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Stratford did have 2 Compacs - one was running as Engine 2 while the other was running as Engine 3. Differences in spotting features was one had the round flashers while the other had squared-off quad headlights and flashers. At the time, the Squrt was Engine 11 out of HQ (had the Pierce Arrow), Engine 1 was the Maxim, and Engine 4 had the Pierce Arrow pumper. Spares were Engine 10 (ALF Century), a slightly older ALF (Kept up at 4co.) and an old Maxim Snorkel I seem to recall being stored up there as well. Anyone know where the old snorkel went? -Jim

After looking at the Caprice, if Chevy can build a durable, reliable and quality car, then it may blow the doors off the Ford (and I am a devout Ford man).....RWD, V8, 355 HP and it may outrun the Ford V6 in the MSP tests. Time will tell and I hope Ford doesn't let me down. As for the front wheel drive design, any of the local departments that tried front wheel drive systems moved away from them quickly...they just didn't hold up to the heavy duty beating most cops put on the cars (justified or otherwise...lol) Also, curious to see how the MPG ratings go for all the vehicles.

Not sure about the history in other venues, but the Dave Matthews concerts in Hartford, CT have drawn large fights, riots, etc (all in the parking lots afterward) and is a nightmare event for all the local agencies. It doesn't surprise me such a large mobilization was planned for an artist whose concerts are ridden with such amounts of incidents.....

Sent you a PM.... Thanks, Jim

If there is anyone familiar with the Wallingford FD, can you please drop me a PM? They are currently hiring and I have some questions about the department. Thanks! -Jim

From the news video, it looks like it has the "all steer" system....is that the case with this? I know there have been anecdotal stories of crashes in the past from the system.

I'm not a Stamford firefighter, but agree the Springdale Chief's constant actions are embarrassing....he drove away any good, competent volunteers and if he didn't have the career SFRD crew there calls would go unanswered in Springdale regularly...he and his cadre of minions need to go if Springdale has any chance of surviving as a volunteer department.

It's a nice idea, a way to spread out resources...but will be quite taxing on the 911 providers if not done right. In CT, we have the walk-in centers...sorry, it's not a true ER unless they have overnight beds, an OR and the true complement of hospital facilities on site, even if there are ER docs and RN's there. In my PSA, we go there frequently...adding more calls to an overly busy day. When it's closing time, we get called for EVERYTHING, and the volume of needless emergency transports is amazing. It can be done well if there are dedicated private service transport units on site or dedicated to the facility to take out the critical and routine patients.

CT State Police does have a chopper available 24/7, although if I'm correct they may have to call the crew in after a certain hour. Last I heard, it was stationed out fo Brainerd Airport in Hartford. There's also Eagle 1, which is a "volunteer" PD chopper (an old Vietnam-era Huey) staffed by Stratford and Fairfield PD Officers/Pilots (Based out of Sikorsky Airport in Bridgeport) . Again, notification times and the availability of personnel play into it....and that's if they are requested. If I have any of the little details wrong, anyone feel free to correct them.

When I was at AMR, I referred to the system as the Road Hazard system. Having used that and a backup camera at my current employer, the backup camera is safer. Many problems came with the "scoring" and the Road Safety box. One was that the vehicle has to be in top notch shape, or that alarm that goes off behind your head will sound on turns into a parking lot, etc. Then, the alarm goes off during hard braking, making you less likely to stop suddenly before hitting the dog in the road, etc, because you get points taken off your record and you've been conditioned to not have the alarm sound. The backup button is a nuisance, but was bypassed easily. Many of the ambulance bays have a slight downward slope into the bay and we just put the truck in reverse and rolled back. A better system would be to combine a backup camera and a drive-cam system...at least there would be some form of way to backup and disqualify appropriate evasive actions.

Does anyone know which system Empress is going with? I've been using it for some time in Stamford and we use the WhisperFlo system with GREAT results. We also continue o nitrate and diurese our patients, so it's a synergistic effect. In my volley system we are looking at the Boussignac system; it uses just a special mask that attaches to thenipple on the portable regulator or flowmeter. It's easy and non invasive....hope they like it!

In my region, you aren't going to nasally intubate a head trauma. The only reasons for a nasal intubation (clenched jaw, conscious CHF pt, etc) were pretty much removed once we had full RSI given to us. Even with a severe facial issue, you generally have compromise of the airway, and go for a surgical cric. or quick-trach. DOn't get me wrong, there's a place and time for a nasal intubation, but it seems that in my area the pharmacology can help eliminate the need. About the jumping in, unless it's someone you know and work with on a regular basis in your own system, that's a no-no. As the first medic, you own that scene, and as they say it "rolls downhill". If the other medic makes a poor decision, then you also own part of it. A not so good scenario.

On the other hand, I stress to patients that going by ambulance WON'T mean you get in quicker unless you are really quite sick..any "minor ache or pain" gets sent by the charge nurse to the waiting room to start the process as a walk in. Whether it's the father who called the ambulance for his 7 year old with a fever instead of getting the script he was given by his MD filled, or the cough for a week, or basically anything that's not in need of an immediate MD assessment, the ambulance won't save you a lot of time here.

Any info on how the new Pierce Arrow XT is holding up at R1? Knowing what kind of beating those rigs get and how the past two generations weren't favorites, I'm curious to see if the Pierce is holding up much better. Also, how do the guys like working off it? -Jim

The city of Stamford has a contract with HME/Ahrens Fox...not sure how long its for or the details, but all the city-purchased equipment has been from them the past couple of years. With the exception of a couple of rigs (TOR E64 and I think the Long Ridge Tanker) that were purchased by the departments with grant money, the city is no longer giving the volley dept's money for apparatus, but instead buying them for the dept's and keeping title to them.