exmrvfc

Anyone notice the white board in the galley picture?? "County Microwave Frequency" above the microwave. I guess that's for the NIMS compliant Multi-Agency popcorn!!

The nearest companies are Asch Loop and Astor ave which are both 4 miles out. I think that makes it a little longer than 4 minutes even in the middle of the night. I was just shocked they picked City Island which is all by itelf. Even if it is slower out there.

The Latest from LoHud. http://www.lohud.com/article/20081126/NEWS02/811260373

When it comes to training in the Volunteer sector, the example is set by those in charge. The argument that its hard to get people to train is a cop out. I have seen departments set the example from day one when an applicant comes in the door and tell them what is expected of them. It is my belief that any volunteer has the time to take at least one class per year to continue to expand their knowledge. If you are young and single, you can probably take several per year. Once the tone is set, there is no excuse for officers not being trained and meeting the standards. If peole don't want to take the training, don't call them firefighters. There are plenty of support jobs to fill. As Bnechis pointed out some of the classes are not optional. FFs not having HazMat Ops is setting up some chiefs for violations of OSHA (PESH in NY). HazMat Awareness is OK for the Cop who arrives on the scene and calls for the FD to respond. Any member of the FD responding to the scene needs to have HazMat Ops. Officers in charge of HazMat scene (Lts, Capt, Chiefs) are required to have HazMat Incident Command.

Would this be the same guy who was arrested 14 times???

"Why is it City A's responsability to provide safety to Village B? More importantly why should the taxpayers in City A have to subsidize village B, particularly when the taxpayers in village B are unwilling or unable to pay for fire protection." Isn't this already happening with a certain City sending 1 and 1 to working fires for a certain Village in the Sound Shore? "I do not have a personal problem with career members volunteering, but that should be the employeers right to determine, and not be forced into by the lobbying efforts of other communities." What about the dangerous "B" jobs that guys work such as roofing, tree work and contracting. Getting hurt, pulling muscles and generally being tired when you show up for the job can be just as detrimental. If a guy calls in sick because he is hurt, the community will likely have to pay overtime to cover the shift.

That was the day the NY Football Giants finally beat the snot out of Joe Montana en route to the Super Bowl!! Missed the entire game because of the fire.

This may have to be the best reporting on the entire topic. Colbert sums up the ntire problem. http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-r...siness-syphilis

There are two things to be concerned with the current crisis: For those that work in the public sector whether in emegency services/school or city hall, times are about to get tough. Don't be suprised when the vacant positions don't get filled and departments are asked to cut back on budgets as a tax receipts start to drop and state funding begins to dry up. For those that work in the private sector, times will get tough as well. The Wall Street model has forever been changed. Two investment banks have failed, two major banks in the area have failed and Merrill Lynch was acquired. All of this consolidation means that jobs will be lost. NYS estimates that could be 30,000 lost jobs. All of these people spend thier money in the tri-state area. Guys on this board who have B jobs as contractors may see things getting a lot slower over the 12 months. DPW guys who do landscaping on the side may see accounts start to drop. Delis will get slower as people brown bag more. Restaurants will see less demand as people stay home. This is not meant to be a scare tactic but merely to show the ripple effects that are likely to happen. As people cut back spending, the economy stalls, people lose jobs and sales and income tax receipts fall. This is serious stuff. The larger picture is not the stock market falling 700 points but the credit market siezing like an engine without any oil. The entire economy is dependant on credit (which is a good thing) to function smoothly and ease any momentary shortfalls in cash flow. Right now banks are not willing to lend to other banks due to fear (see the rise in the LIBOR spreads which cover the loans banks make to each other). The Commercial Paper market which makes short term loans (say 30-90 days) to corporations is virtually dried up. Corporations use this money smooth out ups/downs in their cash flow on a regular basis. Credit also allows companies to buy the raw materials needed to manufacture the goods they make. Credit allows companies to start up or expand their business or get them through a slow period while still keeping employees and factories open. Imagine if overnight, your oil delivery company stopped mailing a bill and expected you or your spouse to pay them $500 cash on the spot or they won't deliver. Credit is the oil in the engine of our economy and right now we are about 4 quarts low. Everybody is arguing over who should put in the oil while the engine is siezing. The only thing that has prevented a complete meltdown has been the Hundreds of Billions in liquidity that the Fed has pumped into the system (something that wasn't done prior to the Depression). Most of the people on this board are from the Tri-State Area and have more skin in this game than they realize. I am not a Wall Street guy and I don't expect my job to be saved or a fat cat bonus from a bailout (now being called the Rescue Plan). I am realist that things are bad and people need to get educated as to what is really going on. Something needs to be done and that is where the debate starts. I am not here to argue in favor of the plan but in favor of action. The Great Depression was brought by inaction (failure to prevent the bank runs) and bad action such as the Smoot Halley Tariffs which made the problem worse. my two cents which is now 1 due to a bad market.......

Firehouse has an additional article that states the members who have resigned are already forming another fire company. They expect the borough to designate the new fire company as th eone to provide the fire protection since they are the active firefighters. I would be pretty pissed if a a bunch of "freeloaders" were only hanging out to drink and gamble. Hopefully the new Company will set the correct tone where its firefighting first and socializing is done second. http://cms.firehouse.com/content/article/a...46&id=61034

From Shakespeare: This story shall the good man teach his son; And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by, From this day to the ending of the world, But we in it shall be remember'd; We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he to-day that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile, This day shall gentle his condition: And gentlemen in England now a-bed Shall think themselves accursed they were not here, And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.

Three city men were caught drag racing at over 100 mph along the Saw Mill River Parkway early today in an illegal contest in which organizers blocked the northbound highway, police said. http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article...EWS02/808220404

I noticed that too but I wouldn't put much stock in it. I have never seen a rep be a dealer for two companies as you could potentially be bidding against yourself. I don't have concrete confirmation but I would bet Garrison cut their losses and moved over to Ferrara. E-One never recoverred from their production problems from several years ago and their dealers suffered from it (how many E-One's have you seen delivered in the last few years). It will take some time for ALF to recover their reputation from bankruptcy before people are going to be willing to place an order for a $400k + fire apparatus. During this time Garrison needs to make sales in order to stay in business. If I were Ferrara, KME and Crimson, I would make a big push to steal ALF's market share while they are still in trouble. It's the smart thing to do.

One company announcement that I read stated that all orders that were bonded will be built. The only question is when. If an order was not bonded then it is not known if it the order will be honored. The ALF Dealer for this area (Garrison Fire) is now listed as a Ferrara Rep so that cannot bode well for Larchmont.

Barry, You beat me to the punch on the ISO. According to the ISO guide, the recognized Fire department providing protection to Kiryas Joel is Monroe at a class 4. It will be interesting to see if anyone notifies ISO of the change in Fire Protection and does it have any effect on the class. It's just like Rye Brook and Port Chester all over again. And that didn't go to well.

Bob, What the decision comes down to is "your" interpertation of the OSHA statute. As noted above, the MPO or IC can act as one of the two stand by FF's if they are in full PPE AND if the job they are doing does not endanger the other personel if they were to leave their job to perform a rescue of fallen firefighter. This is where the interpretation comes into play. An argument can be made that a engine without an MPO could endanger the guys on the knob if there was a loss in pressure, the tank water runs out or any other problem that might have been prevented by the MPO being there. The same can be said for the IC. If the job goes bad in a hurry and people need to be rescued, who is commanding the rescue, calling in additional resources, etc. The MPO is probably way to busy and/or stressed with his own duties to handle this especially difficult task that would be handled by the IC. For those that are quoting ICS, OSHA or PESH in NY, is what mandates this and carries the full weight of the Law. Following OSHA is manadatory and is punishable by fine. ICS is a standard that can be cited as an example in Civil Court when the fallen firefighter sues the department and municipality. With all that being said, A chief has issued an order. The way I was taught, you have to obey the order and bring it up after the fire whether it is by grievance from the union or the fire council for Volunteers. Personally, I think you need six minimum as the MPO and IC need to their jobs.

As a 20+ year Volunteer, the only difference that volunteers should be held to is the length of time it takes to complete classes. Other than that, there is no reason for a volunteer to stop at HazMat and FF1. There wil be times that family/work will prevent a class from being taken but not 365 days/year/every year. Once you get past FF1 it is much easier to complete 1-2 classes a year and make yourself a well rounded FF. As you stay in the service these classes will go from "the basics" and move towards officer classes. Ultimately I believe it is up to the leadership of every department to set the example and expectations for its members to continue their training. As for physical shape, now that I am a 20+ year memebr, I am most likely to die from a heart attack than being trapped/caught in a fire. Since I am also a Dad and Husband, I decided it was time to drop 10-15 pounds and get myself in better shape. This was accomplished with a better diet and moderate excerciie. Nothing that the average person can't do. Don't let excuses lower the expectations from your members. It will only come back to hurt them and maybe the FF next to them on the scene.

As for the ISO numbers, most of the all Volunteer or Combination Departments have an equal or better rating Town of Greenburgh Ardsley 4,Dobbs Ferry 5, Elmsford 4,Fairview 4 (Mostly Career), Greenville 4 (Mostly Career), Hartsdale 3 Sound Shore area PCFD 4; Rye 4, HFD 4, Purchase 4 (all volunteer), WHFD 4 (all Volunteer) VMFD 3 (all volunteer) TMFD 3. Big Career - NRFD 2, Mt Vernon 3, Yonkers 3 (has more FF than anyone), White Plains 2, Eastchester 3 (mostly career) According to ISO, 10% of the grade goes to Alarm Communications, 40% to available water supply and 50% to the FD itself. Of the FD Grade, 15% is given to manpower. In other words 7.5% (15% of 50%) of the overall grade for the PPC comes from manpower. From ISO Company personnel — ISO credits the personnel available for first alarms of fire. For personnel not normally in the fire station (for example, volunteers), ISO reduces the value of the responding members to reflect the delay due to decision, communication, or assembly. ISO then applies an upper limit for the credit for manning, as it is impractical for a very large number of personnel to operate a piece of apparatus. 15%

Status Quo can hurt any department, anywhere, but I have never seen anything to this level. Using one 2 1/2 as a supply line went out with the steam engine. Most of the Sound Shore switched over to 5" in the early 90's but at least we laid dual 3" lines before that.

What was unbelievable to read was that department would use a single 2 1/2" as a supply line to an engine. They also used 1 1/2" as an attack line with automatic nozzles that were rated to flow 60 GPM. While we can learn about the IC functions and communication, some of the operations were out the Firefighting Stone ages. I really feel bad for the families when they have to read why their loved ones were behind the eight ball from the minute they arrived.

Volunteers get a deduction off of their income taxes for the mileage they drive for being a volunteer. This includes driving to calls. It's the same as expensing mileage for any other charitable orginization. Talk to your accountant.

Ray Kiernan (Chief of New Rochelle FD for those outside of Westchester) has published a commentary in last months issue of Firehouse magazine calling for Federal money to provide additional training to firefighters through the states (such as OFPC in NY). The money would be used to provide National Fire Academy type classes in each state. I have attached a link to to the commentary in Firehouse and also a sample letter that can be sent your local members of Congress. I was hoping to use the widespread members of EMTBravo to support this legislation. For those in Southern Westchester, Nita Lowey is already the sponsor of the legislation and a big supporter of the fire service. If members could post this to the New England and other Bravo sites that would be great. The more members of congress who support the bill, the better the chance of it passing. http://cms.firehouse.com/content/article/a...16&id=58161 Training_Letter.doc

YFD is no longer the crutch, NRFD is. MVFD brings them in to cover and to the scene but at least they send rigs to cover NRFD. Pelham and Pelham Manor calls them in to work at just about every job. In Larchmont they are providing the basic response as LFD only had 3 career and 5 volunteers on the inital response (before callbacks). Eight firefighters is not going to put out the bread & butter job you are talking about.

When a municpality signs a contract with a local of the IAFF, isn't that "contracting out" for labor services?? In essence the municipality is buying its labor from a bargaining unit and staffing its department with such. The men may be members of the department but it is a line item in the overall budget along with equipment. A fire protection district contracts for services with a fire company or even another fire department, it is getting the labor pool and the equipment as well. There are many departments that started because a local group of residents banded together to form a fire company that pre-dated the taxing entity that later became the fire district. These departments were funded out of the pockets of its members and donations from the residents. Since the Fire Company pre-dated the District, the Company often owns the house and equipment/apparatus. They in turn use the contract money to buy equipment/apparatus, pay for heat & electric/repairs to the station and basic upkeep. In my independant fire company, the FPD had the right (and they used it every year) to audit our books to see where the money was spent. This ensured the taxpayers were getting what they paid for. There was no "money laundering" and we had budget lines just like any other municipality.