FireMedic049

Which standard are you looking in? The manufacturing standard is 1971. The stardard for care and maintenance is 1851 and I'm pretty sure that the 10 year retirement mark is referenced in there. My department now has a tiered replacement cycle for our TOG. Per our contract: All firefighters are now issued 2 sets (1 primary and 1 back-up). After 4 years from new, TOG can no longer be used as the primary set. At that point, a new set is issued and the 4-year old set becomes a back-up set. After 8 years from new, TOG can no longer be used as the back-up set. This part is not specifically covered by our contract, but this is what the practice is/will be. The previous back-up set will then be quasi-retired. At that point, it can be used as temporary replacements while repairs are made or as initial issue for a new hire while awaiting delivery of their new set.

The 5 Rescues just hitting the streets are all Ferarras. Prior to that they were all E-one/Saulsbury with Rescue 1's rig being replaced with a Pierce a couple of years ago. I believe the 2 newest Collapse Rescue units are Spartan/Ferraras.

No, it can easily be before the incident goes bad too.

I can't speak for your area, but I think the "panic button" gets hit a fair bit in my area. I think in many cases it's a product of a lot of small VFDs who really don't see much fire and get a bit "worked up" when they do catch one. As for the FDNY Chief's comment.........Having spent 9 years in the volunteer service and now almost 10 years in a small career department while also responding to a number of fires working my EMS side job and watching the area VFDs operate, I can attest that his comment is ABSOLUTELY TRUE! One highly motivated, competent firefighter willing to do whatever it takes to do "the job" is easily worth at least 2 trying to do it "half-assed" - whether it's because they "don't care" or just aren't capable enough.

I was just thinking to myself on saturday that my department could really use a vehicle like this as I was shoveling my station's 3 bay wide front and back aprons by hand for the umpteenth time. For some reason we can't get DPW to take 30 seconds and plow it when they drive by clearing the roads. :angry:

LOL

I would tend to agree with your observations for my area too. Not so much for my department, because I think we tend to "understaff" our fireground. I see it a fair bit with the VFDs in the area. There's a few websites/facebook pages that put up pictures from fires in the area. There always seems to be a large number of people in fireman suits congregating about the scene not doing much in the pictures.

Career Department. Our initial response is the 6-7 firefighters on-duty. Most of the time, once the IC has confirmed a working fire, some or all off-duty personnel are recalled which can take upwards of 15 minutes or so until all of the additional personnel arrive on scene. Typically, no, but it does happen. We have no other companies in-house at that point and calling for mutual aid is the only option for more personnel. All mutual aid are VFDs and I believe there is a reluctance at times to use them as "relief staging". Yes, oftentimes it seems that way. Releasing them doesn't seem to be an overriding concern, but we seem hesitant to take a break and use them at times. No, largely because we really don't conduct them. Yes. I've personally voiced my concerns for a number of years regarding this reluctance to request additional help whether in-house or mutual aid when we have fires. A few more are starting to become more vocal about it now, so hopefully some change will be coming along soon. In our situation, moving them into the stations is sufficient. If we need them, they can be on scene within a couple of minutes as our city is fairly small - 5 sq miles. Additionally, given the access to the parts of the city in which the bulk of our fires occurs and what would likely happen if staged at or close to the scene, keeping them in the stations is good. Our stations are somewhat close to our primary mutual aid company districts. So, for the most part, they may respond to their own call from our stations or have another company cover that unit depending on the nature of the call. Their mutual aid is pretty close by too.

I think you have this backwards. Personally, I've been wearing gloves by Shelby for the past 10-12 years. Currently using the model with the blue koala palm side and off-white kevlar back and reflective finger tips. Gauntlet style. Been wearing them for 2-3 years now, no complaints other than they could use a little more stretch in the elastic wrist. Definitely one of the best gloves I've ever used.

I think you are actually talking about two different issues - upkeep and usage. I really don't think there exists any "technological or logistical solutions" out there to fully address either of these issues. For the most part, the primary "usage" issue was solved with the integration of the PASS device into the SCBA, however that was not foolproof since we still work on the fireground before turning on the air at times. I'm sure there's a few ways to address the dead battery aspect (upkeep) as far as setting up reminders to check and replace the batteries, but it still requires somebody to actually do it which could prove to be the "weak link" for that part. Now, the "tricky" problem is the false activations. Not sure if there's a way to prevent those sort of activations short of everybody being more attentive to shutting them off when you put the pack down or moving when the pre-alert sounds. The fire scenes I'm at aren't too bad regarding false activations. Maybe it'll be like you stated once we fully transition to integrated PASS SCBAs?

I forget the actually number, but you are in the ballpark with the number of people fired over this incident. If memory serves, the officers on the first two arriving units, the responding BC, a chief above that level and another FF. With the exception of the two chiefs, all were reinstated after going thru the appeal/grievance process - essentially because of a lack of due process. I know one for sure retired shortly after being reinstated. The chiefs for some reason didn't have the same recourse available to them and lost their jobs. I don't specifically recall if the dispatcher was disciplined over the matter. As I recall, the officer on the first arriving engine was an "acting" officer. The arriving unit (truck) had a veteran officer. As I recall from the report on this incident, there was some very important information that was not relayed to the field units that if it had been, they would've taken a different course of action and this was IMO not a clear cut case of "dereliction of duty" on the part of the field units as many in cyberspace have asserted.

From one of the local news reports it will be a 100 foot rear-mount. They showed a quick shot of the CAD drawing during the story, looked like it's a Smeal.

His injuries are non-life threatening however, unfortunately they may be career ending. It's still a bit early to know for sure, but his doctor didn't seem very optimistic that he'll be able to return to work (from what I've been told by one of my co-workers who was at the hospital that day). Hopefully that won't be the case. I've known JT for about 7-8 years now, real nice guy.

My department has been in Morning Pride for 6 years now. The first round was PBI Matrix shell with a 3-layer E-89 liner. The current stuff is the Advance outer shell with their new "I" 2-layer liner. We switched outer shells for economic reasons, however the outer shell we got was not the one that was settled on when the spec left the committee. We had actually spec'd the Advance Ultra outer shell since it provided similar protective properties to the PBI, but with a decent price break. So far, there doesn't seem to be any problems with the current stuff, but we've only been in it for a little under a year now. Personally, the Morning Pride is the best fitting and performing gear that I've worn in my fire service career (almost 19 years). As for what's the best materials to use............ I'd say it's hard to say what may be best for you without knowing your situation. PBI Matrix is one of the best outer shells if money is no object. However, the Advance outer shell has a long history of satisfactory performance and would be a solid choice if the gear doesn't see a lot of heavy use. Thermal liners are kind of in the same boat. So, I'd recommend sitting down with a vendor or two and seeing what they recommend. Then do some research on those items and look for opinions from departments/people who have used those items. One thing to keep in mind when selecting your PPE. You need to look beyond just the materials that comprise the 3 layers of the gear. Other than a few proprietary materials belonging to some of the manufacturers, every manufacturer is using the exact same materials and from the same mills. As such, some of the "wear" that M'ave mentions in his situation may not be attributable to the Morning Pride gear itself, but to the materials used in it's construction and therefore would be present if they were wearing any other brand. Design, construction & fit are just as important because these are the areas that really differentiate between the available manufacturers out there.

Yes, I mentioned that in my original post.

Because that would probably make sense and the tree huggers might be offended.

For us, I would describe the relationship as very strained, disconnected and sometimes embarrassing.

In my specific situation - Neither. It wouldn't be appropriate to air the details of our "dirty laundry" on here, but I'll just say that we'd be better off adding a secretary to handle administrative stuff (like payroll and record keeping) and having no Fire Chief at all than where we're at currently. I work for the community we serve.

We are a small career department and we are involved in the community on multiple fronts - Department, Union and Personal. On the department level, we provide fire safety/prevention education to the community. This consists of annual visits to the schools to talk to the kids, fire extinguisher training, fire safety talks for businesses and assisting with fire drills in certain facilities. We also have a fire safety trailer that we take to various community events during the year. We also do pre-arranged station tours and welcome walk-in visits. We also do fire safety inspections for all private dwellings when a change of ownership takes place to ensure they are up to code. We also do commercial fire inspections, both at change of ownership, during the construction/renovation process and to satisfy annual requirements for some occupancies. We also participate in various ceremonies and parades in conjunction with holidays like Memorial Day, Veteran's Day, Flag Day, Christmas, etc. We participate in local National Night Out events. We patrol the city along with the PD and EMS during trick or treating. On the Union Local level, we do charitable fundraising for various organizations. This year we did the annual Boot Drive for MDA, held what we hope will be an annual Kickball Tournament to benefit a local organization that helps kids with special needs, we have a drop off container for aluminum cans for recycle whose proceeds go to a local burn center foundation and we sell specially designed pink t-shirts for Breast Cancer Awareness, the proceeds go to a local foundation that assists breast cancer patients. We sponsor a little league baseball team and help sponsor a softball league for kids with special needs. We purchase ads in programs for some of the local sports teams, school plays, etc. We donate money to other local charitable organizations. We just completed a coloring contest in the elementary schools in conjunction with fire prevention month in which we awarded a new bicycle and helmet to one girl and one boy in each school. We help sponsor our local parades and helped sponsor the fireworks display at one our biggest annual community events. We participate in an annual Christmas tree decorating contest. We are also involved in the local political scene - attending Council meetings, endorsing candidates. On a personal level, most of us live in our city and are involved in the same things other residents are. Some of our guys coach our little league team. Some of our guys coach other teams in the community. We have guys that work the polls on election day. We have guys that donate time to various organizations/churches. There's probably more, but that's all I can think of off the top of my head right now.

Another reason why we have pensions and is often left out of the pension conversation is that many of us will not be receiving Social Security in retirement. We do not pay in and therefore will not collect any SS benefits unless we have enough secondary employment income in which we paid into SS to qualify. Even then, we won't receive "full benefits" and will likely have paid in more than we will receive in benefits.On the "unfunded liability" front regarding pensions, another point that is often left out of the conversation is that a frequent factor in pension funds being "under funded" is because municipalities often take "payment holidays" on what is supposed to be their contribution if the investments are performing good enough. However, the employees make their full payment (whatever it may be) every payday. Damn straight!I know Dave, Local 60's President personally. Very good guy.

Much, much, much more to this story. They (along with the PD) have been involved in a lengthy legal battle for most of the last decade with their city - specifically the Mayor. They recently had a major victory in a case before the State Supreme Court that will have a MAJOR financial impact on an already "broke" city. The Mayor has been essentially engaging in retaliatory action since, along with his normal shots at the FD union. The Mayor has been caught repeatedly in lies regarding FD cuts and station closures. Much too much stuff to list and explain in this forum. Another recent article. http://www.golackawanna.com/news/Doherty_rsquo_s_Act_47_testimony_eyes_unions__arbitration_12-11-2011.html

OK, but what about the other 3 departments? I agree with your points, but I think the same can be said for volunteer side too. You are correct that I probably don't fully understand the situation. I can appreciate your side's concern over long term survival within the system and the desire to be "partners", however I'm not exactly seeing your side extending to the other side what you expect from them. It doesn't have to be. I just see it as being a beneficial step in the process for your side. An overt act, like allowing the current SFRD units into your stations could possibly be the catalyst for the discussion you desire. Even if your hand gets slapped away, you still should get "credit" in the eyes of the public for making the offer. I doubt that there is any "right", however this issue is about more than just the Belltown community. This is about and affects the entire City of Stamford. As such, Stamford's career FFs should be part of the conversation. At the very minimum, SFRD probably has more experience regarding administrative issues regarding the use of career firefighters and therefore could provide valuable insight into those areas that the volunteer leadership is likely not as experienced with.

While all of this may be true, it doesn't really disprove my point. You appear to chastise the Union and SFRD for doing pretty much the exact same things that the volunteer side is also doing. Did the VFDs seriously consider the "Brown Plan" before rejecting it outright? Based on the support of the Mayor's plan, the VFDs admit that they need career personnel in order to provide adequate response to the community, yet they refuse to house existing career staffed Engine Companies because they belong to SFRD. We can fingerpoint at each other all day long, but that won't resolve the issue. At some point, somebody has to step up and be the "bigger person" and show real leadership and a willingness to work together in order to do what's best for the community and not just the FD personnel. Can you honestly say that the volunteer leadership has done that while the other side hasn't?

There really is no correlation between the perils of not purchasing subscription fire protection and US foreign aid.

The actions of the volunteer side have been loud and clear too. They want no parts of anything that involves SFRD or their Local. They appear to be "all in" on the Mayor's plan and have no interest in anything else.