JAD622

A good man gone too soon. R.I.P. John. Condolences to his wife Nancy and all his Brothers from FDMV.

I believe Westchester went back to Nevelle Fleet but I'm not 100% sure. As far as Putnam, Orange and Dutchess Counties, according to Ferrara's website its a company called Wilde Fire out of Mayfield, NY. http://www.ferrarafire.com/Contact/dealers/pages/newyork.html#

I doubt you would get the results you seek from either of these media outlets. The Emergency Services have no friends in the Journal News and News 12 these days. Unfortunately, this type of outlook towards the emergency services is becoming more prominent largely due to the media's assault on us these days. The Politicians have launched an aggressive attack on us via the media throughout this Country and it has begun to sway public opinion of us in a BIG way.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Valentine "everything you would want in a Public Safety Official"! (insert sarcasm here) Wow! and I thought I worked for clueless people!

Although this entire event is surely tragic, I feel that the most horrific aspect of this tragedy is that this "mental case" shot an innocent 9 year old girl to death in cold blood and the news focuses largely on the Congresswoman as the majority of the story. Not to say "any" life is more important than any other, it just shows how slanted the media can be with stories of tragedies like this. Just my .02cents.

Also don't forget the Union Carbide Bombing in the early 80's in Valhalla right across the street from DES. I believe (if memory serves me correctly) it was the PLO (or similar group)and they called and said it will detonate at 2300hrs and indeed it did! Ask Hudson144 about that one! A night he'll never forget!

Pelham Engine 5 is a 2004 Ferrara Ultra Cab (Discontinued) design which was originally built for FDNY as a High Pressure unit and never delivered (as previously stated). We had the high pressure pump removed and replaced with a single stage 1500 gpm Waterous and also added compartmentation and a hydraulic generator and a few other minor changes. In addition to having been a demo for Ferrara before we bought it the rig was used in the last season of Third Watch as Squad 55 ( I believe it was called). So far it has served us well. Looking forward to seeing the new FDNY Rescues, Rearmounts and new Haz-Mat 1 down the road.

When it comes to public safety services, all politicians have the same disease! I believe it's called "Mad Cow Disease"!

Chief, I was questioning that as well. I worked that fire and if I remember correctly the fatal was a resident of the second floor apartment. I believe the house was owned by Detective Kennedy.

Excellent letter and I'm sure the circumstances here in NY are very similar. Does anyone have information regarding our pension woes since we are being attacked everyday in the media too? I have heard numerous similar accounts regarding why our municipalities contributions have increased. They want the public to believe it is all our fault and we are to blame for high taxes. Hopefully someone out there has the straight story so we can get it out there!

Well, to add another element of disgrace to this nightmare, the Attorney for this "Animal" was quoted as saying in Court after the verdict was read "my client is smiling and happy because this is what he wanted from the beginning"! to that I say "Give him what he wants NOW! Why wait?" Get rid of this piece of SH*T now and not after 20 years of appeals and having to hear his name for years to come! What a disgrace!

I used to live in Meriden at the time this happened, which is adjacent to Cheshire. This horrible tragedy stunned the entire area and destroyed a beautiful innocent family. BOTH of these ANIMALS need to be made examples of and the Justice System needs to WAKE UP and realize that they need to do a better job the FIRST time! Both of these MANIACS should NEVER have been on the street with their past records and allowed to terrorize innocent people. My heart breaks for Mr. Petit that he has to live the rest of his life with the pain and loss of his family because these ANIMALS were allowed to walk the streets! Hopefully this will wake up our lawmakers and elected officials to make some changes that will keep this from ever happening again! May God Bless Mr. Petit and the souls of his loved ones. Amen

It has gone beyond ridiculous! The writing is on the wall that down the road, written testing will eventually be a thing of the past . How a Judge who has no knowledge of the Fire Service can determine that a written test discriminates against a certain ethnic group(s) is beyond me. If this continues in the direction it's going the day will come where the job will be given away (it's almost there already) to certain individuals with little to no qualifications! What a shame this has become, between the bullseye on our backs due to the terrible economy and this trend of dismantling the testing criteria, the job is doomed! Good luck to all who aspire to be a firefighter. It is becoming very disheartening to watch this job getting ruined by Politicians, Judges and everyone with an axe to grind.

Believe me, it's been beaten like a Dead Horse! No one is home!

"We interrupt your regularly scheduled program to bring you a "Special" presentation of "The Emperor has NO Clothes"!!! Good Night Gracie!

George, no Apology necessary Brother! I know what you were saying. My post was directed at the "Irony" of our situation and the way we are forced to operate!

2353 is the working Lt.(company officer) not the intended IC for a working fire. The IC (2351) was "Unavailable" that's ALL I'm gonna say!

Maybe they are Dave Matthews Fans!!

Yes it is and I believe Bill Savage was the President of RD Murray.

RIP Jimmy. My sincerest condolences to your family and your Brothers of FDMV. Too sad.....

Just heard 60 Control tell OEM 5 that there are 2 separate fires in White Plains.

I believe FDNY units are going to a separate White Plains incident from the multiple alarm fire. County Car 2 requested them to New St. for a transformer fire. The multiple is on E. Post Rd. Lots of radio traffic, hard to hear it all so I may be wrong.

Ok, what I know of the "Plan" is only what I have read posted here in this forum. The "Plan" I read was the link provided to the article published in the Stamford Advocate. I assume that that is the authentic "Plan" that was presented to the Mayor by the retired baseball coach and some volunteer Chiefs? If that is incorrect, let me know now and I will retract my"Rail against this Plan". If however it is the correct "Plan" then I stick to my original opinion that it is a vague and weak plan at best. Most of the deficiencies have already been addressed in earlier posts by members more knowledgeable than I regarding earlier manning practices and the deficiencies that existed in the previous setup. However, the "plan" does not explain in any detail the process by which some 60 new firefighters and a Career Chief will be hired. Will there be a written test followed by a psychological exam and a stringent oral interview? Will there be background checks and physical exams by a medical doctor? ( I know CPAT has already been mentioned) I'm talking individual medical exams for each potential candidate? Once hired, will a firefighter candidate have to attend a training academy to obtain the State's minimum training for a firefighter recruit? Will each firefighter hired be subject to a probation period of one year? Will their job performance and practical skills, ability to work with others as a team and follow orders be evaluated by senior experienced firefighters and superior Officers? Which brings up MORE questions I failed to see in the "Plan". How will Officers be chosen and promoted? Will they be required to take a competitive promotional exam which requires "Months" sometimes years of dedicated intense studies of evolving and changing hazards and standards of today's fire service? Once promoted what training as a new Officer will they undergo? In NY, every newly promoted Lieutenant must attend the FDNY First Line Supervisors Training Program for 4 weeks 8 hours a day. I don't know what CT does. After that will the newly promoted Lt. be subject to a one year probationary period where he will be evaluated by more experienced senior officers? How will the Career Chief be hired? Will he have to take a test.......yadda...yadda....yadda.... You see where I'm going here? That's my problem with the "Plan" my friend. It really isn't a "Plan" at all from what I've read! So, if this is the extent of the "Plan" I don't see how they are going to hire some 60 new firefighters properly? So that leads me to my next question and maybe you can answer it since you "seem" to be on the inside. Why go this route if in your opinion the system has worked fine for the last 50 years? That leads to my next point. If you think that a Chief officer returning responding companies to which turned out to be a working fire, prior to any unit arriving on the scene and giving a report on a fire condition, an example of a system that "worked" just fine, then not only do I question that Chief Officer's judgment but I question yours as well. Now with my comment about decimating the Stamford FD, if in fact, as I have read here that if this "Plan" goes through, the possibility exists that some 60 members of SFD run the risk of losing their jobs. I believe that SFD has approximately some 275 members? If I'm wrong I stand corrected,but losing 60 positions on a job that size is a "Substantial" number! Experienced Firefighters with much invested in their careers and families to support and lives to be severely affected! So yes, I consider that "Decimating" a great Department! Additionally, I do not believe the Mayor's statement for one second that he will not layoff any SFD firefighter if this plan goes through! If he proves me wrong then wonderful! I'll gladly put my foot in my mouth for the benefit of my Brothers in Local 786! Now, with regard to my "rail" against Politicians, Government and the "Ignorant" Public I say this; First I never said the Public was "Ignorant" I said "misled" by incorrect information. I have spent enough years in this business dealing with Politicians and Government to firmly qualify my "rail" towards these entities. I have seen throughout the years and even more so now, how the Politicians and Government use the Career Fire Service as the "Whipping Post" for all the financial woes of modern times. They use strategic terms like "Rising Pension costs" and "Increasing Health care costs" and "Out of control Overtime" every chance they get to incite the taxpayer and grind home to people who are struggling how we "Union thugs" are to blame! Back in the early 90's during the Dot.com Boom civil servants were not even a blip on the radar screen! Most of us made salaries that barely covered living expenses and who cared about US then? Not many. Now, I have family and MANY good friends in the private sector who have lost their jobs and are hurting as I'm sure everyone on these forums does as well. So to think that any "Union thug" here is insulated by the effects on the private sector by the economy is just plain ignorant. I certainly feel for those who have suffered in the private sector by what has happened to the economy of this Country. So, who's to blame? Of course it's those Greedy "Union thugs" It has to be!!! Who else could it be? Can you say ENRON? Fanny Mae? Freddy Mac? AIG? Shearson Lehman? Goldman Sachs? Arthur Anderson? GM? The list goes on and on. Outsourcing most of our labor to China, Mexico, Indonesia, Korea? and so on and so on! So, when you ask why I "rail" about these things those are my reason's. Like I said, my career is winding down and hopefully I'll make it out before the whole thing comes crumbling down. However those who are just starting out have a lot to contend with and I feel for them. The Fire Service is certainly not what it was over 20 years ago. Good luck to the "Plan" it's gonna need it!

In all my years in the Fire Service what continues to amaze me is how critical decisions of how to provide the best fire protection to the public always seems to be made by those least qualified. Can someone please tell me how this so called "Plan" is devised by a group of people headed by a retired baseball coach and a small group of volunteers? If this isn't an example of broken politics and self serving agenda's then I don't know what is. Unfortunately, it will probably get wide public support simply because it is prefaced by misleading promises of better fire protection and reduced cost to taxpayers. Sadly, in the years ahead, when all the political "dust" settles and the ramifications of decimating the Stamford Fire Department become more apparent, those responsible will probably be long gone and someone else will start this insane process all over again! Hopefully, no lives will be lost along the way. The fire service is systematically being dismantled by Politicians all over the Country under the guise of the financial crisis this country faces due to the dismal and inept leadership of those who control it's finances. We are being used as pawns to bear the brunt of the blame and the public easily buys into it. This is only the beginning and I fear it will get much worse. I can only be thankful that I am at the tail end of my career and feel bad for those who have just begun theirs. It's going to be a very rough ride and this is just one example of how bad decisions and ill conceived plans will continue to plague the fire service.

Self serving agenda's