helicopper

Anyone know how big this fire actually is and what exposures are endangered?

Are they restricted by the State boundaries? I thought they crossed into NY fairly regularly.

Seems like AtlanticOne that added the other ship. The Atlantic1 ships are almost all EC-135 twin engine helicopters. NJ SP operates AW-139's that are much larger helicopters.

An absolutely horrible scenario for all involved. Kudos to the Wal-Mart employees who detained and disarmed the suspect. Is the EMS Director who made the formal pronouncement the same Dr. Paul Hinchey who was an Empress alumni?

NYS is transitioning to a centralized and modern system so everyone that has trained with OFPC, OEM, OCT, and some other three letter acronyms should be receiving these notices to update their information. Not spam and not phishing (until someone copies it and spoofs it).

Years ago they were armed and had full police powers on the property. How that has changed since the Empire City Casino started I do not know.

Also a good thing they were close to the edge of the roof. If they were out in the middle... who knows.

My contingency plan was asking to keep the helicopter at my house but I was promptly laughed out of the boss's office. The idea for an eight month vacation didn't go over any better. Rush hour will be the worst time in both directions but they are at least trying to "lessen the blow" with tow trucks (and I'm sure HELP trucks and additional SP) posted there to move disabled/accident vehicles as quickly as possible. That's about as proactive as you'll see in NY.

Original poster's question has been asked and answered. Nothing constructive will come of more debate or detail as we tumble down this rabbit hole. Thread closed. Good luck in the job hunt.

A better way of expressing this may be unprofessional and illegal. You spent hours looking for it (the law) unsuccessfully because it doesn't exist. Perhaps a better tact would be to "ask" the junior journalists to view their footage so the officers get to view this all important video/imagery. Engaging in "trickery" (your word, not mine) to deceive the public just makes us look bad and engender a climate of distrust. Instead of getting a bunch of people with videos that may be useful we will wind up with a bunch of people walking away with their cell phones in their pockets because of this deceipt. Thank you!

Union or not I never would have sat down for the meeting with a reporter in the room. On the plus side, the mayor is sticking his neck out with a "check and advise" policy (for fire or EMS, doesn't matter) and if it's reported in the paper that he's the person behind it, he's going to come out looking bad when it goes south. Sorry you got stuck in that mess. I hope you didn't give him your resignation and you fight for yourself and what's right! Good luck!

It is Armonk after all. Beemers are like Chevys there. <img src="http://www.emtbravo.net/public/style_emoticons/default/cool.gif" alt="" class="bbc_emoticon">

The fire was on public property (town park) so the issue of being somewhere you're not supposed to be doesn't hold. I'm also curious about what authority a member of an FD or fire investigation team has to tell anyone to do anything (such as destroying/deleting personal property)? Seems to me that someone ate too many Wheaties that day and overstepped their bounds. Even if it was a crime scene, I'm not aware of any special authority that these individuals would have had to tell you to delete photos. Now if they were photos from inside the structure or within a defined crime scene there may have been an issue but I don't see any crime scene tape in the photos above.

After considerable discussion and careful deliberation the EMTBravo staff has decided that the local incident involving ongoing complaints, internal agency personnel matters, and potential litigation is not appropriate for discussion here on EMTBravo.net especially since one of the involved parties is posting on the topic. Similar threads about internal agency matters and/or allegations about an agency have also been removed in the past so this decision is consistent with long-standing site policy and precedent. We regret any inconvenience or confusion this situation may have created but this decision is in the best interest of those involved and EMTBravo. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. helicopper on behalf of the EMTBravo Team

This was posted yesterday regarding this situation. Reminder - if you have questions concerning this site or its moderation please e-mail or PM the staff. Do not start a thread regarding your issue. Thank you. Forum Rules & Conditions

I think this "blanket" statement is incomplete and understand why everyone responded the way they did. Now, if the statement was as below you'd have my agreement. Anyone under the age of 18 is not emotionally equipped to handle some EMS situations unless they are part of an organized and structured EMS agency program with appropriate oversight and supervision. I too started in EMS as a teenager and these opportunities are great for people who have interest in police, fire, and EMS. I agree that without the benefit of someone to ask questions or discuss things with some of what you'll see in EMS can be difficult even problematic for a developing teenager. That's why they need to be part of an organization that will provide them with the proper preparation before and support after such incidents.

ALL law enforcement personnel should be trained in active shooter countermeasures. It shouldn't be a SWAT or ESU response unless they're immediately available but this thread isn't about law enforcement tactics and operations. Liability issues can and should be discussed during the planning stages so they can be engineered out of the responses with training, equipment, and procedures. Liability is a reality in the emergency services but the risks are managed on a daily basis so liability is reduced.

I remember those collars...

1. The focus of this thread is - and rightfully so - the EMS response to an active shooter, not the law enforcement response or their tactics. 2. EMS should be more proactive and seek out the schools and the law enforcement agencies to develop realistic pre-plans, training, and perhaps most important... exercise the plans and training! We don't exercise our services well at all but that's a topic for another thread. If we in EMS continue to wait for someone else to bring us to the planning table, we may still be waiting when the call comes in. 3. EMS (and all other resources) should not respond unless dispatched and should respond to the designated staging area only. 4. EMS needs to be aware that suspects may be exiting the scene with real victims so extreme caution must be exercised at all times. Consider additional PD to support and safeguard the EMS operation until the entire scene is secure. 5. Recognize that the situation is very dynamic and information may change dramatically and quickly. Be flexible, be safe, and avoid tunnel vision! 6. Keeping with the all-hazard approach to things, as others have suggested, conduct meaningful MCI training, triage training, and train on how to evacuate patients quickly and safely! 7. It must be clearly recognized and accepted that PD is in charge of the scene and orders must be followed for everyone's safety, not because of egos or attitudes. A couple of random thoughts on some of the other comments in this thread: On the subject of tactical triage, in an active shooter scenario we can't stop to triage, treat or do anything else. The focus must be on eliminating the threat to others and controlling the scene so all the victims (the obvious ones as well as those who may not be readily observed) can be properly treated. Tactical medics are a great resource and should be commonplace. Unfortunately, for many of the reasons we've heard already they're not (egos, turf, $$$, attitudes). Tourniquets and quick clot may not be part of BLS protocols but they can (and in many cases are) used by tactical teams. Good discussion. Thanks for starting this thread!

Very well said. I'll say this about the direction this thread went and it has nothing to do with the Rye issue - attacking an advocate because his viewpoint differs from your own is both immature and unprofessional. I have enjoyed reading a lot of threads in which differing viewpoints have been offered and bnechis has always been a strong advocate of the fire service. I don't qualify that with volunteer or career because I believe he is truly an advocate for simply doing it right. Doing it right has nothing to do with pay status. Just because he doesn't look at things with rose colored glasses and calls things as he sees them doesn't make him wrong. As I've said countless times feel free to debate the issues but don't attack those with different perspectives than your own. Carry on...

Wait a second, you were injured as an EMS worker and had to use personal medical coverage to get treatment? How come the agency didn't do it as a line of duty injury and put it through workers compensation, their insurance or municipal coverage (depending on your work environment)?

Let's not confuse the levels here. EMT-Intermediate is not the same thing as a Critical Care Technician (AEMT-CC). EMT-I is about 75 hours above EMT (in NYS) while the CC is 300-400 hours including clinical rotations and other required components.

UTAC are part of the interoperable radio system, specifically UHF tactical frequencies for interagency coordination. VTAC = VHF UTAC = UHF ITAC = 800 MHz All part of the interoperable radio system plan.

Is there a wrong seat on a job like that? Yup, I was PIC.

I don't think they attacked this one as "vigorously" as they do when structures or other property is threatened. From my perspective, they had limited crews on the mountain and pulled them back when it got dark so nobody would get hurt. They didn't want the fire to get into Camp Smith or beyond the ridgeline it was burning toward so they worked on containing from that direction. Seemed like they definitely did a risk vs. reward assessment.