res6cue

For the record (since it seems everything one says these days must have a disclaimer attached, lest it be taken the wrong way or twisted around)...I am NOT against escape system of any kind. I am very PRO-firefighter safety. The safer and more efficiently we can get the job done, the better for all concerned. I responded to a very specific question Seth asked about Snorkels based on my intimate knowledge of them, that's all. No reason for anyone to get articulated out of shape. Yes, that was a little joke.

My point is that for as many decades as Snorkel has been making their articulating platforms, I've never heard an outcry for an escape system on them. In the 40 years my dept owned two Snorkels, it was never an issue for us. I cannot recall ever hearing of it being an issue in Chicago, or any other big Snorkel city. Nowhere did I brag about how "busy" my dept is, the Chief back there saw fit to ASSume I would, just as he ASSumed whatever else he did about my experience or knowledge in his post. A bit ironic that he ends his posts with "qtip", yet chooses to bring his posts down to a personal level. Hmm. By the way, if your aerials are failing THAT often, then you've got much bigger issues. Why the hell is the rig even in service if it fails THAT frequently during testing or training? The piece should not even be in service. This is especially disturbing to hear given that it IS an Aerialscope. Those things are practically bulletproof. Leads me to believe there is a severe lack of proper maintenance or care being given to the rig. Maybe if the rig was taken care of, you wouldn't have to worry so much about having that extension ladder bolted to the boom.

Negative. Not unless you want to scale the booms or waterway piping, or you have some kind of rope you can throw out of the bucket to rappel down. I don't see what the big issue is, my dept survived just fine for 40 years with two Snorkels, neither of which had any type of "escape" system.

Fair point, but I'm still left wondering what would've happened to this guy if he was working as an EMT watching while a medic started a line. Maybe I'm being a jerk, but my feeling is that if you can't handle the site of needles, then you're probably in the wrong line of work!

Just another example of political correctness gone out of control. This society is becoming entirely too sensitive for its own good, to the point it's actually having the opposite effect of that which was intended. Not to be a jerk but...your site is publicly accessible last time I checked. Why would they need to check with you first before mentioning it in a report? Now, had this been a print or web news agency that used your copyrighted photos without permission, that's a whole other issue entirely. As your site says: "Any duplication, whether in print, or on the internet is expressly prohibited." Mentions nothing about showing it on TV!

My condolences.

Hmm, maybe I'm missing something here: - Job requirements changed (happens all the time) - Guy couldn't meet those new requirements - Guy loses job Does it suck? Sure, but it is what it is. This agency wanted to increase the skill level of their employees (something we're always calling for, right?), so they did just that. Unfortunately, this guy couldn't pass the medic class because he PASSES OUT whenever he has to stick someone! Sorry, but that's kind of an important factor here. And now what, the agency should make an exception for him and allow him to keep working as an EMT when everyone else had to pass the medic class? Sorry, I don't buy that. If a guy was hired as a firefighter, and during the academy you found out he passes out every time he sees FLAMES, would you allow him to remain on the job?!?

A friend of mine worked as a receptionist at one of these places a few years ago, and she told me she would never even let them touch her own car, employee discount or not!

Newsflash: Fire District Commissioners are elected officials.

PS - Since you're creating new groups right and left lately, make one for me called "EMTBravo Retired Moderator"

I thought the whole idea of "Alpha Members" were those who contribute quality posts and/or have been around for some time. Why then the need for yet another category of members? It's becoming quite difficult to keep track of all these membergroups you have setup, and if you make too many of them, they'll become meaningless. I've had a hard enough time trying to keep up with the hierarchy of all the staff groups you've created recently! As many have already said, post count means squat. My personal opinion is leave it the way it is. The Alpha Member category is already established, make better use of it instead of creating what in effect is the same thing but with a higher post count.

I agree 100% with this standard. Wearing a helmet in the rig IS dangerous, for all the reasons already stated in the standard itself, as well as by several members here who are clearly not blinded by their cynicism towards the NFPA enough to ignore basic common sense.

Actually, the term "Elevating Platform" is an NFPA definition in 1901 that encompasses a wide range of aerial apparatus, including every type mentioned in this thread.

AMEN! Honestly, why is some guy who lives upstate so upset about a fire district vehicle his taxes don't even pay for? A lot of volunteer Chiefs buy these vehicles anyway once their terms are up, which means they tend to treat them very well while they're in office. That reduces the wear and tear, which reduces the amount of money the district has to spend maintaining the vehicle. Contrast that with a vehicle a guy is issued that he doesn't otherwise care about and beats on. It works both ways, you see. As far as the point about Chiefs giving up countless hours...unfortunately there are some who couldn't care less about that fact. All you'll ever hear from them is stuff like "It was his own choice" and the like. It's not an excuse to take advantage of the situation, but it should be enough to give people who are quick to judge some pause before they go ape sh!t over next to nothing. Again, unless it's YOUR tax dollars going directly to the agency in question, get a grip!

Simply put, there is way too much reliance on technology these days, and it has "dumbed people down" (for lack of a better term) in many respects. Technology is wonderful, and it indisputably has its place in our world, but at what cost? During the Blackout of 2003, many people were absolutely and completely dumbfounded and lost without electricity. Panicked because the landline and cell phone circuits were overloaded. Freaked out that the Internet was down. Speaking specifically on the topic of dispatchers becoming overly dependent on CAD, it worries me. It used to be the guy or gal manning the radios had a good enough sense of what was going on in the field to understand their job. More importantly, they knew the area they were serving, if not from growing up there then from learning it. These people would know when something didn't look or sound right, whether it was from a CAD screen or a physical runs card. This is fast becoming not the case. "If it's on the computer screen, it must be right!" seems to be the new mantra. The same can absolutely be said for emergency responders. There was a time not so long ago, a decade at most, where you couldn't become a driver in most fire companies until you could show you knew your area well enough that you could get the rig to a fire without having to spend time looking in a street directory. Nowadays that seems to not be the case. As long as you can grab a runs sheet or ask dispatch for directions, it's all good. It's kind of sad, actually, how much I've personally heard a drastic increase in the requests for directions over the air. Back when I became a driver, if I ever pulled that, my Chief would've rightly smacked me upside my head! Advances gained by technology, at the expense of making people dumber or lazier, is NOT a good trade off.

The correct terminology is ELEVATING PLATFORM. Every other term used to describe them are colloquialisms, semantics and regional/local terminology. Although there is something to be said for using Tower-Ladder to describe an AerialScope or Sutphen type device that uses a box boom with no ladder proper; while using Ladder-Tower to describe a fully functional aerial ladder with a bucket at the tip. Then of course you get into devices like a Snorkel or AeroChief, which are also elevating platforms, but of the articulating kind without any climbing device at all. I guess it's the same discussion for what the difference between a Rescue-Pumper and Pumper-Rescue are. If it's a rescue truck with a limited sized pump/tank, then it's the former term. If the rig's primary function is that of a pumper with rescue capability, then it's the latter term.

And it's a very flawed premise. It's part of the reason why society is the way it is today. In any case, suggesting that just because something "is the way it is" therefore should remain that way (for better or worse...worse in this case) isn't very progressive thinking. I wholeheartedly disagree that the Internet should remain a place where you can be anonymous and spew whatever negative and hateful garbage you want without fear of repercussion. Not to mention I'm not convinced that was the original intent of the Internet at all, it's just what it has BECOME. Big difference.

We already set this precedent on Rockland Fires. We've had this in place since last August, with many members voluntarily identifying themselves since the site started in 2006. You are required to put your agency and first/last name in your profile for all to see when you register, and only the admins can edit these fields so no one can change it after the fact. You can use whatever user/screen name you wish, as long as your profile identifies you. I see no benefit to forcing people to use their real names as their user/screen names, when the profile is a click away. The board is also closed to guests, you must register to get in. We have deleted tons of accounts that don't comply since then. We also delete inactive/abandoned accounts that haven't logged on in 6 or more months. It has worked well for us, and frankly, we don't really care if we turn some people away because of it. That is the LEAST of our concerns. Chance are pretty high that if someone is reluctant to post because they are identified, we don't want to hear what they have to say anyway. We'd rather have a smaller number of quality posters than an inflated membership roster full of lurkers or anonymous cowards who spew negative garbage. Ask yourself this: Would you go around in public with a paper bag over your head concealing your identity just so you could rail about whatever was pissing you off? Or insulting other people? Of course not. By the way, it still doesn't stop some people from running their mouths. But at least you know who they are when they post.

You guys think you have it bad over there in Westchester? At least your County Fire Coordinator and County Chiefs' Association hasn't been making a direct, concerted effort to shut your site down because it's "the worst thing to ever happen to the county's fire service". Much of this boils down to some simple facts: - Many people simply cannot handle criticism, "constructive" or otherwise. - Many people are absolutely petrified of the local media reading these boards and launching a Newsday-like expose based upon it. - Some people refuse to accept the fact that the Internet is not going away anytime soon, and in some cases these boards have replaced sitting around the firehouse bar BS'ing or talking sh!t. - "Can't we all just get along?" No, in some cases, we can't. People all have different personalities and sometimes they just don't mesh. - In certain isolated cases, there may be ranking officials that have a personal grudge with admins, mods, very active posters or outspoken posters. All that being said, I do believe there is a right way and a wrong way to express yourself and to offer true constructive criticism. Overt attacks on agencies/individuals is a prime example of the wrong way. This issue won't go away anytime soon, that's for certain. I'm not even sure in 50 years from now when even the oldest old timers were part of the Internet Generation, will it really change some opinions of these type of sites.

"More and brighter" is not always BETTER. Unfortunately that seems to be the pervasive school of thought these days. Same could be said for "bigger is better" fire apparatus, but I digress. Most strobe power supplies have a high/low intensity option, and I know LEDs can be optioned similarly. The trouble is that it usually requires human intervention to switch modes. There are some options, such as wiring the high/low circuit to the vehicle's headlights so at night the vehicle is always in low mode, or hooking the circuit up to some kind of ambient light sensor so it will "know" when it's day or night, or hooking it to the vehicle's "Park" or Maxi-Brake so it goes into low mode automatically when the vehicle is stopped. None of the options are foolproof and they all have their drawbacks. Again, maybe if we didn't trend towards outfitting every available square inch of the vehicle with lights of some sort, it wouldn't be such a concern.

EMS has it pretty good in Rockland. Every VAC has their own station, with quite a few either new, recently renovated, or built right from the start. Every Medic unit in the county is housed, usually in a VAC's building. In many cases they are not just "guests", but RPS pays rent and therefore usually has a bay for their truck and rights to use pretty much the entire building. It also helps that RPS has been around for a long time, both in its present form, and before the merger as Good Sam/Nyack Hospital Medics. They are an integral part of the system. It's a shame it's not like this all over the area.

Playing Devil's advocate, and just for the sake of this question, forget the legal issues for a minute: How many of us have seen non-EMTs who have many years of experience in the back of a rig, and are damn good, they just never got the card? Wouldn't you trust your life in their hands than that of someone fresh out of EMT class? I've known and worked with a few in my time! Again, I'm not talking about the legal implications, just a simple question. Let's be honest, the EMT class/test is not exactly rocket science. There is nothing in that class you can't learn on the job if you have the right people teaching you. Just like a lot of EMTs pick up ALS skills on the job by working with good Medics, it's not too difficult to get someone up to EMT level over the course of a few months in the back of the rig. To say nothing of the people who have been doing it for years. Is it really any different if an experienced EMT/Medic teaches someone how to take vitals on the street than it is in a classroom? It's usually the same EMT/Medic teaching the classes anyway. And no, I'm not putting the EMT position down as being "easy"...I was one myself. Let the flaming begin!

Alright all you Westchester gurus, help me out here. For starters, how many depts in the county are actually dispatched by 60-Control on 46.26? I'm not very familiar with how things work on that side of the river, but I recall that some depts are dispatched by local PD? Maybe some depts moved off the low band system to UHF paging? Leading me to ask...why does it seem that one of the only depts I ever hear being dispatched on 46.26 is Bedford? I'm listening from the Orange/Pike border near Port Jervis, if that makes a difference. I'm going to ASSume that 60-Control has multiple radio towers/transmitters for the low band system, and that I'm only picking up one of them from here.

Yes, that was it! Electrical, I heard that one. Thanks, Doc.

ALS - No problem! I know what you mean, there are a few of those crossband repeaters on this side of the river that will blow the speaker right out of your radio or scanner! I heard at least one other dept dispatched earlier today, but I can't remember for the life of me who it was now. It was definitely a two-part name, so I want to say either Croton Falls or Bedford Hills.