Faded Soul

Dr. D was truly a great doctor and was the doctor you wanted in your corner as an EMT or Medic. I remember several meetings with him. He also worked with my mother at St. Joes... She and I both agree that the EMS world as well as St. Joes Hospital truly lost a great doctor and individual. May he rest in peace and keep an eye on all of us. Later Doc.

Wow. Someone actually wrote up what it means. I'm impressed and agree that there are the small percentage who live BROTHERHOOD. But, like most fields there are several bad eggs that make us all look bad. Which is sad that we don't stick to the true meaning, and that we let those that are posers and fakes dictate alot of what goes on in a variety of FDs.

There are some VACs... in which Lts, or ranks below captain/chief are not required to be EMTs. Personally... if you're an officer, you should be an ACTIVE EMT. Would being disciplined by an Lt, who is not an active state certified EMT work at all?

FireCapt- I agree with you on alot of what you stated in your most recent post. BUT... if this concept of a Fire Commissioner becomes a reality and the wardens are gone, does that make the Fire Commissioner and Chiefs more accountable? I'm a BIG FAN of accountability, something happens you as a leader need to step up. Not run off, hide and shirk responsibility and the knowledge you had that there was a possibility things would blow up in your face. Again... education- stricter standards should be implemented, if people (non fire fighters/emt/medics) knew at times how little their Fire Dept. is trained or how ill equipped they are to handle the SIMPLEST emergency ( Like posts I wrote in a different forum re: AEDS and CPR) ex: a fellow fire fighter dropping on scene with a sudden cardiac arrest- doesn't matter how many active EMTs are around in your FD- if you don't have the equipment with you that they NEED- doesn't do very much good. Much like having a hydrant system set up that is broken or not working wen working a MAJOR fire. So I think the people in the village (any village) would benefit to know that there is a mature, educated, responsible person in charge of seeing to it that all FFs are properly trained and that all records are up to date. So if it means spending a little more in these tough economic times so be it. I'dpay the extra $$ if it means people will be safe, educated and trained and that ONE person is held responsible and solely accountable for it all.

Still here pushing for stricter educational requirements Firecapt. Wouldn't hurt to make sure other NFPA standards are adhered to as well... AEDs in EVERY SINGLE FIRE HOUSE AND APPARATUS. But hey, njust my humble opinion. Perhaps it is to many short term leaders with long term goals that conflict with other short term leaders. Agendas... everyones got a way to screw the other over.

Okay... So here's an important question, because in my experience, there are some FD's that may beat an ambulance to the scene where there is a dual response or medical aid situation. How many of your trucks and apparatuses have an AED (Automated External Defibrillator)? Are ALL members in your FD First Aid/CPR/AED certified? Are they Certified First Responders? What medical training is mandated by your department of your members? Just wondering. Example... Your FD is called to an alarm, and further investigation shows it is a structure fire. As your members get things ready to go in and do so they find an 80-something year old man that they bring out. The 80-something year old man is in full cardiac arrest. Worst case scenario- EMS is backed up on other things, or they are working on paging out and getting a crew together. So... that leaves the FFs to the task of doing CPR and possibly using the AED... Just hoping to hear some feed back. Found it disturbing to have come across a few FDs with NO AED.

I also came across a FD website in which the web master or whomever stated that they are fortunate to have alot of EMTs in their dept. I'd like to know what good is an EMT/CFR on scene responding with FD, without an AED, or any of the EMS equipment that many of you have been kind enough to post that you have. Also, how liable would your dept. be if someone died, that you could have saved IF you had the appropriate equipment?

And god forbid, it's one of the guys that drops from a sudden cardiac arrest... that you knew, worked with, trained with and grew up with. I can't imagine a stronger reason to have than to prevent the death of one of your own. That is a very disturbing thought...

Seems that all the training is on... Training Officers shoulders- seems that the Training Officer, no matter who fell short, way short of their RESPONSIBILITY. Why was said training officer not penalized. From what I've read and seen on village articles ( The patch, hudson independent, village board meetings)... and open festering wound of contention with peoples personalities and own little agendas are showing. Doesn't Tarrytown have a fire liason? Isn't the job of a liason to keep people (the ones that matter or who they answer to) appraised of issues, and concerns? I could have sworn that a tarrytown had a fire liason, one who should be keeping ALL lines of communication open? I'm sure if Training was so important, and the training officer DID his or her job, they would have left a paper trail stating 'Hey, we NEED this training and it cannot be placed on the back burner'... the liason should have done better with communicating with the training officer. But what would I know... I hate politics.

And I keep pushing the issue on education ( other than fire-matics and what not) Because I feel you should be some sort of well rounded about a variety of topics. So maybe some politician or someone lay person with a background, good head on their shoulders and an education will come around and push for legislation to have a better education standard for volly and paid departments... not just fire training and hands on. But something of a scholarly endeavor.

Well... why should it be a joke. There should be stricter and tougher standards on education for those that are in charge. It shouldn't matter paid of volunteer (and many boast of being an 'unpaid professional'- a term I think is at times thrown around to casually, because I find it highly doubtful some departments have NO CONCEPT of a 'professionalism'.) But I've posted a few times on stating how Chiefs, Lts, Capts and what not NEED HIGHER EDUCATION and experience other than being a fire fighter (mostly the vol. departments). It should be a standard that you have AT LEAST a 2 year degree from an accredited college ( You don't have to work in degree field. But it shows to an employer your not some dopey drop out, or to a town official you know where to go to find things.) So I think it would be important for various officers in a dept to have years and years of experience before they take the step of being a chief... or an Lt, or capt... I think they should also have an degree (Associates at the least). Again... I think that you fail your own people/department when you don't have any higher education ( associates or more). It's more of a mistake if you can't manage people on a small scale, than what makes someone worthy of becoming a chief or officer in ANY department...

Where would one find this information... does it cover anything else? Work place violence... any kind of harassment as well? Bnechis- there's really such a course? Seriously... and is it only for paid? It should be offered to Paid AND volunteer FDs if so.

I knew Dawn through several encounters in the community of Peekskill. She was a very driven woman when it came to PCVAC. My deepest sympathies and condolences to PCVAC crews and officers. RIP Dawn Maldonado.

For those that work in Rockland County EMS, Dr. Micheal Lippe, former Medical Director of the ER at Good Samaritan Hospital died tragically in a plane crash on dec 23, 2010. http://www.lohud.com/article/20101223/NEWS03/12230428/

Hm Firecapt32... perhaps tougher standards ( education wise- laws, updates, memos... training, maybe a minimum education deg. standard too? Perhaps an Associates IF that.) and for being an officer (paid or volunteer) need to be put in place? Maybe some who view it as a childish power play fantasy of "Oh! look at me I get a brand new chiefs car on the tax payers dime" need to be more concerned about looking out for the members of their FD over their egos and inflation of their egos. There should most definitely be higher standards on those in the position of Officers, Board of Directors and last but no where near least... the FIRE CHIEFS. There will hopefully be many lessons and a lot of learning to go around for all parties involved. I just hope this horribly tragic wake up call is learned from...

I seem to recall... scene safety? The most basic and very favorite phrase in Ems training.

Spins....,in a paid dept wouldn't there have been actions taken against him in a heart beat... admin leave? And what not, not trying to pick on vollies id paid. Just pointing out this seems to just slip through the cracks.

Woohoo..... so many outstanding attributes now. What makes officers in a volunteer Fd think this behavior is acceptable? Will the chiefs step up and speak up against this crude display? Hmm, wonder if this guy will get thrown out? What would your department do?

Wow... so MORE outstanding. An officer?!?! Way to go guys. Way to set an example of how honorable and responsible they are.( again note MORE sarcasm.)

A fine outstanding example of.... what is it they say? Oh yes, " professionalism". Way to go! ( yes, heavy sarcasm.)

Okay great move for Somers. I personally don't think they should hire or contract out....... wouldn't it have been less expensive hiring from within? Re: the social club remark.... yea most places and most people in those places view it as a place to hang out and maybe do a call to inflate their lives with meaning and ego. Those of us that do it with the truest intentions in our hearts are labeled as outcasts and black balled for apparently being so good natured. Although when stuffing hits the fan we are all just one big happy family but outside of that every " in crowd" has every one back in the " in crowd". Dang shame that we can't have our fellow emt and firefighters back no matter the clique or belief they have for helping another human being in a bad situation.

Some of the traits I would think make a " great fire fighter".... honor, integrity. Selflessness, courage to do the right when maybe no one else has the "balls" ( as some men have put it) To do the right thing ( takes courage to run into a flaming building sure, but more to be be a person of integrity and ones word). They also must know that learning never stops; no matter how old or young they are or their brother/sister firefighter is that willingly shares information with them about a class or experience. They should have a degree of humility about what they do in and out of fire department. One last thing... one of my role models in the martial arts always reminded me.... you have two ears, two eyes and one mouth... so you should listen and watch twice as much as you speak.

Okay... so how important is it that the ones that lead any department- paid or volunteer have some form of higher education. More importantly a degree in some field of study? No matter 2 or 4 yr, masters or a PHD, just to have a broader education about things? Couldn't hurt to have a degree from an accredited college. It's very obvious that at times the ones who lead are not the most brilliant, nor the best tempered, nor do they have the greatest people skills. Along with fire fighter courses and what not... should they have a degree? Should it be enough that we as a community ask that our volunteer FF or our paid FF just have a HS Diploma? or GED? Should we as a community be able to expect more from out FFs- paid or volunteer? Should the same be applied for EMT/Medics/Cops? Or is it just enough to send the paid FF to the academy? the volunteer ff to the fire fighter 1s and 2s and whatever else they see fit to train in? Should the leaders that lead depts make efforts to further their education outside of the fire field? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- " The expedient thing and the right thing are seldom the same thing." " The truth hurts... but it's still the Truth." These are Faded Soul's personal opinions. No one elses.

What are the characteristics and qualities you respect in a fire fighter? Honesty... integrity.... loyalty... Hard working...? Name a few- see if you can look yourself in the mirror while saying them. See if your fellow fire fighters have those qualities as well. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The expedient thing and the right thing are seldom the same thing. The truth hurts... but it's still the TRUTH. These are the feelings/thoughts of Faded Soul. They are mine no one elses.