CHIEFPHIL

some of the other post have stated each department has it's own needs and equipment should be purchased that meet those needs. Our dept has a tower with a pump. it works out well. there is no slow down in the movement of the aerial while it is pumping, it is even a little faster. The only draw-back is using the high idle when pumping, that messes up pump pressure big time. Having it's own pump during the "big one" allows us to have the aerial lays its own supply line and not tie up an engine to supply it. We tend to run it second due in the hydrant district and it lays a supply line to the first due engine. this allows us to get a LDH line in place and the aerial in front . IF THIER IS A RESCUE SITUATION THEN IT IS USED PURELY AS A RESCUE DEVICE. Having a pump will also allow you to use it as a back up when your engine are out at another run, tied up for maintainece or just out of service. Back to the mutual aid question... not understanding the location of your concern. just my expierence. When we respond our tower to danbury... it is usually for surround and drown or protecting an exposure, we secure our own water supply and pump our own water. This set up does not tie up another engine company to feed us. Trucks with pumps have thier advantages. Remember, you dont have to be in pump to use the aerial. It gets back to the simple rule... what are the dept needs and what works for you and how you use it.

Dodgingtown Vol. Fire co E-221 [1986] Newtown Ct [supposedly last sold] Georgetown Vol Fire Dept s model converted to a tanker Redding ct

One word, UGLY ! Bring back the S model MAXIM !!!

I have now seen 3 mask where this has happened on two occasions. During the last flashover simulator class I attended , the av3000 face piece waved and then formed a bubble that broke , exposing the ff to the enviorment. Thankfully the positive pressure kept the products of combustion out. Being in the plastics industry for 20+ years, if the plastic resin used is not properly dried before it is molded, you can have hidden moisture in the clear piece that when heated can start to expand and evaporate. This could then lead to problems.

Date: 9/1/06 Time: 0900 approx Location: across 110 Grassy Plain St Frequency: 453.6375 Units Operating: E1,5,6 Tower Ladder 1, Rescue1,2 Tanker 1, Amb 1, Car 2,3 S1 Car 300 Description Of Incident: Working fire in a "collier type mansion" Writer: Same On arrival car 300 [FM] found smoke showing from rear of structure, 2.5 story colonial type [100+yrs old} Heavy smoke in interior. Car 2 IC, Engine 5 to come in Grassy Plain Condo entrance and stretch in 1.75" Engine 6 to secure water supply, hydrant corner South St and Grassy Plain Tower Ladder 1 to vent B and D windows #2 floor and attic Car 5 reports fire in attic- need roof open, Tower crew to vent via ground ladders no access for Tower . Engine 6 to stretch 2nd line from E 5, Eng 1 crew to stretch 3rd line off Eng 5 Rescue 1 & 2 to assist with ventilation Tanker 1 standing by as secondary source of water. Amb 1 set up rehab on side C West Redding Engine 1 to cover Bethel Station Hawleyville Engine 331 to cover stony Hill Station West Redding responding to EMS run as first responder. Units starting to clear at 11:00 a.m.

I prefer the zipper and hook&D myself.

One drill I like to use, usally after the SCBA part of FF1 is to lower the pressure on the bottles to 500 pounds or just as soon as the low air alarm goes off. Have the FF sit down , fully geared up and breath the remainder of the bottle down till it is completly empty. The results are interesting. I mainly do this as a confidence builder for new people and to show them that if they control thier breathing how long that little bit of air will last. We have had people last up to 45 minutes with the low air alarm going off. I have even seen a person go 20 minutes AFTER the low air alarm stopped sounding. Typically the average I have recorded has been about 15-19 minutes after the low air alarm goes start to sound. Just passing on some of what I've witnessed.

In Connecticut you are not allowed to take Firefighter 1 if you are under the age of 18. It says that on the FF1 application for the testing. It is also state statue. Since you are from Ct, you should also be aware of the Department of Labor laws regarding minors in the fire service. They are very stringent , ment to protect minors. A lot of CT depts dont realize this and if 16-17 yr olds are participating in actuall firefighting.... I hate to be the Chief..... As an instructor I will allow a minor to sit in on a class room class only. I will not allow them on the training ground at all during a FF1 class. The reason being is that if something happens to them while they are thier it is my butt and I can face crimminal penilties. I'm not wasting my house, business or my retirement so some 16 yr old can watch a drill. (this is when I'm contracted by another dept to teach FF1 or 2 or whatever) Just having them on site could raise a question or two. I believe that there is a positng in the Junior/Explorer area of this site that lays out in detail the do's and dont's of minors in CT. I cannot speak for NY as I have been out of that loop for 20+ yrs. I'm well versed in this area as when I was Chief I set up the Junior Cadet program for the Bethl Fire Dept I did a lot of research into this. If you want further info, you can pm me.

My name is Phil, and I started out as an explorer with Post 700 in Port Chester. My family has a long history with Mellor E&H. I'm from Bethel ct and have been a member of the dept for 24 yrs serving as: Lieut Engine 6 for 1989-91 Capt 92-95 2nd A/C 96-98 Chief of Dept 99-01 1st A/C 2004-5 Currently with Stony Hill fire co , seving as Engineer on E-3

Date: 7/30/06 Time:0845 Location: 00 Williams Road Frequency: 453.6275 Units Operating: E1, 2, 5, 6 Tanker 1, Rescue 2, Amb 1, Amb 2 Car 1,2,3, 301[fm] Description Of Incident: working structure fire in single family , wood frame, 2 lso Writer: chiefphil

Best Pumper - Stony Hill Engine 3 [bethel Ct]

Was up ther today, not crowded at all. There are some real interesting rigs up there this year. Check out the SVI rescue and the 4wd Smeal pumper.

Good luck to HHH&L , going with Smeal is a good thing. They build a pretty sturdy body and thier construction features are good. I was the chairman for our '94 Spartan /Smeal pumper and it has been a good vehicle. Jimmy F is a great guy to work with, he knows his business. When I went to the factory I was impressed with the quality and pride the workers take in thier product. I was there the day they finished White Plains reamount. I was really impressed in the aerial manufacturing process. When you go for lunch while at the factory, go for the BBQ pork special !

I myself do not wear my coat or helmet. I prefer to drive w/o my bunker pants. I find I can handle the rigs better then if I had gear on. I'll always make sure I have my gear on the rig, three times in 24yrs I have driven and ended up on the attack line, and yes I had to get dressed at the scene. I look at todays rigs compared to "yesterdays rigs, I think it was much easier 15-20 years ago to drive with gear as I think the drivers area had more room. The old macks and sutphen I drove had bench seats and you had a lot of flexibilitie, more wiggle room. Today with the motor right next to you, you do not have the arm room and with a coat on it makes it harder to steer, my opinion. I also found it harder to drive standard shift tranny's while in bunker gear, I see guys today driving standards trying to raise thier left foot to meet the clutch with a great deal of strain. Today, at fire schools we push so much on the newbies about wearing gear, wearing it properly that in some cases we have taken it to the extreme. I recenlty saw a firefighter in full gear with helmet and gloves on driving and had a headset on also. Saying all of that, we should always remember the following : Drive at a safe speed Obey all your state motor vehicle laws Have at a minimum 10 hours of driver training Have the proper license Know your equipment, know how it runs, braking distances and understand how it runs. Use your common sence And remember this, when I first started driving, my old assistant chief who was my passenger for almost every night call told me once.... "if it is burning when you get the call kid, it will be burning when you get there".

Once all the notifications are done, you can find the list on the department of defense web site under news releases. My thoughts go out to all that have lost thier lives over the last five years in the service of this country to protect us. We should also keep in our thoughts , our brothers who are serving.

We have this on our Engine 3, it is set up with 200' of 3" line. We have only used it for training and is easy to set and use. I like the emergency shutoff function as well. If the gun starts to move it shuts off. Also, you can hit it on the top with your fist and it will shut off alsoin an emergency. Take the first tip off, use the second smooth bore tip, you'll get good water. This is a lot beeter then climbing up on the rig to take off the gun and remount it. I think today that there is more room for error in setting up a stinger, especially if you do not mate it up witht e base. Have seen the come apart twice.

Danbury : Indepedent Eng 4, Beckerle Eng 9, Water Witch Squad 7, Beaver Brook Eng 11 all ran C models thru the 70's and 80's and 90's. Waterwitch still runs a Cmodel / E-one rescue type. Bethel: Stony Hill Fire co - Engine 1 was a 1964 c/WLF used till 1984. Was used as Bethel Engine 6 for a year, while the Mack was refurbed. West Redding had two C models during the 70' and early 80's. Ridgefield ran a cmodel/maxim ladder that went to Georgetown Sandy hook ran a c model / e-one during the 80's

A little out of the way, but Rookies Sports Bar in Cromwell Ct, "wings of death"

http://users.erols.com/gorval/bethelfd.htm

This site was taken down by the owner.

I remember when I was a kid getting dogs from him, I alsways enjoyed walking down the street with my old man to get them. I always liked getting the onion sauce. Years ago he would sometimes set up his cart near Rendes on lower Grace Church St, one time the "bell hit" at So. Main firehouse, my dad ran to the station with me in tow... He ended up driving E-61's "old fox" to a job at Border Plumbing Supply, and I got stuck at the firehouse with the oldtimers until one of muy Aunts came and picked me up. Boy those dogs smelled the joint up pretty good. The old guys tried taking the dogs, but I kept them hidden. My condolences to the family.

27" att he Stony Hill fire station in Bethel

Go to the Conn Fire Academy web site. The practical skills test for FF1 and 2 can be down loaded. There is a big section on knots. You can pretty much figure out what they want and practice from that list.

Bethel Ct uses the Knox/radio system. Each of the 4 engines carry a vault with the key . Each is tone activated, each Engine has it's own tone.. The Firemarshals office stipulates all new businesses with alarms have a knox box. there is a town ordinance for fire alrams [fines etc] and i think it supports the FM request. The only problem I have really seen ovder the years have been that the owners do not update the keys in the box when changing locks or the tenants change.

Bethel Tower 1 1977 85' w/ 1250 pump - oldest sutphen in service in CT Georgetown Tower 8 70+ w/ 1500 pump Ridgefield Tower 10 - 1986 100' w/ 1500 pump Good article in Fire Resuce magazine this month about the Sutphen Corp.