Dinosaur

Spoken like a true NY volunteer. Of course there's bickering but it's bickering not unlike what you'd find within any firehouse. There is no resentment or divisiveness because that's not part of THEIR culture! What's there to resent if everyone has the same training?

Goes back to the days when the FD was so busy with fires, they didn't (or couldn't) respond to accidents.

So let me see if I get your position, everyone in the fire department is equal and rightfully called firefighter regardless of their training and capabilities? Does this include the fire police and ladies auxiliary? If you want to discuss fitness and risk of heart attacks, the issue isn't an age restriction but rather a fitness requirement. Something that I'm sure 95% of all volunteer FD's would oppose, even those who give their members free or discounted memberships at the local fitness club or have big gyms right in the firehouse. This is only an issue in this part of the country. I was out west in September and my friends in FD's out there laugh when I describe the set-up we have here. They have one training standard for career and volunteer, run mostly combination departments at the county level, and don't bicker like we do here. Why don't they bicker? Because they're all trained to the same standard - interior, I might add - so they don't have the rift between career and volunteer that we have over training and qualifications. Every firefighter is trained the same so one day you might be packed up and inside and the next day you might be laddering the building, stretching hose, etc. They simply don't have the nonsense that we do. Calling everyone who works in the hospital a healthcare worker is like calling everyone who works at an airport a pilot. Simply not true. You wouldn't want someone with first aid training doing your surgery would you? And why do people hang up their SCBA but stay in the fire department? Is it perhaps to continue building points toward a pension?

Or is that the big party where they go out of service for the night, get covered by mutual aid, and eat a big dinner with the chief's of neighboring departments?

It's more of an issue than you think. We have people who join the FD and never attend training except to be a driver and call themselves FF. My point is that if you want to be a firefighter you shouldn't get to choose not to do the job of a firefighter by staying outside. This isn't lunacy, this is the advocacy of FASNY and other groups that oppose vehemently any training standards or requirements to be called a FF.

It's not spin at all. Every police officer receives annual in-service training so they remain as current and qualified as a new recruit today. Likewise, career firefighters have to complete at least 100 (I think, it's been a long time since I did this paperwork) hours of annual in-service training also. This is NOT a career vs. volunteer issue. This is an issue of standards. There is a minimum training standard for the career fire service and it has been vigorously opposed by the volunteer community. This disparity perpetuates the issues you're talking about. I'm not saying every career FF behaves professionally or that volunteers don't. I'm saying that every career FF in the state of NY was trained to the same standard. You can't say that in the vollie community.

I'm pretty sure career firefighters have to remain qualified (barring an injury) for the duration of their career. You make a valid point about allowing existing firefighters to retire with a sunset clause but there should be no more starting today that never become interior.

Kent State was 44 years ago. You can't seriously compare it to today; everything's different. Police training, National guard training, policies & procedures, state laws, media, etc. have all changed during the past 40 years.

Are they still pursuing the construction of the new station or are they using those funds to renovate the existing station 2?

There are other states with the same, single standard for firefighter. It doesn't matter if you're paid or a volunteer, if you want to be a firefighter you take all the required training. This doesn't mean you have to attend full-time during the day but it does mean you have to make a commitment to your training. How many people are out there with outdated or inadequate training? Too many, and we ignore it and allow it to persist. How many are joining now and only taking the barest minimum of training before donning a pack and going into an IDLH environment? Departments can order you to complete the training if you want to be given the title firefighter. Support or exterior positions need to be called something other than firefighter. They're not and they're misleading themselves and the public. Some departments claim to have 100 members. To the public that means 100 interior firefighters (because the public won't make the distinction). In reality they have 25 life members (no longer doing anything), 25 junior members, and 25 exterior or support members, so in reality they only have 25 interior firefighters. How many will actually show up at the call? 1/3? 1/2? So 8-12 guys that can actually go inside to fight the fire or rescue grandma or whatever. It's time we stop misleading ourselves and our public. One standard for the title of firefighter.

You're incorrect. Every police officer in the state of NY and every career firefighter has been trained to one standard. If they are on desk or light duty later in their career, it's irrelevant. They were still trained to the same single NYS standard. EMT, paramedic, police officer and career firefighter all have one training standard. Only in the volunteer sector did we eliminate a training standard. Not everyone can or should be a firefighter. They have to be able to perform the job. If you want to welcome everyone with open arms into your department, fine, just don't call them all firefighters.

One standard for all firefighters. Period. So yes, referring to new and existing.

Are you saying that the district rents the firehouse from the fire company? Where's the logic in that? Sounds like questionable business and a way to siphon tax payer dollars into an unaccountable black hole.

Is this in addition to building another station on 134 in Millwood?

It took 8 minutes for the FD to gather enough people to get there. Yikes!

About time someone pulled the curtain back to expose the charade. How many other departments in the county can't meet the NFPA or OSHA standards for minimum staffing yet think they're OK? They're still not going to be sending enough if they hire four whole guys. Wow. Just kicking the can down the road. Sooner our later our luck is going to run out and there's going to be a 100% preventable tragedy. We will all call the unwitting victims "hero" and don our spiffy parade uniforms to salute their hearse but we won't fight against the problem that's making them vulnerable now. It's a travesty.

It is time we stop the nonsense and make one standard for firefighter. Enough of this "interior", "exterior", "support" nonsense. There should definitely be standards and the idea of testing candidates on air is a realistic and appropriate screening method. If you can't perform the skills while on air, why bother going through all the training?

State Police do have divers for sure. Worked with them several times. Do you mean NYC DEP or NYS DEC?

County PD has a dive team? I thought Croton PD was the only PD with one in Westchester.

That is horrible planning. Departments have to stop cutting corners like this and prepare properly for just such eventualities.

Could they be merged into a regional effort (since they all go mutual aid anyway) and make use of the resources that each department has? What will be done with all the equipment?

FDNY deployed their IMT, not operational units, so I think they're just going for management support. EDIT: They are also sending a 45 member special operations contingent so they will be doing more than just support.

So does that mean no County PD for Kisco?

The "alert" from NYC was for "trace" accumulation. If they put out an alert for a trace amount, what are they going to do when it really snows???

I hate seeing photos of or reading stories about using front end loaders to move people in high water. That's not what they're designed for and it is an operation that exposes everyone to unnecessary risk and liability. Get the right resources for the job!