thebreeze

First I'd like to take issue with the statement that parades are an integral part of team building or public visibility. Company drills and training and learning to work with others while taking classes at the training center are how you foster a team mentality, not strutting down the street in every town that decides to have a parade. As far as visibility goes, I feel like parades draw the wrong types of people trying to be visible, the guy you haven't seen at a call in six months but who shows up for the spread and to make himself "visible". If you really want positive public image for your department participate in a fundraiser for a good cause, put a team together to do a walk or run for a cause, participate in something greater than the department showing what you do to give back. A question I'd ask about the guys involved in this debacle, are they good responders, do they pull their weight where it's really important, on the fire scene? On the flip side, how many of the members who actually marched aren't around regularly to attend drills and calls? The chief in question sounds like a real prima Donna to me, immature, bombastic, and if he thinks that his offensive racist language was acceptable because the members he was berating weren't minorities, then he's just flat out incompetent.

First I'd like to take issue with the statement that parades are an integral part of team building or public visibility. Company drills and training and learning to work with others while taking classes at the training center are how you foster a team mentality, not strutting down the street in every town that decides to have a parade. As far as visibility goes, I feel like parades draw the wrong types of people trying to be visible, the guy you haven't seen at a call in six months but who shows up for the spread and to make himself "visible". If you really want positive public image for your department participate in a fundraiser for a good cause, put a team together to do a walk or run for a cause, participate in something greater than the department showing what you do to give back. A question I'd ask about the guys involved in this debacle, are they good responders, do they pull their weight where it's really important, on the fire scene? On the flip side, how many of the members who actually marched aren't around regularly to attend drills and calls? The chief in question sounds like a real prima Donna to me, immature, bombastic, and if he thinks that his offensive racist language was acceptable because the members he was berating weren't minorities, then he's just flat out incompetent.

Total ruse, shell game nonsense. The sh*t sandwich contract says that staffing level "C" is guaranteed. Currently "C" calls for five guys on the backstep of every ladder, but there is nothing preventing the city from going in and changing the definition of "C". Bought hook line and sinker by a few thousand guys.

Driver is included, the boss is not.

typing in all caps on the internet is considered rude and it means the poster is yelling....

WHY ARE YOU YELLING? 😁

WHY ARE YOU YELLING? 😁

WHY ARE YOU YELLING? 😁

You're gonna hear far worse in the years to come, one day it's going to be "wow, Major Department Still Cares About Hiring Standards", or "Wow, Major Department Still Goes INSIDE to Fight Fires"

You're gonna hear far worse in the years to come, one day it's going to be "wow, Major Department Still Cares About Hiring Standards", or "Wow, Major Department Still Goes INSIDE to Fight Fires"

You're gonna hear far worse in the years to come, one day it's going to be "wow, Major Department Still Cares About Hiring Standards", or "Wow, Major Department Still Goes INSIDE to Fight Fires"

You're gonna hear far worse in the years to come, one day it's going to be "wow, Major Department Still Cares About Hiring Standards", or "Wow, Major Department Still Goes INSIDE to Fight Fires"

They are also trying to make basement apartments legal again, it's like they forgot why these things were put in place. Then they will be shocked and horrified and blame the FD when fire fatalities go up.

They are also trying to make basement apartments legal again, it's like they forgot why these things were put in place. Then they will be shocked and horrified and blame the FD when fire fatalities go up.

I stopped checking in as regularly because I get tired of ten new dead end thread topics starting every day. Usually just to announce a new TV show or something else that invites no follow up discussion. I still chime in when it's a thoughtful discussion or when there's useful information I'd like to try and share, but in general there's too much clutter. It's good to post job filings for people to see but do they have to all have their own thread? Kind of like all the new apparatus postings got consolidated into one thread, can't that be done? I still enjoy some of the good discussion here, but it's increasingly becoming more and more like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

I stopped checking in as regularly because I get tired of ten new dead end thread topics starting every day. Usually just to announce a new TV show or something else that invites no follow up discussion. I still chime in when it's a thoughtful discussion or when there's useful information I'd like to try and share, but in general there's too much clutter. It's good to post job filings for people to see but do they have to all have their own thread? Kind of like all the new apparatus postings got consolidated into one thread, can't that be done? I still enjoy some of the good discussion here, but it's increasingly becoming more and more like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

I've seen a lot of guys look a lot more "not right" who were good guys. A lot of places take in people who end up being their biggest problems. Happens all over, the system can't stop every problem from occurring, it's a shame though.

Because you always say who you are speaking to, and they are speaking to 60 control at that moment so they say 60 control.

Because you always say who you are speaking to, and they are speaking to 60 control at that moment so they say 60 control.

Because you always say who you are speaking to, and they are speaking to 60 control at that moment so they say 60 control.

Because one person's opinion, standing alone by itself, with nothing to strengthen or support their argument, is obviously always correct.

No one is surviving long UNDER the water, however in the water with flotation is a very different story. Dive teams are more likely a recovery resource than a rescue resource in reality
http://gcaptain.com/cold_water/
The link is to an interesting article about the facts about cold water drowning and immersion in cold water, both with and without flotation. Seems like by the time a dive team is assembled, unless it just happens to be on the shore nearby, if the person has already gone under, they are likely to expire. I feel cold water rescue teams would be a resource that would be more beneficial to duplicate and have many of than dive teams, since they are more than likely doing recovery they are not necessarily needed to assemble and respond as quickly. I agree with you that it's a realistic risk in our area that we will need water rescue resources, and I agree cold water rescue units would be useful, I just don't think the dive teams are as realistic a resource to maintain for what they can actually provide. How many times is a dive team called where in reality the person isn't actually under the water and it's simply a cold water rescue? One quote that stood out from the article that struck me as pertinent to the conversation was this,
"I’m going to come right out and tell you something that almost no one in the maritime industry understands. That includes mariners, executives, managers, insurers, dock workers, for certain – fisherman, and even many (most) rescue professionals:It is impossible to die from hypothermia in cold water unless you are wearing flotation, because without flotation – you won’t live long enough to become hypothermic."
Give the article a good read, its written by a well heeled former Coast Guard member who knows his stuff, it certainly opened my eyes to a few new things.

This is true in Manhattan, not quite as standard in the outer boroughs though.

That's right, it's just a machine. That one happens to have a mural on the side. Last time I worked in L10, they had a spare. It was an old rusty bucket and I PROMISE you, there wasnt any less pride among the members.There's plenty of pride in that rig......because we have pride in our TOOLS. When we start our tour or after a job, we wash our rig, we take a wire wheel to our hooks, haligans and brass nozzles.....because they're tools that we have pride in.

I'm not against the idea, I just don't think it's actually going to accomplish anything. Another law passed to make politicians look good and everyone feel all warm and fuzzy, but like I said, it's not going to protect you from those real a$$hole employers who it's directed at in the first place.

Departments don't care, they will do what they want. Its already a waste of time, money, and resources on the part of the departments who hold them, and those that come to them. They don't give any thought to these things as far as a reason to not do wet downs, so why would some other common sense stop them?