res6cue

New Jersey and Oregon, actually.

Another unfair and gross over generalization of what goes on around here. There are plenty of threads containing valuable information, as well as the spinoff fireemsalpha.com site that is specifically designed to introduce thought provoking topics. If you (or anyone else here) aren't satisfied with the quality of the content that is being posted on this site, then you have two choices as I see it: 1. Contribute some threads yourself instead of criticizing the existing ones. I see only two threads that you've started, and only one of them was thought provoking (according to your standards). 2. Don't visit or post here. Incidentally, I find some irony in the fact that you yourself started the "Firefighter Recipe" thread.

I think the point I was trying to get across was don't run in there blind. I've seen guys walk right in without letting the meter warm up, or even worse, ahead of the guy who's still getting the meter off the truck! Not good. Our dept packs up before entering if the occupants are reporting symptoms. The reasoning is that we can go on air, shut ourselves inside and walk around with the meter to get more accurate reading throughout the structure, not just a small sampling at the door. I can recall a few times it was relatively clear near the doorway, but the basement was reading high PPM. The concern is that guys may have a false sense of security in a situation like that, where the reading is low at the door.

Semper Fi, Marines. Happy Birthday!

Good info, especially this bit... You can have the best meter on the planet, but it's not going to do much good if all the windows are wide open and the furnace (if that's indeed the source) has been off for 20 minutes! My advice in that situation is to evacuate all the occupants, pack up, go inside and turn the furnace back on, button up all the windows and doors and let it sit for a few minutes. NOW you can go back in with the meter to obtain more accurate readings. Remember, even a small amount of CO can be toxic, so PACK UP AND GO ON AIR BEFORE ENTERING!

Bibbles, did you ever call Bullard like I suggested? If so, what did they say?

Rockland used to have good diners, but now they pretty much all suck. My favorite was the Blauvelt Coach on 303 way back in the day, probably followed by the New City Diner on 304. Spent many nights at the Nanuet Diner on 59 across from the Mall also, and back when I worked for Spring Hill, the Red Eagle in Spring Valley. The Mount Ivy Diner up on 202 ain't that hot, but since it's right in our fire district, it's convenient.

Another MUTT. Sicko had a hardon for his cousin on top of it all.

NJ has one of the lowest gas taxes in the country, well below the nationwide average. And that's WITH the 5 cent additional tax they add at the pump because it's full serve. Hey, if they wanna pump my gas for me, that's fine. It's still a boatload cheaper than in NY. Also keep in mind how many jobs would be lost if NJ repealed the full serve only law.

Well, we have all sorts of colors here. Columbian Engine Spring Valley has white over a dark blue, Vol Hose West Haverstraw has white over a lighter blue. Jackson Hose Nyack has the brown over green, Lady Warren Haverstraw has white over green. Excelsior Pearl River has white over chrome yellow, Piermont has white over a more subdued yellow. Suffern H&L has all white, as is our rescue. There are a few holdover lime rigs still around in Orangeburg, Central Nyack and South Spring Valley. And of course all the varying shades of red used either as a solid color, or with white or black. Rockland H&L Spring Valley has a dark burgundy, and Chelsea H&L Nyack has a pretty dark shade as well. I like all the colors, gives the trucks some character.

It's still very much in active service. 10-1001 is Jackson Hose Co. #3's 1984 Hahn 1000/500.

OMG that's so cool, it's a little TDA! I would kill for one of those.

I've seen leather helmets last for 20+ years if taken care of properly. I've also seen them deteriorate after just a few years because they were neglected. When in doubt it's best to have it checked by an expert, as I don't feel you can really go by the law of averages with something critical like this. Just out of curiosity, how old and what type is the helmet you're wondering about?

No, NFPA 1851 does not set definitive service life values for helmets or any other part of PPE. What they do state is the following: and

http://cgi.ebay.com/Firefighter-Stickers-W...1QQcmdZViewItem

There's no competition here. We and we alone carry the Jaws and perform rescues. Our dept is also an integral part of the County's Technical Rescue Team, which means we have guys with advanced level specialty rescue training. That knowledge gets passed along to everyone else during training and drills, as well as on the job when need be. Finally, our Chief works at R3, so believe you me he is not going to sit back and allow us to become complacent when it comes to rescue training and keeping our skills proficient. One other thing: We don't buy a ton of fancy tools just for the sake of having more equipment than the next guy. We buy what we need and what we use. Function over form. Our new Rescue will fall far short of being the biggest rescue truck in the area, but then again it won't be filled with heaps of useless equipment and mobile command centers either.

I love it!

Our ladder had 4 mini bars, each with 2 belt driven rotators containing 4 sealed beam halogens for a total of 16 bulbs. Talk about amp draw! As soon as you wound the Q up, the lightbars would literally stop rotating. Finally I ordered 8 new lightweight 50 watt halogen rotators and swapped all the guts out. Problem solved. Got a great deal on the cost of the rotators (Galls definitely quoted/billed the wrong amount) so I wound up swapping out 4 trucks worth of the old belt driven/sealed beam bars.

You're absolutely correct. The various associations, led by FASNY, has lobbied the State for DECADES not to allow anyone except vollies use blue lights. Well, after introducing legislation just about every single year for the past who knows how many, the SP finally won the battle. You certainly can't blame them for making sure the bill specifically said "police vehicles" only, why should they play nice and include us? After all, we were the roadblock for so long, proving yet again that we are indeed our own worst enemy. We should've co-sponsored a bill years ago allowing ALL emergency vehicles to use blue, front and rear. Just as long as it didn't take away the right for vollies to still use them. It would've been a win-win for all involved.

Correct, as of June 7, 2006. http://www.nysgtsc.state.ny.us/bluelite.htm I have one big problem with the new law. Instead of limiting it to "police vehicles", they should've expanded it to say "authorized emergency vehicles". There are very few other distinctions in NYS V&T law between a police vehicle and other emergency vehicles, and there shouldn't be here either. It's kind of absurd to think that the police can use blue lights now, but fire apparatus cannot, especially considering blue lights in NY are indelibly linked to the fire service.

It's almost done, still at Pierce as of 11/3. http://www.brinkleyelectronics.com/R1/R1.htm

Well, I must say...your posts sound full of bitterness towards older EMTs and perhaps adults in general. Let us not forget, as I stated in my post, I was also once one of those "mature 16 year olds", so I don't really think I need to go meet any. I have the firsthand perspective on it, and feeling at the time I knew more than everyone else around me. Looking back on it, I'm pretty sure I was just an arrogant ass. Not all older EMTs are "pathetic", nor are they ignorant about "the biology behind most things they practice". Again, I don't know how old you are or who rubbed you the wrong way, but boy does it shine right through in your postings. Curious, how old exactly are you anyway? Early 20s perhaps?

Roeems87, While I think you make a few valid points, I think you are also unfortunately downplaying two very important things: Life experience and maturity. A 32 year old WILL have more life experience than a 16 year old. Since, as you assert, most of the EMT skills are so basic a monkey could learn to do them, life experience will be key in times of crisis or on a hot job. Same goes for people skills and communications skills as well as decision making. Maturity is related to that. A 32 year old will likely handle a tough call better than a 16 year old kid will. Listen, I started riding at 15, took my EMT test two days after my 18th birthday. Yes, I absolutely breezed through my practical and written so fast and proficiently it was scary. I don't dispute that you can learn the skills and be a great EMT even at a young age. What I do think is that with age comes wisdom. Not the same kind you get out of a book or in a classroom either. I'm pretty sure that most people would trust an adult to treat them in a time of crisis before they would trust a zit faced kid who is doing his 10th grade Biology homework between calls!

The only thing that sucks about the OsciLasers is they tend to accumulate moisture inside of them once you break the seal to change the bulb or whatnot. Once that happens, you'll probably run into problems with the contact pins corroding or the ground going bad, causing the bulb not to light. You really have to watch when opening them up that you seal them back up nice and tight. When they work though, they're great.

I have to say, in most ways I'm a fan of the lighting requirements in NFPA 1901, but I do think it could be a little better. What I like: - No clear/white light to the rear of the vehicle EVER - All clear/white light to the front (except headlights) has to be disabled when the maxi brake is set (blocking mode) - The way the apparatus is broken up into zones in order to ensure good coverage and visibility What I don't like: - The minimum candlepower requirement for the rear upper and lower zones, I think it's too high/bright I'm of the school of thought that too much and too bright lighting to the rear of the vehicle is actually detrimental, not helpful. I believe it attracts driver's attention, but not necessarily in a good way. It's more of an "ooo look at the pretty lights!" thing, and we all know that where your eyes go, your hands go, which means your car goes also. As far as at night, aside from the obvious potential to temporarily blind a driver, I'd almost rather have all rear facing lights off so when my guys are walking around, the car's headlights and driver's eyes will more effectively hit and pick up on the turnout gear reflective striping. I would actually love if NFPA rewrote the standard to call for all rear lighting to be shut down during blocking mode except for an amber ArrowStik type device, and with an automatic dimmer for night operation. That'll never happen though. As far as specifically related to LEDs, I have mixed feelings about them. I prefer halogen lightbars over strobe or LED lightbars without question. As far as lightheads, I think strobes are generally more effective than halogens, but LEDs are pretty impressive as well. They're certainly a hell of a lot more durable and draw next to no amperage. I'm also a fan of using Code3 OsciLasers in the front bezel. They project very effectively in a wide pattern. I'm just not sold on the projection power of LEDs as compared to halogen rotators. Our new Rescue should be interesting, as it's 100% LED except for (thank God) the MX7000 lightbars. Even has one of them fancy Whelen SmartArrow messenger bars in the rear with all the preprogrammed traffic messages.