jayhalsey

Should gender be a issue?.... unequivically no. Is it? Well that's a bit harder to determine since it depends on personal choice. Most rational people are going to stand up and say "no of course, it's not about gender it's all about the qualifications" but deep down many harbor quite a different feeling. This dichotomy can play out in very subtle yet predjudicial ways. Sometimes in training women will be pushed to do just a little more than the guys to "prove" themselves, sometimes it shows as they are shunned or ignored in the group (like when conversations cease as the walk in), or sometimes they inadvertently become the center of negative attention when standards or expectations are lowered to "make sure the women can do it" even if they don't want or expect them to be.
The fact is women in the fire service are still something of a novelty. This isn't necessarily due to an institutionalized bias or attitude but more so by virtue of the fact that there just aren't many of them in comparison to men. In light of this and the fact that nature has given us inherent differences, women will always stand out in some way. What becomes important is that as professionals those differences become insignificant and herein lies the rub. It is virtually impossible to change how someone feels about a particular issue by force and maybe no more so than when it comes to what the average Joe FF believes a FF is. Tradition stills gives us the image of the quintessential FF as a white male and by and large this is still the vast majority of the service. Affimative Action and Equal rights initiatives have done much to open the doors to all, but these open doors have not come without resistance and in some cases outright revolt. Like minded officers and members can make life very difficult indeed for those they believe to be outsiders no matter the department. Unlike minority men, women being by nature and traditional roles very different then men, have a much higher hurdle to jump in many cases stemming from the view of them as the "weaker sex".
The fire service as a whole is still a boys club and many still hold on to that view no matter what they say in public. But as with all things progress and time continue to erode this bias as more women join and rise in the ranks whether by laws, quotas or actions.
BTW for many years I held on dearly to the notion that the firehouse was no place for a woman. Thankfully after being proven wrong time and time again even my dinosaur pea brain has opened to the reality that "no of course, it's not about gender it's all about the qualifications".
Cogs

This conversation is nice and is full of lots of speculation, but it is just that... So why not try to get some factual answers as to what the plan actually is?
As I am not a commissioner, I will not comment either in favor of or against their project, but my suggestions is that if any of the members of this website have questions the best action would be to attend the Pubic Board of Fire Commissioners Meetings next tuesday night at station 2 and ask your questions in person or write a letter to the Yorktown Heights Board of Fire Commissioners and ask all of your questions. Go to the source and maybe we can understand what their thought process is.

To give this topic a few more thoughts:
1. If I had a neighbor with a few cars on his driveway, I can't consider them part of my fleet or count on them to get me to work, etc, . My ride is my responsibility. It is possible that Millwood neither seeks nor needs added territory or additional calls and is quite content to let Yorktown FD cover their own calls in the area. I don't know if the voters in Yorktown somehow thought that Millwood assets should be considered their's.
2. It is also not unlikely that most of the voters were ignorant of the fact that a tanker operation usually requires several tankers, and that having theirs relatively pre-positioned would be a good idea.
3. I believe there are no hydrants in Yorktown south of the reservoir, west of Route 100. This includes the Kitchiwan area and the Teatown area. I'm not sure about the area east of 100 that borders Mt Kisco's district. (and I don't know which department has that Yeshiva in that area.) Put a tanker in the neighborhood!
4. An earlier post might have quoted 6 miles as the distance between current and proposed fire stations. I think it would be a fair estimate to point out that the tanker travelling that distance would spend the first half of the ride going through the hydranted areas.
4a. For those who don't know - and might want to start a separate thread - the Taconic Parkway may temporarily cease to be a viable option for north/south travel for YFD, as the northbound parkway bridge over the reservoir must be replaced. Removal is supposed to start this spring. The southbound bridge, which is inconveniently about 500 yards away, will be forced to carry 4 lanes of traffic for the duration of the project and the detour or crossover zone goes from Pinesbridge Rd in New Castle (Millwood's district) almost to Underhill Road. There are few points where the reservoir can be crossed, and this messes up 2. The Croton Dam in Cortlandt Manor outside Croton may remain closed to traffic, The parkway - with lanes as narrow as 9 feet in 2 places - may be a nightmare, the bridge near the ?Hunterbrook? pump station is too lightweight, and you have to wonder how bad traffic will be on Route 100.
5. YFD probably has considered that department emergency vehicles - including those enroute to the scene- may have to be used to transport a tanker driver from one firehouse to another.

Let me begin by stating that I know very little about the Aviation VFD and I will have to take the word of those on here who do in regards to their issues. That said and sorry to divert too far away from the topic at hand, but this particular post caught my attention and I would like to respond to it.
I must respectfully disagree with the assesment that training in the volunteer sector is not "sufficient". I know of many VFDs that have excellent training programs, run by experienced, knowledgeable and dedicated training officers and members that produce superb firefighters...and this I know because I am one of those training officers. Blanket statements rarely if ever tell the whole story, in fact the usually do more harm than good. Are there VFDs that provide substandard training? Yes of course there are, and guess what there are career departments guilty of the same offense...and if anyone actually believes volunteers have a monopoly on pencil whipping training reports, who is it that's being naive? So while it may be true in many States that career FFs are required to meet standards which are often more stringent than their volunteer counterparts, (which indeed does usually lead to better trained, but not necessarily more experienced FFs), it does not by any means mean that volunteers are, as a rule, un or insufficiently trained.
Another point on which I hold a different view is that of the place of State training. For me I think State training should supplement in house training, not the other way around. Yes all FFs should go and fill their heads with all the requisite knowledge certification classes offer, but once done it should become the responsibility of the FD and the members themselves to train regularly in house to meet the needs of their community...and that just can't be accomplished at a State level. No State academy or curriculum can tailor training for each jurisdiction, so until such time as there are universal SOP/Gs and such, the bulk of training must happen in house and be built around how your FD operates. State classes taught by certified instructors is a wonderful and necessary tool in producing great FFs, but IMO it is just that a tool, not a crutch or substitute for real world department based training.
Stay Safe
Cogs

I read this thread yesterday and have been following the discussion for a day and now feel compelled to add my opinion. It is disappointing that a member of this site asks a simple question about the status of a piece of apparatus which has been placed out of service due to fire and the automatic responses that are generated turn immediately to why does this department need this truck?
The funny thing is that rarely are the one’s questioning the needs of (fill in the blank) Fire Department, at all associated with that department – so how would you know what their communities specific needs are?
As example, I wouldn’t question why one department – of which I have no affiliation with or knowledge of their needs - has 3 ladder trucks even though they are surrounded by departments with ladder trucks on every side of their community – because it’s not my place to. If that department has determined that is what they need to do their job, I trust that their leadership has made an educated decision and that they are not just stroking their egos.
Ironically, it’s double edged sword here as well; a northern department is questioned why so much mutual aid is needed at a house fire, but another department that is self-sufficient is accused of wasting tax payer dollars and questioned why they need this truck or that truck instead of using more mutual aid. It doesn’t make sense; it’s ludicrous.
There was an interesting article on here lately about the fire service and its changing nature; how departments are being asked to respond to new situations and different types of emergencies all the time. Proper response to these new challenges often requires newer tools, gear and equipment to effectively mitigate these hazards; which in turn often means purchasing a newer and larger truck to carry this equipment and get the job done.
So - why does this town need this truck? Because their membership and commissioners and potentially their insurance agency have determined it is necessary for their district and their firefighters to do their job effectively.
This, of course, is not the first time that others who think they know what is best for everyone else interject their own beliefs or who knows maybe even their envy at some other departments rolling stock and I’m sure it won’t be the last – but still it’s disappointing; it is one of the reasons I seldom participate on this site any longer.
Periodically someone on this site will post something about making this site what we want it to be – a place where positive discussion can take place and where people can learn. But that doesn’t happen; the forcing of agendas continues. Then there is the occasional thread that asks why member participation is down on this site and I think to myself in response to that question, I can’t imagine why someone would feel compelled to post something here when others with agendas, or egos, or envy, or whatever pick apart every detail of every call, decision and comment made. It really is disappointing.

I had a few gripes here -- which were PM'd and e-mailed to a few folks (none of which replied to me...)
First, as the original poster, I was never notified the post was removed, but it simply "disappeared". No notification to the originator, at least a professional curtsey.
Secondly, I felt the thread (minus the "me vs you" comments) was very educational for the members of this community. While it is a black eye for our industry, what better opportunity to learn from.
Third, we see tons of threads in this community that are "locked" and "cooled down" -- yet, for some reason, this one was straight out removed.
Fourth, it's been quite a few days since the thread was removed and this is the first public acknowledgement that it was done -- nothing was done at the time, just simply vanished in thin air.
It's no doubt the EMTBravo staff have a huge job on their hands -- but we're not kids here, treat us like adults and we'll treat you back.

I know it doesn't need to be said here, because we know the full story, and this piece was written to sway the ignorant public, but I'll say it anyway. This opinion article pretends that the new merged FD will have no career firefighters, which isn't true. The new fire department WILL respond to 100% of the calls and residents don't have to worry about being in that 15% that doesn't get a volunteer response. The volunteers will and have been there for the major incidents (fires, MVAs, Storms) that require the additional manpower. Furthermore, the currently 85% of the calls being supplemented with a volunteer response is pretty good when probably 15% of all calls NEED additional manpower beyond the career engines.
It looks really ignorant/desparate when articles like this are written that completely skew and ignore the facts. If the article was written about how the whole city needs to have one Chief, or that union firefighters are better than non-union firefighters, at least you would have something to argue about...

First I would like to say that all involved with the response did a great job.
There has been a lot of planning that has gone into the Westchester County Airport Response Plan over the years. The plan has evolved quite a bit since its inception. It is still not perfect, but is always evolving.
The pilot declared an emergency right after takeoff; the plane tried to get back to the airport but obviously didn’t make it.
The airport operations contacted 60 Control and declared a Level 2 Alert. The plan alert categories are based on the type of plane, how many passengers, and how much fuel on board. This Cessna 210 should have been in the Alert level 1 category.
Right from the start, there was a larger response because the wrong alert was made. That being said, the operations staff had no idea where the plane was because it went off radar. So the ICs kept all units coming in until more information was received. There are several businesses and homes in the area surrounding the airport and if the plane had crashed into a structure, that level of response may have been needed.
Reports came in through the security guards at MBIA that the plane was in the woods behind their building. All units were directed towards that address.
Battalion 19 and 2022 set up the IC and the command post. Battalion 11, 2023, 2393, EMS 11, and Port Chester EMS along with firefighters entered the wooded area to see what the wreckage looked like, what resources would be needed, and to determine if there were any survivors. Upon their arrival, there were no survivors found, but there was some significant fire. The wreckage was approximately 1000 ft. into the woods, with some rough terrain. Hose lines weren’t stretched, they decided to use Indian tanks and water cans to extinguish the fire as well as the DES and Hawthorne FD gators with the water pumps. Please note that in this area, there are NO fire hydrants. So having the extra water on the fire apparatus was helpful.
The Westchester County Airport Response plan is for when a plane crashes on the property of the Westchester County Airport. This plan is no longer in effect if the plane crashes offsite. This plane did crash offsite in Armonk FDs district however since the call originally came in as an alert to the airport, the Alert 2 response was welcome until they got a handle on what the situation was.
Once the wreckage was found and the fire was extinguished, most of the apparatus was released fairly quickly. However due to the scene being deep into the woods, and the nature of the weather that day, it was helpful to have the extra manpower at the scene. Maybe all the apparatus wasn’t needed, but most of the manpower and additional water was helpful. EMS remained on scene for Rehab. Harrison EMS provided rehab and did an excellent job.
Now on to why each alert has the level of response it does. The Airport property falls in three separate fire department jurisdictions and three EMS jurisdictions, all departments involved send apparatus to the scene. Armonk FD only sends their tanker and then 2 ambulances because they know there is no need to send additional fire apparatus due to what Purchase FD and Port Chester FD responds with. Port Chester FD responds with their minimum level that is in the agreed upon contract with Rye Brook. That is contractual and cannot be changed without changing their contract. Purchase FD responds with a rescue, engine and ladder. All of which can be needed based whether the plane hits a structure on the airport grounds. When the plan was developed, although the alerts are based on the size of the aircraft, the possibility of that aircraft hitting one of the many structures on the airport grounds (including the terminal) was considered when developing the level of response.
Also, for the comment about additional EMS resources needed to be placed in the plan, on an alert level three there are 6 EMS agencies dispatched as well as their ALS fly cars to the scene. That is a minimum of 10-12 ambulances on initial dispatch. When a crash occurs and an estimated # souls on board is determined, then specific number of EMS task forces will be requested by the IC. A task force consists of either 3 BLS ambulances and 2 ALS ambulances or 5 BLS ambulances a 2 ALS fly cars.
A lot of good airport operations people, experienced firefighters, fire chiefs, emergency mangers, and EMS officials have put a lot of time and effort in making this plan as good as it can be, it has certainly come a very long way since the first plan written. There are some difficulties since it is in three jurisdictions, but all of them do the best that they can to make it work. It is a very unique situation and can criticized over and over again. Until you are responding to an area dealing with multi-jurisdictions (Fire/EMS/Police/Federal/Airport Ops/County), please understand it is not as easy as you think. In this particular case, there was also three police agencies involved, so there were a lot of hands in the pot. But no responders got hurt and everyone went home safe.
Representatives from each agency involved with the airport response meet monthly to continually update the plan. And yes, an AAR will be held to review this event.
Please remember, a plane can fall out of the sky anywhere, is your department ready if it happens in your jurisdiction?

Why is so hard to think the the USCG doesn't have assets readily available. Love the Coast Guard but where is the nearst USCG Air Station to the NYC area? Atlantic City, 90 miles south of NYC. Although I think their have a aircraft seasonal out on Long Island. I believe NYPD has an MOU and at least an informal agreement to do water rescue in the area. NYPD flies daily to rescues over the Jersey Shore. If a USCG helicopter is on a mission its going to take a while. Even a launch with a ready crew sometimes takes 15-20 to get off the ground.
On a related matter I received this in the mail this morning. In responds to someone elses questios a medic who know works in the area rpovided more feed back.....
First the facts:
The Alameda Fire Dept. had a thriving rescue swimmer program and boat program, two necessary programs for an island community.
3 years ago, a new chief was brought in, because of the downturn in the economy, to bring the budget and costs into alignment.
Decisions were made, that were not popular. As an example one was to suspend all community CPR training programs. We did 4 community CPR training programs a year, where we would train the general public in CPR. These were popular programs, but due to budgetary concerns, they were suspended.
The other issue was to suspend the boat program. Alameda is an island community, with a Coast Guard station next to Alameda, and the City of Oakland and the Alameda County Sheriff also having water rescue craft (although they are not stationed on the island).
I was the EMS Coordinator for AFD at the time, and myself and several of the duty chief's voiced objections to getting rid of the boats, to no avail.
Then the rescue swimmer program came up. Rescue swimmer encompassed training for select members of the department who became certified as lifeguards, open water rescue, etc. They also received special equipment to SAFELY effect a water rescue, to include wet-suits, tow boards, water rescue surfboards, etc.
There were members trained on every shift, and enough members to safely initiate a water rescue.
Training is paramount for this type of duty, and these men and women trained EVERY month.
The chief decided to cut the program.
As with the boat program, he said we could get resources from Oakland Fire Dept or the Coast Guard. This was unacceptable, but our pleas fell on deaf ears. It was reviewed by the City manager and the chief financial officer for the city and the budget changes were approved.
NOW, over the course of three years since the cancellation of the program, every day is an accident waiting to happen. Prior to the cancellation of the program we had had several rescues that were needed to be effected, some successful, others that weren't, but we were prepared.
The COMMUNITY was lucky in the 3 years after the program was cancelled that a child did not need the service...
In that 3 years, up to ONE THIRD of the department retired. New staff members were hired...new members who had NO EXPERIENCE, or NO TRAINING with rescue swimmer...wet suits were gone...the other equipment was sold...
Now the day of the drowning, most of the members on duty, no experience with water rescue, and the rest of them had not been in the water in 3 years (please not, the rescue swimmer program was a VOLUNTARY program, so only 25 members were every fully trained at any time)...no equipment...54 degree water...a suicidal individual, one who will fight you...
What would you do? If it was a house fire, with a suicidal individual inside, someone who would fight you, would you go in, without protective gear, and struggle with them? Without training?
I provide this information, because if you are going to offer an opinion, it should be an informed opinion. I know the men and women of the Alameda Fire Dept, I served next to them for 5 years, they are brave, honorable people. Trust me, they are besides themselves over this. But they are also people like you, with families...they would gladly give their lives to protect you, but at the same time they need the tools and training in order to be able to do the job.
EMS Operations Officer/Oakland Fire Department
Former EMS Coordinator - Alameda City Fire Department

Yes, Seton Hall.
I've about exhausted myself on this thread. Its not going anywhere anymore. I thought the forums were more for sharing of information and ideas. However, with those like Bnechis who break apart and criticize every comment, statement or thought, I understand why there is not a more varied response or participation by others. When so much uncontestable knowledge is available from one source, there's no point in anyone else offering an idea, comment or opinion.

Well said. Couldn't agree with you more! Whenever someone brings up about flaws in a "vollie" department/system - it always turns in to the paid vs. volunteer discussion. I personally am tired of the "Certain Ones" on here constantly saying that volunteers/departments suck! Put your money where your mouth is BNechis and show me how a paid department will cost me less than the $280/year that I pay for fire and the $35/year for EMS??? Especially when both VOLUNTEER agencies in my District have excellent response times with well-trained, experienced members!!!!!

I have sat and watched this thread for a few days now and feel I the need to step in and comment. Now that everyone knows what department we are talking about there is no "our" side of the story. The simple fact of the matter is yes we missed a call and yes we have staffing issues (just like a majority of the other Westchester County departments) Is this a valid excuse? Absolutely not! It's a MAJOR issue not only to me but my fellow officers as well. We are currently meeting and discussing this matter regularly to try and come up with a fast and effective solution. I do want to thank and apologize to our neighboring department that has bailed us out and that your help hasn't gone unnoticed.
He is a little background on the particular situation; we and another department had a duel response system in place for many years. We would run duel response on almost every call Monday-Friday from 0600-1800hrs. The system worked great up until the last 2 or 3 years. During the last 2 or 3 year we have seen a huge increase in call volume from this one particular facility in our first due area. (the same location that this topic started from) In the 2010 year we and our neighboring department ran approx. 60-70+ calls at this facility. 99% of them being false alarms. (From malfunctions, steam from a shower and the majority of the calls being malicious pulls of the box by students) That high number of runs to this place caused not only our department but our neighbors to be burnt out and not want to run calls there anymore. So it was decided (at a higher level than I am) that we would discontinue our duel response to all calls with the exception of smoke in the building, reported structure fires or anything else the dispatcher feels is something a little more than just an automatic alarm.
Yes we have some major issues we are dealing with right now and I can assure the land of EMTbravo that we are working on a solution. For those of you who say "hire career staff" you know as well as I do that it's not as easy as just waking up one day and hiring career personnel.
Thank you to all the people who have offered up constructive comments and if anyone else has any other questions or comment please feel free to PM me.
And to problEMS thank you for bringing this topic to light, it's clear that you accomplished your goal in stirring the pot and then running away. I have only one question for you, your age says you are 27 but in your age range it says you are 35-44 so what is it? Did you just make up a profile name to cause a problem for my department or are you so confused that you don't know how old you really are?

This is a problem in your bios. You have USB listed in your bios as a bootable option before hard drive. You need to go into your bios and change your boot order so that USB is after your hard drive.

Date: 2/25/11
Time: 00:32
Location: 45 Kraft Avenue "Savannah at Home"
Frequency: Using KED281.com
Units Operating: 2101, 2102, 2103, E27, E29, E30, E31, L15, L16
NRFD Units: 2309, E22 as FAST
MVFD Units: E204
EVAC Units: 5711, 57M1, 57B2
WCDES Units: Battalion 18
Bronxville PD
Weather Conditions: Rain
Description Of Incident: Dispatched for Commercial Alarm, fire on 3rd floor of 50x50 commercial.
Reporters: Remember585
Writer: Remember585
Bing Map
SFD E56 & NRFD L12 relocating to Eastchester HQ.
00:32 - E29, E27, L16, 2102 dispatched for Commercial Alarm.
00:36 - E29 on location with smoke showing. 2102 requesting 2nd Truck. (L15)
00:40 - E30 dispatched.
00:46 - 10-75 transmitted, E31, EVAC & Battalion 18 dispatched.
00:59 - 2101 requesting a Mutual Aid FAST to the scene.
01:00 - E22 sent to scene as FAST.
01:03 - 2101 reporting 50 x 50 3-story commercial, requesting Mount Vernon Engine to scene.
01:05 - 2101 reports #3 side adjoining to MNRR building.
01:06 - 2101 has MTA PD on scene, will handle shut down of NB rail traffic.
01:07 - Scarsdale Engine to Eastchester HQ.
01:08 - 2101 requesting Con Ed electric & gas to the scene.
01:12 - E204 responding. E56 relocating.
01:13 - 2101 requesting a recall of Group 2.
01:15 - 2102 reporting to 2101 the main body of fire knocked down, checking for extension, using all hands.
01:16 - Bat 18 on location.
01:18 - 2101 requesting a cascade unit to the scene.
01:24 - Larchmont cascade unit dispatched.

This will be my last post on this as well, the hell with the bill, like it or not we do the same thing, ON THE FIREGROUND. I never said career standards are wrong, but maybe for many Volunteer Depts.s the Volunteer standards work, and most of these do alot more training on their own. There are many great Volunteer Depts out there. You are just one of those career guys who cannot stand the fact that Volunteers exsist. That there are volunteers in most of this coumtry doing what you do as a career for free...and will still be donig long after you retire.
Be safe.

Bnechis did you write let's try not to lump us all together? That's funny because that's what certain chiefs in here do every time he types. Minimum standards does not mean that's where the majority stops. There is not a rule that once you have completed the minimum you can no longer train.
Im pretty much done with this topic and site for anything other than IA's. There have been many posts in this topic alone that not only had nothing to do with the original topic but also bad mouth the non career side. Funny they weren't deleted but im sure this will be.

I find it very hard to believe that you have any concept of what goes on in the real world. The only thing you've done on this forum is sound off for career firefighters and ridicule volunteers. What you don't seem to understand is a single thing about how the law really works. When people have told you within this thread, all you have done is continue with your anti-volunteer rhetoric.
The Board of Fire Commissioners holds the responsibility for setting the standard within their district. If they wanted background checks, psych evals (which are not required of any career FD that I know of), and a full length fire academy, they COULD set that as their standard. Most volunteer or combo departments have commissioners that understand the sense of fiscal responsibility and realize that they can provide a certain level of fire protection at the least burdensome cost to the taxpayer.
The Board of Fire Commissioners has the final say on all membership applications and all officers of the department. They have the final say on all training and continuing education requirements. The taxpayers sign on to the standards required by the Board of Fire Commissioners by electing them. As such, the taxpayers should bear the burden of indemnification of the firefighters and officers that are acting within the standards that are completely in control of the municipality. The commissioners are responsible for providing a level of fire protection that a reasonable district of the same size would offer and they hold the sole responsibility to make changes if that standard is not being met.
In the event of gross negligence, indemnification does not apply. All of the cases you mention are gross negligence and the firefighter(s) would be on their own.

I believe your area is covered by battalion 18. I see your agenda chief it is written all over your post you are clearly anti-volunteer and no matter how you feel or your commissioner of Yonkers feels remember 1 thing while you career guys are at work we volunteers are in the burbs protecting the property and families of said firefighters.
maybe if Yonkers didnt have tunnel vision they would recognize that Westchester county is 75% volunteer and we do an outstanding job with minimum resources.
i respect your hard work I do and you becoming chief is something to be proud of but we have plenty of men/women in the volley departments that work 40 hours a week and still put in a full day with their department whether training , paperwork so dont belittle their dedication.
Never heard of a westchester battalion chief ??? you heard of it you just dont recognize it.

Someone was able to prove which accident caused the brain injury? And no mention of the driver that hit and ran?

Do agencies perform a criminal background check before letting someone join? If not, they should. Would you want someone in your department that had been convicted of armed robbery? Manslaughter? These background checks are definitely not a waste of money, in my opinion. Why shouldnt that background check extend to the driving record? If there is an opportunity that that individual is going to get behind the wheel of a piece of machinery that weighs a hell of a lot and cost a hell of a lot it seems pretty straight forward. There is a reason that driving records are kept. If someone has gotten into a bunch of accidents, chances are it will happen again. Sure it could be a string of bad luck, but what are the chances of that?
CDLs and Q endorsements are great, but they are just a start. As someone said, there is alot that goes into driving a fire truck/ambulance. THe licensing should be just one requirement. The others being time in the department, as well as driver training on the piece that you will be driving. Every truck will behave differently, so you need to train and get to know how YOUR truck will handle and perform.

FireMedic: The proposal is nothing new and just another scam. It is the same garbage this guy has been proposing since the day he magically returned as Chief in 2002.
He has had one agenda and one goal as Chief.......get rid of the City Fire Fighters in his Station and give jobs to himself and his handful of faithful minions.
From unlawful transfers, to the barricading of apparatus from entering the building, to the attempted installation of illegal surveillance cameras in crew quarters, his entire tenure has been consumed with every conceivable attempt to harass the career staff working in his Station.
Anyone from Stamford is well versed with this personality and his behavior and actions should make any Firefighter blush with embarrassment.

This can be very true. There is a HUGE differance between Paid Staff and Professional Staffing.
I know several Professional Fire Fighters both Paid and Volunteer and unfortunitly for the entire Fire Fighting career I know some Paid unprofessional Fire Fighters as well.

Similiar to when fire apparatus double park on single lane two way streets so they can go grocery shopping for their 3 course dinner....

First off let me start by saying that this post is by no means trying to discredit other departments or their procedures/policies. As it will be explained we arrived to our decisons based off of research. I am an Asst. Chief/member of the Highland Fire District. I am going to try and set the record straight in regards to the decisions that were made in last nights multiple structure fire incidents and in future incidents to come. As most of you are aware while Milton's Structure fire was wrapping up, we were dispatched to a poss. chimney fire on pretty much the farthest end of our district. New Paltz was dispatched with an engine on the inital dispatch. Upon arriving the 2nd alarm assignment was requested. That would normally bring an engine and manpower from one of our surrounding depts.Being that Marlboro was standing by at Milton's headquarters, Car 31 requested that they be dispatched to our location with their engine and manpower. Now normally we would have Marlboro's FAST Team dispatched on that assignment, but the fact that we were utilizing them for another assignment, it was decided to dispatch our backup FAST Team Hughsonville. Now the question is why Hughsonville? And the answer to that is .... their overall FAST Operation is in many ways the same. They require their members to attend and stay current with training, they have a set of FAST SOP's (some departments that we looked at did not), they will not respond if certain criteria is not met... (ie. at least 4 members on the truck before it responds)... you know pretty much not going to do a job that is asked of you with JUST THE MINIMUM. Yeah it may take the in excess of 20 minutes.... and for the record it was a 17 minute response for last nights incident. And I will say one thing for the first time being used it went very well. They did what you would expect from a FAST Team and then some. The decsion to utilize them took MONTHS not hours or days like I am sure that most of you are thinking or believing, but MONTHS.
If anyone has any further questions please feel free to contact me.
Thanks again to ALL of the Mutual Aid Companies that assisted at last nights incident. You assistance was GREATLY APPRECIATED !!!

EFD Capt was right pre-edit. I notice the use of "county recognized" FAST. Can anyone post the Dutchess County standard for what makes up a FAST? Does a standard exist? Does every FAST that's in the DC911 CAD have the same manning, equipment and training?
Back to the original poster, I don't know why anyone would jump on a guy who was simply asking why a department 20 miles, one county and a bridge away would be called as a FAST. That's a fair question. If there is a logical answer for it, provide it to him, end of story. In this case there is; the Chief of Highland did his research and decided that Hughsonville would be the best option for his members, which are HIS responsibility.