RichC

We are using two brands Morning Pride for the career ff'f's and Globe traditional for the vol ff's. The Morning Pride was phased in over a few years replacing Janesville. The Globe gear was purchased in two large lots because we had several vol ff's needing gear at one time. To get the Morning Pride in that quantity I am told would have been too costly. I don't speak for everyone but most seem good with the gear they have. Lids are Cairns 1010's with a few wearing Bullard traditionals.

In full agreement there, especially the right time for everything and anything part.

This could be accomplished fairly easily by requiring that after FF1 completion the FF will be required to take additional training each year therafter. This way as time goes on hours of training for all FF's will add up each year. Basically you would be required each year to allot some time for your continuing training.

I think folding FF survival into FF1 is a great idea that Hudson mentions. I think the County offers that combination from time to time. As a vol FF you do have a lot to balance but I believe all should set aside some time each year to continue their training and take classes offerred at the training center. I have enjoyed every class I have taken there as well as Camp Smith. I have never had bad instructor at either spot.

Goofed on for being clumsy when in actuality best athlete ever in The White House. WWII vet, 25 year Congressman who never sought the The White House.

Could I ask a little about tool assignments. Is the Captain going to assist the Irons man on the forcible entry or does an engine guy team up with him for forcible entry. Same question about the can or does the irons man grab the can in addition to his irons tool assignment? Thanks for an interesting post. I enjoy hearing about truck work and priorities. In your system the OV man has some decisions to make. Some of those decisions are based on type of structure I know. Still he must be able to work and make decisions independantly.

And this is how I feel about you coming into my job and doing it for free, I am not the one who entered a line of work where 75% of those already there are volunteers.

I had the same problem when I first got a pair of leather boots. Until they got a good soaking while you are working in them they will feel stiff and not that all comfortable, similar to the rubber boot just lighter. After that job where they get soaked, they will fit and feel like a well worn work boot.

Been on the train the for over 15 years. Service has gone downhill especially the New Haven line which of course carries the most people. I stand almost every morning. Mon eve stuck in the Grand Central tunnel no light no air no announcement for 40 minutes. You would have thought we were in the middle of nowhere. No plan at all. Like it never happened before. As always look for another rate hike, cures everything. I guess I should be all thankful they don't go out on strike like their subway brothers did about a year ago. It actually was a nice way to go to work at one point and the subways were hell but honestly the subways have improved while the train has deteriorated.

When I was in College (a while ago now) a fire alarm in the middle of the night brought 6 floors of people out into the night. Believe me this was always bad. It also rarely happened. I wonder how well the people self evacuate now with a constant drumbeat of automatic false alarms? Is there complacency now that wasn't there before?

I found the stealthlite by Pelican to be a reliable helmet mounted light. I got the re-chargeable model. I feel Pelican makes a good line of lights and you can't go wrong with them. You're right, there are a lot of choices out there. I am sure you will get someone saying the Garrity lite strapped to the helmet is as good as anything else. Many have used it and still do.

Turk: This is a good thread you started and a well thought out last post. The list of gripes as you refer to them, I have to ask, are they things that were hidden from you when you took the job? (Keep in mind I don't mean you in particular) I understand it is quite competitive to get these jobs, yet you successfully tested and competed and were awarded the job despite the prior existence of these gripes. You did enter knowingly into a trade/profession where approx. 2/3 of the participants are volunteer. Were the vol. ff's suppose to vanish when you stopped volunteering and were awarded the career job? There was also and still exists, the option to apply, test and compete for a job in a fully career department. I am with you, not looking to start a war either, but since you asked in the interest of truthful discussion, I'm relating some thoughts of fellow volunteers like myself in combination departments.

Nothing wrong with being pro-volly or pro-career whatever the case may be. Animosity develops when you cross over the line to become anti-the other. I'll agree with Turk, as everyone else here has, that shirt is way over that line.

Let's see, we have from your two posts: 1.another surround and drown, 2.buff convention 3.go and play in other communities 4.profession vs hobby line we all know. And you started off by saying I don't want people to think I am opening a can of worms. I will agree with your statement on the attitude and outlook though. If you have issues with the use of M/A in your city of employment and it sounds like you do and justifiably so, why not confine it to that instead of the openly anti statements thrown in.

Nicely done on that post. If we stay true to what we are supposed to be, the public's perception of us will be more than favorable enough. Last paragraph starts with I'm sorry, nothing to be sorry about in that post.

Interestingly this topic is in the New York Times today in the Metro section. There is discussion on the origin of the Collyer's name. What is obvious is that this occurs more ofter than you would think. Also it clearly makes no matter what type of area, affluent or not so. Another point is that the address of these Collyers conditions are often known beforehand. Without trampling on the rights of the homeowner, I am wondering what kind of preventative action could taken. The action would have to be forced because you are dealing with a homeowner with an identified problem.

mstrang1 I have heard the same thing about roof vent strategy in the FDNY. If they can't cut from a bucket for the reasons already mentioned, wires, setback, etc. they don't cut. They will pull the gable vents on an unfinished attic and pull ceiling from the floor below and hit it that way. I am wondering if anyone has tried this instead of sending a crew to the roof and how it went for them.

ZeerR: Nice bringing this back on topic, and yes the road some are trying to go down with this topic does look familiar. When our department requested a replacement for a badly aged truck the item was requested in the budget (publicly disclosed document). Next we prepared a presentation before the town’s council when it appeared on the council meeting agenda beforehand (again publicly disclosed) The presentation was televised locally and repeated throughout the same month and covered in local papers. A second appearance before the council was held. This was again on a publicly disseminated agenda item, again televised live and repeated throughout the month with extended questions and answers. So yes, the purchase, the price and the supporting reasoning is questioned. It was a thorough process that allowed the public/citizen/taxpayer to be as educated as they choose to be.

Took time out at lunch to watch. Enjoyed it. The saw that cut out on the roof ladder crew and had to be swapped with the bucket crew, well that's exactly the kind crap that happens...and you caught it. Looking forward to the next vid.

Jason762: I am not a frequent poster but I had to comment. Your first point is so important, yet so often overlooked because it seems so simple. All the other great points in your post will flow from that first key bullet: find people who actually want to be FF's, people who want to fight a fire. Find them, you always recognize them when you do.

One more comment on Rye since we are talking run totals. 882 for '05 which reverses a slight downward trend over the last two years. Spread evenly throughout the year without any big spike in any one month.

Wow; Things got derailed from the original post on why or why not 60. To return to that question: Another way to look at it is for the sake of uniformity, why not go to 60 as has most everyone else. There were a few initial issues but where I am in Rye its worked out OK. Port Chester went over to 60 just prior to us and I think they reported the same experience. Some early on problems, then OK. Our career FF's asigned to the Ladder did the dispatching on general alarms and were trained in dispatching and some did seem to enjoy doing it. As a department you give up some individuality when you give up self-dispatch but as I said going to 60 has worked out satisfactorily. Looking forward, you can program the system at 60 so that certain responses at some spots or times of day warrant a MA reponse to fill out the assignent. I think we have just barely scratched the surface of the possibilities in dispatch.

Currently I'm wearing a Cairns 1010 which replaced a Bullard traditional that I had briefly. I don't really recall much difference between the two. Don't know if I would depart with the $$ for a leather. I do think the money I spent on leather boots was money very well spent. As much as you might want a leather lid, if I was on a budget (and who isn't) seriously consider spending your money on leather boots first if your department does not issue them.

The manpower issue is something each department needs to factor in and the IC should have strategies in place to deal with the issue. The time of day and day of the week, and as the moderator just pointed, weather, have to be factored in. If these factors dictate a quick or automatic call for mutual aid, so be it. End result, we may be running on each others fires which is fine since most of us with a few exceptions don't see that much fire to begin with. As with most things in life, the more you do it, the better you get at it. Playing with the bells and lights or whatever is not really much of a draw for me. I think most of us signed on to fight fires and would welcome the opportunity to see more of it by going to each others fires if its done in a planned and systematic way.