SteveOFD

From The Journal News legal section April 16, 2007 "...sealed bids will be received by the Board of Fire Commissioners of the Verplanck Fire District at 7:00PM on May 10, 2007...for the purchase of a Rescue Pumper Firetruck".

Driving down the Saw Mill Parkway this morning I glanced over at the Garage behind WCPD HQ and saw what appeared to be an International RX PickUp. It looked to be hooked up to a trailer and was painted in the standard WCPD colors white with orange and blue trim. Didn't get a good look but it did look big. Anyone else see this rig, and what its function would be?

The rumor I heard over the years was that the old E134 was built on a Ladder Truck chassis.

From The Journal News Legal Section, April 5, 2007: "...sealed bids will be received by...the Millwood Fire District at 8:30PM on April 25, 2007...for the purchase of a Ladder Firetruck".

What they (like almost every FD I know) will do, is spec out in the bid what brand, model, etc. apparatus they want. This bid package apparently is what they feel will best suit their needs. Whether the bid is put together by the District or the Fire Company will also reflect on what is in the bid package. Normally the District is more concerned about the financial side(less bells and whistles), while the Fire Company(Department) leans toward enhanceing the firematic side of the purchase.

That's all the Legal Section stated.

My Brother in law owns a hobby shop in Poughkeepsie off of Route 9 near the Poughkeepsie Galleria Mall. Dutchess Train & Hobby features model trains, rockets and models.

An odd site I saw a couple of weeks ago on I95. Saw two standard UPS Delivery Trucks each towing a four wheel short trailer, the same style landscapers use. The trailers were UPS Brown, but I did not notice any logo or lettering, they were going the in the opposite direction.

Memories of CFD's E120, the Drivers Seat was pretty much on top of the front wheel. That along with having the whip antenna on the drivers side, which would constantly hit low tree branches, would let you know you were too close to the curb on the Officer's side.

I was searching around for info on the Northern Westchester Volunteer Firefighters Assoc. Seminar 2007 when I decided to check up on the BHFD site. I've been there before but I must say this is probably the best FD site in Westchester. The reason for this post is that tonight was the first time I clicked on their interactive map BHFD District Map. Very impressive, when you roll your mouse across the map it displays first through fourth alarm assignments. Well done.

Got an e-mail regarding the proposed Nationwide Public Safety Network that CyrenCall is proposing to build. CyrenCall's founder Morgan O'Brien, a co-founder of Nextel has long pushed for improved public safety communications. Mr. O'Brien will be on C-SPAN this weekend discussing this project. The following is the e-mail I received from them. Dear Friend – Building on new attention in the news media to create a nationwide, next generation, wireless broadband network for public safety, I wanted to alert you to another event on television this weekend. Tomorrow, Saturday, March 3, C-SPAN 2 will air its program, “The Communicators,” featuring a ½-hour interview with Morgan O’Brien. Here at Cyren Call we’re excited to take our message once again to the national airwaves and encourage you to let others know about this program. The show will run at 6:30 PM EST on Saturday and then again at 8:00 AM and 8:00 PM EST on Monday, March 5. If you don’t live on the East coast, you might want to double check your local television schedule. Also, we’ve made some updates to our website, www.cyrencall.com, the centerpiece of which is a revised letter that is designed to go directly to your representatives in Congress as well as the FCC and the governor of your state. As word spreads that we need to act this year to solve this problem for first responders, it’s ever more important to let your voice be heard on this critical matter. Our focus has changed since last year and we need to let Congress hear directly from you that only by creating a Public Safety Broadband Trust will public safety have control over the design and control of the network that they will use! Even if you’ve already sent a letter, please take a moment to click on the “Take Action” section of our website and let your elected officials know that now more than ever, they need to focus on giving public safety the tools they need to do their job. As always, thank you for your continuing support. Best regards, Keith Kaczmarek President Cyren Call We may not all agree with this proposal but there are several Company's (including Verizon) that are lobbying the FCC right now on how our airwaves should be auctioned off or used. We, the Citizens, own these frequencies and We should be informed and have a say in how and who gets this spectrum. Watch the program, find out about the other proposals, then contact your representatives and let them know of your informed decision.

Well said tbendick. Anyone who wants to get a little more in depth understanding of trunked radio systems can find it at Wikipedia Trunked Radio and RadioReference Wiki Trunked Radio Basics.

Departments are not assigned to the system by zone. You wil be able to talk to anyone in your Talkgroup wherever you are within range of the system. North Zone and South Zone are basically designators for the two separate groups of frequencies assigned to each Zone. Your Talkgroup could be on both zones if radios from the TG are located in both zones. If no radios from your TG are in one of the Zones your transmission will not be transmitted in the Zone with no radios from your TG in it.

It sounds like testing of the system has started. Since last Wednesday I have heard activity on the system at different times both North and South Zones. One thing I heard, at various times, was a recording of a man reciting phrases, probably testing the audibility of the system. Sometime the scanner displayed the TalkGroup ID (in open, or ID search mode), other times I manually advanced through the system freq's. to see if anything was happening. You can also take the scanner out of trunk mode and scan the freq's conventionally to monitor activity should it not come up in trunked mode.

I agree, it should not be an issue if your manpower is fully suited up arriving on an apparatus. My point was that it is significantly more difficult if the apparatus arrives with only the Driver, and responding personnel need to suit up at the scene. Rather difficult to suit up, pack up, stretch line and be ready for attack all within two minutes.

I just happen to be finishing up NYS Fire Officer One this week and we had just discussed this topic last week. From the FO1 handbook these are some but not all of the standards and codes that need to be complied with: OSHA 1910.156 - Fire Brigade Standard 1910.120 - Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response Standard 1910.134 - Respiratory Protection Standard 1910.146 - Confined Space Standard 1910.1030 - Bloodborne Pathogen Standard 1910.1200 - Hazard Communication Standard New York State Law Article 6-c of the Executive Laws of New York, Chapter XII Part 426 defines the minimum standards for Firefighting (career)personnel in the State of New York New York State General Municipal Law Section 209-w - Permanent appointment of Firefighters NFPA 472 - Standard on Professional Competence of Responders to Hazardous Materials Incidents 473 - Standard for Competencies for EMS Personnel Responding to Hazardous Materials Incidents 1001 - Standard for Firefighter Professional Qualifications 1002 - Standard for Fire Apparatus Driver/Operator Professional Qualifications 1021 - Standard for Fire Officer Professional Qualifications 1041 - Standard for Fire Service Instructor Professional Qualifications 1403 - Standard on Live Fire Training Evolutions 1410 - Standard on Training for Initial Emergency Scene Operations 1500 - Standard on Fire Department Occupational Safety and Health Program 1561 - Standard on Emergency Services Incident Management System 1720 - Standard for the Organization and Deployment of Fire Suppression Operations, Emergency Medical Operations, and Special Operations to the Public by Volunteer Fire Departments Some of these can be found online by searching for NFPAxxxx.

That's the way I read it. You can find it online with a search for "NFPA 1720". Read for yourself.

The problem with minimum manpower on the first apparatus, with everyone else responding to the scene is addressed in NFPA 1720 the Volunteer Fire Department standard. Section 4.2.2.1 states "Upon assembling the neccessary resources at the emergency scene, the fire department shall have the capability to safely initiate an initial attack within two minutes ninety percent of the time". Section 4.2.2.2 goes on to state "Initial attack operations shall be organized to ensure that at least four members shall be assembled before initiating interior fire suppression operations at a working structural fire." The way I read this is as soon as the first four members arrive at the scene they have two minutes to start initial attack. How many FF's can suit up with mask, stretch a line and be ready to flow water in two minutes? It seems like a stretch in this scenario. IMO the way it reads it is almost better to wait for for the extra manpower to arrive at the Firehouse, this way you know you have the capability to meet the two minute time once on scene. The difference between 1720 and 1710, the Career standard, is that in 1710 there are set times the FD must be on scene from the time the alarm is received. 1720 only states the time from arriving on scene.

Assistance to Firefighters Grant 2/16/07 Round 17 Village of Scarsdale $78,280 - Operations and Safety Source: Firehouse.com

According to Fire Apparatus and Emergency Equipment Magazine the following Departments have apparatus on order: Independent Fire Company, Mount Kisco Pierce Lance Pumper 2000GPM/750Gal. Tyler Fire Equipment Greenville Fire District, Greenville American LaFrance Metropolitan/LTI 75' Aerial 2000GPM/500Gal. Garrison Fire & Rescue *Greenville may be Orange County, Westchester Greenville should list location as Scarsdale.

Rescue 134 pic's link down the bottom on the left index.

Driving by today, I saw it inside at the Hayes House.

It was in my blood. Third generation in my family to join. I grew up in the Firehouse. Thirty years and I still go out at three in the morning.

This is not necessarily fire related, but it is a fire apparatus builder. According to Ferarra- New Contracts, Ferrara has contracts to build Rescues for the NYPD and NYC Transit. Looks like Ferrara is making some more inroads in the area.

The Statewide Wireless Network is a radio network that New York State is building statewide for interoperability across the state. Primary users will be State agencies including the State Police. Local governments can buy into this network for their own use, but as of now there is only one vender providing the equipment for the network, MA/COM, the manufacturer of the system. As far as I know they have not licensed any other manufacturer to use their technology. This network will have a VHF overlap built in the Adirondack area where tower siting is too far apart and there are topographic problems with the 800 MHz frequencies. Local Systems, such as Westchester's and Rockland's new trunked systems can be patched into the SWN from what I have read. I would assume that Low Band can be patched in also albeit with all the current problems associated with it.