Bnechis

Transcare is a lot bigger than you know. They also cover parts of So. NJ, Long Island, the state of Delaware, No. Virginia, Baltimore-Washington DC corridor and Eastern & Western Pennsylvania.

Because the majority do not want to. The best statement I have heard to date: "We do not need outsiders to show us how bad we are,.we know how bad we are, and as long as the public does not know it, then everything is fine". - Head of Board of Fire Wardens (in a Westchester Community) to the Mayor & Council. I have tried to fix it (& will continue), but I have realized that an "outsider" can not fix it if the members, chiefs, politicians do not want it to change and the public (and a lot of members) do not even know there is something wrong. So my best fix is to keep challenging and informing and maybe someday things will change. "You cant fix the problem if you do not see you have a problem" We need uniformed responses to all locations. With well trained, well staffed and well equipped firefighters. Westchester is paying for it, but few are getting it.

The career fire service in NYS tried to get one standard and FASNY said NO. So they got a career standard and a volunteer standard and everytime OFPC has tried to add a few hours to it, its been shot down as it will be a death blow to the VFD's. If the volunteers want the same standard all they have to do is accept it. ANy VFD can do that right now, they do not need the career service to do it for them. Why have they not already done it Or as you put it "is it against their DNA" to bring themselves up to the standard that most of the nation uses? If we offered training by company (which is how we train) at the hours that we train (Monday - Friday) how would they cover their districts? Do you really think we would get a large interest, particularly when many depts can not even get a company on the road at those times for a call?

Since civil service in many cases does not and in some cases the federal courts will not allow "farm teams to feed the system" your analagy needs to be rethought. How many of the county instructors at the FTC are career? Last I looked it was about 65-75%, Sounds like they are mentors and are trying to raise the standards in Westchester.

Actually we are on different teams. Trying to win the world series. Consider if each dept. was a baseball team and we are going to the championship game (major league or little league it does not matter). We look at our lineup and see we only have 6 players, and we keep losing game after game. And the team on the other side of town also only has 8 players. We keep buying uniforms for a dozzen players. But the coach cant get any more. Maybe its time to WORK TOGETHER. Build a winning team, and stop pretending you are a team.

Well said. How many depts know what the Needed Fire Flow (NFF) is for their major buildings? In many communities, does the fire load surpase the water supply? If it does what is your plan? "Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."- Albert Einstien

That would require a regional approach to planning and training. We would rather spend our emergency service dollars on big stations to house expensive apparatus that will never have the staffing to get out the door.

You can, but only if you have the correct gasgets. Standard ones will not cut it. Storz works well and other depts prefer to use cam locks, as threaded hose requires more time and manpower to set up

You mean its important to have water to fight a fire? Great tool, though its over priced. There are a lot of other items that are needed that depts without municipal water supply (or poor water supply) that are needed, but most depts either do not understand it, or want to understand it.

5' LDH will give you about 1,500 gpm and you are limmited on the distance. Every community in Westchester has a number of buildings that the ISO needed fire flow is at least 3,500gpm and many need well over 5,000gpm. ISO will even give you a list of the flow at every property that is insured. Great for preplanning. 20 years ago In Europe I watched an FD using a hydraulic pump move 2,000gpm 1 mile after lifting it over 135' up to a bridge. Larry Davis tried to convince depts in the US it was a great system and was a 3rd the price of a single engine. Basicly no one was interested, until a few years ago when FDNY bought 5 of them.

I am sorry but the house burned to the ground because the fire dept could not utilize the water that was within 100' from the home. It had nothing to do with lack of dredging. It had everything to do with lack of preplanning and passing local fire codes, particularly since the previous home at that location also burned to the ground. If dry hydrants had been installled in that lake or the lake across the road, it would have been saved. If depts had standardized fittings and knew how to relay it might have been saved, if depts had the ability to get the water thru other means (drafting is not the only way to get it from a static source). BTW it was not a creek, they had 2 monster lakes one on either side of the road.

We had 2 different generation of the Bullards, some donated ISI camaras (do not take these even if donated) and replaced them on every rig last year with the scott. Great little camera

Can you please send me a pm identifying which. All I know is who sent them to me, if some were taken by others and he had them, I will gladly give credit.

Fair enough, But I know a number of mayors who will gladly reduce their depts. close companies, lay off, not do call back, ect. because the next community will shoulder the burdon, no matter how much "I" cut mine.

I was recently given a book of old NRFD pictures and asked to scan them and post them. They are from the John Maguire (the midnight voice of KEF-934) collection. Many are his work. Maxim 100 Ft Tiller - Ladder 12 and FDNY Loaner FDNY Loaner was returned to NYC, painted Blue used in a TV Commercial then overpainted Red and sold to NRFD. Used as L13 for a while Ladder 11 (later L-14) Crabtree Explosion

Westchester County superceeds the federal rulebook. as we consider the home rulebook a more important document.

Thanks. I was not aware of this. I believe they all should be this way. Maybe turnout would improve

Election time for Fire Commissioners is in Late November, Vote is in December. Most districts have 5 Commissioners with 5 year terms. One up for election each year.

1) There are approximatly 14 combo depts in Westchester that the number of volunteers has either drimaticly declined or has stopped responding alltogether ans no additional career members have been added, they just make the few career members do it all and violate 2in 2out and other standards and just hope they never get caught. 2) So if you are a career FF in dept #A and volunteer in Dept. #Z that does not potentially hurt the career brother? I think many of the statements here talk about how Brothers are not just in your dept. 3) Ok so 12 issues x 5 locals equals 60 new locals/ year. with over 34,000 fire depts in America, It will take over 566 years to convert all of them....Dont hold your breath waiting. Also I know a couiple of locals that have left and have come back (more than once) but they still get listed. And these are depts that were paid for 100 years. it just they were not IAFF locals. 4) The dept is also in violation of the Federal FLSA. And if they get caught they will have to pay OT wages for all the volunteer hours that that member and others volunteered once they were hired. This has come to millions and the member does not have to report it or even "want it". He still will get paid.

Crimson changed its name, they are now Spartan ERV

1) I have seen this many times. My favorite is when they pass the engine and ambulance (in an unsafe manor) to get there quick and then they start screaming for us to expedite. Two weeks ago we were dispatched to a report of an MVA with a severe hemorage. I was in my office at the time and thought nothing of the call until the police dispatcher started screaming on the radio for a man pinned under a car with an arm amputation.She also sreamed 3 times "RESPOND CODE 3" ( I have never heard them this excited before). I looked out my window to see 3 police cars flying up the street. My wife called me a few minutes later to ask whats going on as "1 of the cop cars was doing 70mph as it passed my home". she said all 4 tires were off the ground as it cleared the crest of the hill. We live at the creast of a blind hill. Less than a minute later I hear the officer onscene and screaming into the radio "does anyone have a 1st aid kit". At this point they have upgraded the call to a man trapped under a car. While the dispatcher and officer(s) put a lot of lives in danger for no reason. I must say I was very impressed with the 2 sargents that responded. They were calm, professional, gave good direction and made sure that while the area was sealed off, that officers remained in there cars to move for the amb & FD and to "make sure the scene was left open so the FD's Rescue could get right in there". 2) I have heard this from troopers on a number of calls, its been beaten to death here a few times and there are a number of youtubes of FF's being arrested for violating this.

Not really. If I report "Smoke Showing" to 60 Control, they asknowledge it with" "10-4 Smoke Showing" But if I report "Working Fire" I automatically get a 3rd Engine, FAST, EMS, Chief, and relocating units.

I thought that is a call for the "JAWS OF LIFE"

1) So todays MVA/with Fire and 4 DOA's was not a working fire upon arrival, just a car fire? 2) The fire at Yosemity is not within a building, is it not a worker? 3) How about a working fire is one that we either: a. Need more help or other things to occur (like notifications, etc.) but does not rise to the level of a 2nd alarm. b. It also means that members arriving have more specific things to do (like making your water supply) than when the 2nd due just pulls up and stands by.

If you need to test them, I do not think you should be sending your daughter there. you either know it or you do not