Geppetto

Prior to the bicentennial in 1976, there never was a push for police agencies to have blue lights on their units. When the light bars started to be changed over for that event, there was no going back.

Presently, the laws (NYS) only address what is facing toward the front. I believe that the legal definition of display refers to being visible from the front of the vehicle. I find several parts of this debate interesting: First, if visibility was a factor, then why is the fire service adding yellow lights to most of its's apparatus? Yellow is known to "deter" accidents and is commonly used for fog lighting and visibility. Is this information confidential or do the other emergency services just choose not to heed it? Hmmm, let's look at the down side. Yellow is not a "cool" color, and does not allow for the patriotic red/white/blue ensemble. And it makes your "official" vehicle look like a common utility or tow truck. Secondly, the present laws are not enforced. It wasn't that long ago, that I can recall various state/county cronies pushing the fire service to get the blue lights off of our apparatus. Legally, any vehicle that is entitled to a red light or combination of red/white lights is NOT entitled to a blue light. Other than state police vehicles, how many local or county jurisdictions obey what already exists? The blue light laws get revisited every few years or so and with predictability the politicians who bring forward the changes come from those areas not serviced by (or have disdain for) volunteer firefighters. I have no quarrel with our brothers in "blue", but how come there is never a push for the usage of EMS's green light? (See patriotic ensemble argument above.) Lastly, the blue light is a courtesy light; at least in NY anyway. The public does not have to yield to you, if they so choose. Try visiting parts of Ohio where almost every vollie has a full light bar and HAS the right-of-way. When we start talking about "standing down" this year, and rightly so, traffic issues are at the fore-front, maybe it's time we revisit what constitutes true emergencies and what actually necessitates a "lights" and/or siren" approach. And that includes the response to the station or to the scene with a personal vehicle. Too often the brain gets removed when the pager goes off. The bottom line is the color of the light is not going to make up for the other collective safe practices.

His ability to break almost everything down to a story - Brooklyn FD style, was a trip. An endless series of true stories, helped to turn knowledge into something with a face. Hail and Fairwell!

If you're going to use foam, first decide what you are going to use it for. There are various types of foam available, but they are NOT interchangable. For example, if you are using it for pooled liquids, AFFF or FFFP (and associated derivatives) work great. Hi - Expansion (HiX) doesn't work at all. Likewise, if you are trying to flood an enclosed space, as in trying smother a stubborn cellar fire, then the moderate expansion rates of AFFF/FFFP do not work. CAFS and Class A foams work great on just that - CLASS A fires. Essentially, the normal Class B fires laugh at you. Dumping Class B foams on "A" materials gives you some surfactant value - (soak in), but that turns out to be quite an expensive hobby. There are other foams available which may offer better vapor suppression, knockdown, or drainout resistance. Some that come to mind are specifically for Haz Mat Operations or Decon. IFSTA puts out a good primer - Principles of Foam Fire Fighting, which should get you headed in the right direction. A word of advice - just because it gets introduced into the system like foam, doesn't mean it is foam. F-500 works on the the reaction side of the tetrahedron. You can still buy wetting agents and friction reducing compounds, (yes, there's one born every minute) which get introduced into your hose lines using an eductor. AND Whatever you do - don't ever mix concentrates, including F-500, because the end result will probably be a chemical knot thicker than a superball. That WILL ruin your day.

Is it true that DES is looking for fire instructors and if they are, what is the process for filing? There doesn't seem to be any information available.

I am not sure if this belongs here, but I'm sure they'll move it if necessary. I've read with great interest (in several other threads) about the various qualifications for Officers and drivers. But how do departments compare in who they originally take in? I have been wondering, especially with all this concern over NIMS and standardization about who, we as a service have been taking in. What are the basic requirements for the fire service? High School education? The service has been trying to professionalize itself and as such treat many of it's programs as college level. Background check? Is a simple PD check enough or are we fingerprinting everyone? Is the guy next to you a felon? Do you have to frisk everyone when they leave the building? Medical(s)? Do they conform to NFPA 1001 or is it a simple "turn your head and cough and your off? With manpower at a premium these days, many departments have been reduced to taking anybody who's breathing and interested. Hopefully, this thread won't turn into a career vs volunteer issue. Let's try to keep it as more of just a simple survey to determine where the norm is.

Statute requires that the Chief is responsible for determining the cause and origin for fires. Granted that that can be done by calling for a C/O team; but it seems logical to require some basics of fire investigation at some level. Company officers can have a definite impact on this.

On any call where the individual firefighter has the potential of being overcome by the products of fire, hazardous vapors or an oxygen deficient atmosphere, then I would tend to believe that the individual firefighter would and should take advantage of the protection of an SCBA. If the wearing of a beard would prohibit that firefighter from protection, then is it wise for him/her to be on the scene? There are many items named for individual(s) in the fire service. When a firefighter dies due to the inhaled products of an emergency scene, the legacy that will be left will be probably a spouse, orphan(s), a plaque on the wall, and a mask policy named for that firefighter. How about being a little proactive and saving us one more cancer case or LOD death? This is not an over-reaction, this is fact. Any firefighters left standing from any of the phone company fires? Maybe a simple policy should just state that another bearded wonder has to explain it to the widow, that looking cool is better than being alive, or just simply refuse to insure them, that would probably correct the problem.

Let's be realistic here - NY has only recently come on board with any type of testing system. It wasn't that long ago that certificates were given out, based solely on attendance. I am not praising Connecticut's programs - but their system has been in place since the early 80's. If you start comparing the two states, and this is solely my opinion, Connecticut has less programs available, but the one's they have, are better maintained. NY has many more programs, but the consistency of their quality is/has been questionable. This is most probably due to individual instructors, but a good portion is the state's oversight. Connecticut gets feedback for it's programs/instructors frequently by comparing scores on it's tests. Can we honestly say that every NY program/instructor is getting that? NY has made considerable positive strides over the last ten years, but it still has aways to go. If NY's programs are up to snuff, then maybe students should take a "national" exam at the end of courses rather than have to take a NY one first and then another for "national" certification. It seems to me, that at the very least, the students/instructors would have comparison data on a national scale. Unless the laws of physics have changed, fire doesn't burn any hotter here.

Be careful when you say or imply National certifications. There are two recognized systems, and depending on where you are, the definition changes. The first system, NPQS, National Profesional Qualifications System or Pro-Board, originated in New England, essentially as an off-shoot of the NFPA. It has the most available certifications, and is accepted from a wider number of states. The second system, IFSAC, International Fire Service Accreditation C(?)ongess, is based out of Oklahoma State University, and has its orgins with the IFSTA (red book) contingent. Some items, ie. Safety Officer, have certifications with one system and not the other. Most of Connecticut's programs are NPQS, AND as a plus, IFSAC approved. The main impetus for any of the nationally approved certifications is monitored testing, and the check/balance system that the program meets the intent. Essentially, that means that there should be more to any certified program than allowing the student to just sit in the back of the class and get a certificate. You might as well give a similar certificate to a potted plant.

At one time, volunteer firefighters who received their "Exemption Certificates", or essentially completed 5 years of service were entitled to additional points on Civil Service exams. The title "Exemption Certificate" became common for jury duty exemption for those firefighters who were no longer active. The civil service points went away quite some time ago (late 60's - early 70's), the jury duty exemption left when all exemptions were eliminated (doctors, lawyers, police officers) in the 90's. What's old is new again.

FLIPS = First Line Supervisor's Training Program (FLSTP) = Afour week (160 hour) management/supervisory course mandated by New York State law.