Bnechis

While it does not solve the problem of pass alarms going off to much or at the wrong time, Scotts SIMS II transmits the status (On, air left, pre-alert and alert) back to a laptop screen at the CP. Motorola is currently working with Scott to add this to the radio accountability system (I expect ours next week). The plan is for the next upgrade to merge the SIMS II info into the radio program. This will allow the CP to see the SIMS II info (above) plus who transmited what message, battery life, PAR accountabiltity, emergency evacuation and emergency call button.

While this situation is totally scr@@ed Up. Town Councils in NYS have zero say in the workings of a fire district.

Municipal FD (City & Village) in NYS are allowed to bill for EMS Transport (ALS & BLS), Fire Districts (towns) are not. Currently there is proposed legislation to include all FD's. But it has been proposed many times before and never passed.

Thats 10% of the calibrant gas, which is not always the same as the gas you are looking for so there can be a fudge factor.

Volunteering will get you exposure as for experience, that can be good or bad, depends on the dept. Many career depts want to hire "new" employees. Some do not want to hire anyone who has been in another dept. paid or volunteer. Becuase you have to "retrain" them. Not saying the one hiring is any better than the previous dept. But every one is different. And many are stuck on "our way is the only way". Best to check what potential employeers want before you commit to any course of action.

Good Answer. I have seen ladders planted up to the axle in front lawn. They used the ladder over the cab and managed to get the job done...then got the heavy wreaker to get it out. On the other hand, I watched a NYC EMS bus at Orchard Beech get stuck on the beech at low tide.......they did not free it until after the tide had come in and the water was up to the windows.

I am well aware of that. If it was about the money I would have followed my father and gone corporate. But, When you top out at $27,000 before taxes and there are other FD's withing 30 miles that are making $65,000.......you are not going to get the best.

101 - Mandatory Training Course Description: 48 hours Course Downloads: The purpose of the Mandatory Firefighter course is to provide entry level firefighters with the knowledge and skills to meet the minimum jrequirements as outlined in IC 36-8-10.5-7. Candidates must demonstrate the knowledge and skills necessary to function safely and effectively on emergency scenes and be able to perform the basic tasks assigned. To obtain certification candidates must successfully complete the practical skills, score at least a 70% on the state written exam and meet ALL prerequisites prior to testing. Candidates should expect to spend study and practice time outside of class to prepare for the written and practical examinations 102 - Firefighter I Course Description: 140 hours Course Downloads: The purpose of the Firefighter I course is to provide entry level firefighters with the knowledge and skills to meet the minimum job performance requirements as outlined in NFPA 1001. Candidates must demonstrate the knowledge and skills necessary to function safely and effectively on emergency scenes and be able to perform the basic tasks assigned. To obtain certification candidates must successfully complete the practical skills, score at least a 70% on the state written exam and meet ALL prerequisites prior to testing. Candidates should expect to spend study and practice time outside of class to prepare for the written and practical examinations. My link Indiana, like NY is an OSHA state so at a minimum the fire brigade & hazmat ops are legal minimums. I could not find any laws on line that mandate training there. From the states training site it looks like the minimum training for any ff is course 101....48 hours (so even less than NY volunteers) but look at ff1...its twice as long as NY's (so it meets NFPA). Thats why many states will not accept NYS FF1.

So you know what the training standard in Indiana is compared with NY? "You Get What You Pay for" - Do you think any busy dept. in NY would have the cream of the crop lining up for $13/hr.?

The county requires you have a basic education for this job. When I was younger I considered it, but after the training films (they were commonly shown on Saturday mornings in the 1960/70's) I did not know if I had the desire to deal with the trouble makers in the parks. The clincher that it was not the job for me was when the public schools taught us about the 2nd ammendment and the right to arm bears.

About 13 years ago I visited Morton-in-Marsh, the British Fire Service College. I was shown the training for firefighters and asked if they had medical training. I was told that it was included in the basic ff training. I asked what level was the training and they told me they didnt have a level it was just basic medical training. THen they pulled out the current Brady EMT text and said everyone had to complete that cirriculum. When done they are called firefighters (not firefighter/emt) and it was just part of what they did.

Well done. Every dept. needs to be doing this, even without the grants. One note: ISO does not include dry hydrants in the 40% portion (municipal water supply). None municpal hydrant sections of a district (those more than 1,000 feet from a hydrant) are automatically rated a 9. To improve that rating you have to ask ISO to come in and witness the FD's performance. They pick the location and personnel (so every ff on your books needs to be 100%) then they have you prove that you can move enough water to meet the needed fire flows in your district. I think its great what your doing and its the 1st step in getting down to a 3 or 4 in a non-hydrant area. Good luck

I agree with the EMT (or at least 1st responder) as a minimum for protecting each other, but even if you do not respond on EMS calls, what about MVA's or other rescue calls. When I have been inside the car with patients during extrications their is a major difference between rescuers who have EMS training and those who do not. Those who do not often are so busy playing with the "jaws" that they pay no attention to how it is affecting the PATIENT, and thats the only reason you are cutting the car up.

DK publisher did about 10 different books that had New Rochelle, Mt Vernon, White Plains & DES (Hazmat) rigs. Funny since they are a british publisher.

6 inches x 7 inches on my laptop...a little bigger on my desktop

Got to be careful with policies that have "mandatory" in them. What happens when you can not physically do a 360 walk around? In Westchester how many depts actually have GIS mapping on the Mobile Data Terminal in fire apparatus?

Training Criteria is partially up to the district, but the reality is their are TWO minimum standards in NYS. A career standard and a volunteer one. This is the main reason the FDNY plan only has career ff's on mutual aid. Minimum Staffing - These have existed on a national level for over 100 years. Local depts. either ignor them...Because "we know whats best here" or the politicians are unwilling to support the FD's staffing needs (this includes consolidationg to get the proper manning). Response time - These have also existed on a national level for over 100 years. We need to stop hiding behind: "we are doing the best that we can" Before we can worry about meeting them for M/A....we need to get it right at home.

I do not buy it. After the H-Bomb was dropped in Bikini, they said the roaches were the only thing that did survive.

We had a total failure of a 1989 ladder (around 1998) and a near miss on a 1984(ish) ladder in the early 1990's. The total falure was determined to be a failure to recall our unit after its sister failed. This was a breakdown at the manufacturer/dealer. And had nothing to do with our operations or maintenance. The near miss was following the 70-80-90 rule. with a man at the tip, water flowing. the ladder rolled 30 - 45 degrees but did not drop. Our member was unable to move (each attempt caused the ladder to roll more). He was able to DC his ladder belt and fall into the tower ladder bucket, that was able to get under him. Since then we NEVER allow a member on the tip when flowwing water.

Great Point. yes we need consistency on every incident! But before one can expect consistency from mutual aid, doesn't one need to establish consistency within ones own district?

Firefighter 1's Hazmat Ops is 6-9 hours, but the regular Hazmat Ops is 15. 1)How is it possible to teach 15 hours worth of material in 6-9 hours? 2)At 15 hours the class never covered all of the requirements of the State & Federal Law: 1910.120(q)(6)(ii) First responder operations level. First responders at the operations level are individuals who respond to releases or potential releases of hazardous substances as part of the initial response to the site for the purpose of protecting nearby persons, property, or the environment from the effects of the release. They are trained to respond in a defensive fashion without actually trying to stop the release. Their function is to contain the release from a safe distance, keep it from spreading, and prevent exposures. First responders at the operational level shall have received at least eight hours of training or have had sufficient experience to objectively demonstrate competency in the following areas in addition to those listed for the awareness level and the employer shall so certify: 1910.120(q)(6)(ii)(A) Knowledge of the basic hazard and risk assessment techniques. 1910.120(q)(6)(ii)( Know how to select and use proper personal protective equipment provided to the first responder operational level. 1910.120(q)(6)(ii)© An understanding of basic hazardous materials terms. 1910.120(q)(6)(ii)(D)Know how to perform basic control, containment and/or confinement operations within the capabilities of the resources and personal protective equipment available with their unit. 1910.120(q)(6)(ii)(E)Know how to implement basic decontamination procedures. 1910.120(q)(6)(ii)(F)An understanding of the relevant standard operating procedures and termination procedures. The reason is because much of this info the state can not teach, it must come from you dept. NYS DOL says the firefighters must be training to the Operations level, PD & EMS only are required to meet the Awarness Level. This is based on job function.

while the "math is becoming more and more skewed in favor of us taking less risk" lets look at the entire process and not just the answer. Over the last 40 years civilian fire deaths and injuries dropped dramatically (mostly do to the fire prevention efforts of those that pushed hard in the 70's & 80's). But as the number of fires, fire deaths & injuries dropped, the number of firefighter deaths did not. Why? because we did not change our tactics when construction, fire conditions and PPE changed. Now I am not saying don't give it your all, but when you do the math, if you die in this fire, so does your partner and the intial victim. That helps no one. When I got on the job I use to get teased by the sr. members for wearing that stupid air pack. Not one of the guys that teased me lived very long in retirement and the quality prior was not very nice. The irony is many were on "air" to make up for it. We are asked to do more and more with less and less. My 1st instructor told us that when he got on the job you were expected to die for the public. He told us that "today" (25 years ago)that is no longer true. Your responsibility is to yourself, your brothers and your family. If you die at work you let them down. If you are an officer you have even more responsability to making sure your men go home at the end of the shift (or call). Will we keep pushing in....YES, but there are limits.

There have been a number of cases of fire apparatus fires that have wiped out the entire station. Most the cause was no determined, other than it starting at the rig. In the current tight times is it worth the risk for some valuable storage space? Also there are other equipment that we carry that should not come incontact with flammable vapors: EMS equipment, rope rescue equipment, gas detectors and some texts say anything made of nylon (that one is questionable, since nylon is a petrolium based product). Also if you are carrying a gas can, I would assume you are carrying gas powered tools.....put them in the same compartment (I have seen rigs with 3 or 4 compartments each having 1 gas can or tool). On Rescue 4 we designed 1 compartment for "fuel tools" in addition to the standard vents it has an intrinsically safe power vent. We store multiple saws, fuel, fans, etc. here. Another consideration is what type of can? Its getting harder and harder not to find plastic gas cans. These tend to overpressure when left in a warm compartment (consider the location of your exhaust & the higher temps of 2010 EPA engines) and when you go to open them they can spit fuel. There are metal "SAFETY" Fuel cans that are rated as if they were the yellow cabinet. Many have built in metal spouts. Now as a seperate issue does anyone cary propane on the rig (like for decon water heaters and air heaters for rehab tents)? If so how do you store them? I ask because we have been advised that it is illegal in NYS (NYSUB&FC) to have them inside a fire station.

Since the plan calls for southern Westchester to send what it can routinly release without major hardship. And FDNY is comfortable with what we will send. Then the Hudson Valley needs to only worry about covering home. The point we have been trying to make is that a large percentage of depts do not have the ability to cover home base in the event of a terror attack.

Its the way to go. Tell it to the elected officials, who listen to the developers and construction industry. They have more say in Albany than we do.