Monty

When I was upstate, my department did away with the booster. What we ended up with instead was a small reel, like those for an air line, or extension cord - and we rolled 1" forestry hose on it. For those small brush fires, or other situations where you just need a bit more water than a 2.5 gallon can this worked well. Pretty easy to deploy - certainly easy to pack and takes up much less space than a booster reel.

Very cool video - what else would you expect from NYC Ironic they talk about being part of the family given the current lack of intake .... Actually, I thought one of the most interesting pieces was the back drop at the end. That looks like one cool dispatch center.

Interesting posts. Appreciate hearing the side from JimmyPFD. Maybe it's just me, but the health care system seems to have been at least somewhat out of control for my 15 years of experience with it. who doesn't complain about increasing premiums? Sure, when it's your loved one that's involved you want the best, no expense spared - but you don't want to pay for that (or even worse some unknown person) in your increased premiums. In the UK, the government has decided prolonging your life by 6 months is £15,000 according to this article from the New York Times Here's another (bit more dated) article on the value of life - http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=17494 I think it's reasonable to have some kind of watch dog and limits set (especially if government money is involved) - just has to be implemented very carefully. Lastly - like the CDL discussion - just because it's law, doesn't meant that anything is going to change overnight - or maybe ever.

I think it is a New York thing, (home rule ), not just WP (meant) WC. In many ways I think you are better off getting on the job in Ct, or maybe NJ (haven't looked there though). Ct seems a lot less bothered about residency, although some places have other Ct requirements - like EMT, FF2 etc. The other thing is that the state does the exam across the state on the same day - so you could block that day off and now start seeing which municipalities are testing.

Thanks to you and the rest of your crew. Great topic for next year - especially seeing the video about "premature ventilation" Tried looking for that clip but couldn't find it on google - anyone do any better? Not the same but one heck of a PPV fan ... Personally, I'm going to be grabbing a (metal) pike pole a lot more often .... Monty.

Hi, What options do I have to renew my EMT-B certification? I think it expired around 2003. I'm not currently with an FD that runs EMS, but for a few reasons I think it would be good to have a current certificate. I saw the announcement below, but I suspect that is only for current EMTs - can anyone speak to that? Can I still challenge the EMT recert? I know I'd need to brush up on the practical skills, and I could review the material for the writtten. Incidentally, I don't especially want to fork out the several hundred dollars I usually see for the courses for non-members of EMS agencies, so if there is an option to avoid that it would be nice EMTB_CME.PDF Thanks - Monty.

How many systems have 'fly-cars'? Don't see those being used for transport - sure you can carry more equipment, but how much does a medic need for 90% of calls? O2, AED, some meds? as others have said, the motor bike is quite effective - especially in congested traffic.

From the secret list: Seems pretty significant - I know FDNY is a massive organization, but this is a lot of equipment and manpower. Hopefully they wont actually be laying off any Firefighters.

Neat video on how things used to be done: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jas0EjOV0Gs - We've come a long way from this (I hope).

RIP, brothers. Best Wishes to those all affected by this tragedy. It's got to be unbelievably hard for them.

Third picture down, you can see the cab of one in the top left corner - it probably drove about 15 yards from the firehouse ramp - if that .....

In fact the Hahn was used from the firehouse ramp for a while!

Not as easily - but undoubtedly YES!! Obviously on a much smaller scale but there have been multi-county responses that worked pretty well (from my understanding). Yes people would be 'stranded' longer, EMS facilities would be stretched but it would all come together on the day. Might have to think outside the box, use of ice rescue teams, long lines, military / coast guard resources. Don't get me wrong - it would certainly be one heck of a challenge for the AHJ ....

There were boat loads of survivors fortunately .... you could see them on the emergency slide / rafts. Looks like most were evacuated to NY Waterway ferries. Apparently there are 3 NYPD helicopters on scene and looks like a small fire boat was on scene fairly quickly, and a larger one on scene now. Most of the plane is underwater now.

One thing that has changed over the last 10, 15, 20 years or whatever I'm sure is that the average age of death has increased, certainly health care costs have risen in general, combined with the time that people are living longer, its not surprising that this subject is being reviewed. As has been stated, before anyone in the system keeps the same terms - this applies to new hires, who should know what they are getting themselves into. I forget the exact details, but there were stories about GM and retiree benefits that 25% or some significant amount of each car goes to retiree benefits. They are actually looking at getting their benefits modified. There are very few private corporations now that give pensions that allow people to collect after 20 years and in their 40's - and I do know people in this situation (My only grudge is that I wish in my 20's I went in this direction .....). On another note, being nearly 40 - I do wonder if I took a career position how I'd be fairing in my 60's as a front line FF. Although, there are other positions like Driver, Fire Prevention, Investigation that are physically less demanding that might be more appropriate for someone of that age. Monty.

I looked at taking the test in other states. Connecticut offers a lot, but they seem to be fairly rigid about requirements in that you need to belong to a Connecticut department, or have a mutual aid agreement and (regularly) respond in to Ct, such as Vista or Banksville. Pennsylvania also offers National testing and seems to be more amenable to anyone with the appropriate qualifications taking their test - saying that FF2 for them seems to be more involved than the pre-requisites for NY. Also, I do think the Academy is fairly flexible about taking multiple tests together. when I took FF1, most people were lined up to take FF2 the next day (they even graded the FF1 test that afternoon to make sure they were eligible to take FF2. Monty.

Are you doing 1 & 2? Any chance of having others join your test?????

Thanks for that JR, that's useful info. doesn't the Stafford act affect inter state mutual aid? I know there is EMAC that is also part of interstate mutual aid as well. Normally, these things are initiated by the Governor - given that DC is not part of a state, I don't know who would request this kind of help. The Mayor? The President? It certainly seems that this clears the way for interstate mutual aid ambulances, law enforcement or whatever. Sometimes, you just can't win ..... laid in to for being slow to react, laid in to for trying to be proactive .....

Excellent Choice. Good Job & Congratulations!!!

Saw it was on the way back down. A local station was $2.04 Thursday, today it was back to $1.99

Hopefully a once in a lifetime event for all of those involved - though for some of them probably not. Seems like it was handled very professionally - apart from maybe the bystanders on the bridge P.S. who was that wearing their ANSI vests? They were certainly a lot more visible than the other folk

Using this as a learning experience - what could have been done to mitigate this problem? (to be specific the issue with the sprinklers) I have several ideas, but I'll see what thoughts others have.

RIP Lt. Kelly. Best wishes to the rest of the crew and loved ones of all those involved.

Great job by Greg and YFD - I thought the lohud story itself was pretty good. I have a question though. Why is a FF with 11 years being laid off? And not someone that has just joined the dept? I feel bad for anyone that is laid off - but it has got to be easier on a newer /younger guy. I guess the city saves more money with an experienced firefighter .....

From the secret list ... One of the things that Chief Goldfeder repeatedly talks about is doing what you can - with what you have. We're not super heroes. If you only have 4 members, you are not going to suppression, search, vent - using risk management you have to decide what can be done. And, perhaps more importantly, what can't be done.