ndpemt519

First I'd like to take issue with the statement that parades are an integral part of team building or public visibility. Company drills and training and learning to work with others while taking classes at the training center are how you foster a team mentality, not strutting down the street in every town that decides to have a parade. As far as visibility goes, I feel like parades draw the wrong types of people trying to be visible, the guy you haven't seen at a call in six months but who shows up for the spread and to make himself "visible". If you really want positive public image for your department participate in a fundraiser for a good cause, put a team together to do a walk or run for a cause, participate in something greater than the department showing what you do to give back. A question I'd ask about the guys involved in this debacle, are they good responders, do they pull their weight where it's really important, on the fire scene? On the flip side, how many of the members who actually marched aren't around regularly to attend drills and calls? The chief in question sounds like a real prima Donna to me, immature, bombastic, and if he thinks that his offensive racist language was acceptable because the members he was berating weren't minorities, then he's just flat out incompetent.

Educating the public on how and why we do what we do is always a good thing, but the reality is most people don't really care, nor should we expect them to. By a huge majority all the public knows and cares about when it comes to us is that there's a building with big red trucks with sirens and flashing lights down the street and that we show up with those trucks when we're called. Beyond that there is very little time in their busy and hectic lives to give us even a passing thought..and that should come as no surprise since, by that same large majority we don't spend our time thinking about how and why they do what they do. I mean how many of us give any thought to why an accountant does their job as they do or why that cashier at the grocery store checks and bags our items the way they do....unless the way they're doing it inconveniences us.
 
Where all of this comes to prominence is when we're dealing with the bean counters, who to be fair, also have a job to do...even if we don't like that we're the target of that job. Educating them becomes a primary concern when funds for staffing or equipment or training come under scrutiny. We have to be able to justify the expense of the services we are providing and why we provide them the way we do. I think this article does a good job of explaining some of that, although I think we're all aware that there are a number of other reasons why members "stand around" outside beyond simply FAST/RIT.
 
I know most of you who "know" me here will find this hard to believe, but sometimes I over think things, look at things a little deeper than what's on the surface. After reading this I find myself doing so again. I asked myself why would we have to explain ourselves to a public that for the most part really doesn't care why we do what we do....well I think in some way this has more to do with us than it does with "them"...here's what I mean:
 
After 9/11 there was a huge upsurge in respect and support for firefighters and fire dept.s everywhere and an equally large up tick in the level of interest of what we do. And we all benefited from that to one extent or another. But (there's always a but) in the 15+ years since, those levels have naturally waned, as these things often do.  But from our end, I think some became accustomed to that public attitude and the accolades that came with it and thought it would last forever. But alas nothing does...life goes on after all and people outside the fire service fell back into their routines and worrying about their own lives. To take it a bit further (and anger some I'm sure) there are some FFs and dept.s who one could argue tried to use the tragedy of those 343 lost brothers to further their own agendas, even though they had no direct connection to the events of that dreadful day. Now the point of all this pontification may seem like it has nothing whatsoever to do with the topic at hand, but in fact it does because the event of 9/11 and it's aftermath have shaped our collective perception of how we think the public sees...or should see...us. Many firefighters, being "insiders," have a hard time understanding why anyone would question our actions, on the fireground and off, and some may even become angered by thought of having to explain ourselves. But that is on us, not them. They are why we are here and they pay our way, so they have every right to ask "why are so many FFs standing around"....even if they really don't care about the answer.
 
But back to the beginning, most people might question why so many FFs are standing around, but in the end they really don't care...they only want to get the service they need when they need it and it's up to us as professionals to give it to them. If we can educate a few along the way that's great, but if we can't that's ok too, as long as we do our jobs the best we can and remain humble in doing so. 

 
http://www.myrye.com/my_weblog/2017/04/letter.html

I think the writing is on the wall. Towns are learning that the volunteer dept. are not there anymore. Gone are the days of 300 active members and waiting lists. Little to no turn out at calls. False claims of "active" members when the 2% money comes. I'm all for Volunteerism and for helping out but westchester is not built for it anymore. As is said, blue collar folks can't make it here anymore. At some point everyone is gonna have to go career or suck it up, put on their big boy pants and consolidate the county. Lord know most guys want that anyway.

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
 

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/new-jersey-roosevelt-volunteer-fire-department-bond-vote-badge-417487813.html
Link to the story.
Why should a town of 900 people, and not even 2 square miles have its own FD ? Great merge it with nearby departments and let the members join other departments in the area.

WOW! Oh, if only in our area some departments looked at the issue...which is reality.....the way this union does. The issues they bring up are EXACTLY the same issues a lot of departments face here.
 
STATEMENT: http://www.hermosabch.org/modules/showdocument.aspx?documentid=8226
 
 

It's a damn shame this thread is getting so little attention.  This should be a big wake-up call for every department to take a few minutes and do an honest, objective self-assessment to answer "can this happen to us?"

For younger FF coming up, this should be a heads-up that if someone is telling you to do something that doesn't seem right you should confirm it.  And if you don't have the training, don't do it! 
 
The old attitude "new guys / young ones need to keep the eyes open and mouths shut" has no business in today's fire service.  Have a questioning attitude.  Not to be obnoxious but to learn and make sure you're doing it right. 
 
Sadly we can't assume that the senior guys - or even all the officers - are leading by example.

Before everyone jumps on me, I'm not saying that we all do it wrong, I'm saying we can always do it better!  Be smart, be safe, and live to fight another day!

EMS is the bastard step child that nobody ever acknowledges. Seth, you have been around long enough and have seen it numerous times. It's sad.

Good job by Yonkers FF's. But why is Empress EMS ALWAYS a footnote in these stories? I'm sure their EMT's and Paramedics had a big part in his survival as well. It seems these stories come out a few times a year about Yonkers FF's saving someone, and Empress EMS is ALWAYS a footnote. Maybe writing a paragraph about how some of the best EMT's and Paramedics in Westchester were a crucial part of it? Or inviting Empress EMS to the photo op/press conference?
 
http://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/westchester/yonkers/2016/03/25/yonkers-firefighters-save-man-thanked/82246058/

That was satire, right?
 
I know that it wasn't, but stuff like this is typical of where we are these days.  People expect a prompt, professional response from EMS when they or a loved one is experiencing a medical emergency, but they don't want to actually put up the money necessary to put that in place.
 
The problem isn't so much the increasing training requirements.  The problem is that too many are still trying to look at this in terms of what's convenient for the providers and not what's best for the patients.  EMS has progressed significantly over the past 4 decades in the care that we can bring to a patient's doorstep.  This increased capability necessitates increased training in order to effectively provide it.  We are no longer "ambulance drivers" scooping patients up and racing to the hospital.  We are now pre-hospital medical professionals bringing the ER to the patient, particularly at the Paramedic level of care.
 
If the requirements for providing this level of care have reached the point where the care can no longer be reliably provided by an all or largely volunteer staff, the solution is not to lobby the state to decrease the amount of medical training for providers.  The solution is to start treating EMS as the medical profession that it now is.
 
If that means a tax increase to do so, then suck it up buttercup.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Mobile Life covers fishkill, village and town not emstar

Stop the madness......... We forget TransCare is already all ove the East Coast. As long as they send the proper resources to calls the I could care less.
Sending a BLS units to a semi or unresponsive patient is NOT acceptable! So far I have seen no change in service with the exception of the same trucks with a different wrap.

Frazer is making some in-roads in Northern NJ. Hackensack Vollies, HackensackUMC, and The Valley Hospital, Ridgewood
are all using them at this point.

So for the past 24+ hours that Care1 has been ALS this thread has been silent! All of these people seemed to "know" so much when this issue started, why is everyone so quiet now?!

We can sit here all day and argue this. I respect your view points and experience greatly. I understand what you are getting at. Sometime, I like to play devils advocate to get a good discussion going.
Here's another situation, and it's not directed at anyone. Let's say a Police Officer arrives on a weekday, at a structure fire with children trapped in a rural area of the county. He knows that it would take the first due with minimal manpower at the very least 15 minutes to get there. He maintains his safety and waits, despite the screams of the parents. However, there is a fire chief who arrives on scene by himself, make entry, and gets trapped. Dispatch just toned out for the 3rd time for a driver for the engine, and a full crew for the ambulance. Now what?
All I'm trying to say is not every situation is black and white.

So then, what is the resolution to do in these types of situations where the FD is not on scene yet and lives are at stake? It's easy to say "Wait for the FD", but realistically? If someone is brought out of the fire structure by a civilian and PD is first arriving, should they not do CPR since it's "not their job" and the person might have contaminents on them?
Should FD develop an SOP and do in-service training with PD so that we can all work together safely to save life and property?

We have a "volunteer" agency in a nearby town that I belonged to for a short time. They have 24hr paid paramedic staffing and daytime paid EMT/EMT-I. The volunteer crews are required to be in station, in uniform when on duty. If you are not on the duty roster, you are not to be at the station after 11pm (I think it's 11. It's been a while). This agency has an average time from dispatch to on scene of 6 minutes or less depending on where their call is. I believe that most of the time, they are on scene in 4 minutes or less.
It is not unusual for them to staff an ambulance for 2nd and 3rd calls, even in the daytime.
Unfortunately, I think they are an exception rather than the rule.
On the other side of the coin, is the ems in my town that is paid 6a-6p x 7 days. The chances of a second rig getting out during the day is all but 0. From 6p to about midnight you have a fair chance of an ambulance showing up. Midnight - 6a you're waiting for the commercial service to get to you.

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!

So all of you saying "EMS shouldn't be there if the scene is not safe", does that mean that in all these recent incidents of death of FD/EMS responders, that the responders knew the scene wasn't safe prior to entering? NO. We never know for sure when the scene is safe. We can THINK it is safe, but ultimately, people can and will do crazy/stupid things at any time. A police officer standing in a room is not going to stop a nut from pulling a gun on us if that is what said person is determined to do. Look at the triple homicide in the city of Newburgh not even two days ago. EMS was on scene after PD declared it "secure" for them to come in and assess the patients. However, the shooter STILL isn't in custody. Nobody knows where he/she is, and nobody knew where he/she was when EMS was on that scene. Not sure how that scene was "secure". Nothing against any agency involved, this is just one example of how a "secure" scene is not in fact "secure". If this dept has one life saved because of their purchase of vests, it is more than worth the cost. But if they didn't buy it and someone gets shot, we'd all be sitting here saying "Well they should've had vests!". Seems like people always need something to complain about in this business....

Yes, I was reading about Focus (the parent company) they seem to be quite involved in technology sector venture capital along with some other things, including nursing homes
His name also appears in business textbooks and is one of the prospective buyers for the Orange County Nursing Home.
Now this leads me to ask, what do the other EMS agencies in the area think of EMStar moving in? Generally venture capitalists like growth not stagnation, so might they eventually try to make a move on one of the other regional commerical services territories?

I think I have an idea for a new TV show....instead of house flipping........lol

NYSP Troop K Trooper recieves Brummer Award for Bravery, NYSP's highest award, for his actions during this May 2012 home invasion in Poughkeepsie.
Awesome job by Trooper Hoffman, and to all the 22 other Troopers who recieved awards last night for their heroic actions!
http://www.wgrz.com/news/article/214798/37/Police-Honor-23-State-Troopers-Including-Two-from-WNY

TransCare does in fact run a "Organ Donor Team". TransCare utilizes a Ford, Expedtion/Flex/Explorer and a van for this program.
The team runs all over the Metro area and has been seen as far North as Vassar Brothers in Poughkeepsie. The team runs in conjunction with a lot of the hospitals in the city and Westchester area.
As far as running lights and sirens anyone in the Emergency Services knows what it takes and how time sensitive harvesting organs can be. It is rather ignorant for anyone to say that ANY company is abusing the lights and sirens until you know for a fact what the units job description is.
I have attached a picture of one of the vehicles, they all have the same exact sceme.
If anyone would like facts and not opinions or "factpinions" (I like that one) please let me know.
There is also a little info here> http://www.inside-healthcare.com/index.php/featured-reports/1095-transcare-corporation