in the long run, electronic systems are going to be the answer.

With regard to the search and seizure issues raised:
Was the gun on his person or in the car? If he was arrested for Aggravated Unlicensed Operation (or any charge), he would have been searched proir to being secured in the troopers car and most likely the firearm seized for officer’s safety. In clearing the weapon, the amount of rounds would have been observed. Any contraband found on his person would be admissible. The courts have held that LEOs may conduct a search of the “immediate area of the subjects control” for officers safety. Again no search and seizure issues. They can also ask he exit the vehicle and the officers perform a pat down for officer’s safety if they feel it is warranted under the circumstances. If the subject was not able to turn the vehicle over to a licensed driver, the vehicle was most likely impounded and towed. Prior to towing, many departments require an inventory search of the vehicle’s contents in order to prevent lawsuits for “missing items”. Providing that it is done uniformly on all impounds, it’s been upheld as a reasonable action. Any item found in the vehicle (with certain exceptions) is admissible in court. Any item in “plain view” is also admissible. With the amount of information provided in the story, it seems that the weapon would have been lawfully discovered under a number of scenarios.
Given the limited course of events identified in the story, I am glad that the DA chose not to prosecute for the two extra bullets. I am hoping that this action sounds loud and clear in Albany. As many of you have seen, I feel that the law and the politicians that enacted this piece of trash legislation belong in the trash.