BFD1054

RIP Officer Figoski Its always a terrible thing to lose someone, but to lose someone in such a tragic, heinous way is unimaginable.

Date: 12-10-11 Time: 1800hrs Location: Stewart State Forest Frequency: OC911 Units Operating: Coldenham, Walden M241 w/Kabota, Orange Lake, Montgomery, New Windsor EMS, Forest Ranger, others Weather Conditions: Dark/Cold Description Of Incident: Search and Rescue Reporters: Writer: BFD1054 1800hrs (approx)-Coldenham alerted for the possible Search and Rescue operation in Stewart State Forest; Chief Officer to landline OC911. 1804hrs-Coldenham Command requesting the Orange Lake FD to stand-by. (they may have been moved up to the scene). 1812hrs-OC91 alerting Montgomery FD; requested to stand-by in quarters. 1815hrs-OC911 advising Coldenham Command that Walden FD is responding with their Kabota (ATV). Also advising that a State DEC Park Ranger is en-route. 1821hrs-OC911 advising Command that they just spoke with the caller again; he is under the high tension power lines, near a cornfield and he is un-injured at this time. 1828hrs-36-2 arriving at the Coldenham Command post. 1832hrs-Command inquiring the location of EMS. OC911 advising that New Windsor EMS is responding with an ambulance and a Paramedic unit, they will attempt to raise them. 1833hrs-OC911 advising that New Windsor EMS is out with State Police attempting to locate the Command Post. 1848hrs-OC911 advising Command that State Police have located the missing party. 1852hrs-Coldenham Command starting to release mutual-aid units. 1910hrs-As per Coldenham Command, all Coldenham units in service, returning.

Ill second that. Waaay too many emergency personnel have been taken recently. RIP PO Nissen. 27 is very young, he had his whole life ahead of him. My heart goes out to his wife, family, friends, fellow LEOs and to the students and staff at M. Clifford Middle School.

And who says cops and firemen cant place nice together and get along ? All kidding aside, i hope that the injured MOS has a speedy recovery. Also hope that charges on these punks stick! A tip of the hat to the members of Engine Company 158.

mfc...if i remember correctly, this truck was paid for by Entergy. They either paid for all of it, or most of it anyway. I believe the Bronto was chosen for its maneuverability that would come in handy at Entergy. However, outside of Entergy, there really is no need for that Truck in Verplanck. Maybe Entergy will buy it back and use it as their Fire Brigade rig .

SRS...My bad, its been a crappy, stressful week and its only Tuesday lol. I didnt pick up your underlying humor. As for carrying a firearm in Vermont; would you happen to have any good links to their laws, esp in regard to non-resident carry? Not that i dont believe you, because trust me i do, its that others dont believe me lol. I have friends that travel into Vt frequently and would like to see actual documentation. In regards to the snow, i know that you can see it as early as September and as late as May (i have myself). Im usually in Southwestern Vermont where its less likely, but does happen. My wife is from Vermont and a total ski bunny. She got me back into skiing when we met. 2 years ago i couldnt ski due to shoulder surgery and my wife couldnt ski last year due to an illness. Soo, heres to hoping for lots and lots of powdery goodness this year! We're actually looking into renting a place in the Killington area around New Years. Maybe ill see ya on the slopes or at Long Trail brewery. Vermont is definately a great State and i would love to own a place there one day. Interesting about the illegal immigrants. Its something i hadn't really seen much of or been aware of in Vermont. However, Vermont being as liberal as it is, im not surprised. Anywho, being an LEO anywhere is a very difficult job hands down. But as you pointed out, Vermont has its added dangers in regards to Law Enforcement. By the way, i still cant figure out the whole Constable concept up there lol, any ideas?

SRS...for someone who spends alot of time in Vermont and who vollys up there, you seem to have a lot of negative things to say about it. Vermont has a pretty low crime rate, even with the leinent gun laws. Criminals may actually be less likely to commit a crime knowing that many Vermonters are pro-gun and carry firearms. Snow 9 months out of the year? Maybe waaay up north. As for the illegal immigrant statement...what area are you reffering to if i might ask? Working in desolate areas, yes, maybe. This could be said about many LE agencies accross the nation. Not knowing when your backup is coming, maybe an issue. Again, depends on where youre out of. Like here, many Towns and Cities have their own PDs (which im sure youre well aware of) that can and will back-up VSP and visa-versa.

As many of you may know, i spend a LOT of time in Vermont. Through friends, i met a VSP Trooper. Hes in his late 20's/early 30's with a few years on the job. Last i spoke with him, he was making (with OT) somewhere in the $60-65K range. Uniformed VSP Troopers are assinged their own car (marked) which they take home. As for the salary, it may seem low compared to Westchester and other areas. But take into account that the cost of living is also lower. For the median price of a house in Westchester, you could buy a mansion in most parts of Vermont lol. In many areas of Vt, you could buy a nice 3/4 bedroom house with property and low taxes in the $200K range. If anyone is interested in taking this exam, i can talk to my "connections" and get more info.

WOW...WTF is all i can muster up on this one. These are mostly new to me, especially the tampon, rectal and eye ball tricks. Man, do i feel old lol. Think ill just continue to drink my JD and Jameison the old fasioned way thanks

Wow, let the s**t storm begin! Doesnt look like a great furture for the Middletown career members.

Newsbuff...if the Village of Buchanan were to be disolved, I'd be out of a job. Soo, please be careful with comments like that. Now, as for Bu-Plank-Trose; I have been pro consolidation for YEARS. Read any number of my posts in regard to thos very topic. I'm typing on my Blackberry. But when I get in front of a computer, I will contribute more to this topic. Its something I feel strongly about.

Link to Journal News article: http://www.lohud.com/article/20111111/NEWS02/111110357/Mamaroneck-town-highway-worker-struck-by-truck-killed-waste-facility?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Frontpage As a Sanitation Laborer myself, i know how dangerous the job can be. This was a horrible, tragic accident. R.I.P. Robert Delvecchio. My thoughts and prayers are with his wife, son, family members and extended family at Mamaroneck DPW. Thoughts and prayers are also with the driver.

Date: 11-11-11 Time: 1612hrs Location: 119 East Ave c/s Genung St Frequency: OC911 Units Operating: Middletown, Circleville FAST Weather Conditions: Clear/Cool Description Of Incident: Stucture Fire Reporters: Writer: BFD1054 1612hrs-Middletown FD dispatched to the above address for the reported structure fire, smoke from the #2 floor windows. 1613hrs-OC911 alerting Circleville; their FAST requested to stand-by in their own quarters. 1615hrs-OC911 re-sounding Circleville; their FAST now requested to the scene of the working structure fire. 1618hrs-OC911 alerting Silver Lake; their Truck to re-locate to Middletown for coverage. 1623hrs-OC911 alerting 36-101 (FI); assingment into Middletown. 1924hrs-Silver Lake Truck re-locating. *Anyone with further info, please PM me. Scanner reception is shoddy at my house. Think Mechanicstown may have responded as well?

To all of our Veterans and men and women of the Armed Forces...Thank You for all that you do. This is your day, may you enjoy it. Im grateful for the recent news that some of my friends will NOT be going back to Iraq and Afghanistan as originally planned. Again, thank you to those who served before us and those who serve today.

This guy may have some mental health issues he needs to deal with. But on the other hand, he must be somewhat compitent to pull this stunt off. As other members have said, its just ridiculous that he put many lives at risk and wasted numerous resources (lots of $$$). Unfortunatley, he got exactly what he wanted - PUBLICITY and media coverage up the wazoo!

Very scary stuff indeed. There was a very interesting article in JEMS (I believe) in regard to these salts. It discussed signs, symptoms, treatment & some cases. I meant to try and post a link to the article on here, but forgot. Ill have to see if I can find it again.

Date: 11-05-11 Time: 0440hrs Location: 925 Little Britain Rd - "Sunset Strip" Frequency: Base-5/OC911 Units Operating: [Vails Gate Car-3 (IC), Car-4 (Ops), Car-7 (Roof), E479, E478, E481, T484, T482], [Newburgh FAST], [New Windsor Engine], [NWVAC], [NWPD (numerous)], [NW Fire Inspector] Weather Conditions: Cold Description Of Incident: Working Structure Fire Reporters: Writer: BFD1054 o/s 0440hrs-Vails Gate alerted for the possible structure fire, caller states flames from the roof. 0441hrs-Vails Gate re-sounded for the confirmed structure fire. VGFD Car-3 arrived on scene, established command and advised of a working fire in a 1-story commercial building of masonry construction and requested a 2nd alarm. -All FD units were clear of the scene at approximately 0830hrs. New Windsor Fire Inspector and NWPD remained on the scene for investigation.

Date: 11-01-11 Time: 1545hrs (t.o.w.) Location: 1031 Route 17 - Key Bank Frequency: OC911 Units Operating: Montgomery, OC Haz-Mat Team Weather Conditions: Clear Description Of Incident: Haz-Mat Incident Reporters: Writer: BFD1054 *I do not have times Montgomery FD was dispatched to the above location for a possible CO emergency with a person feeling ill. Montgomery FD was then re-sounded for all available manpower to the scene. OC911 then alerted the OC Haz-Mat Team. They were then re-sounded for all available members to respond. Coldenham FD provided s/b coverage with 1 & 1. 1620hrs-Command advising that Haz-Mat members are on scene taking air samples. 1715hrs-Montgomery Car-1 requested OC911 re-sound the alarm for all available manpower to respond to their station. 1732hrs-Montgomery Command placing the incident under control, units picking-up. **Anyone with further info, please PM me. Thank you

Date: 10-31-11 Time: 0640hrs Location: 22 Cherry Ln.c/s Hudson Frequency: OC911 Units Operating: Cornwall-on-Hudson (Storm King), Cornwall, Vails Gate, West Point Weather Conditions: Cold Description Of Incident: Working Fire Reporters: Writer: BFD1054 0640hrs(approx)-CoH dispatched to the above address for the possible structure fire. Caller states the house is on fire near the chimney. 0642hrs-CoH Car-2 on scene advising working structure fire. 0644-Command requesting Vails Gate FAST & Cornwall's Truck to the scene. 0648-Command requesting a re-sound for all availble manpower to the scene 0653-Highland Falls requested to re-locate (1) Engine to Cornwall-on-Hudson's Firehouse. 0700-Highland Falls being re-sounded. 0703-West Point FD alerted; their FASTeam (2nd FAST) requested to the scene

Date: 10-28-11 Time: 0740hrs Location: IAO 276 Temple Hill Rd. Frequency: Base-5/OC911 Units Operating: New Windsor EMS, Vails Gate FD, New Windsor PD Weather Conditions: Description Of Incident: Pedestrian Struck w/Medevac Reporters: Writer: BFD1054

Date: 10-25-11 Time: 0545hrs Location: 33 East Ave. Frequency: OC911 Units Operating: Washingtonville, Vails Gate FAST Weather Conditions: Description Of Incident: Working Fire Reporters: Writer: BFD1054

elye...im going to have to respectfully disagree and go with Vinny on this one. The County Coordinator assists with mutual-aid. NFD definatley had command and had several chiefs on scene.

Link to News12 video: http://www.news12.com/index.jsp Link to YNN video: http://hudsonvalley.ynn.com/content/top_stories/561470/newburgh-apartment-building-damaged-in-fire/

George, thanks for the info and update on the good Captain. Well wishes to the Captain.

Chief, As always, excellent post and great views. I think most of us know that you can take comments from anyone. I must agree that it can certainly be difficult to admit to faults and shortfalls, especially in your own organization. I have been in the volunteer fire service for about 13 years and about the same in volunteer EMS. Through the years and through maturing, i have opened my eyes to some inefficiencies in the volunteer services. There are still many volunteer fire and ems agencies that can deliver their services with professionalism and in a timely manner. However, there are many that could use improvement. The first step is admitting that you have an issue. Whether the issue be with staffing, response times or training (or all of the above), the issue needs to be addressed. When lives are at stake (which they are), ego's must be set aside and something needs to be done. Chief, you mention Ossining VAC. From what i know of them, they seem to be one of the leading VAC's in the County and have been for years. They realized that as their community grew, there was need for better coverage. They then implemented their volunteers with career staffing. OVAC now delivers BLS and ALS coverage through use of career and volunteer staffing. I applaud OVAC, as well as others, for realizing their shortfalls and adressing the issue's. Its obvious that there are some serious issues with EMS coverage in Westchester (and beyond). Unfortunately, many of these agencies have yet to admit to these issues and continue to "go with the flow." Its not ok to not cover your calls and its not ok to rely on mutual-aid on a regular basis. It goes without saying that there are issues. The question is, how do we fix it? Consolodation? Career staffing? County-wide system?