CHIEFPHIL

Too be honest, wether an incident alert, or a reply I really don't find much interesting information here anymore. Other social media seems to me to have taken over the information sharing. Most likely, it's time for a change. There is also a lot of department Un- official policies out there that are putting the Kabash on posting things about their dept. Recently at a meeting I attended much discussion occurred about a post a member did that turned embarks hong for him and eventually the dept. I posted a video of our tower ladder operating at a fire. The video inadvertently had ff's with out pipe, the tower opening with water and about 15 seconds later a ff exits the building. I took a lot of heat about that video from friends, other area chiefs and the like. I saw the potential risk at that point .... So as much as I cannot stand my rights being restricted, I see the risk to my organization or others. Law suits, Osha or just plain embareshing. So as it write this, I won't be posting here any longer ( the little I did) nor posting pictures of fires on any social media going forward. As we use to say .... 46- 81 for Engine 6 please ( off the air,back in quarters. ).

We never made it to the fire.

We ran the ambulance as well. Our running card for Mia's was ambulance, rescue, engine. We were in the less then 5 years ... Full of vigor. 3 of us were hanging out with the town hall operator/ fire dispatcher which was in the firehouse. The phones went off and the calls started to roll over on the switchboard. The dispatcher repeats the street name and the word motorcycle.. So the four of us ran , got our gear and got in the ambulance . Just as we pulled out of the station, an officer pulled up, looked at us and said WTF you doing! Put that thing away, it's a fire... With that 2 more guys showed up and took the engine to a motorcycle fire. We took a good amount of ribbing for Hanging out in the ambulance. In the day, we had no tones in the station or pagers, we relied on the fire whistle and our home plectrums, so we never actually heard the dispatcher.

One night I kept my plectrum on monitor. About 2 am the tones hit for signal 50 car on rt 34 at the Stevenson dam. I jumped up, got dress and beat feet to the FD. Then I realized that the Stevenson dam was in Oxford about 25 miles away.

Each engine carries : 1- 100' 13/4" with for nozzle 1- 100' 13/4" with fog nozzle. 21/2"x 2- 1 1/2" leader wye attached to line . 2 spanner strapped to pack. One engine carries a 50' 2 1/2" line with a water thief attached. 2.5"x2.5"X2- 1.5".

Town of Bethel CT Fire - 845 EMS - 2060

When I was at the Smeal factory in the corn fields of Nebraska , there was department that spent roughly 1 hour at the plant looking at thier rig then were flying out to a Rockies - Met game as part of their inspection .

Bethel Ct will be ordering a 2015 Sutphen Monarch Rescue Pumper. 2000 GPM - 1000 GWT / 50 GFT. Water tank will be L shaped to have a lower hose bed. 5 man cab extended cab. We eliminated one seat for additional inside storage cabinet to hold EMS and meters. Harrison Hydro Gen with a 10' extending light tower. Several other key features include hydraulic ladder and hard suction rack, full length compartments under rear seats and the rear cab wall. All will be accessible from either side from the outside. Will be built at Sutphen East, looking at a late spring 2015 delivery. Will be replacing the 1994 Spartan/Smeal.

We usually send 4 for both the pre construction and the final inspoection. Usiually the committee is 4, the Chief, me, the engineer of the rig being replaced and one at large member. The town officials ( cut the check) have enought confidence in us to do the right thing and only want the good press when it is delivered. I have served on 5 truck committees and only had to fly to Smeal (1) and Sutphen (1) the other three were built within driving distance Rescue 1 and 4 -Guys and a demo model from E-One. Our newest order will be built at Sutphen East, so a 90 minute drive, so we save the travel cost of 8 and use that for other incidentals on the rig.

This is one awesome ED. We took a tour Monday night to familiarize ourselves with the site. A totally overwhelming facility (positive note). 70+ beds, 3 wings, one for pediatric emergencies. Semi protected ambulance bay that holds 6 rigs, up to 10 during a MCI. Heli-pad on the roof, with direct elevator access to the ED. I was very impressed.

I don't think ALL trucks should carry water, BUT I think that depending on how your department operates, they should. I think it should come down to the need of the department and their responsibilities. In our case yes. Our tower ladder carries 300 gallons and has a 2000 gpm pump . Several hand-lines and supply line and a portable master stream. Several times over the years the Tower has been either first due to several working structure fire, car fires and other fires were the engines were delayed ( mechanical/other alarms) and in a few cases the only piece able to respond. We do a number of special events ( PR and demos etc), with limited manpower ( available to respond to calls ) and usually a full crew ( at the event) this piece can respond right away and be able to start suppression efforts. Since we are one dept and no separate engine or hook&Ladder co's we have to be able to operate every piece of equipment . Our other fire company co in town can have a 3-10 mile run to our district. Typically this is our send piece out the door and many times (if there is no immediate need for the aerial),this piece has established the supply line to the Engine ( many cringing at that idea). It has also been utilized as the second or third fire ground pumper (attack lines). I almost lost 3 guys on day being cut off on a set of stairs and the line form the Tower ladder got the guys out. If our two engines are operating at another incident, this will respond, sometimes with the Tanker. Has it pumped a hydrant - no, has drafted from a portable pond no , has it filled tankers no, but it could if need be. It has laid it's own supply line and supported itself many times, both in town and mutual aid. This works for us and will continue. No, if we had a separate H&L co, with a good amount of other pumpers, I'd say no - if there is always a separate engine co responding, I don't see the need. I'm a practical person... what is the need, how do we operate it. It comes down to NEED vs "I want"

Here in Bethel, we have been using a 1968 Kaiser/Jeep with a 350 gpm PTO pump that we installed. The rig was a brush truck, but became unusable as an emergency vehicle. We loaded it up with 3 submersibles as well as a generator and 1 portable pump with a about 300' of hose and assorted appliances. Currently it is OOS and awaiting disposition.

Yep, house is long gone... Reds Garage sits over my basement now.

RB&W Fire, Midland Avenue November 1973. Engine 61's Fox, Patrol 4 , Engine 58 Ladder 31 and TL2 operating. Taken from the 3rd floor of my parents house by my mom, one of the biggest biff's I ever knew.

And a great shuffle board too..