Dinosaur

Hopefully a safe following distance.

There's no allotment of paramedics in Westchester. Every little town, village, city, district chooses whether or not they will provide ALS and to what level. Further, they dictate the response policies that will be followed. To not have a comprehensive EMS system in 2016 in one of the wealthiest counties in the nation is pathetic and we have nobody to blame but ourselves. I could add the same about the fire service but that's for another thread!

Is there a policy? The article seems to suggest that there isn't. Chain of command is one thing in the firehouse and certainly on the fireground. It's not so clear in cyber-land and do you know what the chain of command is in that department? Is there a board of directors or commissioners for non-firematic issues? That wouldn't be in the chief's chain of command. There are two sides to this coin.

A helicopter with the capability of responding in bad weather? Weather minimums for all helicopters exist for the safety of the crew, the victim, and everyone else on the ground. The USCG flies in miserable weather but they aren't going to fly below their minimums. Any look at HEMS will show you that sometimes pushing those weather minimums ends up with nasty results. We need good coordination. Everybody thinks they can just do what ever they want on the river. THAT is what has to stop!

There aren't enough firefighters in Harrison already. Now giving them double duty further dilutes their strength so you wind up with nobody for a fire engine or nobody for an ambulance. In this case, there's nothing to be gained by trying that.

If the FAA isn't giving DoD, federal agencies, law enforcement or commercial operators (read $$$) any leeway I doubt the FD will get any. I think you're talking about recreational users, not official users like FD. FD's or other governmental entities need to have a COA - Certificate of Authorization. Is it worth all the trouble just to get a picture from above? Use a ladder, call a helicopter, or just figure it out. Sometimes I think technology gets in the way of getting the job done.

One of the best things NYS has done for the career fire service. Otherwise we'd get very little training like that.

So is anyone aware of any truth to this? Besides a Facebook rant and copied email from a HEMS insider, have there been any news reports, statements from the town or anything that suggests this is accurate? It's the town's prerogative to contact for services within their borders so the notion that they don't have any right to review HEMS financial statements or discuss service(s) provided is nuts. They provided $550,000 to the "VAC" this year so it's clear the town has a stake in it.

Not as simple as one may think to do it legally. Attended a seminar in DC recently and they talked about the process to do it legally. In Westchester it wouldn't be so simple due to all the airports and airspace and other obstacles. It's all regulated by the FAA now. I don't think it's the expense.

The Federal Government has no jurisdiction in local firefighting. Only firefighting on federal land and they screw that up to. Keep the government out of it. They're the ones that brought us cracker jack courses like NIMS IS-700 and NRF IS-800. Let's not use the feds and their diluted training methodology as the benchmark. NYS is working on this. It may not be as comprehensive as you would like but it will give a real pathway for certification in ICS positions, not just fireground command positions. Brunacini is laughing all the way to the bank with the blue card program. Want more comprehensive simulation based training - demand it from NYS. Wait! We can't because we keep fighting against a common standard for training to begin with. Forget about ongoing continuing education training. Ha!

Westchester County PD used to have side scan sonar. Does anyone know if they still do? I'm surprised that NYC had to do it. Where was the unified command post located and does anyone know (know, not speculate) who was in it?

What if the politics is compelling you to do it wrong and you're not able to implement change to do it right? Do you suck it up and do it wrong or do you take a stand and adhere to your ethics and morals?

NYS is in the process of working with FEMA and others to establish a bona fide Interstate Incident Management Team Qualifications System (IIMTQS) that would make paying for a Brunacini blue card a waste of money. As I understand it, this may be formally announced by summer. That said, some of the training they do could be incorporated into local ICS training to make it more meaningful and useful as well as more interactive.

Ambulances have been "staged" in firehouses in New Rochelle for years, probably decades.

Stupid is not exploring options to insure that you're providing the best service possible at the most economical cost to your customers/constituents.

Perhaps they should make all things equal. Like this coverage and training! Snarky comment aside, how do you provide coverage to volunteer FF? It's pretty straightforward on the career side but who pays on the volunteer side?

That doesn't seem too far off at all. Sadly, we don't perpetuate the greatest public image with multi-agency, tiered responses that result in a dozen people showing up in 5 different vehicles but no ambulance.

New Rochelle canceled the contract over a month ago. You mean nobody in NYS DOH BEMS or Putnam County thought to start developing a contingency plan for this? Just in case? That sounds like poor planning if you ask me. Considering the state comes up with plans for bird flu, Ebola, earthquakes, tsunami, and all kinds of other doom and gloom scenarios, the writing has been on the wall for this for some time. "Trying time for the Bureau staff" Are you kidding me? This is their JOB!!! Considering how much meddling NYS does in the affairs of local governments and businesses, I'm surprised that BEMS wasns't monitoring this more closely.

How'd you get a copy? LOL

That didn't last long though. Wasn't it Affiliated in 86/87 when the FD stopped doing the BLS?

Better cancel your Lohud subscription too... http://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/westchester/2016/02/24/transcare-ambulance-bankruptcy/80868708/

I wonder if NYS may step in to oversee continuity of operations. If memory serves they did this once before when another commercial entity shut down unexpected.

They go on calls as supervisors, serve as liaison to other agencies and deal with hospital back-logs when EMS units are stacked up waiting for ER stretchers. They manage schedules, equipment, training, time off, and perform other duties. To minimize the importance of that in a city like NY is unfair.

Why should Con Ed be responsible for buying equipment for the FD's? FD's need to be responsible for their own equipment in their own districts.

Now if people will just pay attention to which road they're on it will go a long way....