Remember585

L M F A O!!!!!! Almost as funny as the hornymanatee.com site!

For the amount of people that advocate blue or even amber warning lights, there is also a similar number of people (including me) that feels warning lights should be turned off in most cases. If it is a day time incident it isn't going to make much difference. Night time, however, if we setup a safe and approriate sized working area with apparatus in a well-placed blocking position we can help prevent accidents. In addition, scene lighting aimed towards the work area and around the apparatus so approaching vehicles can see them helps a great deal. Setup signs 1/4, 1/2 or even a mile ahead of time to warn motorists. Don't park one rig with all of it's flashing lights on with a three flare trail thinking you're safe. YOU'RE DEAD WRONG! If I'm not mistaken also, certain versions of LEDs in blue are almost impossible to see in daylight, right? I remember reading something and I can't find it again. I said it earlier, I would like to see FD and EMS get the permission to use blue to the rear too, but I think we have to be smart and stop thinking a warning light or 20 warning lights is going to save our asses. Look at the photo below and take notice of what color really stands out. At this scene, once the sun went away, we turned off the warning lights on the rig and used the 4000 watts of floodlights we spent the money on. PD loved us (if even for 4 hours, we'll take it ) (Ignore the body in the center median.)

Most Medics are good and even great. Some....well....you know. It doesn't apply to just Medics though. There's plenty of EMTs that suck. I always tell people I'm not a great EMT but I can write a damn good PCR.

They also have a rear-mount Tower Ladder (TL-6) which is on an ALF Metropolitan cab....I think. Everything else is on commercial Ford or similar chasis. Here's a newer Engine: (Courtesy of WCDES) Here's the Rescue: (Courtesy of x635) And Tower Ladder 6: (Courtesy of x635)

If you wait they can be sent to another incident, go out on a training mission, come out of service for routine maintenance or get sent on an inter-facility run. If you think you may need them, call for them. I think you answered yourself. TIME TIME TIME. If called when needed (again, training on their resources will help) they can and HAVE MADE A DIFFERENCE. I see the same thing too, don't worry. But if these people would take just an hour and a half to sit in a STAT outreach then they may understand how they operate and how the hysteria can be left behind. If your dispatcher is getting sufficient and good information from the scene then they should relay it to responding units. A smart responder will start out resources as they feel fit based on dispatch info and knowledge of the area. For example if you get a call for a rollover on an Interstate, chances are the MOI is greater then a rollover in a parking lot. (Unless it's a Mall on the holidays....) I remember the first time we called STAT - it was one of their first calls. I think 50 members showed up and a crowd from the public near 150. Now, if we call them (we haven't in a while) nobody really seems to care, it's almost routine. Our personnel don't get amped up simply because they have been trained by Statflight and understand how they function. (For the record we could of drove to the ER, but ALS wanted the chopper). Abuse of Medivac does happen, some Medics can't do their jobs and call them, some Chiefs think because its a pin they're needed, but that's a different issue I ain't touching!

No disrespect, but I have to argue that, at least in Westchester. The majority of the time in WESTCHESTER (can't speak outside of the county anymore) if it is on Standby it is launched. 636 Said it best, time is saved on the whole when you give the Medivac crew a heads-up - just like putting a Mutual Aid EMS or FD unit on standby. It's a real shame that more agencies don't host or participate in a Stat-Flight outreach program once in the while. Not only would they be able to explain their capabilities, but they can enlighten all on what they prefer / hate. Would take some of the guessing out of what they can and can't do that so many people are guilty of. As for incidents on the Sprain - never had any part of one other then behind the scenes, but I know how bad the traffic snarl becomes on any Westchester highway when there is an accident, specifically during rush hour. If Air 1 can go from WMC, plop down, make the pickup and land at WMC in less time then ambulances can fight the traffic - go for it!

Photoshop?!

I don't think putting "DPW" in the maltese cross on this car is any more disrespectful (to those of us that try and be professional) then "Absolut Firefighter," "Co-Ed Naked Firefighter" or anything similar that people piss away money on. The maltese cross, or any cross that is similar gets used in all kinds of logos and designs. Off hand I remember seeing it used for Harley Davidson, Tony Hawk and several bands products. Does the public even know what it is there for? Do we as firefigters even know the history behing the maltese cross? Joe Public isn't paying attention to that vehicle and it's lettering. Just like nobody in our community cares if the Ambulance says VAC or EMS on it. As a person in the fire service and someone who grew up around it, I too think of the maltese cross as our "bat signal." But don't assume the public does, unless they need us or we do something to annoy them we really don't exist!

Cool shots Tim! Hopefully one day I'll get down to DC, never been there.

This is exactly why I turned down that challenge with Patrick Swayze....

I'm going out on a limb here, but I am guessing that AAA provided some of the things needed to outfit this rig?! Good luck with it Matt & NWPFD!!!

Trauma74: Your rigs in Chester, the twins we had pics of here I think, have blue lights, right?

Been holding off on talking about this, but now I have the time to explain some things. The Croton FD has provided EMS to the Village of Croton, the unincorporated areas of the Town of Cortlandt we are contracted to cover and Mutual Aid to our neighbors for over 50 years. Like any other agency the call volume has increased quite a bit and the amount of time per call has also increased due to many factors including ALS intervention, traffic congestion, etc. In 2006 CFDEMS was requested over 600 times. The CFD Ambulances are staffed by personnel from the five fire companies with a primary responsibility falling upon our Rescue Company. In an attempt to attract EMS-Only personnel, the CFD created a "Medic" membership classification in the early 90s. This has brought in some personnel but many have vanished for various reasons. Of those reasons, one that is heard often is that EMS-Only personnel have been asked and sometimes "pressured" into assisting the Rescue Company with Fire Police and other fire department responsibilities that these people want no part of. Over the last few years we have had a serious decline in the number of EMTs responding to calls. In many of these cases the personnel are also vital members of the FD and have begun to feel burnt out between their FD responsibilities and assisting with EMS. Let's face it, most fire calls take only minutes to handle where some EMS calls pull you away from your day for an hour and a half. It's not so much that those of us that do EMS in Croton don't want to do it, we are just getting tired of doing it and waiting for some "new blood" to step up and help. We have discussed for some time our options and we feel that seperating EMS from our Fire Department may benefit everyone involved. We can finally recruit people for EMS only with no FD affiliation at all. We can elect Officers with EMS training that we have lacked. We can have a seperate and more beneficial budget for EMS - another thing we have lacked. We can implement policies and procedures that have been non-existing since day one due to old-school FD personnel with no EMS experience controlling it. And, in what I feel is the most beneficial thing, if we find we can't get it done with volunteer personnel then we can take the money we make thru patient billing and pay someone to do it. As an FD we can not bill nor can we hire anybody. Do I think we need to hire someone? Tough question which has some variables. The people are there to get the rigs out 95-98% of the time and don't because of the problems mentioned above. I hope that with the new "Department" and the potential momentum of a new organization we can re-ignite that passion to help our community that we once had. The bottom line is that our community, like all others, deserves appropriate, well-trained, professional care in a timely manner. This is the biggest move we have made in my 15 years with the Department to help that cause. Only time will tell.

We did with the Mack when fitting the LDH was tough. With the new Seagrave we have it laid like normal to fit the 1350' we carry.

Some agencies have switched the names on their rigs from "VAC" to "EMS" because they have paid personnel. If you look at Peekskill they started that with the first one of their rigs with the current lettering scheme. Ossining has "Ossining Volunteer Ambulance" on one side and "Ossining Ambulance" on the other. I am told it is because they have paid and volunteer, but who knows if that's true. I like EMS but if you are officially recognized as a VAC or FD then you have to do what the law says.

In your case with Millwood, as in many cases, the same tones are transmitted at the same time on 46.26 & 33.96. To answer your question, if you happen to have two pagers with one being on each frequency, then yes, both will activate at the same time.

I would like to commend those that were involved in the planning and execution of the MCI Drill today in Buchanan. I, and all of us from Croton, had a great time and I am pretty sure all of us walked away with some new found knowledge. Units that participated: Cortlandt EMS: 8811, 8812, 8813, 88B1, 88B2, 88B3, 8805 Croton FD*EMS: 55B2 Peekskill EMS: 75B1 Garrison EMS: ? Mohegan EMS: ? Verplanck FD*EMS: 83B1 Cortlandt Regional Paramedics Buchanan FD: 2551, 2552, 2553, E161, R26, U12 Verplanck FD: 2492, 2493, E126, R42, Bus Montrose FD: 2271, 2272, 2273, E121, R51 Croton FD: 2081, E119, R18 State Police: Multiple members Buchanan Police: Multiple members Westchester County Police: Bomb Squad Westchester County Sheriffs Westchester County Emergency Services: Car 2, Car 5, Battalion 10, 614, Field Com

A post-drill review is supposedly being worked on, but I have no idea when we'll see it. I know we have discussed the things that we felt needed working on and the things we leaned back at the firehouse. I'll share that as soon as I have more time to do so, probably tonight at work...

I've said this since day one and will stick to it - let the PDs use blue or any color they want to make it safer for them. All we need to do now is to get the State to allow the use of blue warning lights in the rear of fire and EMS vehicles. We need to do something because the typical red and amber we have in the back doesn't seem to grab anyone's attention.

Instructor I and working on my Couch Potato I.

WANTED: Photos and/or video from this drill. Thanks.

Another quality Texron job?!

You sinner.... Happy 25th Mike, I guess the party started over the weekend, 'cuz we didn't see ya at the big MCI drill Saturday!!! Now, if you're 25 that would me I'm almost....oh God....we'll leave it at that. Have a good one!!!!!

I read that article, with that said.... IS IT ON YOUTUBE YET?!

That truck was also insured by Peekskill as a PD vehicle, if memory serves.