Remember585

And now, the EDITED VERSION Yes, I have. My point is that my concerns are MY OWN AREA. Knowing a neighboring department's area is SECONDARY to me and my concerns. When it comes to covering another's area, it doesn't hurt to know those things. But when you are coming in to a scene you wouldn't ASSUME which hydrant you are taking, but you would take the one asked of you by the IC. I can also tell you that the hydrants in the district south of us are roughly every 500 feet. I can tell you it's almost the same in the district to the north of us. And, I can also tell you that the one to the east of us has no hydrants in the areas that border us, hence the reason we go there with the TANKER. In case you're wondering too, the Hudson River is to our west, so that water supply problem is easily solved. BETTER?!

The "4 Squad" is working at 60 Control that night.... which means myself, 607, 633 & 636 will be unable to attend. Have fun though!

Some townships in Westchester took the time to get the global positions of the hydrants in their districts. On the CAD map at 60 Control we have images of where these hydrants are. It's a real nice resource that some other towns should really take advantage of. Speaking of the 60 Control CAD, some departments have hydrant info tied into their CIDS cards. A location of interest will come up with building info, occupany data and nearest hydrant locations. As for the comment about going Mutual Aid - that really isn't a major concern of mine, because the "host" department should be telling their incoming Mutual Aid what they want and where they want them.

Congrats to Tommy, I am sure he'll do a great job. Also, it has been a pleasure for us guys from "Ossining's 7th Engine" (Croton FAST) to work with Chief Santucci for the past six years. We look forward to the years to come and wish Mauro the best of luck and a tip of the hat for a job well done!

Those flags get in the way - consequently we have ripped them off of several hydrants over time. Some of them rusted so bad around the hydrant threads they had to be forced off. The best thing I like is painting the tops of the hydrants with white scotchlite paint. Actually....the BEST thing is knowing your district and where the plugs are. Our rigs keep books in them with each street having a page. The page looks kind of like this: IRVING AVENUE Cross Streets: Cleveland Drive and Radnor Avenue Hydrants: C/O Cleveland, #15, C/O Radnor, #71 Then directions to the street from each Station are listed. Great book. (Atta boy Pop!)

Yeah, but you were there taking pics!!! Did you bring the fellas some hot coffee at least?

I told y'all I didn't know much about the FDNY!!!

I barely know anything about FDNY rigs, BUT that spare 52 looks like it may have been an E88?

Why did they enter after hearing a gunshot? I hope that PD cleared the home and gave them the OK. Strange case. Perhaps his breathing was agonal? Definitely strange. I don't want to judge their treatment because I don't know the specifics.

Good luck NHFD - you guys deserve a new / upgraded building!

They're considering closing Sky View in Croton? One word: FINALLY!!

Favorite movies: "A Christmas Story" & "National Lampoons Christmas Vacation" Favorite Songs: "Dominick The Donkey" & "Jingle Bell Rock"

Feel better George!

If we (Fire/EMS) are dispatched to an MVA with injuries / possible injuries, why would we cancel our response? From the two sides of the radio, as a dispatcher and as a responder I have been involved in COUNTLESS INCIDENTS where PD cancels FD and/or EMS only to have to call them back. Once incident I recall was an MVA where the PD got there and said no injuries, no need for FD or EMS. The responding Chief said "All units going 10-8 per the PD." Was he right? Or was he wrong? 10 Minutes later the PD called back asking for FD for a fluid spill. Five minutes after that they asked for EMS. A few minutes after that, the Engine Company requested additional units because the vehicle was leaking gasoline into a storm drain. Here's my questions. 1. Are we in any kind of a jam for cancelling our response to an MVA? 2. Are PD agencies trained / qualified to mitigate or even RECOGNIZE a hazardous situation? 3. Does PD have the right to cancel us? I know from my position at work we won't cancel ourselves under that recommendation, we live it up to the OIC. 4. What, legally speaking, is our responsibility when a request for us is cancelled? I think, and again this is just me, if the REQUESTOR withdraws the request we should be able to cancel - but if the PD did not request us and we get from another source, we should continue in. Period. What is the responsibilities, per the letter of the law, not personal or Departmental preference, of PD at the scene of an MVA? I notice that SP will NEVER step in and try to tell FD or EMS what to do, it seems to be more of a local jurisdictional issue. Who made the comment about FDs boosting their numbers? Give me a break. I know several Police Departments that generate an incident number for FD and EMS responses they DON'T EVEN RESPOND TO!!!! Some of these are Mutual Aid requests! Does anyone have actual law that says what each side's responsibilities are on the scene of an MVA? Some PDs try to get clever and will send EMS ONLY, no FD, for a head injury at a location and "leave out" the "MVA" info. Sad, really sad. There is no reason why we can't have accident scenes where PD does the reports, summonses and investigation, FD controls traffic, lighting and the disentanglement, and EMS performs patient care. Wow, what a concept!!

The choice of most New Rochelle residents:

Nice rig and all, but they don't exactly seem busy enough to justify something that over-the-top. I mean, there's Departments here in Westchester running more calls then that and they don't even have a Rescue - just Engines with the tools to get their jobs done. Like I said - awesome truck - just don't see the need. Maybe someone else in the know can enlighten me.

Hell....I might be better off not going to work anymore.....

I think she is following you Seth - I haven't heard from her since you left here!!!!

Anybody out there know where I can get some MAYDAY recordings to use for training? Thanks!

English & Grammar?? Welcome to the fire service - you've already taken a step in the right direction, you ASKED FOR ADVICE!!! Just doing that is a task too difficult for many. Keep your ears and eyes open, and only open your mouth when asking a question. That was something someone once told me and I still believe to this day.

To answer the question of which driver should drive.... How about ONE OF THEM - and leave the other one behind should you get another run?? Same with EMTs - if two show up for a call and you know manpower is limited, then have the 2nd one hang back or even come to the scene and assist - don't commit all of your available personnel to one job! Another peeve - if you waste an EMT to drive the Fly-car when someone of lesser qualification is there then you deserve a swift boot to da' nutz. I hate nothing more then when a call goes ALS and you have your driver, EMT and Medic on the rig, and another EMT driving the Fly-Car behind you. Give that job to someone who has no other real purpose on an EMS call - like a FIRE CHIEF!!! Whoops.....inner voice....

"Why Daddy, WHY?!"

I have some thoughts on this - tell me what you think. 1. A lot of issues in respect to water supply, limited access, etc. should already be addressed via a pre-plan and/or automatic dispatch policy. For example, if you live in East Cow Poop and you have no static water supply, by all means have tankers coming on any possible structure fire. Another thought, if you have a high-occupancy building, say, a nursing home with 190 residents, perhaps adding an additional Truck for any fire or smoke condition is warranted. If it's nothing, at least that Mutual Aid / 2nd due aerial gets to see the place and maybe even set up. 2. Correcting / controlling a Chief, or even an Officer's ego is about as easy as solving the JFK theories. A lot of us, and I am guilty too, run a plan in our heads of how things should go, and hopefully will go while enroute. When someone else says something you don't like to hear, it is only human nature to react. The bigger problem lies within, if you can't tame the beast inside then perhaps leadership isn't for you. I know one FD that if someone arrives on scene and transmits a size-up they get mad because they have the "ME CHIEF - YOU NOT" syndrome. Gimme a break. The first unit should give a size-up!!! 3. NEVER TAKE THE WORD OF NON-FD PERSONS!!!! I won't even go into detail, but many, MANY times either at my own FD or listening to another a Chief or Officer takes info from dispatch that someone is on scene and all is well. Continue in, even if non-emergency mode, and VERIFY IT! 4. NIMS. ICS. Whatever you want to call it. The first person on scene should always be the one calling the shots, assuming they are trained and qualified to do so. If an Explorer arrives on scene and says "nothing showing" how do we know they are at the right address? If someone who knows their ca-ca is on location and gives you a good update, run with it. While responding you technically are not the IC, and you still aren't until you face to face with the one that is. 5. TRAIN! If you teach your members what to look for, how to perform size-up and familiarize them with your PREPLANS then you shouldn't have to control things from your car!