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I guess the days of Walter dispatching (you could barely understand him when he got excited) and Davey fixing the appartatus (God Bless his soul) are long gone.

If the NYPD wants to say they have the capabilty, then they should put on a demo showing that they A) have the tools and skills and can deploy the same to put rounds on target. Words are semi decent deterents, but when you show off the capability, that speaks volumes. You dont have to give away all the details on your tactics, techniques and proceedures, but if you put on a demo, invite news reporters MINUS cameras. Then they can say "We were at a demo of the NYPD shooting down a drone aircraft today, and while I cant show you video or go into detail about how it happened, rest assured it did happen and works as advertised" Thats a much better deterent that still does not give away the details as to the specifics, but shows you can do what you say you can do, and doesnt come from someone inside the agency.

I fail to see how a .50 cal Sniper rifle will bring down a airliner. .50 cal MG, yes, without a doubt. It happened all the time in WWII and Vietnam. It might take a belt of 2, but it's proven doable. A Barrett .50 cal sniper rifle, no. Maximum effective range of a .50 cal Barrett (M107) is 1200 meters as per the Technical Manual the US Army wrote. By the time the incredibly skilled shooter can take the shot to "blow it out of the sky", physics is already in motion, and even with a "movie magic type of 1 in a million shot" that kills the pilot or knocks out some control system, the plane is still going to hit whatever it's aimed at give or take a little. No one will overcome the laws of physics with that range/aircraft speed/weight. On the other hand, if you want to launch a MANPADS (Man Portable Air Defense System) AKA Stinger missile type of weapon, that changes things a whole hell of a with lot with a flight speed of over 1,600 MPH, range of over 5,000 meters, and a 6 pound explosive warhead. (all open source info) Now your going to interupt the flight path, and the physics of the plane is all screwed up due to the explosion. Even so, your still going to have Line Of Sight on the plane with relation to the firing position, and with all the tall buildings in NYC, thats going to limit your firing points. And this is not even taking into consideration the whole "where the aircraft/pieces will fall and how many that could kill" part of the equation.

MANPADS or an Avenger is quite different that a .50 Cal Sniper rifle as far as knockdown capability.

MANPADS for the NYPD... Or do they have Avengers painted blue?

I wouldnt doubt it either has, or will be talked about in the next edition of 1901..

The FRC product only has data, no voice. There are other brands out there, but I am not familiar with them. Class 1 is another manufacturer of VDR's also http://class1.com/Main/Products,976,976.aspx

Yes it does. They are offically called Vehicle Data Recorder (VDR's) All current newly built trucks to NFPA 1901 (2009) standards have them as per NFPA standards. They record braking, acceleration, lights, seatbelts, and a few other things, all second by second, as soon as you turn the power on to the truck before you start the engine. I know the new engine in my station has a USB plug where a laptop with the software can download everything at the click of a mouse. Here is one manufacter's VDR product. http://www.fireresearch.com/seatmonitor-components.php A good rule of thumb is if you have a 2009 or later truck with the chevrons on the back, it's a real good bet you have a VDR on it also. (The chevrons are also part of the 2009 1901 spec) A decent article is posted here about them. http://www.fireapparatusmagazine.com/index/display/article-display/8069703493/articles/fire-apparatus/Volume-13/issue-11/departments/keeping-it_safe/big-brother-vdr-issues-are-numerous.html

When I was at Ft Hood several years ago, they almost mobilized a brigade to fight forest fires in Idaho. Any talk of that going on?

There was a legal notice in the Times Record a week or 2 or so about a OCC Restaurant Company being "started". From what I saw in there a few days ago when I dropped off some stuff, they are turning out lots of theme bikes. It has looked slower in the past. Now, it seems to be pretty busy.

Ulster county fire dispatch put out an announcement that as of 2100 hours tommorrow, all low priority calls will be phoned from county to the dept, and only hi priority calls will be toned out.

While everyone (citizens) are at home weathering the storm, most of us will be on an extended stand by/call back/out on calls and away from home for quite some time. What can the family of an emergency responder do to prepare for us being away from home durring this storm? Im not talking the basic "Plenty of water/food/flashlights/etc" prepardeness type stuff that everyone should do. Im talking the how to prepare the family to be OK without the 1st responder being there. For instance, my family knows how to setup/connect/run/refuel/transfer the backup generator without me. I have all the town FD and PD freqs programmed into the scanner so they know whats going on. They have all the "non public" phone #'s for the station if something crazy happens at home so the guy in the radio room can contact me when I'm out on call. Is there anything else that can be done to prepare the family for your extended time being away?

The news didnt see to have much effect on the Code 3 models I saw at a Muster in NJ yesterday. Heck, I picked up the Super Pumper set, all new in box with the plastic, with the shelf, in the overpacked shipping box, for $100. I thought that was a good deal.

Any chance the company will be bought, and production resumes?

Anyone heading up to Syracuse for the Muster? http://www.cnyspaamfaa.com/

I'll take the lack of responses as a no. I'll take some pics and post them here when I get back.

Wow.... Thats amazing.

Where/how can a dept get information on getting a piece of steel for a memorial. I know there are some stipulations, but I cant find anything offical saying how to do go about this. Any ideas?

Seems years ago there were musters all over the Northeast. Most notably, the Fairchester Hose Haulers at Valhalla. Now, there seem to be fewer and fewer. I feel that musters are a good tradition that should be kept alive. Will there be musters in 10 or 15 years from now, or will they all die out? I hope not. How can we keep them alive?

I make it to about 5-8 musters per year, and try to bring the family along to most of them. They make for enjoyable family outings, and I get to scour the fleamrkets for pieces I am looking for. The next big one is SPAAMFAA's big one in Syracuse in 2 weeks. It's a shame these events arent better attended. Remembering where our fire service came from and is going is very important. It also helps us better understand it.

No one answered my original question. Does the PD issue tickets? Appearance tickets issued to the heads of facilities have a funny way of making places clean up their act with regards to accidental false alarms.

It was a great time. Lots of static display vehicles also.

Does the PD give out tickets for false alarms in Somers?

All, Im trying to find what the maximum GPM you can get thru a 2.5 and 3 inch hard suction hose at draft, no matter what size the pump is. I know there are more variables like feet of head, friction loss, etc, but there must be some rule of thumb. For example, the rule of thumb for 6 inch hose is no matter how large your pump is, with 1 6 inch hard suction the most you'll ever get out of it is approximately 1500 GPM. If you add a 2nd 6 inch off a 2nd intake, you can easily get 2000 GPM or more. I need the same info for both 2.5 and 3 inch hard suction. Thanks!

Anyone else going to the Harrisburg PA Muster tommorrow? http://www.papumpprimers.org/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/pppflyer2011.pdf While its not a big as the old Fairchester Hose Haulers Musters (Valhalla) this would rate a close 2nd. Lots of old apparatus, new apparatus, a parade, and a big firematic fleamarket with lots of vendors tthat sell old brass, old gear, Gamewells, ect.. Not just "cool guy T shirts"