Bnechis

http://www.lohud.com/story/money/personal-finance/taxes/david-mckay-wilson/2014/07/03/yorktown-fire-station-million-defeat-kitchawan/12195957/ Yorktown wants to build $1.7 million firehouse in southern part of town but voters defeated it for a fourth time. "In four referenda since 1999, Yorktown voters have rejected a plan to finance construction of a fire station on Route 134 for the Yorktown Heights Fire District. The latest ballot question — dubbed a "stealth vote" by critics — attracted just 1.6 percent of the district's 13,611 voters in a little-publicized election on June 17. It was soundly defeated by more than 2-to-1, with just 69 voters backing it, and 144 opposed. The plan couldn't even get the votes of the estimated 100 volunteers of the Yorktown Heights Engine Company No. 1, which serves the district."

Is this needed. If you want to really drop to that level some volunteer firefighters should have the title "parade walker" since that's what they ultimately do. Career firefighters in combo depts. have the same training as the all career depts. and when they arrive on scene with no help, they get to do it all.

1) Have spent a tremendous amount of time doing ISO evaluations I can easily say this is a very costly maybe. I have not studied YHFD so my statements on this are very general. a. I understand that some parts of YHFD do not have hydrant protection, if the area south of the Croton (the area the Board wants to build) has no hydrants, then they could build 50 fire stations and staff them with 100 firefighters each and they will not improve their ISO rating better than a 9 unless they demonstrate to ISO that they can move water. Since no dept. in the Hudson valley has proven this, its unlikely that adding a house will change it. b. If the area has a rated hydrant system, then a new fire station, if operational (meaning the rig responds to a majority of calls in its area as a 1st due unit) can drop the rating rater substantially. But a signed automatic aid agreement for a single engine from Millwood (with the balance of response from YHFD) would give the exact same ISO improvement at no cost to the taxpayers. c. Any insurance improvements from a new station would only benefit the area south of the Croton R. So every property owner in the district gets to pay for it, while only a small portion benefit financially (maybe). 2) Since the majority of depts. (career or volunteer) have not gained staffing (locally, regionally, state or nationally) this is a rather unlikely gamble. What happens if as the fire chief said he expects no responders from this area? Or what if this new station which is now priced as bare bones as it can be, attracts members away from Millwood? 3) When the Chief of the Department says: "I will put a rig there if the Board Orders me too, but no one will be responding from this house" who are we supporting? If they build this and no one comes, then the next time any dept wants to and needs to how will that affect the attitude of all of the voters? 4) I agree, But 1st look at the response times and staffing numbers. If the dept is doing a good job, then its not worth hiring. If they are having trouble turning out, then the cost is worth it, when your house is on fire or your pinned in your car. And since you pointed it out, the single biggest score changer under ISO is staffing and even with this years massive rewriting of the insurance rating schedule, the NYS insurance commission agreed that manned stations need 1/3 of the number of firefighters per response as those that are responding from home or work. ISO wants a minimum of 36 volunteers and an IC on every reported fire in the initial response. But a manned station/dept only needs 12 and an IC to get the same score. 5) While staffing costs may never go down, I have never heard of an building, including fire stations having no costs. Their is maintenance, fuel, insurance and since this is an additional station, often requires additional apparatus. 6) Wrong career vs. volunteer staffing is based on availability of volunteer responders. If you have only a few calls, but no volunteers show up, then you can get away with it for a long time before something goes bad. If you have a lot of calls and a lot of volunteers show up, then you also do not need career. I have no idea if YHFD has high or low volume or if it has adequate staffing. I also do not believe they need to build a station and staff it with career personnel. Most communities in Westchester that have volunteers and have response problems (some of the time or all of the time) need to consider consolidation with the adjacent depts., long before they consider hiring.

And that is considered acceptable, but usual practice is to put it in a separate "Apparatus Reserve Fund" and not a general one.

1) when you say "hold up" do you mean suggest it or prevent it? I remember letters to the editor after the 1st or 2nd proposal where the group mentioned in this article suggested working more with Millwood. 2) Because they are not in the Millwood Fire District. If they would like to donate $$ to Millwood that's their right, but legally they will always get YHFD unless someone changes the district lines. 3) The residence of that area are the ones who have been fighting against this 4) Back during that 1st or 2nd debate, I remember a Journal News picture and discussion that said their was an arraignment and relations were strained so it was stopped. I have no way to confirm this, but I do remember that was put out their. 5) 4 votes say they do not want it, only the board wants it. In fact during the 3rd vote the fire chief publicly said he would put an engine there if ordered, but with no volunteers in that section of town, all responses would be from the other 2 stations and this one if built would only be used for storage.

I have no idea what IBM pays in taxes at either of their Somers HQ or their Yorktown site (or Pepsi for that mater). But it does not matter what they pay if its more than the assessed value (aka more than their fair share) then they will get an adjustment. So asking them to pay more than their fair share is not going to happen.

All that does is get an otherwise unstaffed rig show up faster and fool the public into thinking they are protected. It is more likely the rig will roll without any additional members, thus delaying the proper response as it forces members to drive their POV's to the scene. This becomes a bigger problem as the district gets larger.

Doesn't IBM already pay its fair share of fire tax? I suspect its one of the highest taxed properties in the district.

My understanding is it is close enough that years ago Yorktown did have an engine stationed there, why that stopped, I do not know. I believe the original plans were for a much bigger fire house, but each time it got defeated it got scaled down. This is also because the commissioners have been trying to save enough cash to build it without a bond.

I just hope they start to actually restore this unbelievable collection. Its sad to see how 99% are just rotting. While I love the fact that someone is buying them in an attempt to save them (better than melting them down), I still think of this as the place that old fire trucks go to die.

Today July 1, 2014 we take time to remember our brothers: Captain Richard Williams, Lieutenant Richard Reinhagen, Firefighter Steven Ennis, Firefighter illiam Kresja, Firefighter Leonard Radumski Who made the supreme sacrifice 26 years ago while operating at alarm #1177. Please take a moment to remember these brave men and say a prayer for them, their families,all the firefighters who have given their lives in the line of duty, and those firefighters who protect us day in and day out across this county. I will never forget watching this fire on the noon news with the members of NRFD Station #3. We sat at the kitchen table and moments before the collapse that killed these 5 brave firefighters, we recognized the danger. Never stop learning, Never Stop Training, The Building is your Enemy. Many did not learn the lessons of the Waldbaums Fire, but Hackensack was the wake up call. "Beware the Truss" - F. Brannigan. ...Never Forget! And if you do not know what happened that day, you need to understand it or get out of the fire service! Much of what was learned that day is still not done in Westchester. I see career and volunteer depts. that did not learn the many lessons that this tragedy taught me! And the lessons go way beyond the Truss!

One big difference. Almost every EMS bill is in large part paid for with a 3rd party insurance. Also the fire service started out that way (insurance company paying for protection) and it was a disaster. Most cities stopped it, when they determined it was causing arson, riots and conflagrations. Also, Fire Department funding in most cities is used to reduce insurance premiums and promote development. Good fire depts. help economic development, EMS does not do that.

"Boardman’s suit alleges the town’s agreement with Mobile Life allowed it to impose user fees higher than those charged by the ambulance corps, and collect a profit. That agreement is unconstitutional, the suit said, because municipal ambulance services are not allowed to profit from providing essential services." Unconstitutional, since when in America (a capitalist society) is it unconstitutional to make a profit? 1) Mobile Life is not a municipal ambulance service, so they are allowed too 2) Municipalities do not make a "profit". if the charge enough they may have a surplus, which can be used to support other parts of the budget, like paying to maintain the ambulance building

Never grow complacent. Keep learning. The only constant is change. Even the best tactics and procedures need to be reevaluated when the community changes. Rest in Peace Brothers. We will not forget your sacrifice! This video is from the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqiRN9rygoI&feature=youtu.be It is an excellent look at complacency, traditions, change and leadership. NEVER FORGET!

Yes and since all males are mandated to be military so almost every home in the entire country has an assault weapon. And only 1 mass shooting in the last 50 years. Ok then look at Australia. They went thru massive gun control during the last decade and gun crimes have sky rocketed. More guns per capita in Canada than the US, but less crime. What about comparing states: The states with the least gun regulations have the most guns per capita and the lowest crime, so how can it be guns? Can you explain how gun manufacturing & ownership has gone up over the last 35 years, while gun crimes have dropped significantly, How can this be? Note: I got the numbers from the ATF & FBI annual reports.

If it was only about guns and gun control, then how does one explain Switzerland? The vast majority of men between the ages of 20 and 30 are conscripted into the militia and undergo military training, including weapons training. The personal weapons of the militia are kept at home as part of the military obligations; Switzerland thus has one of the highest gun ownership rates in the world. The Swiss army has long been a militia trained and structured to rapidly respond against foreign aggression. Swiss males grow up expecting to undergo basic military training, usually at age 20 in the Rekrutenschule (recruit school), the basic-training camp, after which Swiss men remain part of the "militia" in reserve capacity until age 30 (age 34 for officers). Each soldier is required to keep his army-issued personal weapon (the 5.56x45mm SIG SG 550 rifle for enlisted personnel and/or the 9mm SIG P220 semi-automatic pistol for officers, military police, medical and postal personnel) at home or (as of 2010) in the local armoury (Zeughaus). When their period of service has ended, militiamen have the choice of keeping their personal weapon and other selected items of their equipment.[citation needed] However, keeping the weapon after end of service requires a license. The sale of ammunition – including Gw Pat.90 rounds for army-issue assault rifles – is subsidized by the Swiss government and made available at the many shooting ranges patronized by both private citizens and members of the militia. There is a regulatory requirement that ammunition sold at ranges must be used there a 2001 BBC article reported that in Switzerland "the gun crime rate is so low that statistics are not even kept." Over the last 5 years they have averaged 18.4 gun homicides per year. Maybe they treat patients who require psychiatric care and they do not glorify the lone gunman who wants notoriety.

Nice Job YFD!

Evacuation makes some sense when on the 1st floor, but all of our schools are 2, 3 or even 4 stories. 75% of the classrooms in the majority of our buildings are to high to go out the windows without a ladder.

Everyone who claims gun control will stop this, is really looking for a single answer to the problem. I think you are half correct, if the media would stop, it would be reduced, but we also have a massive problem with the mentally ill. We closed almost every physch hospital and threw them out into the public.

Well it worked with reducing drugs and prohibition stopped alcohol.... Oh, wait....those did not work either

The term, squad just like "Rescue" or "Heavy Rescue" is often bantered about, but you need to define it. Over the years I have seen a number "Heavy Rescues" that when you open the compartments you find they do not own enough equipment to handle a 2 car MVA. This appears to be the pre delivery pic, but it makes the point, it is not a heavy rescue till its equipped and staffed. I have told more than 1 "Heavy Rescue Unit" that just because the apparatus weights a lot, does not make it a "Heavy" Rescue

1) When the shooter is running down the hallway and the cops are trying to find him, he will not have the time to breech a class to slip into. Besides, they are looking for easy victims. 2) This response makes no sense. If a kid has a laceration...don't stop the bleeding, leave it to EMS? If the building is on fire...don't evacuate, wait for the FD to do it? If the building has an active shooter, law enforcement has already instructed the schools to lock down and if the door does not have a lock, this is the next best thing.

To the right, and White Plains to the left.

SAFER grants as with all AFG grants can be modified. If you reduce the number of hires, you have to write a paragraph or 2 explaining your reason and thanking them (not required). If they only hire 8 or 16, they only download the money for that amount. FEMA works with you to try to get you the best arraignment. The only absolute with SAFER is you can not go back and ask for more. If you failed to anticipate raises or other costs, that's on you.