Ex-2114

Rest in peace, Larry. It was a pleasure to have known you. You fought a strong uphill battle and now you are in a better place overlooking us all. Thoughts and prayers to the Batchie, Gallagher, and Elmsford FD familes.

Yonkers Fire has a ladder company (Spare L-78) with a full crew (Officer and 3 FF) plus a Battalion Chief and Aide in Nassau, I believe in Baldwin. They are returning tomorrow at 0800 after a 72 hour deployment.
YFD Mobile Command has been in Citi Field, with 2 of our SOC members, for the last several days. It is expected to be there for a long time. It is being heavily utilized by various OEM / FEMA, etc.
We also have a Haz-Mat Task Force operating in Suffolk County out of the Islip Airport alongside a career FD Haz-Mat team there.It consists of 2 YFD Battalion Chiefs, and approximately 4 YFD Company Officers, and 15 or so YFD Firefighters, as well as 1 Officer and 3 Firefighters from Hartsdale Fire, and 1 Officer and 6 Firefighters from Greenville Fire. All or most of these members have been trained to the Haz-Mat Tech level, and some to Haz-Mat Specialist level.They finish their 72 hours tomorrow evening I believe. They have been doing a very significant amount of work, the details of which I do not have. Suffice to say that local opinion has been very positive and they have been requested to extend their deployment for at least 72 more hours.
However, in light of the coming Nor-Easter, our exhausted personnel as a result of the Hurricane Sandy mitigation- preparation- response, and recovery efforts in Yonkers, and the recovery work on Long Island, and our very undermanned department (40+ members under authorized strength due to a delayed class hiring), we have declined the request to extend the Haz Mat Task Force deployment. We will see what effect the coming storm has, and if still requested, and able, we will redeploy another Haz Mat Group.
This is a horrible situation for so many, but it is nice to see how readily most First Responders as well civilians give of their time, effort, and money to attempt to ease the suffering and return us all to some sense of normalcy.
Once again, I could not be more proud of my YFD brothers, many of whom suffered damage to their own homes, as well as extended loss of electricity, yet continued to rise to the challenge and performed admirably during the many events of this last week.

i should have said this in my first post, but losing Chucky is striking me pretty hard. I had the privilege of being Chucky's partner for a few years on Tuesday overnight working Medic 37 prior to my deployment to Afghanistan. He was schedule to be my partner on Tuesday Medic 31 when he came back from his injury, but they were having a tough time nailing down what was actually hurting him. This is a devastating blow to not only Empress but to all of Westchester County emergency services. He was extremely involved in both EMS as well as the volunteer fire dept. I think being Chucky's partner made me a better paramedic and I sorely miss him. He always had our backs and was the best of the best. I can always remember trading story's of his PortChester jobs vs my Pearl River Jobs, nothing was ever too small for him to give his expert opinion, and he always did have the better way to do it. I wish I told him more how much I truly valued his partnership on the ambulance, as well as his friendship. While I was deployed he always made sure to check in on my wife, and include her in the Perry Ave party's he had, or just going out to the bars. I could go on forever, about him, and i could make a list a hundred miles long of things i would give up, or change just to have him back for one more second. Please keep him and his family in your prayers and hearts cause right now he's up there teaching God how to buff the big ones.
we lost one of the good ones today.
RIP my partner, my friend, and most of all my brother. Love you guy

I have a cousin who I knew worked at the World Trade Center but I didn't know where until the 10th anniversary. She sent me a picture of her pass for the 79th floor. I don't know which tower, and I won't ask her,either. She'll say when she's ready.
She didn't go to work on 9/11.
Instead, she took the day off to go to the pound and get a puppy.

This is one of the sorriest excuses for a document I have ever seen. All it does is "recommend." Yes, NY is a home rule state, but it does Require 229 hours of training for career firefighters under their document Administrative Standards for Firefighters. Where's the "home rule" in that? I believe the State could require a lot but just chooses not to. Even the 229 hours is minimal. Responsible fire departments are giving their probies somewhere in the range of 400 hours before they hit the street. Along with that, the required 100 hrs per annum cannot scratch the surface of the things they should be training on annually.
Where was home rule when the state mandated PASS devices and personal escape systems? The state jumped right over home rule when enough people demanded these items, and the state can do it in regards to training. All you have to do is get together and make a stink to enough stste legislators.
The argument for "home rule" and "recommendations instead of requirements" over the years has usually been something along the lines of "If we force too much training on firefighters, we will lose volunteers." Well, how would you rather lose them, because you require too much training, or would you rather carry them out in stokes baskets and put their name on that ever growing stone monument in Albany. (By the way, that monument sits in front of the place where they only "recommended" training. Ironic, isn't it?) This is not a salvo aimed at volunteers, either. The vols that see the need for training will stay.
I spent almost 35 years on the fire department and I cannot remember a time when I didn't want more skills and knowledge. Even in retirement, I am still learning. The Authority Having Jurisdiction should be within yourself. You should be begging your department for more training and knowledge.
How would you feel if you were personally responsible for losing a guy because you chose not to train on whatever killed your fellow firefighter? You have to live with that for the rest of your life?
Never let a man say that his training let him down.

Why does it matter aside from maybe helping figure out what is wrong with the patient? Forget about how its just wrong to treat someone differently based upon a medical condition, what if they don't know they're carrying some disease. Everyone gets treated the same unless I suspect an infection requiring droplet precautions.
Moderator note: This was the very last post made by Lenny, before he left us for keeps. RIP.

While I agree...this may be a great time to look at the big picture...New Hamburg is literally right down the street with a badass tower ladder....Hughsonville is not far with another tower ladder....PECO is a bit further with a quint/stick....Rombout is further yet, but still closer than most with another tower ladder...and then there is Croft with a stick....let's face it - southern Dutchess is nicely covered with truck companies.
While it is needed, is it really NEEDED?
Don't get me wrong - I know a bunch of guys from Wappingers - and they are among the finest to serve. Some truly great firemen come from down there.

I find it interesting how every post generally turns into a Paid vs. Volunteer issue or a Fire vs. Police issue. As a former NYS Fire Instructor who has trained many volunteers and a former director of the Westchester Career Fire Academy who has trained many career firefighters, there are many excellent and dedicated career and volunteer firefighters as there are many not so excellent career and volunteer firefighters. You are always going to have individuals who are going to play the system (career and volunteer), using it to their advantage, and getting everything out of it for themselves that they can. This is a fact of life and it’s not changing anytime soon.

Let’s all wake up, the fire really doesn’t care if you are paid or volunteer, it’s not going to say “lets take it easy on them, they are volunteers”. It is paramount that all firefighter’s career and volunteer keep current skills and training. The same applies to the poor victim trapped in a fire or motor vehicle, do you really think they care what the patch on your sleeve states, FD, PD, paid or volunteer!

Everyone’s time would be better spent working together, FD, PD, paid and volunteer, for the common good and betterment of emergencies services, rather then bickering over who is better or who’s doing who’s job.

My name is Kevin Freeman and it was my house, 22 Woodside Ave, that burned to the ground. Thankfully nobody was home at the time. My wife watched from the street and called me to come home just after 4pm. Longest commute of my life.
We're living in a hotel in New Rochelle now and dealing with all the madness. Obviously our lives will never be the same, but it could've been a lot worse if it happened at night. The house was totally engulfed in a matter of minutes.
I just came from a meeting with investigators who showed me crazy pictures of the incident I could hardly believe. They mentioned this site, but those shots aren't here. The pictures in this thread were from around when I got home and the firefighters were working on saving my neighbors place.
He's hoping they'll tear it down with all the water and smoke damage.
We have a storage locker already filled with clothes. People have been so supportive and generous. I wish I could say thank you to everybody personally. My work set up a site for me www.22woodsidefund.org. We'll take a beating on the contents insurance for sure.
BUT we'll rebuild. Thanks again for all the support.

Took these from the road with my iPhone....

Took these from the road with my iPhone....

Took these from the road with my iPhone....

Took these from the road with my iPhone....

As per Merriam-Webster:
Main Entry: 1pro·fes·sion·al Pronunciation: \prə-ˈfesh-nəl, -ˈfe-shə-nəl\Function: adjective Date: 16061 a : of, relating to, or characteristic of a profession b : engaged in one of the learned professions c (1) : characterized by or conforming to the technical or ethical standards of a profession (2) : exhibiting a courteous, conscientious, and generally businesslike manner in the workplace<BR itxtvisited="1">2 a : participating for gain or livelihood in an activity or field of endeavor often engaged in by amateurs <a professional golfer> b : having a particular profession as a permanent career <a professional soldier> c : engaged in by persons receiving financial return <professional football><BR itxtvisited="1">3 : following a line of conduct as though it were a profession <a professional patriot>
and before the question is raised.... Profession:
1 : the act of taking the vows of a religious community<BR itxtvisited="1">2 : an act of openly declaring or publicly claiming a belief, faith, or opinion : protestation<BR itxtvisited="1">3 : an avowed religious faith<BR itxtvisited="1">4 a : a calling requiring specialized knowledge and often long and intensive academic preparation b : a principal calling, vocation, or employment c : the whole body of persons engaged in a calling
Being paid is not necessarily part of the primary definition and really..... you did not have to go there.

Vinegar??? Bad choice - it will leave a residue and eventually cause corrosion. Whenever dealing with electronics, ALWAYS use isopropyl rubbing alcohol (90% is perfect). You can actually soak the laptop in it (if you really had to) and after letting it dry for a few days, it'll work fine.
Seriously, you can soak the keyboard in it for 15 minutes (take the kbd out of the computer first).
A majority of the smoke smell is going to be located within the heat sync and cooling fins on the laptop. This is where the dist accumulates - dust will absorb the smoke.
Get a can of Dust-Off and blow out every orifice of the laptop. I suggest doing this outside. Also, do NOT use a compressor - the pressure is way too high and will likely cause damage.
I'm not making this up -- I'm a Dell Certified Tech and this is based on their recommendations. Done it all before with 100% success.

Vinegar??? Bad choice - it will leave a residue and eventually cause corrosion. Whenever dealing with electronics, ALWAYS use isopropyl rubbing alcohol (90% is perfect). You can actually soak the laptop in it (if you really had to) and after letting it dry for a few days, it'll work fine.
Seriously, you can soak the keyboard in it for 15 minutes (take the kbd out of the computer first).
A majority of the smoke smell is going to be located within the heat sync and cooling fins on the laptop. This is where the dist accumulates - dust will absorb the smoke.
Get a can of Dust-Off and blow out every orifice of the laptop. I suggest doing this outside. Also, do NOT use a compressor - the pressure is way too high and will likely cause damage.
I'm not making this up -- I'm a Dell Certified Tech and this is based on their recommendations. Done it all before with 100% success.

Maybe the so-called "deafening silence" stems from the rather condescending nature of the way the issue was raised. Aside from the fact that it demands information from people as if they are compling some kind of official report for the Almighty, maybe people would rather talk about something other than a dead topic. Maybe volunteers such as myself would rather talk about something other than the ubiquitous threads and posts that make them look less than qualified for their jobs. Maybe we take umbrage at the implication that we care more about parades than public safety. Maybe we just don't care about what you're crying about today.

It seems to me like Chris192 is choosing what people can and can not watch. I did not tell anyone what they can and can not watch. I just posted a link to something that I did not think should be shown publicly which allowed people who WANT to to watch it and then form their own opinion. Is removing a link by any chances deciding what people can and can not watch?