JustSomeGuy

More ways then one to win. As long as the job gets done safely and effectively we are on the positive side. SFD looks to have done a great job, and everyone there seemed to work together, great combination of resources between all of the neighboring departments. I hope this will start a trend especially in that area, of working with each other. A lot of those departments minus yonkers, are under staffed and working with one another is a necessity. Again good job by all! *edited for typos

Is there anything in the IAFF bylaws that specifically says volunteers is not allowed? If so can you please show me? I am an union fire fighter, have never seen this though, I always hear a lot of cranky guys say how its a rival organization and blah blah blah...

WoW! really 9 chiefs cars!?! Can I be a chief? lol I am not picking apart your post, only thing I can tell you is IF they ever did go career, they could get rid of 8 chief cars, have riding Lts/capts. I always thought that if westchester did go all paid they could make every current fire house into a one eng/truck house, if your district has more then one house like a lot of us do then make those another 1 eng/ 1 truck house. Also a lot of vol. depts have way too much apparatus, a lot of time they have more gear, equipment, and apparatus then career houses, where I work some of our equipment is getting its wear and tear, while in the vol house they have tremendous amounts of brand new equipement locked away. EMTbravo staff, my personal opinion is that so far this thread has been going great, Unfortunately as you have stated its hard to keep everyone on the same page of an open calm discussion and not a bash fest, or defensive posts with a "you suck" attitude. Anyway Kudos to the admin

Just to add my two cents here: People have to realize that there are really two types of "Combo departments" 1.) Combination Department on paper 2.) Functioning Combination Department. My personal opinion is that there are a lot of jobs that really should be staffed 24/7 with a paid staff, not foremen, or janitors, but professional fire fighters who went through an academy. The volunteer force is thriving in some areas and thats great for them, but the moment the response time is increased from man power, the town should really look into some paid help. A paid staff with a few senior citizens who show up to direct traffic or to be on air outside of the building is not supplemental, more of a burden. The municipality loves these volunteers because its less salary they have to pay, while the citizens get sub par fire protection. I want this to stand out so: MY PERSONAL OPINION IS THAT EVERY TRUCK OR ENGINE SHOULD HAVE AT LEAST 4 PEOPLE ON IT, WETHER ALL CAREER OR VOLUNTEER. If you can't accomplish this your district is in trouble. What is a 2 man engine gonna do? I think that people also have to realize what Seth stated too about the towns and the city who are robbing the citizens of 24/7 fire protection. These local governements are spending millions of dollars, but yet not $1 to staff a fire house. How many dept heads do you see with a take home vehicle? How much money are the administrators making? I have a few friends that do the following, and a lot of them are great fire fighters, who I would go into any situation with, but the town is paying them a salary to be on the DPW, they should be paying those same people a FF's salary. I know a lot of volunteers are worried that paid guys will come in and ruin 100 years of a traditional fire house. Well tradition is the worst thing for the fire service, and these people do not realize is that it is them who could potentially have the jobs. Include a residency requirement and previous work with the local municipality and wham bam you could have a great job in one of the strongiest unions of the world.

Chris, could this be another example? Let me start of by saying I no nothing of air ambulance operations, nor do I mean to offend anyone. But roughly a year ago at the trench collapse in greenville, which had massive amounts of M/A, they airlifted the victim from central ave, in greenville. Wouldn't it have been easier to drive straight down central to White Plains Trauma center? I was always curious, I worked that day I didnt understand, then again I know nothing of those operations so who am I to say anything, but I admire all the pilots, keep up the good work

I went to chipolte in DC like 3-4 years ago, they are awesome. I haven't had one since then, there is another chain down there called Baja Fresh not as good as chipolte but a close 2nd place, they have really good salsa, but being as chipolte has been mentioned a few times I might make a trip down there sometime next week to enjoy one again.

to say non-emergency response is a lot clearer then respond with caution, that term will come back to bite us.

Not trying hijack this thread, but What does everyone do for the tips of the boots? They are constantly getting scuffed up and worn down, do you polish them with regular polish? is there some special treatment that has to go on? I know they make protectors for them... Just wondering what everyone else does?

All I can say is Bravo to those who made this happen, good job guys you made everyone proud, and most importantly the children will benefit. It's nice to see fire deparments giving back, especially when it extends beyond their district, again job well done!!!

There is a bar in syracuse, I believe its called "halligans," which has the cab of an American La France in it, also if my memory serves me correct Monroe, CT FD has a la france bar conversion

P.S. maybe this might help to: http://vincentdunn.com/dunn/newsletters/oc.../FDNYHP_16.html

very good responses so far, I also believe in the 5 minute rule, also in most new construction its not safe to operate on the roof, unless you are in or attached to the bucket. It is really scary to see these houses being built and selling for top dollar but the building expenses getting cheapier and cheapier. I think it was mentioned above but the best thing to do is know your district. Look at what is getting built, new apartments across the street from the the firehouse? New houses being built? New dormers added on? Isn't jacob burns creating a new theater? Get out there and do the walk throughs.

I am sure long island has several being setup for delivery

I am going to see this today, I can't wait!

Well, unfortunately I cannot answer your question. But I do know that someone who is 15 with a Drivers License, who moves to NY or any state where you have to be 16, the license was already issued and is valid. I would assume with EMT cert it's the same? Once the cert is issued, its issued. All though I know EMS is a touchy field, state cert, national cert, etc... Hopefully someon can answer your question, unlike I just did

I agree with you, but read the prior posts, and you see how quick everyone is to act. IMO this is the WORST THING TO DO! By killing Saddam, they are making him a MARTYR. Once he is dead this will only stir more radicals, resulting in more suicide attacks and any means necessary to make their point. By exiling him somewhere, or confining him to a small cell where he will never be heard from again, he will be forgotten and of no importance. I also have other opinions about Iraq, and our involvement, but I'll respect this thread and not post them here. Once they get Bin Laden and/or end the Arab Israeli conflict, then I'll celebrate.

We are still pushing for 24s, with the powers that be I don't think thats gonna happen

I thought the Double O was better as the Rolling Rock, The barking frog is good for taco tuesdays and Mill street panda (?) is amazing gourmet chinese food.

I like it, Its great to just view the page and not have to scroll all the way down.

That trump overpriced megastructure is responsible for a lot of the new hires. Think about how much they will pay in taxes.

I Agree that overuse of the airhorn is common in a lot of areas, but to the defense of that company Queens BLVD is an incredible dangerous raod to be driving on, 12 lanes total plus multiple part intersections, usual a couple of fatalities a year, it was one of the most dangerous roads in America, I understand your valid point, esp in westchester I get a headache listening to the whackers leaning on the air horn. Also generally my experience with the city guys is that they are so desensitized/deaf from the air horns. I know a few people who have legitimate hearing problems from the old roof mounted air horns.

Very important for every politician, city manager, civilians to read. Get the message out. Unfortunate but this is what happens when we close fire houses people. Its simiiar to playing Russian roulette.

70+, all I can say is get ready to use your ground ladders. IMO they are a poor quality rig, they might make the budget but I guarantee something was compromised. Get in touch with EW-FAC if you really want to learn more

Those squirrels freak me out!

If you are serious about getting on somewhere, don't listen to people who say don't bother. Yes it is highly unlikely that you will get that job w/o rsidency, but it is great to take these tests and only improve your ability to take them. If you only take one test, and never bother with anything else, then you probably won't do well. Yes most of the test are easy, the more you take the better you do. Also since we are on the subject of testing. Another important piece of advice, is to use ALL of the time that is alotted to you. Go over the test multiple times making sure you have read and understood the questions. After all one question can make or break you.