DRD

A question for those familiar with the system, how could two people with the same grade on the exam be ranked differently? DRD

I arrived on scene very shortly after the 10-75 was transmitted but as always I would encourage any VMFD member to give us a report on this incident. Fire involved about 1/3 of a 3 story residential building. Heavy smoke could be seen upon approach. Heat had melted the siding of exposure B, but further extension was quickly brought under control. Fairly extensive roof operations using ground ladders. The house was not accessible to L21 despite his best efforts due to the building being behind another building as well as a narrow street. Numerous handlines were stretched and operated including at least one 2 1/2 to control the main body of fire on the B side. The crews did a good job at keeping a substantial amount of fire from consuming the remaining part of the residence. Unfortunately no digital camera, so no pics. I did however take regular photos and I may be able to scan and submit them later in the week. Also FYI, E42 is back in service.

Breakfast I have to agree with EMTBravo on the Fountain Diner in Hartsdale. It is quite a distance from my house so I dont get there a lot. Lunch is Anthonys Deli on the Mamaroneck Village and Harrison border. Biggest sandwiches and rated #1 deli in Westchester.

We had a local hardware store donate what must have been like a hundred smoke detectors. We distrubuted them at a fire prevention day we held in conjuction with True Value Hardware and at our annual Halloween parade which is always a huge success. We got a local radio station involved and told people to come down. People love free stuff. As for the free smoke detectors, he was way overstocked and he figured he could use the space in his storeroom, plus he is an all around nice guy. The pizza idea is interesting and wonder if that would work in all communities...

Once again, we seem to agree while at the same time disagree.. I agree 100% with ewsmith70 in that we must stick together and contiue to lobby for more funds. The funds are for PPE and Firefighter Safety, but we would not have this money if it wasn't for the threat of terrorism. Just to repeat what I have said before, we must work together to assist each other in achieving success in the Fire Act Grant and related programs. We have discussed this topic of the AFD grant to a point where we are simply stating the same questions and answers over and over. Lets stop arguing, because we will never agree on why the AFD got as much as they did. I have my opinions and others people who post have theirs. That, again, is the purpose of the forum. But, we have disussed this long enough and it might be time to start discussing other topics related to this thread, such as the funding program in 2004 and how to help each other recieve these funds. Thank you all for the discussion on this topic, and once again, thank you EMTBravo for providing a forum in which emergency services personnel can discuss these matters... DRD

I am glad that we have a site like EMTBravo.com to have discussions like these. The site is great way for members of emergency services to express their thoughts and opinions. I for one am not taking anything anybody says personally, and I hope that nobody else is either, because that would just defeat the purpose of the forum. I appreciate the fact that people reply to my posts and spark further discussion. Back to the Fire Act Grant... I agree 100% that if you dont apply, dont expect any money. The federal government is not here to provide handouts to needy fire department that won't ask for help. As for "favoritism", politics is politics. I know very little about the Albany Fire Dept. and their relationship with the Governor's office. Therefore, I will no longer speculate as to what effect that relationship may, or may not have had, on the size of the grant. YES, the money comes from the feds, but politics is politics. On to turnout gear... Once again, long term planning is key in every fire department. You get what you pay for. Its the same with fire apparatus. In most cases, you buy cheap you get cheap. Upon purchase of turnout gear a fire department should have a long range plan in place based on the life expectancy of the product, just like we do with fire apparatus. Money should be annually earmarked to cover another turnout gear purchase when the time comes. Yes, we certainly are in very harsh economic times, and we feel that in my department when it comes to our communications and fire apparatus. Perhaps, since we are beating this subject to death, we can begin to discuss the best ways to manage department financials and grant program guidance. We are all firefighters here with different opinions. Lets use this passion to help one another get ahead....Thanks. DRD

Lets clear something up... I am not bitter that my dept. did not receive any funds. There are many other departments around the state that really need the money, much more so than my dept. I have no doubt that Albany needs money also. Once again, too much went to one community. I honestly think that half a million is unnecessary for a single dept. Like EMTBravo said, nobody should depend on grants. If the AFD actually needed half a mil for turnout gear and equipment, then it sounds like they are dependent upon a grant to keep their firefighters safe. Turnout gear and related equipment should be in a departments budget, so you can purchase what you can afford every year, and not become dependent on outside funds. Long range planning is essential to keep your resources up to date. But, like Chris 498 said, we dont know their exact situation. And I am not "bashing" anyone. Just questioning why a single municipailty would receive that amount when many other municipalities need money. Every little bit helps...

Another YFD test... Whats goin on? Did the list get thrown out or expire?

That is a lot of departments that received grants. I dont know if u have viewed all the lists, but did Texas have the most recipients? I briefly looked over the NJ list. That is where I found the highest I have seen so far, 518,000 for the Elizabeth, NJ FD. I believe that there is a big port in Elizabeth, I dont really know much about New Jersey. Perhaps they started a HazMat Team or other special operations team. Regardless, I still think that no municipality should get that much when there are so many departments in need also.

I think that one weekly 10-3 is sufficient. Currently we page out twice a week for meetings and drills as a reminder. For me, that would be enough of a pager test. But, we also currently do a weekly pager test on top of that. I do think that it is excessive and perhaps should be done away with. I think that this discussion could tie in with our discussion of text paging. I think a widespread use of text paging devices would reduce the amount of traffic on our emergency frequencies. In addition to being used as an additional page for an emergency call, it could be used for all of our non-emergency notifications, such as meeting and drill reminders, special detail calls, parade call to quarters, reporting the passing of a member, etc... How many times have you been cut off because of a non-emergency communication on 46.26? With that in place, each department would be allowed one weekly pager/radio test at a designated time. Of course this would all take money that we don't have, but im just putting this out there anyway to spark further discussion...

I doubt very highly that anyone in the AFD would be able to convince me that they needed nearly half a million dollars in federal grant money. When I viewed the list of grant recepients and how much each department received I could not recall a single department that even came close to the AFD. If Albany needed nearly 500,000, maybe the state and the federal government could have given them 250 and told them to try again next year for the rest. I think members of some of the smaller departments all over the state would agree that they needed some of that money, and that much should not have been allocated to a single department. Maybe the AFD had an advantage when applying, I dont know for sure. It certainly may be a coincidence that they got the most out of all the NYS applicants. Despite the fact that there are numerous high profile terrorist targets in the City of Albany, I strongly believe that some of that money should have been allocated elsewhere. There are alot of departments in this state that have a need for money, turnout gear, apparatus, etc. and got nothing. I dont think it was fair to give that much to one department.

Check your mailboxes...the results are in. I got mine today

I was on a list of email addresses that received this notice. I thought some people may be interested. If you are, email this woman right away. She is very nice and helpful. The Westchester Emergency Volunteer Reserves (WEVR) program is looking for instructors to teach classes in emergency preparedness and response. Please note, these are paid positions; you will also be paid for attending the required Instructor Training course. If you have experience in any of the areas below and are interested in becoming an instructor,please: 1) Fill out the attached Application form and fax it as soon as possible to: 914-948-3032, or mail it to: The Volunteer Center - 470 Mamaroneck Avenue-Suite 204-White Plains, NY 10605 - ATTN: WEVR (or call 866-VOL-CALL) AND 2) Attend the Instructor Training course on Wednesday, March 3 and Wednesday, March 10th - 6:30pm-9:30pm at the Westchester County DES Training Center - 4 Dana Road, Valhalla, NY Job Description and Requirements: The Westchester Emergency Volunteer Reserves (WEVR), a program being coordinated by Westchester County's Department of Emergency Services and The Volunteer Center, provides free training to volunteers in emergency preparedness and response. WEVR volunteers may be called upon to assist should a large-scale disaster occur in Westchester County. WEVR Instructors will conduct training sessions in all or some of the following areas: - An Introduction to the WEVR Program · Disaster Preparedness · Basic First Aid and Triage · Fire Safety, Hazardous Materials, and Decontamination · Fire Suppression Overview and Exercise · Terrorism Overview & Biological Agents and Smallpox · Disaster Psychology · Incident Command System (ICS) · Light Search and Rescue Operations Overview and Exercise Instructors must also: - Thoroughly review the course materials including the Participant Manual, PowerPoint Presentation and any other materials deemed appropriate - Assist with sign-in and registration and/or take attendance and collect attendance sheet - Complete and submit various forms and reports involved in training programs - Perform other duties as assigned REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, ABILITIES, AND ATTRIBUTES: Instructors are expected to have thorough knowledge of the WEVR material and basic emergency preparedness and response skills. Instructors should also have the ability to present ideas clearly and effectively; possess good speaking and presentation skills; possess good judgment, leadership and tact; and be in physical condition commensurate with the demands of the position. SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS: Basic First Aid, Triage, and other Emergency Medical modules will be conducted by Paramedics, Emergency Medical Technicians, Medical Doctors, or Nurses (certified or licensed by New York State). Fire training personnel must possess a certificate as a New York State Fire Instructor Level One. MINIMUM TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE: Prior Instructor experience in Fire training, First Aid, Triage, EMS, Healthcare, CERT, or related curriculum, as appropriate. If you have any questions, please contact: Marianne Partridge Program Manager Westchester Emergency Volunteer Reserves evr@volcenterwest.org 914-948-4452 (x316) The Volunteer Center 470 Mamaroneck Ave White Plains, NY 10605 1-866-VOL-CALL ***************************************************** If you know someone else who may be interested, please forward this e-mail to them - Thank you!

Does anyone know where I can find recorded audio from FDNY? I have been looking online and I have only found live audio. I would like to listen to some major fires that occurred in the past. If anyone knows of any sites please let me know...Thanks DRD

Where can I find the NYS Laws on what is required of career and volunteer firefighters? I am very curious... Please let me know, and if possible provide a link to the text. Thanks... DRD

Date: 2/12/04 Times: Began posting at 19:40 Location: SUNY Purchase Anderson Hill Road Purchase Frequency: 46.26 (453.00) Ops switched to 46.14 Units Operating: Purchase FD, Units from West Harrison, 19:40 - E63(PCFD) requested t/s for manpower 20:04 - 2391 Requests Rescue 40 to the scene E61 to relocate to Purchase HQ 20:35 - E63 10-2 Description Of Incident: Structure Fire IC Reports fire knocked down (19:45) Battalion 15 on scene Writer: DRD I did not catch the initial dispatch. If anyone did, please update.

I am possibly in the market for a new scanner and would like some advice. I would like to purchase something in anticipation of the county radio system being put into effect. Will I only need trunked or digital also? Any possibility we will need digital down the road for FDNY? It needs to be mobile so I can listen in my car and I would like it to be as low profile as possible, so the cops dont see it...lol. I have noticed that the TrunkTracker is on sale at Radio Shack for $200, down from $260. I have also seen some used scanners on ebay. The scanner I have now is that popular bearcat that everybody has, but I have strong interference from my car and I was literally unable to pickup anything but static. Anybody know anything about this type of problem? Any thoughts or recommendations will be greatly appreciated...Thanks all DRD

Ill check it out. I currently have my old handheld clipped to the sun visor. It is the only place in the front of the car with no interference. I purchased a glass mount antenna and that boosted the signal fairly well. I will check out the scanners you recommended. Thanks.... DRD

If anyone can provide information regarding i-page or any other feature that can be used with nextels to put into place an alpha paging network on the local level, please contact me asap. My dept wants to explore the option, but cant switch to 60 control. we thought of using a mass email in outlook using nextel phone numbers, or nextel online, but it all involves having someone doing the work when a 10-75 is transmitted or mutual aid requested. It would only be for "serious" incidents and dept messages and not every call. Any update on that local company that may do that? Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks... ddelborgo@hotmail.com

No comment... enough said. lol

How many hours is NYS EMT-B these days and how long does it usually take to complete the course (2 months, 3 months, depending on how many days a week u take it...)? I have always wanted to pursue that certification but it is so hard to work, go to school, be a volunteer firefighter, and take an EMT class. Would CFR-D be a better route for a firefighter who just wants to help out but not really be a full time gung ho member of an ambulance corp...? What is really the difference both in hours of training and what you can legally do at a scene?

I just wanted to take this opportunity to express my disgust in the fact that the City of Albany got $491,274 according to the list on Firehouse.com for Firefighting Operations and Firefighter Safety. If this is correct, and not a typo, all fire departments in the state should be appauled. A coincidence that the Governors office is protected by the AFD, and they got nearly half a million in Homeland Security funds...I think not. The most I have seen up until now has been nearly $200,000. Those Depts. in Westchester and Nassau are at much greater risk and are in need of additional funding, Not Albany.

What is the deal with County i-page over Nextel? Do u have to be dispatched by them full-time to get that service? The Town of Mamk FD gets paged on 33.96 by 60, Re-paged by thier paid staff, and i-paged by 60. Its a lot but the Nextel text message is great when they are out of pager range. Any other way to get this service other than the county?

For those Departments in Northern Westchester with established FAST, we here in Larchmont are in the process of forming a team. Much of the basic training is complete and we are assembling equipment and planning drills. I was hoping that you could possibly share with me any SOP's, equipment lists, deployment procedures, member policies, and similar items that could also be applied to our department. This site is a great way to network. Thanks. EMAIL: ddelborgo@hotmail.com

E35 and TL7 are OOS