Zippy39

I've wondered this same thing myself. I've always considered utility companies quasi-government to some degree. When I was a Detective I worked with them on numerous cases of theft of electricity and always found their investigators (all retired cops) to be very professional and thorough. I'm kind of surprised they don't have some sort of emergency response group with lights and sirens although I agree the NYS VTL does not currently allow it. I think that's fairly easily remedied-just look at how many different groups of people are classified as peace officers for example. It'd be no more than adding one line to the Authorized Emergency Vehicle section. A guy that lives near me (well outside of Con Ed territory) drives a nice F250 with Con Ed's standard livery but with Emergency in red letters on the side, the NYPD/FDNY/Con Ed logos on the side and a full light bar (although I assume it's orange lights). I always wondered what his job was, I assume some type of response to gas and/or electric emergencies. I'll have to grab a photo of it, it's a nice rig actually.

Credit to Christian Clinch via policecarwebsite.net

In NYS, the fire chief is responsible for determining and reporting the cause of the fire, therefore sometimes they can determine it themselves without a C&O response. I believe they get basic C&O training as part of their command classes. In Westchester, once the C&O teams were formed around 20+ years ago, their use increased over time like any other resource. If my memory serves me correctly, prior to that, the DA's office had one investigator who did the C&O work, obviously he couldn't be at every fire. As for lights and sirens, I was a PD Detective for 18+ years, I never responded to a scene that already had cops at it (i.e., a past burglary, robbery, homicide) with lights and sirens. There is no need for it on a scene where the active crime is over and the scene is being held down. In my last few years when I was actively investigating fires, I often went out upon the initial call so as to get there early for the reasons stated above. In that case I would use lights and sirens. If I was showing up after the fire was knocked down, I didn't.

Great article. I'm surprised it hasn't generated more comments here. Cops suffered from a similar syndrome for years. Even after Columbine we were told to wait for 4 cops to be there before going in. Do you know how long it could take for 4 cops to get to a scene in the suburbs? Suffice it to say it'll all be over before they get there. The theory now (or at least when I retired) was that the first guy there goes in and tries to neutralize the bad guy. Novel idea, eh. Good guy with gun, body armor, etc goes after the bad guy, just like we swore an oath to do. Not to say someone is going to be reckless but standing around waiting while people are dying is crazy.

It's true. I called OFPC and spoke to a guy there. He said they have to return the area they were using to the military. I'm hoping to take a class there at the end of August, so I wanted to check. It sounds like by the time September gets going, they'll be out of there.

Cutty, nice photos! You were obviously much closer to the action that I was! By the way, he's too humble to say so in the caption, but that's BHFD Chief of Department Joe "Scooter" Lombardo standing alone on the roof about halfway down the line of photos on the right.

Hello all, this is my first post on EMT Bravo. I am a former Bedford Village FD member and current Bedford PD Detective. I joined EMT Bravo specifically to respond to this thread. I was lucky enough to be standing across the street when the firefighters came on the set and did their thing. It was awesome to watch and I don't want to give anything away but you'll see plenty of people you know in the shots. I have been very impressed with the reaction and support of the volunteer fire service to the Arena family, the continuous support that has been offered-even after the loss of Jimmy Boy-has been nothing short of inspirational and a credit to firefighters everywhere. You should all be very proud. Keep up the good work!