res6cue

In today's day and age, we couldn't detect a DIESEL sub following a carrier group? Even with a Los Angeles class attack sub in the group? That's scary. (Yes, I know diesels run quiet on batteries when submerged, but still, this is WWII technology!)

Kudos Rob on 3 years of having no lif...umm...of DEDICATED SERVICE! Great job. I dunno about that "res6cue" guy though.

Indeed, he's got my gratitude for sure.

Yes, we follow 2+2. Our dept requires that before you become a member, you pass a comprehensive medical exam, including interior qualification. There may be some older guys who are no longer interior qualified for whatever reason, but again, we're talking ex-Chiefs and guys with a ton of experience, therefore their current status is less of an issue. I've spoken more than my peace here. The rest of you can continue to play the "what if" game, but I decline to. I often wonder if some of you operate in the real world though, I will say that much.

The cab is shorter than the E-One cab, but if you look they added the transverse compartment at the front of the body to compensate for the lost small compartment that was on the E-One cab. I suspect the overall length is just about equal for both trucks, it's just a bit of an optical illusion with the cab being shorter. As a matter of fact, now that I look at them side by side again, the Pierce may even be a few inches longer.

I think ALS understands my point. If your drivers aren't trained well enough to be able to handle command of the initial stages of an incident, you've got bigger problems. I would hope that most depts require their drivers have at least a few years in the dept with solid firefighting experience. Yes, the Chief could stay out side to "babysit" the pump panel while the driver goes inside, but the chances are in many depts that the driver isn't geared up, whereas the Chief would have his full set of PPE with him. Incidentally, many of our drivers happen to be ex-Chiefs. Aside from a legal standpoint of who officially has overall responsibility, is there really any difference between the current Chief running command and the ex-Chief who just finished his term 3 months ago? Certainly not, no. And let's not forget what is taught in ICS: that the IC doesn't necessarily have to be the highest ranking official on scene, but they do need to have the experience and understanding to perform their task. In my dept (and I suspect many others) that means a firefighter/driver with years of experience is more than up to the task.

I'm speaking as to how our dept runs our operations. First due apparatus chauffeur is IC until relived by an arriving officer or until they transfer command to another chauffeur/senior member at their discretion (in the absence of an officer). Your experience may vary, but we do what works well for us and has for just about 100 years now. As far as the "what ifs", we can go back and forth forever on all the possible issues that can arise for any given situation. As I said, for me the bottom line is whether or not that Chief's presence on that handline will have an immediate positive effect on saving a life or getting the fire attack off to a quick start, averting further extension and property loss. If so, then by all means Chief, take the knob and stay low.

Our Chief works FDNY Rescue 3 and our 1st Assistant Chief is career up in Connecticut. I really don't think you're going to tell either one that fighting fire "isn't their job anymore". Yes, they have a greater responsibility on scene as Chief Officers, but our overall responsibility is to PROTECT LIVES AND PROPERTY. Which means that if you're shorthanded, it's all hands on deck. Let's be realistic also, if you have a qualified chauffeur/driver on scene and it's a room and contents fire, surely he should be more than capable of handling Command until another officer gets there to relieve him. I've done it myself countless times as I waited for officers to arrive on scene, even while operating the pump.

As I stated in my post right above yours, I've used a fog nozzle master stream as a water curtain to protect a nearby exposure. You definitely cannot accomplish that with a smoothbore.

We carry both smoothbore and fog tips for our master streams. I like having the fog for exposure protection, but nothing beats the smoothbore for penetration and hydraulic overhaul.

Ogontz FD out in PA has the scheme reversed, white trucks with hunter green top half of the cab and green striping. Looks really sharp. www.ogontzfireco.org

Wait a minute...I just reread the article. Are they suggesting this nozzle should be deployed from the EXTERIOR?!? Wow, I've seen and heard it all now! So basically it's some kind of fancy hybrid between a piercing nozzle and cellar nozzle? Give me a break. Um, what ever happened to going in for a SEARCH ahead of the line? God help anyone who's inside when you pump the place full of steam. This is yet another perfect example of fog nozzle technology gone horribly wrong.

Well first of all, clearly what you posted is an advertisement for the company that makes this particular brand. The headline itself ("Firefighters Can't See Through Walls") is just absolutely silly in today's day and age of thermal imaging. There's no way I would trust sticking a piercing nozzle into a wall over checking it with the TIC and pulling the sheetrock to make SURE there's no extension. Yes, our dept has two piercing nozzles, but we rarely use them. One is in a compartment on one engine and the other is attached to a dead load of 2" in the front bumper of another engine. We've only ever used them on car fires, but quickly realized they're mainly just a novelty. By the time you get them in place you could've had the hood or truck popped or pried up enough to stick the regular nozzle in.

Well, I can't speak for any specific policy Nyack as a whole or any individual company might have, but I will say that it's been my experience here in Rockland that most depts like to wait for a few guys before rolling. Generally speaking, the drivers in most depts and companies get to know who's around at any given time of day or night, so you wait until they show up. I don't see too many depts around here encouraging members to respond to the scene, they'd rather have guys on the trucks when possible. Nyack and Haverstraw get out quick because so many of their members work in or right around the village. It also helps when you only have one truck per company to man. Heck, I'm sure at night there are guys that show up and there's no room to ride the truck. Wouldn't we all want to be burdened with that "problem"!

Oh wow, that's a powerful image. I'd be lying if I said I didn't have tears well up in my eyes looking at it.

Access to the shelf area behind the front seats. If you look at the interior shots, you can see the weatherstripping. Good place to store a driver's coat or EMS bag or whatever else.

Pierce is very strong in Rockland. Seagrave was in the past, and is picking up again. ALF was always popular, but dropped off during all the turmoil in the late 80s/early 90s. They're making a comeback now. Saulsbury used to be very popular here, but now that E-One all but ran them into the ground, not so much. There has only ever been a single E-One here, and it's our Rescue (although it's on a GMC chassis) which will be gone very soon. There's only one Ferrara in the county, and it's the FTC's training engine. Sutphen has a pretty loyal following by a few depts. KME is definitely the manufacturer gaining the most steam in Rockland of late.

You have WAY too many domain names, I can't keep track!

Congrats, Jonesy!

Oh no...next thing you know, they'll be experimenting with bunker pants!

Yep, I agree. The stainless steel may look sharp, but it's really no fun on a bright sunny day with the glare blinding you!

Gorgeous! Thanks for the pics Brian. What's covering the pump panels (and parts of the interior also it appears)? Hard to tell but it doesn't look painted. Looks almost like the same sprayon stuff they use for pickup beds, or maybe even black anodized aluminum.

L10 (from Triborough's Flickr album http://flickr.com/photos/triborough) http://static.flickr.com/37/74929364_9aa1ba3e96_b.jpg E10 (from Luigi Rosa's Flickr album http://flickr.com/photos/lrosa) http://static.flickr.com/106/294578954_6cec5b529e_o.jpg

It sure is in fantastic shape. That's one thing you'll always find about single apparatus companies like Nyack and Haverstraw, their rigs are always in tip top shape. That's not a knock on other depts, but it's definitely a decided advantage having all your members taking care of just one truck as opposed to an entire fleet.

Hmm, haven't been inside there in quite a few years, but as I recall it's one structure divided in half down the middle. Chelsea H&L on one side, Jackson Hose on the other.