IzzyEng4

Date: 7/7/2011 Time: Approx 14:05 Location: 26 Main Street Frequency: 453.5625 Units Operating: EHFD E-1 (quint), E-3, E-4, E-5, R-1, R-3, Sq-2, Branford E-1, Truck 1 Stanby units: EHFD E-6 & Branford E-2 at HQ, N. Branford E-1 at Station 3 (Foxon) Weather Conditions: Humid, partly cloudy Description Of Incident: 14:05 - E. Haven FD dispatched to a report fire on roof of a commercial structure, reported to be an HVAC unit. 14:09 - Car 1 now command reporting 2/12 wood commercial, heavily involved roof area. Car 1 requesting cover company in town. 14:10 - Command requesting Engine 3 to lay in another feeder. 14:12 - Branford dispatch to cover EHFD Hq. (Engine 4 to cover), North Branford Engine to cover Station 3 (Foxon) 14:13 - Branford Engine 1 & Truck 1 to staging at scene. Interior crews calling for line to be charge. Truss construction, partial collapse on Second floor, pulling out. Calling for deck gun of engine after pull out. Command ordering everyone out of the structure. 14:17 -Master stream being trained on the HVAC unit, not through the vent hole. BFD Truck 1 all the way to the back next to EHFD Engine 1. BFD Engine 1 looking for another water source. 14:22 - Engine 5 to take a hydrant and lay in per command. Command cancelling order, Engine 5 to back in and reverse lay to the hydrant. 14:24 - Branford to open up roof on south side, command giving okay but to have BFD crew to remain on ladder. Branford Engine 1 is to reverse lay to a water source from scene. Command reporting interior crews to move to middle section of building, performing end-gable cut, hose crew be prepare to prevent it from extending past them. 14:25 (approx) - Branford Engine 2 now being dispatched for cover in East Haven. 14:27 - North Branford Engine 1 going to another alarm, brush fire (unknown location) 14:30 - Collapse to the rear portion of the building, front of building still not involved with fire as of yet. Progress being made, personnel to remain out of rear portion of building. 14:33 - Engine 5 pumping to Engine 4. Command asking if Engine 4 can supply feeder to Branford T-1 if needed. Also pulling a 2 1/2 line to crews off of Engine 4. 14:35 - Command reporting main body for fire knocked down. Operations requesting to shut down master streams so they can inspect inside and begin overhaul with fresh crews. 14:37 - Compromised roof as reported, UI secured power to building. 14:42 - Checking on a firefighter at scene, dispatch asking command if second ambulance needed. Command reporting no patient transports at this time. Standby ambulance on scene and 5-Charlie-50 (AMR supervisor) checking out FF. 14:47 - Command telling Ops a fresh crew standing by. Ops reporting master stream ineffective on collapsed portion due to it being compacted. 14:53 - Command to EHFD dispatch reporting incident under control. Branford Engine 1 and Truck 1 in process of picking up per BFD Car 6. 14:55 - Ops reporting to command overhaul in progress on second floor. Reporter & Writer: IzzyEng4

Anyone who has taken an instructor or a teaching class is taught in the first few classes about copyright law. People should know better. Always ask for permission or at least have the common courtesy of giving the original poster / Photographer credit for the photo!

Though the old "gumball machines" seem outdated, they still do the job better than some of the newer style lights. What's the old saying? Keep it simple, stupid! And in actuality, simplicity is always better.

See if Stratford needs it!

I was making more of a generalization towards drafting, not trying to answer why a department like FDNY does what it does for operations and using Manhattan as an example. I know NYC in general is not all the same and is very diverse between the specific areas of each borough, as similar diversity like say in Westchester or my home county of New Haven every areas is much different than the next. I don't work there so I can't answer for anyone working in the City or their ops. As for differences between a Mid-town guys vs. a SI guy, well that is another argument. But though each firefighter may not work at similar style fires, don't all recruits and guys on the line receive the same training and operate under the same SOG book so they can go and operate in another section of the city from their current assignment? It's the same with operating and specking an apparatus, you should know how to do it and make it the same ans the next one. As well as standardization (OMG is said the "S" word!), each engine obviously is set up in the City so that one from Freshkills can go over to Far Rockaway or Co-Op City and the personnel can operate it there, having the same basic equipment a fire engine should have (minus any specialized equipment a specific unit may have). I wish that was the case for all departments! You also asked when was the last time they had the need. Remember we as firefighters are not in the business of what is happening right now or what our current need is. We are in the business of what is going to happen and to be prepared to facilitate a need when it arises. Also how many times as a department (any) shut down roads so that hose lines can be crossed over them?? So way if its six lanes of road, you shut it down. Hey so we inconvenience Mr. Suit for a few hours in traffic to battle a three / four alarmer. You can't put out a fire without water and a pump op should have the knowledge how to get it and where to get it.

A person needs to have the mind set of is that (and I'll emphasis it in caps) EVERY PUMP OPERATOR SHOULD KNOW HOW TO DRAFT OTHERWISE YOU ARE NOT A PUMP OPERATOR! Sometimes "It's John Wayne Time" (20 points for where the quote came from). The first thing you really should be asking is why should any pump operator draft from a water source? Its a pretty self explanatory answer when you think of it and also has bunch of different variables. You have to take the blinders off here to look for the answer. We are too often blinded by the function of a pump by hooking up to a hydrant. For FDNY and pretty much any fire department along a body of water, you have to have the versatility to be able to function and supply water to a scene especially if a specialty piece is not in service or available. Say you got a good fire going and a marine unit is not there yet (or has not been dispatched depending on where the fire is located), your pumpers can get in close to the water sources and start pumping back to the fire scene. Obviously when you think of a rural town, you think of porta-ponds, water holes, rivers and cisterns. No supplied water source there (aka hydrants every 500 to 1000 feet). Well what happens if that a hydrant-ed water supply is suddenly damage or their is a great loss a pressure? Well drafting is the way to go to get the water flowing if you have a source to draft and pump from. What is Manhattan surrounded by? Two rivers on either side that meet at the foot of the island, you have water everywhere. It a quick set up if you practice a lot, and takes about the same amount of time as hooking up a five inch and two gates to a hydrant. Another item you find in cities and especially old mill towns around factories are under ground canals. For the you're guys that do not understand what I'm talking about, many of the early grist mills and early 1800 era factories were powered by water. Canals and "race tails" that were tapped off from a river and a "mill pond" brought water to the powerhouse of a factory then in return the water either was dumped back into a river or other waterway. (No electricity back then fellas when the men where men and..... well we'll leave it as that). Many of the canals especially factories along the rivers still have active canals thus if there is no hydrants (or yard hydrants) that can be used, a MPO can drop a length of suction (or two) down the manhole cover conveniently marked "CANAL" (or if a real old-timer is around can show you which one it is) and now you have an endless supply of water. A few fires up my way the departments have done this numerous times so we have an adequate supply with out taxing the main water system connected to the hydrants. Hydrants are also governed by the pressure supplied to them. The water company's supply pumps, the way the water grid is set up, size of the feed and branch pipes and valves opened or closed to direct the flow and pressure are all factors we have to live with when we hook up to a hydrant. If we over tax a hydrant's output of water (pressure and volume) well you can cause some serious damage (seeing a hydrant come ripping out of the ground along with the water main it is connected to is an eye opening experience. Seen it twice in my career, never had it happen to me.) When you draft, you are now the "hydrant" per-say controlling the water flow back to the scene and your pump on the engine (depending on its capacity and set up) can control the flow without taxing the hydrant system. Another advantage is if there are already multiple engines on hydrants, having a draft setup brings in more water to a scene without disrupting the hydranted water supply. That is just a few of the view points of why city departments draft. Have to be ready for everything.

And Mack before that too correct after Mack stopped making fire bodies?

If I am not mistaking, the ladder served with Newtown Hook & Ladder in Newtown, CT before going to New Fairfield. Save would know better then me.

I also forgot to add besides what I said as well as SteveOFD, 16fire5 and 38ff, engine size (horsepower) and also your transmission are a factor. If the right engine is not speced out to power the pump transmission, then you will not get the max pump rating. We all have heard of the nightmares of certain apparatus being underpowered thus affecting the pump's top capacity.

Just to re-iterate the other posts by 38ff and 16fire5 respectively, a 2000 gallons per minute pump (yes I said gallons) is a nice feature to have especially with the consideration of water supply. The big difference in the pumps is impeller size. Also like both gentlemen said, to produce 2000 gpm or more out of that size rated pump, you need to have both side main intakes (no front suction or rear suction due to friction loss when talking about rating) of the pump connected and also you should also have the pump as a two stage and in volume to accurately produce the max flow. Yes they do make single stage pumps (single impeller) rated at 2000 gpm but usually you engine is screaming to make it up. I have a 2000 gpm two stage pump at work and a 1500 gpm two stage pump at my old department. Both rigs when tested have exceeded the max rating.

Trade ya, shirt for shirt.

Darwin award candidate???? Hopefully the access will be blocked off and monitored so this does not happen again.

So what if it isn't pretty, its a fire truck, not a parade piece. Also a rear moutn tower or ladder is not the answer for every department. A mid-mount tower has a lot of advantages, as well as disadvantages, just as rearmounts do. Obviously the apparatus committee chose this style because it fit the needs thier department after careful planning.

Sigh.................Must have just missed you up there Eli. Fall River's TDA is a nice rig but I was really fond of Meriden's and Stoneham's new Seagrave pumpers. Very well though out.

May see you there.

I wonder if it will make an appearance at the New England Fire Chiefs in Springfield? I'll see if I can get a spy shot of the rig if I'm around NEFEA.

Have to love the old Foamite ALF cabs...........why? Fo' mite fit, but not five! Thank you thank you tank you, don't worry I'm keeping my day job! Great old pics!

I love the quote at the end of the video "We spoke with the mayor...about the petition...it's not one of his immediate concerns." Hope the hell he doesn't run into an emergency and no one shows up because of his actions.

The reason that you put the antenna out side of the vehicle is to move it away from any RF interference. Every electrical component made make RF noise. So yes while the stock antenna will work in side of the car, as well as another other antenna, the actual capable reception diminishes due to electrical interference and and actually the metal of your car (metal actually block radio waves and creates a greater decibel loss). With the rubber ducky on the scanner close to your dashboard, it will pick up interference more. Obviously by moving the antenna away from the interference source, the better the reception is. If you decide to use an antenna inside of the glass on the rear deck, you still should have the antenna grounded to the metal or use a dipole antenna for the scanner. This will improve reception as the metal of your car (regardless inside or out) will give it a better counterpoise (ground plane). Placing the antenna out side of the vehicle is the best as its (farther) away from any interference and nothing is blocking radio signals to be picked up by the antenna. But also automotive glass is not like regular glass and will block some of the signal strength (not that noticeable though). If you don't want to drill holes or use a trunk lip, best bet is to go with a mag mount then and place it on your rear deck. Also the shorter you make your co-axial cable run, the better. Regardless where you mount your antenna, run the cable the shortest route possible and then cut it so that you only have a few inches of slack. You don't want to coil up all that cable as you will notice a considerable drop in reception. This is signal loss in the cable and that is normal. By shortening up the line and putting on a new connector, it helps combat signal losses down the length of the cable, obviously the short the cable the better. That is why sometimes the stock antenna that come with a scanner has a better or stronger sounding signal. RG-59 is usually what manufacturers use for mobile scanner antennas but that style of cable is notorious for its great signal loss at every foot (I believe is something like 3 decibels per 10 feet or something off the top of my head).

I agree, should have been fired for not telling his apparatus driver to slow down. If your the officer in charge, well step up and be in charge!

Seth, don't put it in the trunk, it will pick up like crap. Best bet is to get a trunk lip mount and put it to your trunk.

Stay Safe over there Pete. My friend Tim is currently in Saudi Arabia as a firefighter at one of the bases there.

WOW!

DAMN!

I just got back from the "Hogs for Hope" ride benefiting the Ronald McDonald House New York. I wanted to to thank the members of Local 628 for the fine food served after the ride. The ride was a for a great cause and I along with my fellow club members were glad we attended this event. PS the pulled pork sandwiches were great! Izzy Renegade Knights FF MC - CT Battalion 2