firemoose827

Excellent points CFD, exactly my thoughts too. I would rather have the line there for me to check and be able to react quicker to the loss of pressure than to have to circle the truck to check every line every time a team calls for more pressure. Good points by all. Crosslays are easier to get to for the attack team exiting the cab, but I agree, the extra hose piled up on the ground is a pain sometimes. My department trains to pull Everything off the bed, then advance. My old dept trained to take what you needed and brake it off and connect to the panel so there is no excess hose piled up on the ground causing a trip hazard for the MPO. Im trying to get my current dept to use the minute man load for the cross lays to avoid this situation, but if you are not an officer your pretty much out of luck. Good topic.

Rest In Peace, my condolences to the family and friends.

My old rescue squad had these, they were called "Bull Bags" and could be hooked up to a vehicles exhaust system to inflate them. We used them for last resort emergencies only, in conjunction with cribbing, to remove life threats only if FD were not there yet. Only those of us with firefighting training could use them, and we had to have "Vehicle Extrication" training as well.

Excellent points here. Check everything, you never know. Thanks for sharing these with us. Could you imagine if the place was burning at night when they were sleeping? Would that person stand a chance at all? I bet you that bedroom is not up to code either...where is the smoke detector??? Good topic, makes you think.

Come on Merlin, you and I both know it is an effort by the "County ALS" to tell the individual squads to make sure they are really needed before calling for the ALS. They stated not too long ago that their call volume was way too high...My point to them was "Yah, but you are getting paid to provide an ALS service to the people of the county, its your job. If the call numbers are too high for 2 FT Paramedics than I guess its time to hire another one?" But they dont want to hear that, they just want to get paid to teach classes now and drive around in a County Suburban with a county gas card and thousands of dollars of medical equipment that they dont want to use. Its also an effort to get other squads to send people for their ALS training so they can provide their own service...which isnt bad, but for volunteers with 2 and 3 jobs with a family to support? Becoming ALS is a big step with a lot of additional responsibilities, who, besides a FT provider, has the time to keep it up these days? I had to give up my EMT-CC a while ago when I left FT with the ambulance I worked for, because I could not keep up with the CME requirements in just a volunteer capacity. Especially since we only did an average of 140 calls a year? How many of those are actual ALS calls? I think that its a BS law too, they should not be billing the patient or the agency, especially since the head County ALS provider was against the idea of a volunteer agency billing patients back when we started doing so with CAG. Now here they are trying to do the same? Merlin, send me a PM later, I have some other things to talk to you about?

I take my training at the academy in Montaur Falls. There, you participate in hands on training and prove youre proficient or you do not test out. We donned level "A" suits, did dexterity drills individually like putting a self tapping screw into a plastic container, tying a knot and untying it, putting a puzzle of 1/2 black pipe and valves together according to a diagram, collecting a powder "Sample" in a sample container and sealing it...etc. Than we did decon in suits, and practiced leak control on the leak simulator in suits. In advanced class they make you do more advanced leak control hands on training.

Hey Chief, just to clarify for you, NYS changed its curriculum to meet these hours. Haz-Mat Tech used to be 24 hours, but now its broken down into two categories...Haz-Mat Tech Basic (40 hours) and Haz-Mat Tech Advnaced (another 40 hours). I just took Basic at the academy this past June and plan to take the advanced this summer.

Happy St Patricks Day to all, be safe and dont forget the DD, no one ends up in the news tomorrow please! Have a great day.

Youre all set Chief, I fixed it for you. Excellent points about the tin ceilings. I have a lot of these buildings in my area, older houses with the intricate style tin ceilings on plywood, over plaster and lathe, over another layer of plaster...makes for a fun time getting through LAYERS of ceiling because the owner was too cheap and lazy to remove the old layer and put up the new one. Instead, he just put up the new ceiling directly over the old. I like the tip about using the handle end of the pike to dent in the tin and get a purchase, good stuff. Thanks.

597 more to go? I will continue to walk the streets with my sandwich boards and bull horn! Thats awesome, way to go EMTBravo for making such a great site even better. Keep up the good work everyone.

I am not too familiar with your county and its operations, so I have a few questions just so I can follow along in the discussion; One, how many building collapses do the departments in your county respond to annually? If there are that many, shouldnt the money be spent improving the Codes office in that region in order to prevent that many collapses? Two, how much wild land search calls do you get a year? Being a heavily populated area with little forest or wild land, is there a call for a team specialty in search skills or would you benefit more by calling in other outside agencies? Just a few questions for my knowledge only so I can better follow this discussion and see what everyone is getting at. Other than that it sounds like a plan that should at least be put on the table for discussion and possible research, maybe form a committee and gather a whole bunch of data and make a presentation to the county chiefs or governments.

Than who is truly at fault here chief, the firefighters who couldnt even remember basic firefighting skills but were pushed through the system anyway, or the state? Shouldnt we all, meaning those of us that do care about equal training standards for all emergency service workers, be taking this to the state level and pushing for the standardization of training and to stop "Pushing" through firefighters simply because their community needs them? Dont get me wrong here either chief, because I agree with you here, this stuff has to stop. I see it all the time here in my county. The very first class I took in this county almost 16 years ago now, I studied my butt off, took notes, and prepared myself for the test...that was never given. The instructor simply handed out the cherished certificates and never made the class PROVE that they actually learned their skills by completing either a skills or written test. I feel that Firefighter I and II should be treated like an EMT certification, where you need to pass a practical and written test in order to pass with the State, and re-cert every 3-5 years in order to keep your level of training. To keep my post on track with the original topic, knowing that what you said above about the firefighters being pushed through the system and not knowing their basic skills and the fact that I agree with you, I have another question for you chief. If you are concerned with the level of service this team will be providing than why not assist them at drills and give them your experience and teaching skills and at least attempt to help them learn what they need to become skilled providers? It sounded to me, from what you stated above that you "Used" to be an instructor but that you actually became frustrated and gave up on them...why? We need more instructors like you to turn things around for the better and get a more standardized level of training for all firefighters in NYS. Another question for anyone that will reply, about the teams based out of career departments. These are made up of firefighters from different companies or are they made up of entire companies that in a special rescue situation would be pulled from their tour to respond to the rescue? Who than would cover their regular calls? Or is it based on calling in off duty personnel to respond to the rescue/haz-mat situation? I am just curious how that works and would appreciate any info, thanks. Best of luck to the members of the new team, train hard and stay focused.

Rest In Peace, my condolences to his friends and family.

RIP, may his friends and family find comfort in each other. It is a shame, so young.

Good Luck, keep your head up, watch each others backs and come home safe.

Just wondering if there was anything further on that working fire in PC? Are they still On scene and was it a worker?

Well, I would be glad to help you out on your project. I am a Hazardous Materials Technician with 2 special classes; Weapons of Mass Destruction; Awareness, and Weapons of Mass Destruction; Operations. I have belonged to our County Haz-Mat Team since 2000, and have helped write our SOP's. We currently have a Disaster Response Plan set up and every department in the County has received training in its implementation. Our team, as did all the teams in NYS, has received the fully loaded WMD trailer with enough Haz-Mat equipment to get started including meters (Multi-Rae, Draeger, Ludlum) and Level "A" suits. We also invited the State Haz-Mat guys out to give us the WMD Trailer Training course that went over all of the meters and equipment, its usage and maintenance. On an annual basis, in order to maintain the WMD assistance money and equipment, our County is to host and run a large scale WMD Drill with a different department and scenario. Last year it was in Richmondville, and we had a small delivery truck carrying pesticides crash in front of a school. We had to isolate the contamination, evacuate the school and surrounding homes, decon a few hundred people and transport them to the ER, who was also drilling with their hospital based Decontamination team. So, In some ways you can say we are as ready as we can be, but in some ways we are still lacking in most areas. Like our Haz-Mat team...Including myself we have 6 Technicians for entry. If we do not get 4...we are decon only and can not do entry. So more personnel would be great. If you have any questions please feel free to send me a PM or E-mail, I would be happy to help you out with anything. Good luck on the project. PS- This was my 1,000th post...

We experience a large amount of chimney fires every winter around me, due to lack of maintenance every fall. People fail to have their chimneys cleaned and they end up burning. On a few occaisions they got into the structure and gave us a run for our money, due to construction type and hazards in the house, like the home repairs or additions done by the drunk weekend warrior...but thats a whole other topic. We have been using the chimney bombs in our attack and find they work well, and save exposure and length of time spent on the roof. Just close the damper, and drop the bomb in and let it work, than remove the plug and call the Codes Officer. In the past we used the chain, and it was a pain in the rump to say the least. Lug the long chain up to the roof along with the long pike and roof ladder. Get set up by the chimney, size the chain to the chimney, and drop it repeatedly untill the burning plug is dropped into the flue area and removed through the exterior clean out and extinguished. I have heard of flares, but have never seen any used, do any of you use them? Do they work? Whats your tactics at chimney fires? Discuss...

Now here is an interesting thing to discuss. We all know water will crack the chimney wall when applied to chimney fires and therefore water is frowned upon...But, I have seen a special "Chimney Nozzle" I believe in a POK catalogue. Its a small diameter metal nozzle with a 90 degree bend in the end and a fine misting nozzle at the end of it. You hook it into the chimney and allow the water to mist down and cool the fire, but not drastically cool the chimney lining and crack it. Anyone see these before? Thoughts?

Happy Belated Birthday Captain. Hope you had a great day.

I agree. I am also "Pro Firefighting" and "Pro EMS", meaning I fight for the rights and protection of every firefighter and EMS provider, regardless of status. We are a team and work together, despite some peoples negative comments. Add to the discussion, be respectful and considerate of others, respect other peoples opinions and do not bash them, and realise that there is no right or wrong...just people sharing opinions. So leave the childish argument behind and add something to the discussions.

I was never really 100% clear with the definition of HIPPA laws and their enforcement, so thanks for the insight. Question for you; I was on the understanding that HIPPA laws were in place to protect the patients privacy and identity, and was enforced by both paid and volunteer EMS agencies? In order to prevent the patients private information from the PCR to get out to the public or be otherwise shared with others by the EMS crew. I was assuming that pictures taken by a firefighter or EMS crew member or Police officer was all part of this violation of privacy, especially since the pictures were not for official use, such as paperwork or training or legal reasons like proof or documentation of patient care or firefighting/rescue efforts. Thanks.

129, I think you just need to re-phrase your replies and add more than just one line. After all, this is a social forum for firefighters and Police and EMS to talk shop. When someone like you comes along and drops a cocky one liner like you did, it only serves to show the mentality of the poster. If you have something to say than say it, dont just add the one liners, which in case you failed to read in the forum rules is illegal, and be constructive and add something to the discussion. In my honest opinion, if a qualified crew of EMS arrives on scene first, and they dont need lifting assistance or extra hands, than why should fire proceed?? Most fire dept agencies are only certified to First Responder level. Most EMS agencies are Advanced Life Support Certified, meaning there is at least one Paramedic or Critical Care Technician and one EMT. Im my agency we have a two person crew and seem to manage just fine on our own for 80% of the calls. We get our share of codes, and major accidents where we definitely need more help but thats what a good mutual aid agreement is for, and when needed, we call in the firefighters that are not busy and ask them to hold things, or help us by getting our equipment from the rig for us and we work very well together and never have any disagreements about who should have arrived first, or whos jurisdiction it is or territory wars...on the call its the patients needs only and everyone works towards that goal. If there are any problems they are dealt with quietly in a closed session meeting later on, off the scene, in a professional manner and 99% of the times are handled than and there. I never understood the friction between agencies...Get over it, you know? Work together and help people, thats what we are here for, not to constantly bicker about who gets there first, who is in charge, etc etc. It should be clear enough; Fire dept handles fires, spills, and extrication etc etc, EMS does patient care and transport, Police does scene safety and traffic control and we all help each other out in the process whenever we can. The only thing we should be worried about is who can get there faster to render the treatment the patient needs, than work together to continue that treatment until the patient is at the appropriate facility. In our county we do not track that kind of dispatch. For EMS its just an ambulance agency and the county EMS Coordinator that are dispatched to EMS calls. For MVA's both Fire and EMS are dispatched and only the fire Chief can cancel fire dept response. The EMS officer can not cancel fire, but can recommend to the responding Chief that all is well and no fire response is needed, than the Chief cancels fire. Conversely, if the fire chief arrives on scene and the patients are all saying they're fine and dont need EMS he/she can not cancel EMS response but advise on patient conditions and leave it to their discretion if they respond or not. Works fine and gets the job done. Good topic.

Its a rule for most of the buff sites that post pictures of fire and ems incidents that no one shall post pictures of people, faces, ETC because its a violation of their privacy and could be taken as a HIPPA violation as well if the patient is injured and suing the other party, they could sue the photographer as well for taking their pic without permission. Hopefully the family of the deceased will not see these pictures and sue the dept. Common Sense...could have prevented this.

Up here in "Scary" county we do our share of trailers. They are, in essence, large ovens. Tin walls and roof, foam insulation board, 1X2 wall studs as opposed to 2X4 and 2X6 for stick built houses, some times the studs and rafters are 24" on center instead of 16" like code calls for, giving less support and therefor the early and sometimes catastrophic failure of these components early on in the fire. Some more things to be worried about; Windows are MUCH smaller than houses and do not meet the 5.7 cubic feet of egress/rescue opening that most codes call for these days in newer construction. Walls are thin and easy to cut open, BUT...The electric wires and plumbing run through these walls too, watch out for this. Doors are not what they should be, they are thin, made of plywood veneer with hollow cores, wont hold the fire for longer than a few minutes. HVAC is a mess in these thigs. Usually have a furnace in the center of the trailer somewhere, in a closet usually, and have ducts that spider out from this with registers in every room. These ducts can be either in the roof or in the floor so see if you can locate these ASAP to stop the spread of fire through the ducts. Usually, we cut a hole in one end of the trailer and blitz it with a 2 1/2 " line or deck gun, than mop up with smaller lines from the safety of doorways or cut openings. These thigs are losses as soon as it catches fire, so dont worry about further damages to the structure itself. We try and grab possesions from the doors and windows like TV's, furniture, ETC, but otherwise, its a loss, so do not jeopardize personnel in these death traps. Thats all I can think of right now, been a long few days with this nuisance snow we have been getting and Moose is tired! Stay Safe Gang.