x152

Seth: Although I cannot tell you the year (Steve you are probably right on), this is an older unit for the MFD. All new Milford deliveries are now in RED (Engines, Trucks, and Rescue/Medic units). Most of the recent Fire units are from Smeal, not sure who is making the most recent Medic unit.

This type of case is unfortunately not new or isolated to the State of New Jersey. I am not sure what State law in New York or New Jersey allows, but Connecticut has a law that clearly gives a FIRE officer the sole authority to make this type of decision at the scene of an emergency. Ref: Connecticut General Statutes # 7-313e "The Authority of a Fire Officer at an Emergency".

The vast majority of the people who call the 911 center are taxpayers and 100% of them are CUSTOMERS. No matter what amount of compensation that you receive in your service (paid,vol., call), we should all remember who (and more importantly) WHY we are servicing/protecting/helping/etc. others. A wise Chief once told me "we do not decide what the emergencies are, the customers do....." Although there are plenty of times that my company responds to less than exciting requests for service, the person who was calling thought their problem was worthy of a second opinion (ours). Sometimes just our presence and and listening is all that is required, sometimes it is more.. As far as volunteers running 24/7/7....as a former resident of your area....I do not remember there being that type of constant activity....but then again I do work 42 hours (or more) per week for my employer and may have missed something.

As a current (part-time/multi-year) student at UNH, I would highly recommend the school. If your long-term goal is for a career in a municipal fire department as a Fire Fighter or Fire Officer, then you should consider UNH's Fire Department Administration program. Not to knock the other programs, but they differ from what will be most relevant in preparing you for your career. As someone has already recommended, a trip to the school to sit-in on lectures, speak with students or faculty, and visit the facilities would be a good idea. The downside of UNH is the cost, the tuition is high and can be a deterrent for some. Good luck.

Date: November 22, 2006 Time: 15:30 Location: Area of 200 Soundview Road Frequency: 46.060 Units Operating: Guilford Fire Units, State of CT Decon Trailer and Support Tractor, Connecticut DEP, Guilford PD, Mutual Aide Description Of Incident: MC308 Tanker Rollover with approx. 9000 gal. propane onboard Writer: x152 Guilford Fire units are operating at the scene of a tanker truck rollover on Soundview Road. The truck is reported to contain approx. 9000 gal. of liquid propane. Nearby residents and business' have been evacuated. A second tanker has been brought to the scene to load product from rollover tanker.

48 hours with the "dentist"........ ouch!!!!! Thats' a lot of drilling........ 24/72 is definitely better than "10/14" or the "3/3", but it is not an oasis of perfection (is there such a thing?) Like any change, there are pros and cons; but for the most part, a better way to go. Most of your State Associations (or any of the Locals who have been through a recent change) should be able to provide the materials and Power Point with the info.

got it now.....thanks for the clarification........ My offer for the boat just dropped to $750

Stamford T2 is a 1999 70' Sutphen tower (demo) that had the "bucket" removed prior to delivery in 1999. There was also a 500 gallon tank that was removed and replaced with a 300 gallon tank prior to delivery. It is presently being replaced with a 2006 HME (see photos on main page) and its fate has been undecided. The short ladder was not suitable for our needs, but may work well in the right community. And as stated above, a Sutphen is far from the quality of a Pierce.

What information do you have to support this statement? We have seen (and discussed at length on this board) this senseless video on several previous occasions. Your information would be the first time that we have learned that the two "heros" (shown entering) perished as a result of their "bravery" in saving the conflagration at the **FD former child safety prop house (also known to be vacant at time of fire). Previous information reported that the PPE protected these dopes from significant injury. Perhaps something has changed?

Your sources are pretty good (except for their taste in baseball), but BFD declined the offer for the 75' stick (it did have a bucket when it was originally purchased as a demo and removed prior to final delivery to Stamford). GFD has looked at the truck and it has been 'test-fitted' into their station, but no final word as of yet. GFD was on schedule for a new Engine 34, but was moved back when problems with the current SFRD E2 required its accelerated replacement. The 75' Sutphen would allow a temporary fix to Glenbrook's apparatus needs. L31 was in the mix as a reserve swap for the City and would be a fantastic replacement for the Mack/Hahn.

No, Engine 4 will continue to use the original 2003 HME. The long range plan for Station 4 is for it to be moved to the Magee Avenue Mechanical Division location (the Mech. Div. would be moved down the street to the new City garage). When the new Station opened, it would also house the Rescue apparatus and personnel. There is no time table for this and it could be several years off. The 95 Spartan General is back from accident repair and has returned to service as Engine 2, however is is lettered as E12 in anticipation for its pending reserve apparatus assignment. The new HME for E2 (identical to the recent E3 and E6) is under construction and may be here by year's end. The old T2 will remain in service for the next few weeks while training continues on the new rig. After that...?

The fate of the 1999 Sutphen quint is undecided at this time. There have been some offers to several other Stamford Fire Depts., but there have been no final decisions. The truck when recieved was an emergency appropriation to replace a very tired 1973 Maxim, that no longer had a usable aerial. The 99 Sutphen 75' quint was a demo that was almost immediately made available by the manufacturer. However, the 75' ladder has always been a problem with using the rig to its full potential (thus the reason for the recent replacement with the 109'). The Sutphen quint offers the benefit of a quick deploying elevated water stream, but was very ineffective as a climbing or rescue ladder.

The truck is unique in that the body was built by HME as part of their recent expansion into the "full" build Silver Fox line in the apparatus market. However, HME does not build the aerial. To my knowledge, there are few RK aerials in the area. They are used often by General/Rosenbauer apparatus (and several of the other smaller builders). Minneapolis (MN) has several that have recently entered into service as part of their latest generation rigs.

Well...which is it? You are not advocating that a Fire Department be stripped of manpower (also known as personnel/resources), but then you state that the Philadelphia Fire Department needs to shrink? I am confused? Or.... were you suggesting that the City of Philadelphia only hire shorter or smaller Fire Fighters in the future?

On a related note: 5 Waterbury (CT) Fire Fighters were injured early Sunday morning when their truck was rear-ended by a Honda sedan. The rig was just pulling up to the address when they were hit from behind. The occupant of the Honda was also transported (unknown the extent of injuries).

Here we go again.........same old.....same old.............. If my memory serves me....wasn't this post about the concern(s) of a member regarding what they thought was a very inappropriate T-shirt? Thought so....... I guess it is not a surprise that the usual malcontents have now attempted their distortion campaign in an attempt to deviate from the original content (must protect the guilty and stupid). Some brilliant minds have now chosen to enter the "who's a scab" debate when we should be talking about the "who's the idiot (or idiots) that would allow such a shirt to be made a worn at a town function." By reading the earlier posts, most responsible fire fighters (notice the absence of "man" or "guy", this is the 21st century) responded with the same disbelief and concern over the content of the shirts. But, somehow we have been driven into the baseless anti-union rhetoric by those who want to mask the real issue. Kudos boys, you have once again shown that no matter what someone who has the word "volunteer" in front of their name does, there must be some reasonable justification and the IAFF must be at fault (makes sense?) Oh wait.....here comes the line...... "I saw some anti-volunteer flyers that were distributed by the IAFF one time while at a convention somewhere [unknown]......." this only evens the score..... Nice try........it is going take a little bit more substance than that......... The reality is that a bunch of juvenile imbeciles thought they could be cute and/or cool with these shirts. I wonder if they put the same effort into training and response times (or are those issues not important?) "Yeah, but we sure got in a good dig at those PAID GUYS!" Fortunately, they only made themselves look like a bunch of idiots (in this case......a picture IS worth a thousand words). One really has to wonder what kind of Department/Administration would allow this type of attire? Sounds like a real "proud, strong, and healthy?" organization...... I only wonder if they had the same animosity towards african-americans, women, jews, muslims, agnostics, asians, latinos, etc....... if the Administration of this Fire Department would have also allowed their public desecration as well? Perhaps they are on the list for next year's shirts?

Woman Dies After Rescue Boat Sinks - << SPRINGFIELD, Vt. -- A Vermont woman died on Tuesday afternoon in what investigators said was a river rescue tragedy. Virginia Yates, 60, of Rockingham, Vt., was boating on the Connecticut River between Charlestown, N.H. and Springfield, Vt. Friends said Yates was injured when she was walking up a dock, missed a step and fell. Because the riverbank was so steep, the decision was made to take her to an ambulance by boat. A rescue boat from Cornish, N.H., with four people on board went and picked up the woman to bring her to an ambulance waiting downstream. The woman was strapped on to a backboard. During the transport, the boat began taking on water and sank. Yates disappeared into the water. "The boat swamped and the emergency personnel were unable to recover Miss Yates until some time later, and she's passed," said Sullivan County Attorney Marc Hathaway. There were no other injuries. The rescue boat remained underwater on Tuesday night about 200 feet from shore. Investigators raised the boat on Wednesday morning and were trying to determine why it took on water.>>

Jay 762- Tuff talk for a guy who drives a car that looks like a cockroach ..... ....... PS - as a Boston fan, I am used to this kind of torture........

Turk: Thanks for sharing the picture with all of us. The "approved" Department attire (camo shorts/ shirt with sleeves cut-off) is an excellent visual example of what kind of state this department must be in. I am sure the residents of this semi-rural CT town must be proud to see their fire department members dressed at a town function in this manner. One could only imagine what type of dysfunctional Department would openly prejudice more than 300,000 fire fighters (in particular the female ones) with a slogan demeaning "paid guys". Would it be possible to share the name of the community where this occured? I would be very interested in attending their next community event.

From the Waterbury Republican American Newspaper (8/9/06) - Hydraulic ladder rack fails a crushes a fire fighters fingers during daily maintenance- TORRINGTON (CT) -- A city firefighter underwent surgery at Charlotte Hungerford Hospital Tuesday to repair shattered fingers on his right hand after a hydraulic lift on Engine No. 3 malfunctioned during routine maintenance Monday afternoon. Eight-year veteran Philip Hearn was rushed to the hospital aboard a second fire truck minutes after fellow firefighter James Valentine lifted the heavy apparatus to free Hearn. The accident, which took place during a check of the lift mechanism, is the first on-the-job injury suffered by a city firefighter in recent memory, Fire Chief John Field said. Field said the hydraulic lift which failed swings a rack of extension ladders down from the roof of the truck to where they can be reached from the side. When the lift gave way, it dropped the weight of the lift and metal ladders it carries on top of Hearn's right hand, pinning it along with the index finger of his left hand. Valentine, who was standing next to Hearn, suffered bruises to his forearms from the strain of lifting the heavy equipment off of Hearn by hand, Field said. "He really had to put his whole body into it." Hearn was resting at home Tuesday afternoon. Field said it's not clear whether he will make a full recovery. "We are taking this very seriously," Field said. "We can't have this happen again." Field said the engine, manufactured in 2001 by Florida-based Emergency One, has been taken out of service and impounded in the city police impound lot pending the outcome of an investigation by the fire department's Training and Safety Division. It will remain there until a cause is found. "We've impounded it just as it was when the accident took place," Field said. "Obviously, any time we take a front line piece off-line there's an effect on operations, but we'll work around it." The manufacturer has been contacted, Field said, and will assist in the investigation. It was not known Tuesday if there have been similar incidents involving this particular model of fire engine. "That's all part of the investigation," he said. The incident was also reported to the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Hearn's fellow firefighters are rallying around their injured brother, said Capt. Robert Belancik. "Everybody's going to rise to the occasion," Belancik said. "The guys on the shift will all work to pick him up, you know? Going over to mow his lawn, or whatever needs to be done. We help each other out, not only in times of tragedy ... that's what's special about the brotherhood."

Thursday's game (vs. Baltimore) was a good indication of what was to come.................

FYI- As a previous writer suggested....there is more going on in New Britain. There has been a significant relationship issue since the City hired their new Fire Chief a few years ago. The Chief (who came from out of the country, I believe Bermuda) has no idea how to work with the members of the Department or the union. The Local recently took a vote of no-confidence in the Chief (you can read more on the NB fire fighter's site at http://nbfire.us/ . Ironically, the Mayor is now against MDA? Hmmm...... Perhaps the Mayor should be more concerned with his Fire Chief, then trying to prevent the fire fighter's efforts to raise money to assist children.

Boog- Thanks for the correction................E11....E12 same thing (220, 221....whatever it takes....) is there even a 10 (this week?) And yes, the General is back......as usual, Twin Lights did a fine job of making her look new again.....

The old E64 was an early 70s Seagrave that had been refurbished (not sure exactly when) with a Spartan cab. PS - Seth, the new rear mount for T2 is now officially done, just awaiting final inspection. Should be in town by late August. E2 (Spartan/General) is also back in service following accident and body work. However, it is now lettered (in advance) for reserve E11 in preparation for the new HME Silver Fox for E2 due sometime early next year.

Date: 07/22/06 Time: 22:19 Location: IFO 77 Orchard Street (Waterside Section - Selleck and Orchard) Frequency: 154.130/800 Mhz trunked Units Operating: SFRD E2, R1, SEMS M1, M3, Supv. 901, multiple SPD units Description Of Incident: Person trapped under auto Writer: x152 22:19 - E2, R1, M1, M3 dispatched to the area of 77 Orchard Street. Numerous injuries in area due to disturbance. Report of one person trapped under an auto. 22:24 - E2 on scene advising R1 that they are confirming one person under an auto. R1 and E2 will be going to work. 22:26 - R1 on scene and operating with E2.