fdnyhistorian

I believe the issue for WCDES is that there is no accomodation in the vehicle to TREAT patients. That is why it does not respond to MCI as a general policy. In theory, it is designed for hospital patients being evacuated that are non-ambulatory but stable with no treatment (except maybe hanging an existing IV bag). Someone mentioned a school bus which, as we all know, is fine for ambulatory patients not requiring treatment. Is the vehicle a poor excuse for spending Federal UASI money on something that could have had more usefulness? That's answer is above my pay grade!!

You are all "missing the boat." NYC has seen MANY maritime disasters. In fact, the colony of New Amsterdam was formed because of a maritime disaster when the ship Tyger burned to the waterline while moored in lower Manhattan. Capt Adrien Block (ie, Block Island) and his crew built the first European structures on the island and inhabited them until they built a new ship (Onrust). The hull of the ship was found in 1916 during work on the subway system at Greenwich and Dey Streets; now under the WTC site. Two firefighters were killed in maritime fires; Thomas Cooney in 1902 (fire on the British Queen started near Hoboken but drifted to Governors Island) and John Harvey in 1930 (fire at Pier 42, aboard the Muenchen). Lt. Francis Blessing of Rescue 1 was awarded the James Gordon Bennett Medal for rescuing two men from a submarine fire at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in 1918. 1941, the SS Panuco at Pier 27 in Brooklyn - 41 dead. In 1942 the SS Normandie burned at Pier 88 where it rolled on its side and got stuck in the mud because of the instabilty caused by the massive amounts of water pumped in to battle the blaze. Fifty workers died aboard the SS Constellation at a fire in the Brooklyn Navy Yard in 1960. In 1966 the SS Alva Cape and SS Massahusetts collided and exploded, killing 33. Other fires occurred along the riverfronts that did not include ships, only the piers such as the Lukenbach pier in 1956 where 10 civlians died and the Staten Island Ferry Terminal fire in 1946 where FDNY Telegraph Bureau Lineman Harold Clandening made the Supreme Sacrifice. The most recent maritime disaster was the SI Ferry Andrew Barberi crash that killed 10 civilians; no fire but a maritime disaster responded to by FDNY. And of course, there are the ones already mentioned by the group. Just one other note...I guess it depends how you define "biggest."

Does anyone have some video???