junior215

Yes, let us celebrate the fence-sitting wind socks.......it is better to sway with he wind then pick a side.

Support Yonkers and all IAFF Locals in their fight to save jobs!!!!!!!!!!

Question to the Board......a serious question. Enough union/vollie fighting. Is it wrong for a mayor, who is also the public safety director, to be one of those in charge of a brand new fire department, funded by a special tax district, that does not go through the Board of Reps or Finance, that will presumably be negotiating the terms of employment for the new members...............that will presumably be employing many people that were politically active in his campaign......quite possibly even the master of ceremonies at his inagural ball?????? Does this seem VERY WRONG TO ANYONE!!!!!!!! Political patronage is not unusual, but doesn't this seem to any rational human being to be morally and ethically wrong?? Again, think about this in terms of right or wrong, not from a vollie or paid perspective, PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!

Stamford is simply gonna get rid of union jobs to replace them with a private corporation that is contracted to provide fire services. What if this gave municipalities in other areas an idea on how to save money? Can you say Rural Metro. I am behind the Yonkers brothers 100%, but I wish more people would pay attantion to the Stamford situation. The truth is that the CITY OF STAMFORD IS LOOKING TO REPLACE UNIONIZED FIREFIGHTER JOBS WITH CONTRACTED SERVICES FOR FIRE PROTECTION. ALL UNION MEMBERS SHOULD BE AWARE OF THIS SITUATION TO AVOID A SIMILAR FATE. FOR MORE INFORMATION REFER TO http://www.stamfordfiretruths.org/

Sorry, Alpine, but I have to agree with most of what Jason762 had to say. I guess you do not remember the Belltown and Glenbrook paid members that WERE laid off back when this started??!!! Also, I guess you do not remember that to get hired for the Glenbrook, Belltown and TOR departments you had to take the CITY OPEN COMPETITIVE EXAM and opt to get put on the list for those jobs??!!!! And I guess you do not remember another fire department that hired whoever they wanted....it was Rural-Metro in Rye Brook. So, maybe you can remember this..........The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. You really seem to care about being a firefighter, righteous man. Do not be fooled into believing that everyone you listen to really cares about you. Also remember, there is no "I" in team, but there is a "ME." Just ask Glenbrook!!!!!

At this point it appears the 2 department option WILL pass and all will have to deal with it. I would like to pose several questions that I feel have not been addresed yet: 1. Who will be the IC at calls in North Stamford? Will there be a "chief" responding on all calls to take command or will it be the paid driver/FF? 2. Will the paid FF be compensated for performing supervisory duties on calls? 3. Is the Long Ridge Fire District being expanded because it is the only fire district that can hire WITHOUT going off the city list? Meaning they can hire whoever they want? The last question is the one that is most interesting. The reason why the former paid drivers of TOR, Glenbrook and Belltown were able to be "merged" easily is because they were already employees of the city of Stamford (if my facts are straight)and voted to come to SFRD by a slim majority. COGS, I know you have input so please clarify, if you know the answers. Thanks!

Lets get real, Cogs. With the exception of Belltown, there is NO volunteer response. Having TOR respond with a 2 man engine 15 minutes into a call and having Long Ridge respond with 1 paid driver is USELESS. STOP BEING REDICULOUS!!!!!! Everyone should get on board like Glenbrook. Do any of you realize that $163,000 is better than $20,000 per firehouse. OPEN YOUR EYES. The money is not coming back unless they play ball!!!!!!

I was just kidding about Glewnbrook. That is actually what they got for 2010. I think an argument can be made about TOR because there is no need to have Roxbury vacant. Just let SFRD in and keep Station 1. THEY ARE SELLING RIGS TO KEEP AFLOAT!!!!!!!!! Belltown.......well, they make almost every run, so I can't argue against them. But TOR HAS missed calls and they should review their current strategy. Lets look at this logically..........if you were in a sinking boat, would you get on the lifeboat, or tell it to piss off and ride the ship to the bottom. I know that proper nautical etiquete says to sink, but lets get real here!!!!!! SFRD and vollie units are getting alone on calls. Why let the Mayor sour the relationship for years after he is gone?

Just a hair over $163,000.......Ha

I think Turn of River should get $20,000. They have publicly stated tht they ahve vacated Roxbury Road. Why are they receiving $40,000??? And why is Springdale complaining. They get over $100,000. Right??

Thanks x152. I would hate to see brothers put in another trailer, but maybe it is a solution to the obviously hostile environment in Springdale.

I just heard a rumor about the happenings in Springdale...... apparently the mayor plans to pull E7 out of SFCO firehouse and place them in a trailer in the SFCO fire district, just like Vine Road. Also, the SFCO budget will be reduced to $20,000 and the remainder of the money will be used to pay for the trailer. Can anyone in Stamford confirm this rumor about another hideous trailer appearing in the City that Works? Can this legally happen??? Inquiring minds want to know

How long did it take Eastchester to get the victim out of their recent trench collapse. 1-2hours?? I would venture a bet that this "team" would probably take that long to ASSEMBLE!!!! In a county where we pay so much to live do we put our faith if services that MIGHT come. What do you think people would say is the DPW could not guarantee snow removal 100% of the time of if their garbage was not picked up 100% of the time? No one seems to care that if you are having that once in a lifetime really aweful thing happen to you that help is not 100% guaranteed.

Interesting. I thought that 9 of the 17 "employees" voted to become members of SFRD??? How were they taken away??? Also, since they have vacated the house on Roxbury road, why not sell that too?? Seems like the ship has sunk, they are on the lifeboat and they are bailing out water with a bucket with no bottom. also, there is no rescue coming. Taking a hard line with the Mayor that controls your finances was not a good idea after all, huh guys?? Also, how is the fill the boot going. Are you telling people they are giving money to an organization that has already been receiving their tax payer dollars for years already???

I wish this was Brazil. Then I would speak Spanish and would not to able to read some of these rediculous responses. Please tell me why Turn of River CONSISTENTLY does not have ANY respone to MINOR call like the ever increasing EMS response. Having an assistant chief who does NOTHING to assist on the scene is not a response. I want to have the same response criteria as these HIGHLY TRAINED AND ABLE VOLUNTEERS!! I hate EMS calls at 0200 AM, but, guess what.................these are the calls where you can make a real difference today. Why don't you guys come out and help you community then???????????????????????????????????????? The city is right. The taxpayers need to stop funding the social organizations that respond to an occassional call. STOP TRYING TO MAKE SFRD LOOK LIKE THE BAD GUYS!!!!!!!!!!!! WE DIDN'T ASK FOR THIS SITUATION, WE WERE GIVEN IT!!!!!!!!!!!! And if you hate the Mayor, Chief, or Union president, then crap on them. But stop rying to make the average line firefighter, who actually likes going to calls, out to be the bad guy. AND ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE SERVICES YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO PROVIDE.... GET OFF YOUR ASSES AND RESPOND!!!!!!

Maybe someone can correct me, but didn't E6 go to Long Ridge back in the 1990's because of a manpower "emergency." Would it be any easier to declare an emergency today with the recent events? I just fear that the city will act too quickly again and more firefighters will be living in trailers "temporarily" because the vollies won't budge!! Maybe we could build a temporary firehouse on the burnt out ruins of the house that just burnt down as a symbolic gesture. :angry:

Small piece of info that everyone is leaving out..........When E74 asked if he wanted TOR units alone (vollies) or a TOR response (E8-9 and vollies) he responded that they only have 3 people on the scene and to send "someone." 3 PEOPLE ON A SATURDAY NIGHT TO A WORKING FIRE!!!!!!!!!!!! Original call was for a fire in the fireplace getting out of control 2nd call 3 minutes later was for an ADT call for a smoke detector going off 6 minutes after initial call, homeowner called back stating fire is now out of fireplace and into room. When 715 got on scene (vollie officer) he sounded less than sure of himself and contributed NOTHING useful to the response. I commend the driver of E74 for calling for help from whatever source. Years ago, the mayor (love him or hate him) sent E6 to Long Ridge because of a manpower emergency. LR fought, won and got E6 removed. 3 members to a structure fire on Saturday night that sounded like it started small and ended in TOTAL LOSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!! I concur with LR: you guys have no problems and have enough manpower to get the job done!!!!!!!! I just wonder if the poor homeowner who watched the LRFC let his house burn feels the same way. maybe engines 10 and 11 are not too far off!!!!!!

I hate to bring this up, but what about focusing in on consolidating districts and MAYBE provididng paid services, ESPECIALLY EMS, instead of EVERY district spending $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ on stuff that EVERY district has and not all of them need!!!!!!! Look at Mount Pleasant. There are 5 (Hawthorne, Valhalla, Pleasantville, Thornwood and Pocantico Hills) fire departments. There are 4 aerial/tower ladders, probably in the area of 15 engines, 5 rescues and numerous support units. You can drive from Pleasantville HQ to the Kensico Dam in about 10 minutes (no traffic) and pass, or come close to 5 fire houses. All together, there are 8 or 9 firehouses in Mount Pleasant. The time is going to come when someone is going to put and end to situations like this. For volunteers to survive, we must be proactive and initiate a change instead of being a victim of forced change. Just look at the fate of the BIG 5 volunteers in Stamford. The city if slaying them and not too many people care. They will simply fade away. So, before specifying $6,500,000 firehouses and $1,000,000 aerials, realize that every time an EMS call gets toned out 4-5 times and then goes to mutual aid or there are calls where you repeatedly have to re-tone for manpower, people are listening and big price tags will do nothing but amplify the history of rediculous expenditures by the volunteers of this county.

Just wondering what the status of the second Stiloski's class on 11/11-12 is??

The original question was about bail-out techniques, i.e. ladder bail-outs, ropes, etc. Didn't the Grrenwich incident involve members having to JUMP because a ladder was not present. I refuse to comment on the issue because I do not know the whole story. Yes, jumping out of a window is "bailing out," but is want to know about actual, trainable methods like the FDNY Petzl system. Therefore, Greenwich IS NOT A GOOD EXAMPLE BECAUSE THEY DID NOT USE A TRAINED BAILOUT METHOD. My reply was inappropriate because I cited the tactics. My fault.

The original question was about bail-out techniques, i.e. ladder bail-outs, ropes, etc. Didn't the Grrenwich incident involve members having to JUMP because a ladder was not present. I refuse to comment on the issue because I do not know the whole story. Yes, jumping out of a window is "bailing out," but is want to know about actual, trainable methods like the FDNY Petzl system. Therefore, Greenwich IS NOT A GOOD EXAMPLE BECAUSE THEY DID NOT USE A TRAINED BAILOUT METHOD. My reply was inappropriate because I cited the tactics. My fault.

Thanks for the feedback. Also, is anyone incorporating the bailout into normal training evolutions as a curve ball. Realistically you would have to use a low window because the need to belay out of the second floor window, but I know I can do a perfect bailout under normal conditions. If I was to do it while confused and fatigued, I would be very challenged.

Thanks for the feedback. I believe the Greenwich incident is not a good example because the fire had been going for close to 1 hour and the firefighters were sent in after a missing child. At that point the child had 0 survivability. However, if they had a rope, or even a ladder, the career anding injuries could have been avoided. Also, does anyone think that there is too much attention given to the bail-out ropes. Statistically, more firefighters die from heart attacks and vehicle accidents.

Quick question to all-------- With all of the focus on bail-out systems anad techniques in the fire service, does anyone know of an ACTUAL incident where a firefighter has used one of these techniques/devices to save themselves from impending doom (besides FDNY incident). Please respone if you have any info. Thanks to all

Sort of off the topic, but why did Brewster call Bedford Hills for a FAST team during their fire this week? Aren't they a little far?? Not a dig at BHFD.They are probably one of the better FAST teams in the county, but they are a good distance geographically. However, I do not know Putnam well so they might be the same distance as some Putnam mutual aid. PS - I have to give the Hills credit. First Ridgefield, CT, now Putnam. What is next mutual aid ----- Stamford, Rockland???