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Sage Vigiles started this through Incident Alerts, and do not know how to post link to actual article in Daily News (could not get full link name). Rookie Officer Melvin Santiago, fresh out of the academy in December, was executed by a gunman who "wanted to be famous" and lay in wait for the responding officers. The sub-human what's-his-name was wanted for a previous murder, and his partner in that crime is still on the loose - do not know if he has the same mentality. Our sincere prayers, condolences and sympathy go to the young officer's family, friends and fellow officers as they grieve this senseless act of murder, and hope they find strength and comfort some way. He was only 23 and did not deserve anything like this from that dirt bag, who was killed by returning police gunfire. Hope they get the other suspect he was earlier teamed with very, very soon. - update: They picked up the other suspect in the earlier homicide investigation on Monday. - Prayers and thoughts also go to Officer Santiago's partner, Officer Ismael Martinez, as he tries to mentally recover and deal with what happened to him and his partner - no one should have to go through that. Ever.

There has been an increasing amount of LODD reports of firefighters and EMS of all ages and physical conditions dropping on scene or within 24 hours lately of sudden cardiac arrest, some after working heavy fire scenes. The FDNY and Houston FD firefighters who recently went down on scene and were pulled out in full cardiac arrest were relatively young, very experienced, and had the same descriptor about their original condition - burns around the face, nose and mouth and inhalation burns. The LODD reports are going to take about 12-18 months for the full investigations and reports to be done. Last year during the summer or fall there was a report issued stating that SCBA face pieces were showing up that were defective in materials and craftsmanship and they found in a number of cases that the face pieces were either melting in less than extreme conditions or the glue binding the face piece to the rest of the mask was failing, injuring more and more firefighters. If that were the case in these instances, neither firefighter stood a chance because of the situation they were in, because by the time they would have noticed it, they were too deep into the fire area, and that would make their deaths even more tragic. Right now that would just be conjecture, but the possibility exists. We have fit testing every year with our personal masks. With the Departments that go through a lot of masks and fire work/calls, could they be starting to fail and letting in CO and other poisonous gases, which in a cumulative amount could lead to a LODD but not be suspected as the initial cause? I can imagine FF throwing the mask on and not fully checking for full seal when having back-to-back calls due to them being confident they are putting it on right, and they are, but short of testing each and every time, which would seem ridiculous, can anyone see how to catch these defective masks before a catastrophic failure? Wish there was an easy way...............

Come on kids, play nice. We are all in the same sandbox - just some have more, bigger or more job-specific toys; or more training - either ongoing drills, required training classes, or training that you pursue on your own so you are better prepared and expand your knowledge for the job - and sometimes even a heck of a lot more calls to fine tune your experience. Doing the job right, having the knowledge to be flexible as fire or scene conditions change and trying your hardest to do it well and keeping informed as newer hazards rear their ugly heads in our line of work should be the goal of paid and volunteer firefighters, without exception. Back to the original subject: When the Union President stated that it was okay to just tell the other paid firefighter that he was sick and left the job without telling anyone else, that hits me as extremely strange, especially since he was one of only two paid on duty. Shouldn't someone on the administrative end have been notified who could call in another one of the paid guys, like the part-time one they mentioned, to cover and finish his shift? I can fully understand why he had at least a five-day suspension, cannot see why they are rescinding and back-paying him for that just to avoid the expenses of a full law suit trial. He left them short-handed without telling anyone else but his co-worker, and unless they did not have any calls to cover in that time period and lucked out, cannot see any justification for his thinking that was okay because "that's how it was done in the past". Same lame excuse the Charleston commander gave without seeing anything wrong with not giving report to the arriving IC and ignoring ICS and NIMS, even though he lost 9 firefighters in the fire and collapse. Though admittedly very different scenarios, but same ignorant attitude. If I tried that at work, I might be looking for another job relatively quickly.

Our prayers and thoughts and sympathies to the family of Daniel Groover, his family and the young children left behind, and his Houston Fire Department family. 46 is way way too young - there was so much more he had to offer, and this is starting to happen to younger firefighters. What a shame and a tragic loss. Rest in Peace.

Rest in Peace, Lt. Gordon Ambelas. Our prayers and thoughts are with your young family and your friends, Ladder 119 and your FDNY family.

Rest in Peace, Trooper Skinner. Our thoughts and prayers are with your family, friends and those you worked with. A horrible, horrible way to go with no chance to react, no consideration for anything he did throughout his life and those he helped along the way. Trooper Skinner, thank you for choosing to wear the badge to help people in your short time here.

Fantastic! Nice grab and great being in the right place at the right time and doing the right thing. Thank you, Mr. Wraftery and family, for helping keep that family's holiday safe.

We just purchased 2 Lucas II devices and are having a training session tomorrow. It will definitely help with manpower, so we can worry more about getting people out of the houses and down or up stairs and into the ambulance without worrying about stopping compressions in between. The biggest factors for whether there will be a positive outcome, for manual or mechanical CPR, will always be how soon were we called after (or just before) the cardiac arrest, what caused it to begin with, how long before the first person arrives or CPR is initiated, when ALS is initiated, and how soon they can get to hospital for ultimate care/surgery/whatever needed to reverse cause or facilitate recovery.

Our deepest sympathy to Sgt. Shawn Michael Farrell II's family members and his Accord FD family. We are grateful that he was able and chose to serve both his country and his community, and regret that he gave the ultimate sacrifice, but hope his memories help inspire others. Rest In Peace, and thank you, Sgt. Farrell.

At some point when you finalize the SOP for your Department, could you post it as an example/reference? We have a Day Crew Monday - Friday 6 AM-6PM, and some of them have taken the Tactical Medic training, and some more may as time goes on, so at least they are gaining some experience on that side and would definitely jump right in to manage the situation if one happens. Warm zone operations need to be prepared to receive/retrieve possible PD first responder victims as well as other responders and civilians, so it is always good to have a plan ready for most possibilities. I am reading what I can on it and hope will properly do what needs to be done if called on. Unfortunately, not enough EMS people took advantage of the in-house Tourniquet/Quik Clot bandaging class and the one held at the hospital, both of which had good hands-on practice, so if anything happens during the volunteer staffing time, it could be hit-or-miss as to the crew and their/our experience with that part. Our Chief tries to be proactive - just has to get the rest, or more of us, in line. P.S. Sage may not be EMS, but with his training, if he was in town that day, I would absolutely want him with us.

Condolences and prayers for the family and friends and co-workers of Officer Guerra and hopes for a speedy recovery for Officer Rodriguez. So unnecessary, and such a waste. Eight children having to see their parents go to work, and one not come home to his family. Hope the support and love they and the families receive help them all through this.

Play nice, kids. And thank you for not being low-lifes like that scuzzy paramedic - good to know can trust many more of us to go in and out of houses without casing the joint and "shopping". Only thing we take out is the patient.

Condolences to FF Kevin Bristol's family at home and with the Peekskill FD - sounds like his presence here on earth made life more pleasant for quite a few people. Hope all can get comfort from their memories of him. RIP

Our prayers and thoughts are with Chief Sam Lubin, his family, and his Ossining VAC Family. Hope your recovery is fast and complete - sounds like they really need your continuous drive to improve and expand the service, and sure would hate to see them disappointed!

Sorry to hear that. He worked hard to make stunt work a safe but exciting art, and took a lot of pride in his work, influencing many that followed him. His stunt artistry will be missed.

Also, is there s frequency difference, high band versus low band? That and the wattage and tower position mentioned earlier could affect radio wave penetration, etc.

Happy Birthday, Seth!!! Hope you had a great time today.

My father was a combat Medic wounded in the Huertgen Forest at the Battle of the Bulge in World War II while retrieving and carrying out a wounded army comrade who unfortunately did not make it, so luckily or unluckily I have always had a sense of the sacrifice his generation and those before and after have made in the name of Freedom for us and other nations. He healed but always carried the pieces of shrapnel from the mortar, and once in a while they would move, but he really never complained. He and my mother instilled in us a great sense of pride in our country, belief in honest work and almost a joy in helping those who could use a hand or cannot help themselves. Sometimes you wish you had tons of money to relieve the everyday burdens of those who worked so hard all their lives and make it through day-to-day, but......My sincere thanks and love go out to all who have served, all who currently serve, those who made the supreme sacrifice, and those who show these people respect. The showing at our small Memorial Day ceremony has been growing recently, so maybe people do know the meaning of the cartoons..........

We lost member Robert Scott Mahana the same way in 2006. Our deepest sympathies to the Lomontville Fire Department. You are all in our thoughts and prayers.

Seth: Glad you are feeling better and are out of the hospital, and sorry that you had to find your creation in disarray. We will be patient. Keep getting healthier, and take your time with the restore process, so you do not rush to do the fixes and create immense stress for yourself. We keep checking the site, just in case, and will be there when it comes back on full. Just wish there was some way to donate besides PayPal - unable to do that, but maybe in future......Good luck. Hey, just thought of this - Huge internet virus hit internet, you get sick about the same time, and so does your "child" the website - Hmmmmmm - always thought you were extremely connected and seem to be everywhere at once to get us great pictures and posing interesting questions for discussion, but did not realize you were so "plugged in" to get the virus, too! Get better soon.

Will be sending a card and a matchbox Rescue 3 replica to help him reach his goal, and hopefully to give him strength in his fight. Our prayers and thoughts are with you, Norman!!!

May retired Firefighter Bernard Santucci and his "brother" Charles Melillo both rest in peace - two funerals in such a short time two too many, and hard to deal with. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Port Chester Fire Department.

Our three firehouses have generators, plus at least one of the four cell towers has one, and the Dispatch/PD has its own generator (they had to replace it after it gave up the ghost during one big storm). The CAD system still goes out on occasion, more frequently than it really should, so cannot always get numbers and times right away for NFIRS Reports, but communications have been pretty steady and reliable during the bad weather and power outtages. Individual pagers and radio charging when homes are out are being done at the firehouses since they have the "juice" to share.

Rest In Peace, Lt. Neary. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and those he worked with and knew.

From what I heard earlier this afternoon, at some point there were at least two multiple story buildings with about 60 people in the upper floors (I think someplace in CT) on the shoreline who were told multiple times to evacuate, did not, and were trapped by the rising waters. Last I heard they still were trapped due to the dangerous conditions. Dispatchers had to tell them the conditions meant no responders, PD or FD, could come and get them, and advised them to go to the higher floors, and to the roof if necessary. Due to their refusal to evacuate, the authorities were at least aware there were residents there, but were also handcuffed because to make attempts to rescue the fools* in those conditions would have possibly led to fatalities of both responders and "I-will-tough-it-outers". Anyone hear any updates? In some rare instances like this, I have heard of the people being charged for the resources/people hours/etc. utilized to get them out of where they were told not to be, but not sure if the monetary collection amount ever was enforced after courts got through with it. (*change of heart - fools a little harsh - they really may have nowhere else to go, or do not trust people enough to leave their valuables unprotected, may not have enough money to go elsewhere, or may not feel comfortable in a shelter. Can sympathize with that, I guess...) Also, when we are told to finish our last job and to return to and stay in FD quarters like we were this storm when the sustained winds went above 50 mph, that's usually when the "civilian" populace least understands why we cannot come out unless it is absolutely a life safety issue, and only if we safely can do the job. Those poor Queens and Yonkers FD, EMS and PD - had to be extremely frustrating watching those houses burn and not being able to do anything. Not totally sure, but from the articles I read it sounds like they were advised to evacuate due to the rising water potential, and most decided to ride it out, which made the already over-whelmed emergency personnel more determined to help in whatever way they could, but should not make anyone other than the people living in those houses liable if they were hurt or killed. And the Easton Firefighter was killed at the same time all of us were being told to return to quarters, and he and his brothers were probably just finishing up their job to do just that. My condolences to his family and brothers. All that worked their hearts out this storm could only do so much, but you all need to know that, even if it did not seem like a lot, it WAS. You have my sincere appreciation and pride that you went in when others shut themselves in their houses and hoped it would end. Very nice job, everyone.