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Here is the real problem with scripts (or what those who don't sit behind the console call consistency). Eventually you are saying words that you don't really understand. You get so used to reading the script that the words, like the example of 10-4, loose their actual meaning.
For years before plain language Stamford had some signals that were generally used together. THe two most common were 5, 7 & 9 or 1 & 5. These were so common that most units stopped using the word signal in front of them. However here is what they meant.
1 - In Service / On Air
5 - Returning to Quarters
7 - False Alarm
9 - Recall
However 1 & 5 was used so often as the generic signal that you were clear from a call that we started having EMS units who were not quartered at the hospital saying they were 1 & 5 out at the hospital. They can be 1 at the hospital but not 1 & 5. But they were being consistent.
There are also fads depending on who is reading what book at the time. We had a senior dispatcher with no field experience yell at a junio dispatcher who had been a member of 2 local departments and 1 out of town department because he didn't ask the color of the smoke that a caller was reporting. Also on a call with a report of a fire with children in side she yelled that the ages of the children were imnportant. The junior dispatcher asked why, did they rescue 4 years olds diferently from 5 year olds? But both of these theories were because of incomplete information given to dispatchers so they would be consistent with field units.
So if I dispatch a call and say attention all Turn of River Units and the next guy says attention Turn of River Fire Department, I don't see that is a problem. Trust me, we have lots of real problems to solve. We do not need to go making up more imaginary ones just so we can create a solution.

It has nothing to do with the City changing. You have volunteer stations in areas that have not dramatically changed. The issue is they, like many others nationwide no longer have enough volunteers available to cover the calls.

C,
I will agree. Your organization certainly does set a good example of how it should work as a 100 % volunteer operation.

Captain Morris was my Captain at Ladder 28 and at Rescue 1. It was an honor and a privilege to have worked for him. As a "proby" in L28, I made a mistake at a fire and thought for sure he was going to rip me apart for it. Instead he said "do you know what you did wrong, did you learn from it, and will you never make the mistake again?". That is the essence of leadership. Last night at his "Last Tour Party", I reminded him of a conversation we had back in L-28 after he had turned down Battalion Chief for the final time and I asked him why and his response back then was "I still have 10 miles of hallways to crawl down and doors to force". Last night I asked if he had made the 10 miles of hallways and he said he came close but the clock ran out. I congratulate the Captain on his retirement and thank him for letting me serve in his companies. As a friend said to me the other day: "the man had a lot of influence on my fire department career".

I imagine nothing will change November 7. Or 8. Or 9. The Charter change, if passed, will create a new fire department. The fire commission, board of reps, the current SFRD and volunteer organizations all still have a lot of work ahead. The charter is a framework. Once passed, the real work begins. Once the inevitable lawsuits are settled, everything from new logos to letterhead to naming a Chief of the newly formed Stamford Fire Department must be dealt with. The volunteer organizations will be busy electing a new assistant chief, etc. I will come in to work every shift, just like usual. And you, Cogs, will report to BFD for coverage and respond on calls like usual. Like FD828 said, let's look for some positives.

Have we set a record yet? This has gotta be the longest thread ever.
Let's just just merge the districts into SFRD and be done with it. Enuf!

In any case, that would require certification of a hiring list, which the mayor has been stalling for quite some time. Now wouldn't that put a spin on things?!

After the apocalypse, or nuclear mutual assured destruction, only two things will still be left ... cockroaches, and this thread.

Three. You forgot twinkies

After the apocalypse, or nuclear mutual assured destruction, only two things will still be left ... cockroaches, and this thread.

After the apocalypse, or nuclear mutual assured destruction, only two things will still be left ... cockroaches, and this thread.

After the apocalypse, or nuclear mutual assured destruction, only two things will still be left ... cockroaches, and this thread.

After the apocalypse, or nuclear mutual assured destruction, only two things will still be left ... cockroaches, and this thread.

After the apocalypse, or nuclear mutual assured destruction, only two things will still be left ... cockroaches, and this thread.

After the apocalypse, or nuclear mutual assured destruction, only two things will still be left ... cockroaches, and this thread.

After the apocalypse, or nuclear mutual assured destruction, only two things will still be left ... cockroaches, and this thread.

Well, that's a good use, I think 4 FF staffing is good for everyone. However, if that is all the grant is for, then Lieberman took liberties using the "V" word in his sound bite.

That was a very nice affair last night. Congratulations to all of belltowns members for their efforts in those two calls ..
Thank you for inviting us as well.
Mark Kuhar
Sfrd Rescue 1 group 4

After thousand of posts, on a few boards it seems we are back to the same spot.
I can see your point of view in regards to Malloy. I'd argue the SVFD signed plan also has many important details left out and to ME that is proof the volunteers are fine with doing business in this manner. Of course the "SFRD Plan" has not had the opportunity to be openly discussed either.
The ability to resolve the issue is going to come to a public vote via charter change.
A novel concept would be coming up with a plan all could live with and asking the public to support that with a vote in regards to charter change.

I have worked as a career FF in a split house(E7/Springdale FC) and a career engine operating in a volunteer district (E9 in TORFD district) and have found, for the most part, operations run smoothly. Yes, sometimes egos (on both sides)get in the way, but oftentimes this is due to training/operational/communication differences. As I have stated several times before, I have worked at incidents with volunteers with nary a hitch. I also have worked at scenes with no volunteer presence. I see you just recently joined this forum. Go back through the over 1700 posts in this thread and you will find examples of departments working well together and the opposite. You will find lawsuits brought against the city and the union. You will see injunctions. You will see threats and police reports. It is a big mess. At the operational level, things (mostly) run smoothly. I, and many of my Union Brothers, do not want the Volunteers gone. Yes, some may. Some Volunteers want the Career guys gone. Some think that the Career guys are needed. No one ever said officially (or unofficially, for that matter) that they want the volunteers gone. I am going to show up for work every day and respond every time I am called. If volunteers respond to those same calls, great. More bodies means more work can get done faster and more efficiently.
As a firefighter at Engine 9, I realize that a volunteer will (hopefully) be driving T68 to give me water. I also realize that LDH1 is being driven by a Career Firefighter to attain that same goal. I do not care if the water coming out of the nozzle is provided by TORFD, LRFCo, SFRD, volunteer, paid, whoever. I just want water on that fire.

Belltown Fire Department fills out volunteer ranks
Belltown: Amid pending consolidation, all-volunteer fire department adapts, thrives
Jeff Morganteen
Stamford Advocate
November 2, 2011
http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/Belltown-Fire-Department-fills-out-volunteer-ranks-2249372.php

The different tax rates are not only based on fire protection, but also, sewers, garbage pickup, water, etc. The northern part of the city has no garbage pickup, sewers, public water, etc, so the tax rate there is different. Fire protection is also different, but is only a small part of the reason for differences in mill rates. Getting water mains and sewer lines to the entire city would be a fantastic thing, but an enormous logistical and financial responsibility, as you could imagine.

Once again, we should try to differentiate between the Moslem religion and Islamic radicals. You are accusing some of us of Pigeon-holing people and doing this by creating another box which contains the likes of Timothy McVey. Let's call this box "People Who Are Not Moslems But Bomb Places For A Cause" In it, along with McVey let's put Adolph Hitler, Harry Truman, and Seal Team Six. Now let's throw out all the boxes because they are irrelevent to this discussion.
I was looking at the ages of the guys that are arguing with me. Many are 21-24, and so you were in 4th to 8th grade on 9/11. Do you remember your parents crying? Do you remember them opening the paper each morning and scrutinizing the "Missing" list on page 3? And the funerals...over and over.
Your teacher may be the one who fed you that peace and love line and you believed it. I'll bet she told you Columbus discovered America,too?
NYPD still has a terrorism task force. If there were no threat it would have been dissolved. Who do you think they are watching?

Our department has used smoothbores for all master streams for quite a while. The basic reason is that when we go to the large streams we anticipate a heavy volume of fire with significant heat and a need for the nozzle to be typically further away from the seat. Fog streams, even in the most compact straight settings, contain far more surface area for the heat to convert the water to steam carrying it up and away. By using the solid stream we try and maximize the amount of water that leaves the nozzle also hits the fire. Larger drops evaporate slower and are less affected by thermal columns and wind. We also carry fog tips for all master streams for vapor cloud mitigation and for suppressing fire brands, though I've yet to see the latter done in last 16 years.

Tons of OT are built into this proposal. There are 54 career personnel (plus Chief, & marshalls).
18 daytime and 12 nightime shifts averages to 15 firefighters 24 per day.
There are 168 hours in a week, meaning if divided by 4 shifts eguals 42 hours each. If each is scheduled to work 42 hours (thats 2 hours per week OT x 54 workers).
To cover the average 15 shift positions requires 60 personnel, but they are only hiring 54 (who figured the staffing #'s needed). So thats an additional 240 hrs per week of OT.
Now add the approximate 20% contractual time off (vacation, sick, etc.)that needs to be covered or 33 hours per week.
Thats 381 OT hours per week or 19,812 Overtime Hours per year for basic shift staffing.
If an average employee costs $75,000/yr then the OT costs for the planned shortfall is $1,071,563 or 12.6% of the budget.