antiquefirelt

This issue is truly becoming a plague in the U.S. in general. You have to look no further than the local fast food joints where in most cases the public would be sickened to see the cleanliness of the kitchen and the poor attitudes of the people working there. i believe that the management of any business needs to set the bar high from day one. Having supervisors that set the expectations and ensure the staff adheres to it, will make a difference. In our FD we've seen a shift in newer hires with the "what's in it for me" attitude. The newer generation seems to expect that for every duty there is some sort of reward. Gone are the days that the fire service is a way of life, now its a steady job, but still just a job. With regard to knowing the areas and names our new hires must pass a streets and hydrants test within 3 months. This means that they have to label a map of the district with all the street names and place the hydrants on it. Luckily for them there are only 223 hydrants to date. They must pass with a 100% or retake the test until they do. So far no one has failed to meet the requirements, and they then move on to tests for each apparatus (pumping and aerial use). Dispatch in our area is also having trouble getting quality help, to the point they're scare to fire anyone for incompetanc because they don't have a line waiting to take the job. We too see dispatchers that can't pronounce simple names or have any cluse where firehouses are in relation to incidents. This has caused serious troubles at times.

I think I agree here. Any heavy smoke condition in a large uncompartmented space like this means something has gone terribly wrong. Why didn't the sprinklers control the fire? Venting the roof will make it burn better, but if you don't intend to put water inside, then it was an unnecessary risk. While this may not be "bowsting" in the sense we normally see the load is carried int he same manner, ie: how the weight is transferred to the ground and as such should be treated as we would conventional bowstring.

I find that anyone still doing the "robot dance" is alarming enough. But drinking in the truck? How stupid can you be. Should result in immediate expulsion and demotion for any officer allowing this to take place. And if the Chief didn't do anything about it, fire him!

The lights are tank level indicators. many engines and tankers now put these lights on the sides so personnel can see from a distance the water tank level.

It will be the 19-0 New England Patriots

Yes, you may triage care to a lesser licensed person in the FDGB scenario or similar. The problem is that this can be and is abused, say the medic says the chest pain is non-cardiac in nature... This has led to many services such as ours have more hard fast rules when it comes to turfing care. Now the State has mandated that dispatch centers be "licensed" through EMS to perform EMD. This will force (as well it should) the dispatcher to send the closest ALS if the 911 call sounds like its necessary. Currently, each service determines how long between tones and how to call out paramedics. Sometimes a chest pain call will not have a medic started until the first due ambulance arrives and actually concludes the dispatcher was correct that it was a chest pain/cardiac call. Soon, if you do not have a medic on a duty roster the closest one will be simultaneously dispatched.

Paramedics are specifically allowed to triage pts down to lesser licensed personnel when there are multiple patients. In all it's kind of the best of all worlds scenario because it ensures the highest level of care to the victim or in a mass casualty scenario the most severely injured viable victim. And yes, you'd be fully protected so long as you could justify your actions as to who was triaged. We have a specific triage system that basically allows anyone with an EMS license to complete the triage thus allowing the medic to see the most critically injured first and not be directly involved in triaging 5 or more vicitims. Again, rarely are any buses BLS only, we have three real license levels: EMT-B who can administer O2 and use the AED, EMT-I's which can give IV's, ET tubes, use a cardiac monitor and give many drugs with on line med control, lastly are the medics who can do it all. So while Paramedics are the only official ALS, the EMT-I's can perform many ALS functions.

I appreciate your candor and your post explains the contrast between EMS rules/laws in NY and here in Maine. In ME it is rare for any bus to be only BLS. In fact most are licensed at the EMT-B level and permitted to a higher level (Intermediate or Paramedic)This allows the truck to carry ALS equipment while not having ALS providers. Your service must provide personnel at the level of licensure 100% of the time and but may never actually respond with a medic though permitted to the Paramedic level. To permit above your license level you need only an affiliated paramedic whom will be responsible for the ALS equipment and drugs. Our FD runs three ambo's licensed at the Intermediate level and we're permitted to the paramedic level. We provide a medic on about 80% of our calls. While none of the services around us are licensed above EMT-B they all are permitted to the medic level and carry full ALS gear and drug boxes. We also carry an Out of Town ALS kit so our medics have "their" equipment rather thatn rely on the other services gear which may not be checked as frequently. So it its hard to imagine stepping into a bus that doesn't have a Lifepack 11 and IV equipment. We of course are a far less populated state and therefore have far fewer EMS units so the cost of equipping every ambulance to the ALS level is not ridiculous. I'm sure there are some BLS only transfer trucks in the metro Portland area, but up my way there are none. As for being able to spot impending life threatening events? I think it depends on how much time you have on the emergency bus. I'm certain that our medics who have far more training than our EMT-I's have done more "sh*tting the bed" calls than any others around us and therefore are much more apt to be able to see and hear more with their eyes and a stethascope than a lesser trained or experienced provider. Our medics frequently argue that they are better eyes and ears than other providers due to their experience and training and therefore command more money. In fact without this knowledge we could hire only EMT-I's as we can (I'm an EMT-I) do many of the things a medic can with online medical control. Our EMT-I level allows for defib, 12 leads, IV's, ET tubes, administration of nitro, epi, Narcan, and some others so that the majority of the normal runs can be covered by EMT-I's. But regardless of this, there is nothing like having a quality trained medic with decent experience. Also in ME, we cannot transfer care to a lower license level regardless of the transport unit. We frequently provide first response to another services area, and if we send a medic and the call is for chest pain my medic must transport in their unit unless they have a medic of their own. Here your EMS license is a stand alone license not assigned to the dept. but to you specifically.

Good topic. As a fire officer/EMT-I in a ALS providing FD this issue happens weekly. Our ambulances are all sttaffed with EMT-I at the minimum. The engine rolls on all unconscious, MVA's, Code 99's, industrial/commercial accidents and whenever requested for assistance. As the fire officer I am in charge on the scene and the pt. care medic (daily rotation per ambo) is in charge of pt. care. Rarely do the scene and pt. care issues conflict. Twice in the last 12 years I have had to "overrule" the medic and order them to transport when transport was not indicated (pt. dead no chance or revival). This was done to calm the scene, and in no way compromised patient care, but did benefit the crew and the bystanders at both scenes. I cannot imagine some how compromising pt. care by instructing a medic not to do his/her job 110%. But, then I do start IV's and do whatever is needed at the scene, regardless of my rank (when it doesn't compromise the scene). On #2: I have no basis by which to judge by NY law, but I'd send the medic in the BLS truck to the hospital and let him/her do whatever was possible. Depending on the pt.'s condition the medic should have better training to spot impending events that could lead to needing defib or changing oxygen levels, etc. In my dept. our principle is that the pt. comes first, all decisions are based on what is best for the patient and that includes undermanning fire apparatus when there are no other calls pending. We always favor the emergency at hand vs. the potential emergency.

I don't see how we as career firefighters can expect to be considered "on duty" while traveling to and from work. You have an assigned shift, you show up and work it and leave when its over. This I don't beleive is the same in Seth's case as he was on FD property, which is another story. How can the employer control your actions in your POV? If we are to expect them to cover us to and from work, can they tell us the route to take, to obey the speed limit and not to stop off for a beer? If I get a ticket while on duty, my a$$ is grass, but on my way home? If I was considered "on duty" can I be disciplined by the City? Now a related injury on the way home (heart attack, stroke, etc) might be different if it can be shown that it was induced by the job (over exertion, heat illness, etc). As volunteers or off duty call in responders I think that we are on duty the minute we receive the page and respond. We're basically be told to respond for an unscheduled event. We have rules and laws governing that we report directly by the quickest means, no drinking, etc. Different circumstances than shift work. Again, I think Seth has a legitimate grime if he's not being duly compensated and/or medically covered for an injury that occurred on fire district property regardless of the start of shift time. Though the FLSA 10 minute rule would certainly help ( at least by the firehouse lawyer's thinking).

The Fair Labor Standards Act says that an employer can consider you "on duty" at 10 minutes before your shift begins. This means they can make you go on the run if your in the station within 10 minutes of the start of your shift. Similarly, they do not have to pay you for up to 10 minutes of time past the end of your shift (your Union Contract may take precedence on this end). If you were on their property and the incidetn happened within 10 minutes of the start of the shift, I'd say you have some legal standing (not a professional opinion though) but the "early relief" system may turn out to bite you if you were there more than 10 minutes before shift. But, why wouldn't the City's insurance be responsible for their property? Hell if you slipped in my driveway you could sue me and my homeowners would have to pay. In any event the FLSA is a good read for all Unionized emplyees, especially firefighters as there are many specific exceptions to our job (OT pay being the biggest!!!)

This is definitely a great topic and hopefully the youngest of us will see it come to fruition. While I'm well away from Westchester now, my county has the same issues. Every dept. seems to think they stand to lose something. In fact we just got "chewed out" for sending our Squad (jaws of life equipment) toa M/A town for an MVA instead of calling their unit out. But this happened in an area where our ambulances first respond for any life threatening calls or MVA's because our staffed units can beat their staffed units. Upon arrival at this head-on MVA our crew (first onscene) recognized the need for extrication and called for our staffed Squad. The other service's director was not happy their Jaws truck wasn't called out weven though it is housed at the same station as their ambulances, (that they recognize are not as close) and it's not staffed! A good compromise would have been to call out both as will likely be the outcome for future responses. Or they can cancel the automatic EMS responses at the peril of the people in their coverage area, as we base our decisions on "what is best for the victim" and nothing else and we will not compromise on this decision process.

The video shows a few points of interest. Unfortuneately it doesn't corroborate the "lack of staffing" issue as well is was portrayed. There were 4 firefighters at the outset of the ground ladder operation, plus the two LEO's. The window the rescue attempt was made through looks like a smaller and higher silled window than the two on either side. This could indicate a kitchen or bathroom. Neither are going to make a rescue easy. There seems to be a marked increase in the velocity of the smoke once the firefighter is inside, and we can only assume at this point that the heat was intense enough for him to beleive flashover was imminent. Sadly the occupant perished and the firefighter was faced with the situation to leave him there. I would have liked to have a TIC and a hand tool going in. Regardless of staffing, equipment, fire conditions and the right vs. wrong this firefighter will probably relive this situation over and over.

Tonight it is coming up with Lunar Pages Web Hosting?

You should care about call volume. While structural fires are high on the danger list, there are thousands more decisions made every day that have serious implications. Call volume and decision volume are very important. Experience is very important, and more over good experience is key. You can do something wrong a million times and that indicated you will do it wrong the next time. How well does an individual deal with the public? How well under stressful conditions? How well will the young chief deal with internal conflict? Will he/she make the correct and legal decision? The most important experience most of you are missing here is: LIFE EXPERIENCE. Theory, drills and books will only go so far. You need to have experienced many situations to be conditioned to good and bad experiences. These will drive your own decisions more than a book you read in college. I say all this with the experience of having been a 21 year old Asst. Chief in a vol. dept. I now know a lot of what I didn't know then. In my current job as a FT Asst. Chief (38 yoa today!) I can't imagine making some of the decisions I had to make in the last 5 years when I was 21.

If you look closely right around 8 sec. it looks like the light in the SUV's street is green and then after the Tower passes the pedestrians clearly are crossing the street where the Tower passed. Given the elapsed time, I'd say the Tower had a red light and the SUV the green. This is still not an excuse for the SUV driver who obviously wasn't paying attention enough to notice cars in his/her travel direction were stopped for a reason, luckily not a kid in the road! This does show that the driver of the tower probably should have slowed down more when making the approach, but in all shows the he was in control, as I think he could have completed the stop even if the SUV did not.

We have this situation in our area. The next busiest EMS service to our Fire/EMS Dept. runs extrication for the four towns they provide EMS to. None of the four towns have extrictation tools and who does what is not an issue. The real issue I see is that the EMS sponsored extrication unit has no SOPs, are a private entity, have limited PPE and no command structure. Now many of the their members are firefighters in the surrounding towns, but to say the scene tend to be chaotic maybe a slight understatement. We have had a few opportunities to respond with them to MVA's in a town that borders us but they cover. Needless to say we've not had any major issues but I wouldn't/won't let them work in our area with proper PPE and a command structure. They do have some struggles with the primary town they cover and their FD, as it seems "who's in charge" is a daily argument.

We call our ambulance that's black over red with gold striping and lettering the "Boars Head Meat Wagon"!

YES!!!! 11-1 in the bottom of the fifth! Now that's how to start the series. GO SOX!!!

Go SOX!!! I'm truly hoping the Rockies just play in the weaker league so they look stronger. I'm optimistic that we can get it done in 5.

No different up here. I just finished teaching both IS 300 and IS 400 and they were both poorly attended. Many depts are hoping it will go away. I can understand many vol. depts not being able to get their personnel to these classes given the reality of other necessary training. Most towns haven't begun to try to become NIMS compliant.

We have 18 fulltime personnel of which 16 are FF II and at least EMT-I about half are medics. We'll run about 2600 calls this year, with 5 members on duty 24/7 and 1 FT paramedic during the day (12hrs). We staff 3 ALS ambulances and do emergency transports only, no transfers. Our EMS runs are about 65% of the total, and we operate (with on duty personnel) one engine and a tower. We also area a State recognized WMD/haz-mat team so our FT personnel are also all Haz-Mat techs and Confined Space Techs as well.

Until this last year, I was 100% sold Fire Engineering was the best magazine. Lately though they've had far fewer firefighting articles. Generally the contributing authors were pretty decent and there was a lot of good "how to" content. Lately though Firehouse has improved their content. maybe the guys writing the back pages are having some sort of affect on their respective magazines?

Cool pics! I'm heading to the Big Island and Oahu at the end of the month. Hopefully get to check out a few stations during our stay.

10 2 bottom of the 7th- GO SOX. BTW: How's A-rod's short game?