firefighter36

Great shots, Justin. It the new truck wasn't in the photo, you would think that was Al on the front ramp in the old days!

Some pretty rough comments down on the bottom of the article.....

Shirts will be available at the CME. I will not be there personally, but will have everything set up for the guys that are working tomorrow night. Enjoy.

We are now accepting payment/ reservations via paypal. More info on http://www.iaff2623.org

online ordering: http://www.iaff2623.org/?zone=/unionactive...&page=Store

Goose, couldn't agree more with what you said. I think the one thing that holds back a lot of EMTs are regional protocols. In some regions, EMS in general is too medic dependent, protocols require ALS treatment, and in some cases, ALS providers such as EMT-Is or EMT-CCs are either over or under utilized to carry out such treatments. The system, depending on what region you are located in, and what the local protocols, determines the strength of the EMT-Bs it creates. The other important thing to remember here is that in a lot of places, regional EMS councils are run or influenced greatly by commercial EMS agencies. Commercial EMS is a business, no matter how you cut it, and their bottom dollar is on the line, and this can greatly affect how protocols are engineered. On another front, I think that EMT-B should be the minimum qualification to operate on an ambulance, period. I have been to too many places where there were plenty of "drivers" bot not enough people to give definitive pre-hospital care. I have also been to places where a driver and a CFR show up with an EMT-B en route. I think we owe it to our customers/taxpayers, etc. to provide prompt, professional, and qualified care. A myriad of factors exist, and in a perfect world, cost of equipment, staff, time involved in training, etc. would be of little consequence and our delivery of a high level of care would be paramount. Until EMS is legitimized, i.e. provided as a 3rd municipal service, or by the FD or PD EVERYWHERE, I don't see much changing.

Everyone, we have received another shipment of t-shirts, now available in sizes S-3X!

Something similar is happening in upstate NY. I think we have talked about it before, but here is the link for those who may have missed it. http://www.endicottfire.com/engine98.html

Just bumping this topic. We received a new shipment of shirts yesterday! Stop by or order online! Thanks for the support!

You need your State Card from CT and NREMT Card. Then just send everything to DOH and play the waiting game.

Wish I could attend. I took my original EMT class there, Sponsor Hospital has a great program. Good luck to anyone taking the plunge!

Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.

Rich, that is some excellent artwork. Da Rock is certainly an inspiration to all of us. I think of the Kramer Painting on Seinfeld; "He is a loathsome, offensive brute, yet I cannot look away."

Everyone, PayPal is up and running. Sorry for the delays. Visit our website- www.iaff2623.org Link- http://www.iaff2623.org/index.cfm?zone=/un...&page=Store

New mail order form posted below. Thanks for continued support. Dan, PMed you about Friday. Tshirt_Order.pdf

Gentlemen, All valid points. Taking off my public employee hat, and putting on my business hat, it is also important to remember that sometimes, paying OT is cheaper than paying salary, benefits, etc. for more full time employees. This is something that a lot of city managers miss in their micro-managing of funds. The big thing a lot of places miss is at what point is such an arrangement no longer fiscally responsible, or reasonable for employees. As a public employee, however, it is a hard pill to swallow when you hear that politicians are spending money like it is going out of style, or you see a headline like today's Poughkeepsie Journal: (paraphrased) "Taxes to go up, what will you pay more for?" and the subtitle is "Welfare Recipients, College Students to benefit." However, thanks to our politician's liberal spending habits and "economic stimulus," <sarcasm>I get an extra $7.00 each week in my pay. Change we can all believe in, right? </sarcasm>

Anyone who wants a sign for their home is welcome to stop at the firehouse and see any on duty member to get one!

Either the state pays the employees to work and the state benefits, or they lay them off, pay them unemployment (from state funds) and the state doesn't benefit! What is the better investment of our tax dollars?

Thanks everyone for the overwhelming response! We just placed an order for additional shirts, and will have sizes Small- 3X by this Friday! Pay Pal Should be up and running by tomorrow.

Jared, Snail Mail form is up on the website.

Thanks everyone for support and interest. Attached is an order for for snail mail. We will have pay pal up soon. Tshirt_Order.pdf

Izzy, any slowdown of traffic or spending at the casino with this financial crisis?

Fairview and Arlington Do border each other, off of Creek Rd, it is where the 2 Fire Districts meet up with the City of Poughkeepsie. Being a Marist Alum myself, I have had many residents put their foot in their mouths when they make claims (some accurate, some completely off-base) about the students. Regardless of that, we are here to provide a service, and from a standpoint of the tax issue, our taxpayers have every right to be concerned. However, it always turns into a negative attack on people, firefighters, students, etc. We all have a job to do. We don't determine service and care to our citizens based on creed, color, tax status, age, gender, etc. However, the attacks from our "concerned citizens" often turn into just that.

Everyone, Thanks for the input. Without writing a novel here, I can say that we have hit on the concerns you have raised one way or another throughout this entire roller coaster ride. I think Brian hit the nail on the head when he stated that those who are "concerned" only see negativity. We have worked very hard on all fronts to develop good working relationships with all parties involved, including the tax-exempts. Even so, we are always vilified one way or another by our "concerned citizens." Thanks for the ideas and support. Another person asked if these same "concerned citizens" have been on the receiving end of our services. Without getting into great depth or detail, I can say that our department's members, career and volunteer have responded and given competent, prompt, and professional service to a great deal of our district's residents and taxpayers, and will continue to do so, not matter their tax-exempt status, or feelings toward their tax bills or our members. We are here to do our jobs the best we can and provide the best service possible given the circumstances. Mark Bendel Local 2623 Vice President

As far as our research shows Chris, If the district was simply dissolved, the assets would be liquidated, and the proceeds would go to the Town of Poughkeepsie, as that is where the station lies. Fire protection would become the responsibility of the Town(s), and there is no plan as to where anything would go from there. There is no answer from the group as to what they are looking for in the way of coverage if they shut the department down. There is no certainty that the taxes will be reduced if we get merged with another district. Other concerns such as logistics, staffing, and level of response become paramount concerns. What is troubling is that our easiest way to combat the issue would be changing State Law. The issue with that is the precedence it sets statewide, i.e. It may work here in Fairview, but what would the financial implications be on a similar situation in Western NY? Thank you to everyone for your help and support. Please feel free to visit our website, www.iaff2623.org, or contact us with any questions/ concerns.