houlidsa

sorry about my prior post naming a distributor in all fairness, to the best of my knownledge the three distributors that carry CE for Westchester are AAA, Garrison & MES. No matter who you contact the Black Diamond Blade is dollars to donuts the best blade available on the market. In fact do not take someone else's word for fact, contact a dealer and let the blade speak for its self.

Cutters Edge markets its Black Star Diamond blade. I haven't used it on wood even though they advertise it for concrete, steel, metal, brick, wood or aluminum. Its really amazing taking it from rebar reinforced concrete to steel and back and forth without a worry. Its kinda expensive but it will last 50:1 of standard rescue multi cut abrasive wheel. So in the long run its a huge savings. If you're in NY contact Garrison Fire & Rescue for a demo you won't be disappointed.

On turnouts the span of 8-10 years has been commonly used the logic behind it is that amount of time spans 2 nfpa changes. This ways your gear will never fall too far behind especially if there are important changes even if the garment is properly taken care of.

this helmet maintains the superior safety of a Cairns 1010 and has some great advantages. However having seen it worn if you have a "round" face it may not offer the most comfortable fit. Also results with glasses will vary. But I think its another great product from Cairns.

Sorry guys but Chicago is phasing in full bunkers. The Chicago, Ill. Fire Department (CFD) awarded a $10 million TotalCare® contract for the supply and maintenance of firefighter protective clothing and equipment to Dayton, Ohio-based Lion Apparel. The contract will begin with an initial order of 4700 turnout coats and 9400 turnout pants and is expected to run through 2008.

guy lets remember that there are depts that can't equip everyone with turnouts. hell Chicago is just now starting to issue bunker pants. Its not that they don't care or that they don't want them its that escape ropes are not necessarially a priority. As per guys buying their own it may be the best money they ever spend.

the drawing part is the house-tree-person test (HTP) it is a projective personality test. look it up online and you can practice your drawings ahead of time if you think its necessary.

guys not to be a nit picker but there are several different helmet materials: leather, fiberglass, kevlar, thermal plastic and mock leathers (fiberglass w/ leather coating). For starters thermal plastic helmets I don't like thermal plastic helmets for firefighting even if they are lighter they just don't offer the protection of a fiberglass helmet. Fiberglass helmets are great and are the norm (660C, 1010, 1044, etc) they are usually reasonably priced and offer good protection. Also with the invention of through the mold coloring these helmets stand up alot longer. Kevlar reinforced helmets are great. They offer alot more protection at the same weight but have two huge draw backs: high prices and extended lead times (1000 & invader). Leather helmets are great and can offer alot of protection if taken care of. Remember the strength of leather is lost when guys neglect maintence for that "salty" look. I spent the big bucks for a leather Cairns Sam Houston I figure getting the extra impact protection was worth it over the New Yorker. Now for the big bash, fake leather helmets should be outlawed. They are dangerous. They do not allow for the fiberglass inside to be inspected after it takes a hit. To wrap up on helmets I personally believe that the Cairns 1044 is the best bang for your buck on the market.

that hangs over the cross bronx right?

there was a good size fire the two days agos. it was a vacant dwelling with fire on 2nd & 3rd floor if I'm correct. I also believe alot of guys took a beating from the weather. Sorry don't know more I was off that day.

this is an easy one, however not sure of the exact model. That is a TFT VITG nozzle which is a valve integrated tip, for lack of better description an itegrated smooth bore in the shutoff and a low pressure automatic tip. It looks like they were using the hose and used the VITG to "break & extend" the line then putting the gated why on the end of the business end of the VITG and most like not wanting to be out of the game he attached the automatic tip to the second outlet on the wye. If you haven't used one of these try them they are the cat's tail. check out www.tft.com I know this nozzle is a special low pressue because of the orange color on the band, but check out the Phoenix Tip and the CAFS Foam delivery nozzle. Both hot stuff and very similar to the one in the pic.

its their own fault when they don't live to enjoy their pensions. Its the right of every career firefighter to retire and live healthy and long on their city's dollar

the firehouse are only impacted by ADA if they are district buildings. I'm from further upstate and the fire companies own the buildings and rent to the district the bays and offices. My old fire company is building a new station right now and they do not have to ADA comply for the second floor because again the station is owned by the fire company. The public rental areas have taken handicap access as a consideration in its design (bathrooms, hallways, entrance) but the company areas as of now are not ADA compliant.

no matter what you got on the written you must insure the 100 on the physical. Its the only thing that you can guarantee on the hiring process. You must be in great shape and rock the physical this will make up for one or two wrong on the written but thats the max. A buddy of mine had gotten 100 on the physical and 1 or 2 wrong on the written, no city residency and he was in the high 3000s. He just got his investigation packet. The other thing is the pay. At the rock they were saying that 2 out of every 3 people called would take the job, to fill the class in it was 1 out of every 4. So words of wisdom at least be ready and guarrantee yourself the 100 on the physical.

LEDs! Strobe warranties tend to be terrible. For example Whelen strobes have a 2 year warranty from date of manufacture. So if you order a new piece of apparatus assuming 1 year as the build/delivery time and that the parts have been sitting on the shelf at the manufacturer's due to bulk purchasing. So after a few months when a strobe blows or fries you're held holding the bag. Also with most of the marker style ones you have to purchase an entire assembly not just a tube. They are hassle free and are a much better cost of ownership for a piece of apparatus.

The other day I was in line in a deli in the Morris Park area of the Bronx and I heard a large truck with sirens coming up the street. I caught a glimpse of a rescue style commercial truck, painted in NYPD color scheme but I positive it said "NYCHA Emergency Services". I'm guessing that its Housing Authority but what is it and what is it used for? I thought that the NYPD protect the builings under the Housing Authority. Please fill me in if you who anything. Thanks.

Jason I think you're confused the other guys are talking about the DRS (Drag Recovery System) aka FF Recovery Harness not an integrated rated harness system. Every manufacturer out there has one or will have one very shortly. The DRS will become part of this year's PPE NFPA change. I know that Lion Apparel (Janesville) has one that works awesome and last I knew they were planning on some small modifications before the NFPA change to make it a little more accessable. If anyone out there is planning on ordering new gear before the NFPA change I suggest adding this feature in now its well worth the $75.

Two weeks ago my FD had a ton of brush and woods fires. Several of them were at night in thick and rocky terrain. We had up to 4 FDs up there multiple brush units and ATVs. Because of this and for accountability purposes we took a box of old stand alone PASS devices and put them on our brush truck. We will now be issuing out PASS devices to members entiring the woods at brushfires especially large ones or night time ones. Just another idea. I think the F.A.S.Team idea is a good concept for wildland fires too.

I would also check out the Junkyard Dog series of jacks basically the same thing. The Paratech & Holmatro units from the best of my knowledge are more of trench or collapse shoring style units.

Doc22 I'm very fimilar with the 5 Star its a great unit. But its not the most user friendly especially for the fire service where stuff isn't being used everyday and considering all the newer units out there. The squelling with no page, I can't say that I've had that occure before but that maybe related to the batteries. Those units still run off of NiMH batteries they tend to form memories and need to be replaced about every 2 years. I suggest going to www.msanet.com go to the portable instruments, then to the Five Star Alarm, and then to the literature. You will find the user manual here, I suggest printing one out and reading along as you set the date. If you have any continued problems call (877) MSA-FIRE they have specialists that will walk you through the instrument.

I have a voli background and I am in a FD's hiring process. When I get on I will not feel better about the guy next to me just because he's a voli. The guy who lived in a town of all 1 & 2 stories homes does not have the same experience level as the guy from an urban combo fd. I feel that basing it on standardized methods is the only way to do that. Such as certain college degrees, certain nation training, or military. This shows that they can accomplish and comprehend. In FL you need to on your owe go out and get certified and then go through a FD's training. That has to dramatically cut down on wash outs and those pursuing a civil service job. I just don't feel that someone's membership should entitle them to anything. Earning and doing should. I do not feel that I have any right to be specific on what military should/shouldn't be accepted. I respect all our service people and anyone that serves weither combat or support has done something for our nation as a whole.

My fire company is in dier need of a new station and we are looking to hire a grant writer with experience and a background of getting bricks & mortar funds for FDs. Fund raising just isn't cutting it. If anyone knows of anyone, please post some info. Again we are looking to hire a professional grant writer with a know track record. I'm posting this right now because we had a run and due to the rains up here it was found that more of our bay ceiling has come down! Thanks in advance, houlidsa

For anyone that has been appointed to FDNY within the last few years or anyone with very creditable information. Does anyone know how much lead time is received prior to the academy class starting? My one buddy said he had only a few days notice. Is less than a week standard? Don't want to show my cards at work too early yet I don't want to burn bridges if I don't get on the next class.

Does anyone have any info on whats going on with Danbury's hiring? I heard another class starts next month.

here my walking junk box: Coat pockets: folding Smith & wesson clipped to pocket opening latex gloves (stuffed into one) TFT ResQRench (window punch, gas shutoff, spanner wrench, O2 wrench & seat belt cutter all in one) extrication gloves Survivor Light on outside of coat Pant pockets: left: 10' continous loop of 1" webbing (stored in a doughnut roll in a latex glove)* save-a-jake right:** multihead screwdriver wire cutters shove knife 35' bail out rope helmet: garrity light seat belt cutter chocks *I learned this storage tip at FDIC, it keeps the webbing dry, compact and easy to deploy I suggest trying it **our right pockets on our pants are split bellow pocket (kevlar lined) so it make storing a combination of items easy and accessable, check it out next time you spec gear, a good spec makes 10# of shite fit in a 5# bag nicely I'm surprised no one has said EMT shears