Monty

I'm sure many who have taken the FAST training or are well read on the topic - proably most people here, are aware of the Phoenix On Deck concept. This makes a lot of sense to me. Unfortunately, here in the lower hudson area, I don't believe it is currently practical. Given many other discussions about trainging / fitness standards etc and the tradition of the fire service. Subsequently, given this background I don't see us getting everyone to this level. The FAST concept works well, it provides dedicated capable manpower and appropriate tools. I guess one point from my FAST training that I think should be kept in mind more is that you should have another FAST team on site before putting one to work. Frequently, it's put the team to work then dispatch the next team ....

Date: March 21st, 2006 Time: 16:51 Location: Golden Crust, Ontario Street Departments: Cohoes, Troy, Green Island, Watervliet Description: Bakery fire rages for several hours involving 4 departments Links: http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story...ANY&BCCode=HOME

Unfortunately, it's not my County I happened across the web site while I was looking for training courses in adjoining counites (incidentally, Rockland seems to offer the most).

I've seen Holmatro's BCT 3120 at a show. Nice piece of equipment. It also has the benefit of using standard DeWalt batteries. I think it was supposed to run 10-15 minutes. Talking to the rep we were discussing tactics and mentioned that you do need to work differently to be most effective. For example if you know you are spreading a door and making a roof flap when you need to reset the tool to reset your purchase point, maybe you can cut part of the roof while closing the blades to conserve battery power. I'd love to have something like this on my engine to pop a door instead of having to rely on the rescue to turn up. There is talk of my department getting the power hawk system (on another engine) which would be an improvement.

From Putnam County Bureau of Emergency Services My Company's qulaification for line officer is two years of active service - or a letter from all the current Line Offficers supporting the candidate! We have no requirements for interior other than a medical - that doesn't include a fit test. But that's another story.

What happens if the AHJ isn't bothered with the law? It seems that if the department isn't bothered, no-one else around here is (county / state etc). We've always done it this way, I'm still here, what's the problem! I wonder if the recruitment and retension issues are weighing on people's mind, lack of knowledge or something else?

Glad to see such an overwhelming response favoring the clean shaven policy. Now if only our local community departments or county(ies) would set a policy and stick to it. I'm also far from convinced about 'exterior' status. I know it is very common, but what about the MPO when the wind shifts and all the black stuff is blowing around the rig 100 yards or more away from the structure? What about the hazmat spill as someone mentioned? Now, if you read OSHA's Interpretation, anyone that responds to a suspected Hazmat incidents needs to be at least operations Pretty sure that requires a clean shaven face. However, I know of non-awareness firefighters responding to hazmat calls. Again, it would be nice to have an enforced policy - at least I'm not aware of one. These rules may be excessive, but there is a lot of thought that goes in to them. As mentioned, it's not just your life. It's the life of others, FAST or whoever, that may need to rescue you. It's the escalation of the incident because of the diversion caused. It's the workers comp payments, death benefits etc. The list goes on.

Not really wanting to stir things up, but do you guys have a policy on seatbelts? I know by my own experience many places don't and changing in the truck is the norm. Just a thought. Personally, I'm trying to use the seatbelts as often as I can, especially when certain drviers are behind the wheel

Interesting topic. Yes, the top cause of fatalities is medical (MI, CVA), the next is vehicle related, I'm sure we could do more training there. Anyone have any stats related to injuries though? How about ensuring that the current rules are enforced? How many departments don't follow the current minimums? I'm sure they're out there .... How many do the bare minimum OSHA/NYS PESH 8 hours? Fit testing 29 CFR 1910.134? Bloodborne Pathogen CFR 1910.1030, Hep-B vaccination? Hazmat training? If we could get the Departments / County / State to enforce what is currently out there would be a good start. I agree that having the ability to take more training would be great - but I think we should first look at the current situation. A previous department had basic courses that needed to be taken within one year as part of the mutual aid agreement within the municipality and the department had rules of at least 48 hours annual department training to be 'active'. I know places in Westchester that have active firefighters in their 80's living in Florida! Sure, acknowledge them for their service to the department, but are they really active? <soapbox begin>Unfortunately, we have 200+ years of tradition resisting even these basic things. I mean, if it's worked for 200 years with no incident command, accountability, mandatory training, why do we need it now ?<soapbox end>