Stench60

The Port Chester Fire Department and Liveburntraining.com Through the Generosity of Doral Arrowwood of Westchester Conference Center and Resort Present a Benefit Seminar for The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Saturday November 12, 2005 9am – 3pm Operational Tactics for Garden Apartment and Townhouse Fires Chief Robert Moran Englewood NJ FD & FF. John Lewis Passaic NJ FD Thermal Imaging for the Fire Service By SAFE-IR Dollar Stores and Self Storage Warehouse Fires Lt. Joe Berry L-42 FDNY Ret. Dept. of Homeland Security Development of FDNY Personnel Safety System Captain Mike Hayes FDNY Admission is $30.00 for Pre-Registration - To Pre-Register E-Mail Seminar@liveburntraining.com[font=Optima Seminar@liveburntraining.Com Admission is $40.00 the day of the seminar - Coffee and Lunch included Produced by: Ray McCormack Lt. Engine 69 FDNY Each attendee will receive a Free Raffle ticket for a chance to win a donated prize. Directions to Arrowwood Conference Resort (914) 939-5500 From N.J, L.I. & NYC – Take Hutchinson River Pkwy. North to Exit 28-left onto Lincoln Ave. at 2nd. Light make right onto Anderson Hill Road. Arrowwood is ½ mile on left. From CN. Northern NY – Take I-684 South to Exit 2. left off exit ramp continue straight to airport entrance make 2nd left onto Rye Lake Ave. At light make right onto King St (Rt120) Go 2 miles to light make right onto Anderson Hill Road pass condominiums, Arrowwood is next right. Join Us For A Dynamic Day Of Training!

Just bumping this as a reminder, hope to see everyone there for a great day of training.

Whew, were to begin? Let me preface my comments with the fact that no terrorist or terrorist organisation would waste any time or effort attempting to bring down or damage the Kensico Dam. The amount of explosives it would require would be simply unmanageable and not worth the effort. Anyone who is actually interested in the subject should read about the RAFs' Dambusters and the mission to destroy the Ruhr Valley Dams during WWII. As to whether Westchester is "ready" to handle a terrotist attack, it all depends on what happens. We are much more likely to see incidents like the London and Madrid bombings then we are to seeing someone flying a plane into Indian Point( another ludcrious suggestion). The work of the fire service at a London type incident would be minimal while the Police/EMS sector would handle the overwhelming majority of the incident. Admittedly, if the target was a fuel tanker etc. we would have a much larger role to play but that is only if "fire or Chemical" were a large part of the equation, and a role we are already prepared to carry out through our regular training and duties. We endanger ourselves by trying to prepare for every single eventuallity instead of the most likely incidents. Or as a wise old Gunny once told me, you try and prepare for everything and you'll end up being ready for nothing.

Port Chester covers Rye Brook under a 5 year fire service contract. There is nothing in state law to prevent a village from contracting out its' fire service or conversely from contracting for fire protection, as long as it has the agreement of the majority of the members of the department.

A few things for further clarification, 1) Engine 58- Emergency 1 Engine 59- Emergency 2 Rescue 40- Fire Patrol & Rescue, Co., No.1 2) There are no department owned antiques. 3) We are a village fire department, not a fire district. 4) Port Chester provides 24 hour/ year round protection to the village of Rye Brook, the Rye Brook FD operates from 7am to 7pm daily and is under the command of the chief officers of the Port Chester FD at all times. Hope this helps

Ladder 49, You,along with all other volunteer firefighters, are more than welcome to join the Westchester County Volunteer Firemen's Association and attend meetings. There, you will hear reports from all the various groups ,committees,boards etc. on which all the various facets of the fire service participate together and work towards common goals. I think you would be shocked to find out how often the various departments and countywide groups meet together. For information on the next meeting, just see the current issue of the Westchester Volunteer for the time and place you're more than welcome to attend.

This has been gone over before in previous threads so I won't belabor everyone with prior comments I've made other than to say that no " junior member " should be taking a training slot when a full member is available to fill the seat.

Patience, patience.................. good things will come to those who wait. Remember patience is a virtue.

Port Chester actually has 5 stations. While headquarters may seem to be a three company house, it actually only houses Harry Howard and Reliance along with one of the emergency trucks. Fire Patrol & Rescue is in fact a separate firehouse even if it is next door. The county was probably not told of this when the map was made up to show all the stations.

Blue, green, red, Polka- Dot ...... if the members are happy with the color, who cares. It had to be painted anyway. Good luck, and it's great to see Tarrytown finally getting the second ladder that they have needed for so long.

The site on Summit Ave. is not a repeater. It is a transmitter for the new county radio system and will cover a large portion of the sound shore. The new location is due to the closing of United Hospital and the loss of the roof of the main building as a transmitter site. See the county web-site for further updates on the new system.

What was that old Weathergirls song? Oh yeah, I remember now.... It's Raining Men

Now, about that 2" main that the hydrant feeds off of .... It all depends on the circumstances and local conditions

[The Port Chester Fire Department And Doral Arrowwood of Westchester Conference Resort Proudly Present a Benefit Fire Operations and Tactics Seminar For The Families of the Seven F.D.N.Y. Firefighters Injured and Killed on 1/23/05 Care of the “U.F.A. Heroes Fund” Saturday April 30, 2005 9am – 3pm -Our Featured Speakers- Mike Lombardo Capt. Rescue 1 Buffalo F.D. Truck Company Operations Private Dwellings Tim Klett Lt. Engine 88 F.D.N.Y. Engine Operations Private Dwellings Bob Pressler Lt. F.D.N.Y. Retired Strip Malls and Store Fires Admission is $35.00 for Pre-Registration - $40.00 the day of the seminar Complimentary Coffee and Lunch included To Pre-Register E-Mail LiveBurnTraining@Aol.Com Include your Name, Dept. and number of guests Produced by: Ray McCormack Lt. Engine 69 F.D.N.Y. Each attendee will receive a Free Raffle ticket for a chance to win a donated prize. Directions to Arrowwood Conference Resort (914) 939-5500 From N.J, L.I. & NYC – Take Hutchinson River Pkwy. North to Exit 28-left onto Lincoln Ave. at 2nd. Light make right onto Anderson Hill Road. Arrowwood is ½ mile on left. From CN. Northern NY – Take I-684 South to Exit 2. left off exit ramp continue straight to airport entrance make 2nd left onto Rye Lake Ave. At light make right onto King St (Rt120) Go 2 miles to light make right onto Anderson Hill Road pass condominiums, Arrowwood is next right. Join Us For A Dynamic Day Of Training!

bump

FF402, in answer to your question of who Harry Howard was, he was the second to last volunteer Chief Engineer of New York City Fire Department. He was elected to office in 1857 and served until 1860 when he was unable to run for reelection due to a debilitating paralysis he suffered due to over exertion in his duties. He was considered THE firemans fireman, and was instrumental in the formation of Port Chesters' Hook & Ladder Co. in 1858, donating the equipment to furnish the hand drawn ladder the members had purchased as outdated equipment from NYC. He eventually ended up with several fire companies named for him: Harry Howard Hose Co. No. 55 NYFD, Harry Howard Hook & Ladder Co., No. 11 NYFD, Harry Howard Hook & Ladder Co., No. 1 PCFD and Harry Howard Hose., No. 12 YFD. Also, since he was one of the great promoters and a very substantial and the first benefactor of the Firemens' Home in Hudson, the home now sits on Harry Howard Ave. in the City of Hudson in his honor. There is also an intersection in lower Manhattan ( for the life of me I can't remember which) named Harry Howard Square with plaque and all. His working helmet and official city portrait are still kept by the Harry Howard in Port Chester. If you have ever been to the NYC Fire Museum, the LARGE painting of the fire chief in front of you as you step out onto the second floor is of Harry running to a fire. It was only about 9-10 years ago that the last member of Harry Howard of Yonkers passed away, certainly would've been interesting to speak to him. I hope someone can answer the question I have ( a YFD history buff most likely ) Why did the Yonkers company take the Harry Howard name?

:ihearu: Someone needs to throw some chlorine in that gene pool.

I have absolutely no problem with this cartoon. It makes a very valid point. Due to the actions of a few knuckleheads, every image of the fire service is now marred. As to accepting a greater and greater amount of (bad/ awful/ rude/ incomprehensible) behavior in our current culture, the late Sen. Moynihan had a term for it; defining deviancy down. I honestly believe in this theory and each day I see greater and greater proof of the truth in his ideas. What was considered completely unacceptable even 5-10 years ago is now the norm and completely acceptable and emulated. It's truly frightening. As we watch the continued "downward spiral" of society, even on this board, it has to cause one to sit back and wonder when and what will be the pinprick that bursts the bubble and brings the whole system down around our ears.

Where in the world do these rumours get started? Greenwich Hospital IS NOT buying United solely or in conjunction with anyone else. United is now in bankruptcy proceedings, any deals to save the institution have to be made in conjunction with a judge and all the hospital's creditors. Keep another thing in mind, the longer the hospital remains open the larger the debt load to be paid off or assumed by anyone else. Greenwich is not going to deplete their endowment ( $100million +) simply to keep people from seeking care. If these people have wanted to seek care at anytime up to now no matter what their economic or legal status it had to be provided by GH. Oh yeah, another reason; United, a Union Shop..... Greenwich, NON- UNION. x635.... To answer about protesting the closure. There are people and groups protesting the closure but I honestly believe most people realise that we are better off without the place. The facility hasn't been maintained for years, the level of care has not been up to snuff for years, the board/administration has lied to the community for years ( see the million dollars in donations for the new emergency room and where they went) and as much of an asset as it has been over the years it has also been an even greater drain on village services. People don't realise the amount of property that the hospital corporation actually owns in the village and doesn't pay taxes on, this severely hurts the village tax base ( espcially considering the insane tax breaks given to the new development in the village) . Hell, they've even defaulted on the small property taxes they were supposed to pay last year ( driving up evryone else's village, sewage and school tax). As to not paying, well why was the maternity ward closed? At the end, 2 out of 3 births were unpaid for and uncollectable. You can't run a hospital like that and expect to survive. With Greenwich 4 miles up the Post Rd. and White Plains a few miles across 287, I honestly believe the village is very well served even without United. ( my home in Port Chester is actually closer to Greenwich Hosp. than United any way).

A few more points on this subject. Apparatus needs to inform dispatch that they are back in quarters and off the air ( 10-40) especially in departments with more than one house or departments that use a remote dispatch ( county control). If the dispatcher can't physically see the rig bag in quarters how is he supposed to know that the rig is back in quarters safely or is still on the air? Each piece of equipment should call back in service from an incident separately. Just because an "IC" declares that all units are up doesn't make it so. With a message such as this a unit could then be dispatched to another incident when they are picking up half their hose bed (and before anyone comments, yes I've seen it happen) or with no available air-packs for interior firefighting or no tank water. I've said it before and I'll say it again renumbering with all these new designators is asinine. Should the mess with the ladders and rescues be straightened out? YES! But as for the rest, KISS, keep it simple stupid! The less a driver or officer has to remember and say the better. People have problems now can you imagine if they have to remember and say 22-25-32-1? Can the county change the numbers? Sure they can, they tell you flat out these are only radio identifiers and don't use them as anything else because they can be changed. I firmly believe the new trunked radio system with it’s' talk groups will solve 95% of the problems we are discussing.

Texas/ Hubba Hubba..... only at 3am with the package on, the only time a reasonably sane person would even consider it, believe me, I know. Pizza.... In its day Johnnies in Mount Vernon but then they moved to their present location and it's not the same flavor wise, current top honors have to go to Sals' Pizzeria in Mamaroneck.

Sealand fire ..... Corner N. Main St. and Adee St. January 1985....... very, very , very cold!

=D> United Hospital..... Good bye and Good Riddance Time to put the cesspool back on the tax rolls...

X635, I had to reply to this one, "...nobody is willing to work together or compromise/standardize, then we are going to go nowhere.” You astonish me by then attacking the departments that wish to remain on low-band and stating “... cut them off from all county services, including training!" How do you expect people to work with you and effect some form of compromise if that is going to be the prevailing attitude. Now, I will grant that what you wrote may have been in a sarcastic tone, but there are groups and individuals that feel this way and statements like these can only encourage the knuckleheads of the world. The fact is the system was never set up to be a centralized dispatch center; it just slowly grew into one. It's been a compromise from its' inception. Do you ever stop to think that departments may have their own valid reasons for maintaining their activities on 46.26 etc.? And when the county does attempt to remedy the situation you demean it by stating that “this new radio system thats not going to apply to day to day operations", Why won't it apply to day to day operations. I would like an explanation for this statement. With the logic and “solutions" you lay out it's no wonder that the powers that be look askance at any type of change. As for lobbying groups there are plenty, it's easy to spout anonymously/ semi-anonymously on a message board. Go to a County Chiefs meeting if your a chief officer, a County volunteer meeting if your just a member or your local or district meeting if your career to voice your opinion. Let someone publicly hear you instead of a few people on the web-site.

I've read through this and there are a hell of a lot of valid points made by everyone from doing away with ten codes to clarification of the apparatus radio identifiers. Now, just to lay out a couple of my own opinions on the whole matter. 1) Plain english is the way to go for communication purposes, it makes the intent of the message perfectly clear and is also much faster than looking up and sending a coded message and then recieving that message and again having to decode the meaning. 2) There is absolutely no reason for having seperate ladder and tower ladder designations. 3) Will some one finally explain to me why the designation rescue can have such an extreme latitude of meaning? 4) While I personally could care less what radio identifier is used for each piece of equipment, IMHO the shorter and clearer the better. Engine X, Ladder Y and Rescue Z are much easier to understand and say than 24-32-45-1 . For gods sake that sounds like Eli Mannining calling a bootleg left. 5) 46.26, 33.96, 46.14 etc. are not fireground channels, don't use them as such. After going on location, the only radio that should still be communicating on these channels is the Incident commander. 6) I can tell you the new radios are much closer than any of you think and provided that they are used correctly they will solve alot of the problems. 7) This is a real personal burn for me as a long time driver of PCFD Engine 1 ( county radio identifier Eng. 60 ). To all of you who love to spout car xyz or ladder abc to 60, please don't, It get's very confusing and annoying. Annoying enough that I have actually answered these messages a few times asking the individual if they have a message for Engine 60. In the middle of an incident this can be dangerous. Please use your heads. Well enough for now, thanks for listening.