jcoppola

Thanks for posting those awesome pictures! As a fan who missed the parade, they were a treat!!! Also, thanks for not forgetting the true heroes, Our Armed Forces. We should be having a heroes parade for each one every time they come home from duty. God bless the troops and thanks for the good game NYGmen. Joe

In my 23 year involvement in the very proud, traditional fire service, I have seen one theme prove itself over and over again. When I started in the business, there was a respect for senior men both vol. & paid. You did what you were told like it or not and that was it. This is not the case anymore. Not to offend any of the younger guys, today's generation of firefighters want a reason why they should do what they were ordered to do. This is not a cut on the younger generations, they simply have a lot more education, both college and military, than members did in the past years and they want reasons for things they are asked to do. All this Q&A wastes time, time that could be used for doing, not talking. I come from a few generations in the fire service, so I hold that tradition close and I try to impart it to new members that I have dealings with in both "branches" of the fire service. Moral: New people in the Fire Service should be seen and not heard unless they are asking a question about their job. Orders should not be questioned unless they are obviously unsafe. We need to groom some good senior people for our business otherwise we are doomed. JVC

May I make a suggestion? Train with your local PD & EMS Agencies so everyone knows what each service is capable of. Let me give an example: 1 or 2 times per year, my dept. does a MVA/Rescue demonstration to the EMT class that is done through a joint effort between Norwalk Hospital and the Norwalk Community College. We make an effort to educate the new breeds of EMS responders what the FD is capable of. You'd be very suprised at how little these people know about our level of training and expertise. Some of them think we just wreck the car and then they go in a do the primary evaluations. Most departments I am familiar with bring a lot more to the table and these people should be made aware of that fact. I also make an effort to discuss our capabilities with police officers in my city. For example, we go to calls where we have to "stand by" with PD until the scene is secure. That is a great time to show the cops around the rig and explain what we can do and what we expect of them as well as what they can expect from us. It builds teamwork. It is really easy to do as long as both parties have an open mind. JVC

We have this discussion all the time at work. I strongly believe in the "with traffic" concept. In my opinion, I believe there are 2 and only 2 ways to respond...cautiously with lights/siren/air horns, and "with traffic". When there is an emergency, we respond, be it a ripping house fire or an activated alarm. We need to remember, we did not cause the tragedy, fire, accident, we are only called to change the outcome. If we never get there, the outcome will not be changed. We need to try to keep this in our heads when it gets as bad as it can get. I am not insinuating that we don't "turn it up" a few notches when it sounds like something "good", but we must remember to keep it under control and not injure others or even more importantly, US. JVC

Do I need to exert my newly granted power??? (Kidding) JVC GO BLUE

Other than being a Giant faithful for as long as I can remember, the best part of the win is that all the "talking heads" will hopefully shut thier mouths about Eli and how he can't win the big game. Another thing, as a NYG fan, I have to ask...where did Eli get that talent he showed in the last five or six games this season??? Freakin awesome! GO Big Blue!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I come from a few generations of firefighers and I have to say that I was brought up to always feel strange with a drink in my hand in uniform, be it at a holiday or during a "coalition". I think it was hammered into my head for so long that I carry my guilt with me to this day. Having said that, I know I have been a part of some pretty suspect activities 20 or so years ago, but we all know our time has changed and we are held to a higher standard and we are always being videographed or photographed and it only takes seconds to post a picture that can ruin a 20 year career. Simply put, we need to use our heads and act like the professionals people depend upon. JVC

Date: 2-2-08 Time: 10:00 (approx) Location: Rte 25 @ Rte 111 Frequency: Units Operating: Town of Trumbull FD's, TPD Description Of Incident: MVA with entrapment and multiple serious injuries at a major intersection in town. Writer: JVC Update: WTNH is reporting two fatalities and 1 patient at St. V's in Bridgeport in critical condition and 1 patient at Bridgeport Hospital in serious condition. This tragedy is hitting the Norwalk Fire Department extra hard because one of the fatalities and the 2 in the hospital are immediate family members of a NFD retiree who served over 40 years on the line in Norwalk. I will post additional information regarding arrangements etc. as they are made available to us. I apologize for adding all this extra info in an incident alert, but I feel it is appropriate at this time. See www.wtnh.com for full story JVC

I'd have to take Jake and Elwood..."Blues Brothers" JVC

Great site! I bookmarked it. JVC

Thanks for that video link, it was great. JVC

Date: 01-31-2008 Time: 13:50 Location: I-95 Near Strawberry Hill Overpass Frequency: 151.445 Units Operating: Norwalk Fire/Rescue Units, CSP, Norwalk Medics Description Of Incident: Picked from scanct.com, semi-trailer over the embankment with entrapment. More details will be added. Writer: JVC

Congrats are in order! and... Now I really feel stupid for losing my cool with Truck4 when he gave me some advice about my incident alerts (all thru PMs). It seems that I am quite a "rookie" standing next to him and his superior posting skills. JVC

Funny thing comes to mind...many years ago, departments would buy rigs with larger booster hose diameters i.e. . One of the lines of thinking I heard come out of the mouths of old-timers is that the sole-arriving MPO could put the rig in pump, charge the booster, and go in and start knocking down the fire by himself. The intent to do good was there, but the chance of killing the MPO outweighs the benefit. JVC

7,000+ members.... Now if that is not incentive to make worthwhile, intelligent posts, I don't know what is... That number is approaching the readership of a small-town newspaper! Seriously, the site is a great way to keep informed on the fire service in our area. The administrators deserve a lot of credit for running it the way they do, even if all of the subscribers don't always agree on some issues. JVC

Hi everyone, I am seeking information and feedback on what is a good structural fire boot for structural firefighting. I currently use Warrington and I am pleased with their performance, but I heard many acquaintences say that the new Globe boots are good all around, including comfort, breathability and warmth in cold weather ops. Plus, I heard that the Globes have really good traction. Warrington, I think, falls very short in the traction department, as I have slipped in mine several times, both on debris and wet/icy conditions. The soles are simply too hard to contribute to grip. I believe the price-points are similar, but I could be wrong on that too??? Thanks in advance for any feedback. JVC

I had that same clicking problem with every pair I owned. I asked a dealer an they said if you use your opposite foot to lock the heel to take them off, this will be the result. Who feels like carrying around that stupid door chock that they sell with the boots to remove them "properly". Also, the straps don't last. All my pro boots lost the carrying straps on them 1 year or so into the life of the boot. That makes them a bear to don when you have extra sox on during the cold days and nights. We get clothing and maintenance checks in the summer so I feel that I may be inclined to lay out the 4-boxes-of-ziti for the globes even though they look like martian boots. JVC

Date: 01-22-2008 Time: 0630 Location: Monroe, CT Frequency: Units Operating: Monroe, Shelton, Long Hill (Trumbull) Description Of Incident: Reported to be 2 simultaneous working fires, Harmony Road and Wheeler Road Writer: JVC

THE BIG BLUE MACHINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THE NEW YORK FOOTBALL GIANTS

From the Firehouse Recipe section of www.local830.org: Heart Healthy Escarole & Bean Soup Preparation time: 15 minutes Ingredients: 1 bunch fresh escarole - chopped or torn 3 cloves of garlic 1 quart of College Inn Lower Sodium Chicken Broth 2-3 links of lean turkey sausage 1 can Progresso cannellini beans, rinsed and drained 4 TBSP olive oil fresh ground pepper and parmesean cheese to taste Directions:In a large stock pot, sautee garlic in the olive oil until slightly browned. Add the escarole and sautee for about 2-3 minutes. Add the chicken broth, beans, cooked sausage and some parmesean cheese and simmer until the beans are warmed through, about 5-10 minutes. When serving, add fresh ground pepper to taste. Serving with ciabatta bread is delicious, but it adds some empty calories and carbs. Recipe as listed serves 2-3 firefighters. Adjust the recipe accordingly for larger groups. Recipe by Joseph Coppola

Date: 01-15-2008 Time: 04:30 Location: Merritt Pkwy Southbound & Northbound between exits 39 & 40 Frequency: Units Operating: Norwalk E1, R2, Car 2, State and Norwalk PD, Norwalk, Westport and Wilton EMS Description Of Incident: 4 car accident. One of the involved parties got out of their car after the accident in the Southbound lane to check what happened. They were then struck by an oncoming car and thrown to the Northbound lane. That party was transported to Norwalk Hospital with a trauma alert with severe head trauma. Condition is unknown at the time of this post. 1 of the other vehicles was found down an embankment with two occupants within with minor injuries which were transported by Westport EMS. 2 other vehicles were scattered in the travel lanes with heavy damage but occupants were not injured and refused medical aid at the scene. Being one of the first arriving units on this scene, it was particularly challenging, but State and Local PD's were a huge help. While standing by for a wrecker, E1 was alerted verbally by a trooper that there was an accident 1000 yards south of our accident with a trooper involved. E1 cleared the original accident and went to assist the trooper. The CSP cruiser had entensive damage but the trooper and the other operator were ok. Norwalk FD responded to numerous accidents on the Merritt Pkwy and the Route 7 connector during the hours of 04:30 -06:30. Black ice was the apparent culprit. Writer: JVC

Recently, on a quick trip through New Haven, I saw an auto body shop or something that had a bunch of new Danbury Police Cruisers that were all painted up and they were Chargers. They looked nice. I had no camera with me...(bad move). If I get back up there for business, I will shoot a few pictures of them. Looks like Danbury is spending some cash on PD & FD lately... Joe C. (recent cop-car wacker)

I know...so true!

Alan... How keen of you to recognize the 1725 shift change for night tours in the NFD. (For those who don't know what BFD182 is speaking of, the NFD changes night tours at 1725 because back when the trollies were running, the 17:30 trolley stop was near the old Central Firehouse in South Norwalk and leaving work at 17:25 allowed the men 5 minutes to catch the trolley.) I like to think of the black gear, leather helmets and red rigs as a RETURN to tradition. One of my favorite parts of my department is the rich firefighting tradition going back to horse drawn apparatus and a sincere concern for the brothers that have gone before us or simply are enjoying a healthy retirement, like Jimmy Bogdany Jr as well as Jim Sr. With all the complaining we, as firefighters, do, it is neat once in a while to look at the good things. GO BIG BLUE!!! JVC

Chief, What happened to the idea of dispatching New Canaan out of Norwalk's new combined Emergency Communications Center at NPDHQ? Also, Southwest CMED was rumored to be looking at our dispatch center for their new location...any thoughts? Joe C.