16fire5

You're still not getting an interview.

Except Boston? I hope it is sarcasm. There are plenty of departments that throw plently of "portables" as we call them. Look at DC and it's suburbs they throw as many as Boston. I always had the ladders out any Saturday I worked as a Lieutenant. We washed them and put them up. 1. They collect a ton of dust in the tunnel under the aerial. 2. Just simple maintainence finds halyard issues and even gets the members proficient in tying it. But to the jist of the arguement I think the opposite is true. Too many suburban departments do truck work to be like "the city". When in fact their best bet with the limited initial manpower is to put the fire out. If I know I was always going to show up with 5 or 6 I would get my guys hyper competent in engine work. Unfortunatly the primary search will have to wait for knockdown. Primary without water on the fire will not work.

Actually there were a couple spaces where ladder companies did not have clearance. To the best of my knowledge there are no such places anymore.

While I'm not touting the plan as great I'm not sure what you plan to acomplish with your boycott other than point out one of the true flaws with home rule. Is it a bad idea to have a common channel line up for the fireground? A common numbering system? Almost all working fires require mutual aid. By making things as similar as possible it makes it easier and safer for them. I say pick your battles and can't see what you accomplish other than confusion. Our job is dangerour enough.

Accountability systems for a volunteer fire system that relies on home response are inherently toughter than ones for career departments with in house staffing. For most systems used by career departments tags, nametags, electronic riding lists are completed before the call comes in. The battalion chief knows his staffing before the fire. If he has an issue with Truck 3 he knows truck 3's staffing. Also career departments just by the way they operate are better set up for crew integrity. With a volunteer system and especially one with members responding in POVs it becomes very difficult to track. Also if your only using tags how do you track where the person is and who they are operating with? I have watched the passport system in use and think it has a few advantages. First the crew is together on the passport. Second you can easily look at the passport and read the names. With a tag system you probably need to handle each tag to account for people. If you just went defensive the tags system can not quickly ensure you have everybody. As stated the EFAS system is far superior to the old radio roll call. My adivce is to use you system on every call and be firm. If you have a crew that went inside on a gas leak and they didn't leave their tags make them come outside imediatly and get their tags. Do that a couple of times and you will gain compliance. Next practice doing a roll call at drills and even the conclusion on minor incidents. If the first time you do a roll call is a MAYDAY or collapse it will not work. Look into the NFA calling the Mayday class add some of the things I just talked about and you have an excellent drill.

I respectfully diagree. Most of what that has been presented are facts. The distances are facts. The public's votes on the issue are facts. As for the board of fire commisioners this once again shows why I don't think volunteer firefighters should be on the board. Career firefighters can't be on the board in the district they work. Teachers can't be on the school board in districts they work. It is my experience that Boards of Fire Commissioners that include members of the general public do a better job weighing all the issues.

It must be noted that this article comes from the New York Post which has basically become a propaganda rag against public sector unions. It's objectivity is quite lacking. Time and time again when it has come to this subject they have never let the truth get in the way of their agenda. The post is owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. which has been news of it's own in the not so distant past.

I personally am a fan of a traditional boat motor. Yes it has it's drawbacks (prop hitting someone) but at low speeds you have lots more control. Jet skis and boats need water flowing through the jet or you have no ability to manuver. Give me a Boston Whaler with an outboard any day.

While I share your frustration I think it is dangerous to believe that it will play out this ways just because it has in the past.

Do they actually have a minimum? I don't think it is legally required anywhere that you take a state course. Hazmat Ops is definatly legally required but I don't know the fire classes are legally.

Technically anyone can work around the city. Firefighters on overtime get assigned to other boroughs. Covering Lieutenants and Captains are sent on their way when their assigned division has no vacancies.

Technically anybody can be the office manager. I've seen plenty of Lieutenants do the job. They try to get a good manager. They do staffing for the division in conjunction with OAD who takes their excess bodies (SA) and gives them excess bodies from outside the division. Division staffing flucuates too some have quite a few officers and firefighters and some have skeleton crews. Acting Battalion Chiefs and Acting Division Chiefs are chosen by who is on a current promotion list and then seniority. The battalion would first be filled by an SA Battalion Chief if available and then an ABC. Just clarifying

I would be in real trouble if we got this rule. My brother in law always asks if the first thing we do when we get to a fire is plan the next t-shirt. Hopefully the union can get this re-evaluated and reworded to acomplish it's intent while allowing guys to wear their precint t shirt off duty.

Here's the problem I have with this arguement. Most departments don't have any issue calling for more and more resources as the fire continues to progress. What I am arguing is that they should have the help there earlier. An example I think of is a chief waited to call a second alarm. He ran out of resources and the fire grew to 4 or 5 alarms. If the second alarm had been called quickly he would have hand the resources there when needed and it is easily concievable that the fire would have been controled with the second alarm assignment. Shortly after I was promoted a senior deputy chief stopped by to see me and he wanted to lend a little advice about being an acting battalion chief. His advice was if your considering a second alarm "give it" and listen to the voice in the back of your head. On a side note it is an excellent thing for senior chiefs to visit new officers and express their confidence.

I will happily be the first to trounce. If you have no reserve and a truck finds extension on the floor above or the cockloft of the adjacent building who stretches the next line? When a victim is discovered and that seach team leaves the building with the victim who continues the search? When the nozzle teams recieves burns who takes over their line? These are all things that happen at fires frequently enough that we should be prepared to address. If you have no reserves I know the answer you end up using the FAST. In which case you have no one available if someone really gets into trouble. Oh and your breaking the law. If you have reserves in the street behind you all you have to do is look at your clip board see who's up next turn to them and put them to work. Once the fire is under control you can use them for relief or release them. They might actually learn something from just standing there observing. Call all the help you need and a little more. It's easy to tell from the IA's most departments around here play catch up. Don't worry about what they say on EMT Bravo worry about the safety of your members and the public you serve.

We in the fire service can’t even agree on ventilation techniques. Heck I posted a link to some training that is blasphemy to some. So I don't know how if we can't agree we could condemn citizens trying to do the right thing. We will really be in trouble someday if people don't want to help others. Oh yeah the UL study also showed overwhelming evidence that occupants survivability was vastly improved when the interior door to their room was closed. Close the doors to your kids rooms at night.

Or kill them. The statements you made were and incredible over simplification of a very complicated topic. There is a lot of reasearch being done on the topic. Some of the findings fly in the face of what we have done all along. I encourage everyone to take a look at the following presentaton. http://www.ul.com/global/eng/pages/offerings/industries/buildingmaterials/fire/fireservice/ventilation/

SOC trucks were initially issued 5 stars they now have Sirius Meters. The job then got Altairs for all the non soc trucks which were paid for by Con Ed. So technically no truck has both but some do. And yes the FDNY action levels for natural gas leaks are 10% inside and 20% outside.

Yeah it gets even more complicated when your 5 Star is calibrated to pentane and your Altairs are calibrated to methane.

Another thing to remember is the gas company meters are not calibrated to LEL. They are to the actual percentage of gas in the air. On the other hand for a factor of safety we set ours to alarm at 10% of the LEL. The confusion can occur when crews are with the utility workers and they say we are getting 8% out of this house and we need to get in. You need to realize that is 8% gas and not 8% of the LEL and you are in the explosive range. The other thing is that these utility workers are professionals and this is all they do (respond to gas leaks). So don't expect them to get excited and that be your indication that something is wrong. Know your meters and know how to work with the utility company at the scene. I don't know of a utility out there that will not come and put on some quality training for you on these topics.

Date: 01/14/2012 Time: ~2220 Location: 34 Maguire Way between Falcon and Hercules Drives Frequency: Units Operating: Stewart ANG, City of Newburgh FAST Team Standbys: Winona Lake Engine, Vails Gate Engine, Cromner Valley Truck, Salsbury Mills Tanker, Coldenham Rescue (All standby at the ANG fire station Weather Conditions: Freezing Description Of Incident: Structrue Fire in the Vehicle Maintenance Building Reporters: Writer: 2245 Cromner Valley Truck to the scene, Walden 1 truck to standby. 2259 Per 36-13 fire in a 5 bay warehouse searching for the seat of the fire. 2304 Coldenham and Winona Lake taking in an AFA at Bldg. 300 on the base. 2310 Middlehope relocate 1 Truck to Cromner Valley 2315 Fuel truck on fire in the building being extinguished 2320 Fire under control

I think they are usually come with the second January payroll. If there is a hardship and you want to get the taxes done before you go. You or your boss should make some calls. They might be able to get you one quicker.

We don't use our aerials much for master streams but we do practice a lot at multi unit drill. We also live by some rules. The 70-80-90 rule is what many of us studied. 70 degree aerial angle, 80 feet maximum, and 90 psi maximum. These are our rules and you need to know your rig and live within those limits. Someone else already touched on it but it's true short jacking should be done for a reason involved in life safety. Definatly not for normal master stream operation. Close to half our fleet of trucks are tower ladders so we almost always use them for master streams. These days lots of departments have gone to them. Consider special calling one even if your contemplating going defensive and remember to leave room for them.

That idea was immediatly dismissed because it was NIMS compliant and made too much sense.

I think training is the key but mindset becomes important. It is how you approach all the calls and things you do. You need to take the calls you do seriously. You need to practice laying lines and stretching, putting up ladders. You need to do what ifs at the calls you do go to and without a doubt you need to learn the lessons of others. I always though a good company was not only a good company at a fire but they showed their professionalism at a gas leak. When you see the senior firefighter discussing with the new members what the roof and OV would do before taking up from a minor incident you see the real good tradition of the fire service. I hope some of what I just said makes some sense.