Remember585

Hey all. My Safety Officers approached me about implementing some SOGs for their jobs in our FD. If anyone has something or any input, send it my way. Much appreciated!

Bump?!

You guys should just rename this thread "You know you're 642 if..." I must be the ultimate of buffs..... Here's a couple to add. You know you're a buff when you have more firehouse numbers in your phone then those of the opposite sex. You know you're a buff when you have a house account at Rescuestuff or AAA. You know you're a buff when you go out on a date and, wait, real buffs never have dates!!!!!

That's a big 10-4 buddy!

We had guys who wanted to get on our FAST for that reason and were either denied or dropped once we realized their real intentions...

Remember too gang, the optimum number of personnel assigned to one "leader" is 5. The range is usually considered 3-7:1. So if your rig goes with 5 members, there should be one Officer. None of us should question why or why not a department sends 1, 2 or 20 Chiefs - that's their perogative. Is it right or is it wrong - who's to decide. Each Department operates differently.

As of 3/1 the following are using the Trunked System: Fire 10 Montrose FD Fire 11 Hawthorne FD Valhalla FD Thornwood FD Grasslands Fire Brigade Pleasantville FD Fire 13 Croton Falls FD Goldens Bridge FD South Salem FD Vista FD Fire 14 Ardsley FD Elmsford FD (For communications with 60 Control only) Irvington FD (Still dispatched by IPD) Fire 16 Bedford FD Bedford Hills FD Chappaqua FD Katonah FD Mount Kisco FD Fire 17 Yorktown FD (Temporarily down) Fire 19 Purchase FD Westchester County Airport EMS 11 Hawthorne FD EMS EMS 13 Pound Ridge EMS Vista FD EMS EMS 14 Elmsford FD EMS (Communications with 60 Control only) EMS 16 Bedford FD EMS Additionally, all WCDES Units are using Trunked for all operations, such as the Battalions, Commissioners, Field Com, Haz-Mat, etc.

Chiefs are responsible for their people, hence the reason they go. I think you have a valid point about 3 Chiefs going out of town to an incident, but since they are only in the TOWN NEXT DOOR I don't see a big deal with it. We won't send all 3 of ours, sometimes all 3 will go check out the scene in the town next door but will keep themselves available for additional back home. Remember too that Departments have Deputy Chiefs, Captains & Lieutenants that can (hopefully) run an incident.

I know very, very little of life outside Westchester County so I can only answer on my knowledge here in the WC. (Not White Castle...) MOST Departments have realized how important it is to get a FAST to their fire scenes and have added them into their "Greater Alarm Plans." This way when an IC calls the "Working Fire" one is dispatched. Some places still don't call one for whatever reason, and I won't even attempt to assume why they wouldn't. Some Departments are good about setting up SOMETHING to ensure there are some personnel available to make a FF Rescue prior to the arrival of the designated FAST. Are these people trained, and are they equipped to make a FF Rescue until the actual FAST shows up? I don't know. Hopefully they are. The reason in Westchester MOST OFTEN (not always, but most often) you will hear a FAST going to work and another one brought in to releive them is simple... members standing around playing the role of a FAST may get bored or distratced after time and may not be paying as much attention to what is going on as they should. By calling in relief and putting these guys to work, a fresh team could very well be paying more attention then the guys that have been there in the cold or the Summer heat standing around and getting tired. To me, as a potential IC, I want my FAST to be alert and on their toes, and if that means bringing in another team to rotate the original one out with then maybe that's a way to go. The other big reason is, as already stated, manpower. Many times the FAST is the only Mutual Aid company coming in, and the IC realizes they need more personnel, so they grab that FAST and call another one. I've been in that situation many, many times. Our Team SOG is that we will not allow the whole team to go to work until we are relieved. I will admit that in the past (a couple years back) there was times we would deviate from this SOG but now it just won't happen. There's been times we respond with 10-12 FAST personnel and we will let 5 or 6 go to work and keep the rest on FAST detail until we are relieved. The other, more important issue is the training of FAST personnel. As Captain Benz said, there are still Departments that will let the first members at the firehouse respond as a FAST, even if they have had no formal or continuing training on the subject. Last year we were requested Mutual Aid to a fire and we were unable to get enough trained personnel in FAST, so our Captain contacted 60 Control and we did not respond. It was the first time in almost 10 years of existence that we did this, and we didn't feel embarassed by it, our egoes aren't nearly as important as providing the best people for this most important of tasks. Lastly, so many people and so many departments think that once they take the FAST Course they are "done." This couldn't be further from the truth. Like all of our other "jobs" we have, we must constantly be training and adapting as needed to provide the best we can. Hope that helps, Chris.

I had no idea we could change the layouts! Very cool, I am thinking of sticking with "darkness."

Correct me if I'm wrong... But if a department / agency wants to apply for any grants thru the DHS / FEMA, don't all members of that agency require at least the I-100 & I-700? And aren't those that wish to participate in any statewide or inter-state Mutual Aid required to have it? I recall hearing that somewhere, not sure if it was true or not.

Thanks for the feedback Tommy and Walt. Our guys both have the ISO Course from the State as well as all their NIMS training and other courses. They asked me to help them develop some SOGs for them to basically outline what their responsibilities are and even setup some guidlines for the IC to follow. I just couldn't find anything on the net today. Thanks again!

What are they? What do they do? Can I put them into something, like a cause? I can't find any info on it - thanks.

They all meet at RWC's underground lair. Pay no attention to the half-naked guy in a hole rubbing lotion on himself.... Sorry, just watched Joe Dirt and it came to me...

I think most people know who I am by now. I don't worry about people forgetting who I am. But my Screen name means much, much more and I think if I changed it that people would forget the man I am paying tribute to.

Get well soon Jay!

As a BLS provider I would treat it for the worst-case scenarios (cardiac emergency, PE, etc.). and transport without delay. If ALS is there I would assume they would ride it in. From what I am reading and from seeing it both with a patient and with myself, I wouldn't be surprised if it's just acid reflux or even severe indigestion. It's amazing how differently the body responds to things from one person to the next. Good post!

That's 2271's car if I'm not mistaken. They've actually had that for close to a year now I think.

We're looking for someone that can teach an approved CEVO - Ambulance or similar course for our Ambulance drivers. If you can help out - PLEASE PM ME!!!! Thanks.

The stupid race interrupted my weekly Family Guy fix. Thanks alot.

EXACTLY! Most of my friends and I usually had a "DD" or walked to and from the parties we went to. Or, as time went on and we got older, we would sleep at someone's house to avoid driving altogether. Around here most parties were either in the woods or at someone's house - all within walking distance of home or someone else's house. I don't know what these guys do now, but it feels like we do more and more calls (including fatal MVAs) thanks to underage drinking. I'm not promoting it nor am I condoning it, but for the safety of everyone - DO NOT DRIVE DRUNK!!!!! (This applies to those of us "over" age too.)

Awesome shots! Thanks for sharing them.

I'm starting to like this guy. In this week's Gazette, apparently when he went to Police HQ to go about getting his vehicle from impound, he passed off fake insurance cards. They arrested him again, he paid his bail and has a court date coming up. Hopefully he moves here and runs for village board in a few years!

I was gonna say that looked a little big to be 3"...