helicopper

Keith, If you're in a system now where the Crtical Care Technician can be used and your agency uses them, it may be useful to you but only you can determine that. The CC level is not really recognized in the Hudson Valley anymore but as others have said, it still is in other parts of the state. If the local community college offers a bridge course, you have an option for going from CC to Paramedic in the future so that's a good thing. You have to look hard at all the training, opportunities for employment (paid or volunteer) up there and/or down here, time required for each, and what you want to do with the training in the long run. Consider all those things and make your decision. Don't let the limited opportunities down here stop you from exploring something that you may enjoy. If the CC course is 1000 hours and the bridge to Paramedic course is 1000 hours but the medic course by itself is 1500 hours you have to decide how valuable that 500 hours is to you. I made up these numbers just to illustrate the point! Good luck in whatever program you choose!

From what I read, with the exception of the blue-tooth traffic sensors and cameras, all that stuff is temporary. The median barrier gates, crossovers, Pines Bridge Road entrance ramp NB, emergency pull off areas and VMS will be removed when traffic is restored to the usual lanes at the conclusion of the project. So, with the exception of the cameras and sensors, I don't see any real change for the emergency services in the long run. Gonna be a nightmarish 9 months!

If nobody has gone over while traffic is one lane and speeds are absurdly high, it will probably be a little safer with the speeds reduced and trafflic lanes narrowed.

All the variable message signs are controlled from, and cameras and other surveillance equipment monitored at, the TMC.

Thank you. I didn't think that was a local issue. This is not strictly a union issue; it's a complete failure on everyone's part - the legislature that wrote the law enabling this, the government agencies going along with it, and the union that advocated it. However, I still don't see the proof that all unions are corrupt. You can find instances of "bad apples" in anything but instead of identifying this as an isolated incident you're asserting that all unions are corrupt or operating in a similar fashion. You're not going to get trashed if you treat the rest of us as you want to be treated.

Several whole months? Wow. That's a long time to gain valuable insight into the inner workings of a labor organization. [/sarcasm] I've been in a union shop for 23 years. I don't always agree with the union's position on things and they don't always represent me personally but they do lobby for the best interests of the membership as a whole (things like healtchare benefits, pay, working conditions, etc.) and for that I pay dues. I shudder to think about what the emergency services would be like without unions and without things like OSHA, the NFPA, NIOSH, etc. Without these things, as has already been stated, we would be 100% at the mercy of management who do not have the interests of the worker at heart. They have the interests of the company, shareholders (if applicable), and management at heart. To say that all unions are corrupt or aligned with organized crime is an inaccurate generalization that misses the majority of work that unions do. Your assertion that a union is taking dues from welfare recipients sounds like an urban legend so please find and post a citation supporting that claim so we can all learn about that insanity. You're complaining about the manner in which members are responding to you but you're not posting objectively and without injecting your own venom. You're making sweeping generalizations and characterizing all unions as no good and members - union and non-union alike - are responding in kind. If you want to engage in a civil discourse, start by being civil yourself. As for crossing picket lines, not having been a union member you'll never understand the significance of that statement. Of course, law prevents us in the emergency services from striking but that's a separate issue. Just a suggestion, why don't you dial down the hostility and cite some real references for your claims besides YouTube videos. It might make a more compelling argument for your position and result in fewer hostile responses. Just a thought.

They operate much like other PD's Emergency Service Units by providing specialized assistance including tactical and rescue services with specific emphasis on rail incidents. If you have specific questions, give the local MTA precinct a call and ask to speak to one their ESU officers. I'm sure they'll answer all your questions.

I'm in the same boat with regard to EMS employment but I would say unions aren't the answer but the larger more organized EMS would help advance the workers' cause. There's no incentive for A-VAC, B-VAC, C-VAC, D-VAC, E-VAC, F-VAC to improve working conditions or standardize with the rest of the band-aid EMS agencies but a regional EMS service could dramatically improve things. The problem is it will never happen because EMS is worse off than both the fire service and law enforcement.

Wasn't that Park Ambulance?

Midtown North (MTN) and Midtown South (MTS) precincts cover the Times Square area. There are lots of different assets in the midtown area. Besides the sectors and foot patrols - there is ESU, task force, borough, traffic, detectives, K-9, transit, housing, and other specialty units that may be in the area. This has nothing to do with surge patrols where they'll have 30-40 cops from all over the city saturate an area for deterrence and high visibility patrols. That's an impressive sight. Midtown North and South probably have several sectors in each plus foot patrols. Foot patrols augment the sectors, not the other way around.

It is indeed. If you read Kyllo, and the lower court decisions that got it to the Supreme Court, you'll find that people testifed that thermal imagers "see through walls into the homes of those they're aimed at". It was considered an egregious intrusion and violation of the 4th amendment even though, as wraftery so aptly pointed out, TIC's don't see through anything!

You could take a lot of these quotes and insert them right here in the Hudson Valley! If nothing else we know we share common problems with lots of others. Unrealistic public expectations and no coordination of resources. Sad but all too common. Why did he even try to respond from 90 minutes away? That's like leaving Albany for a fire in Westchester. Ridiculous. Ya think? Does that ever happen? In the public service we're always being watched. No surprise there. Hmmmm... Sounds strangely familar. Wow. This too sounds like a page right out of the Hudson Valley or nearby CT.

Amen to that! I live with restrictions placed upon us because some bozo testified before the US Supreme Court incorrectly about the technology resulting in a sweeping, radical change in precedent for law enforcement use of thermal imagers. To this day, the case law stands - even though most everyone knows it's wrong - because nobody has had the temerity to bring a new case forward that would set the record straight. [/sigh] In the right hands, the TIC will be a great resource. In the wrong hands it will just be a waste of battery power.

Thanks for beating me to the punch. So many people misunderstand the technology and even teach it wrong or testify about it wrong. If you do the glass experiment and come back 15 minutes later you may still see the faint outline as the glass continues to cool. The capabilities of the imager are nothing short of amazing. We do that with tire marks and vehicle locations all the time. But that's a reflection just like any other camera. If the operator isn't properly trained and lacks experience, he may not even recognize that's what it is. Train often!

I obviously can't speak from the fire perspective regarding TIC's but I do use one on a daily basis so I can share some general perspectives... Like any other tool or technology, the TIC has it's place and it has it's limitations. Relying exclusively on any single tool or technique has it's problems but the TIC is probably one tool that isn't used often enough. It should be used all the time so the user becomes proficient in its use and in the interpretation of what it is telling you. If you only break it out at a working fire, it can be misleading because you're always looking at a super heated environment (it's like me looking at everything at noon when the sun is high and everything is warmed by solar radiation). The input from the TIC should be viewed with the totality of the circumstances and used to draw an informed conclusion from all the sources - visual inspection, touch, etc. If other signs suggest that it's appropriate I guess so. The only thing a TIC does is measure heat. If a wall is well insulated or another heat source (hot water pipe, ducting, etc.) is or can be masking the heat from a smoldering fire, you probably do have to open up. Again, go by the totality of the circumstances and your experience. Not a single tool or observation.

That's one lawyer's interpretation. Corporation Counsel for several municipalities has held that employees may be held accountable for their comments on Facebook and/or Twitter when off duty. While on-duty you're probably violating some other policy if you post on social media during your tour. The wearing of the department logo while off-duty is also subject to restriction, according to the NYPD who recently banned members from displaying the logo or even letters "NYPD" while off-duty unless the garment/apparel has been approved by the administration. As for social media policies and infringements of constitutional rights, there are many variables and many issues that will be reviewed and litigated before a final determination is made. It's not a simple yes/no proposition. Departments should have policies on social media, uniform standards, professionalism and conduct (including representing the agency while off-duty) to avoid big problems and liability in the future. As for being a moderator of a site like this, it's actually fairly simple, even from a constitutional point of view. The website is privately owned and has a published set of membership guidelines. If a post violates those guidelines it is removed. Virtually every media site (LOHUD, NYT, Firehouse Magazine, etc.) that has a forum retains the right to remove posts that violate their terms of service.

On the subject of fire district operations, can two (or more) fire districts merge operationally but maintain separate and distinct boards of commissioners?

The above was posted in a different thread but to avoid taking that thread off topic I copied it here. Municipal governments are not allowed to "roll-over" or "bank roll" surpluses in the budget and contingency funds are strictly regulated (as to amount and access for use). I'm wondering how fire districts (and this is not limited to Yorktown as I know of others doing the same thing) have avoided bonding major projects by budgeting that results in a surplus that can be siphoned off for special projects like buildings that have not passed bonding referendums. What's the law on this? Anyone familiar with fire district operations out there that can enlighten us?

Please stop!!! You're cracking me up! You can't compare the two for a multitude of reasons but the one I like best is that if we required 2500 hours of driving experience before letting someone behind the wheel of an ambulance there'd be almost none on the road.

Lifenet, formerly known as STAT-Flight, is not a municipal service. It is part of Air Methods, a nationwide private company providing air ambulance services. I would say they are indeed a reputable company. Other agencies that provide air medical services in our area would be the New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland State Police, the US Park Police (DC area mostly), and local municipal aviation units (too many to name but most require sworn personnel to serve as their pilots). NY and Maryland hire a limited number of civilian pilots (not sure about NJ or Delaware) but the required experience level is very high and dramatically limits the employment prospects. There are other large companies that provide air medical services. If you're already a pilot and have some experience, HELI-EXPO is the place to go. That is the annual helicopter conference/convention/expo and virtually everyone associated with a helicopter (manufacturers, maintenance services, parts suppliers, vendors, trainers, etc.) are there. It's actually this weekend in Dallas and they usually have a "job fair" during the expo if you're up for a road trip. If you're not yet a pilot, you should first pursue getting your license because there is no option for "training from within". You have to be a rated pilot to even be considered for a job in the medevac world (and most require at least 2500 hours pilot experience - that's actual flying time not duty time). This applies to the rotorcraft side of the house. I'm far less familar with the fixed wing side. As for safety, it is indeed the primary job of the pilot to insure that the flight is completed safely and the industry is currently working through the issues they've identified from recent crashes to improve safety from the systemic perspective. Medical personnel are not pilots and pilots are not medical personnel. Others have explained that point well. There are probably very few companies that would allow you to work both the medical side and the pilot side anyway. With regard to "quality and legitimacy", these operators are very closely regulated by the FAA and the applicable healthcare oversight entities so there are not a lot of fly-by-night (pun intended) medevac operations. The accidents that have cast a negative light across the industry are too across the industry and not directly attributed to any single company or location. There's an inherent risk to the medevac world and most of the time that risk is well managed and flights are completed without incident. Unfortunately, when a mishap occurs it garners tremendous media attention so but it's safer than you may think. Good luck!

In the past 10 years how many calls have occurred in the response area that would be covered by this new firehouse? What was the response time to these calls? Where are the studies that conclusively indicate this is a necessary project? I'm not saying I'm for or against. I'm merely seeking more information.

I'm just curious. Is there a sector of American business that hasn't/doesn't receive "stimulus packages" in the form(s) of subsidies, tax breaks, incentives, low/no interest loans and/or other "bail-outs" from the government?

How does it do on rough water?

CEM is a top notch certification but it is not a degree. In fact, I think one of the prerequisites is a degree before you can start their program. If you're working in emergency management, CEM is the way to go!

I've always been skeptical about colleges that are 100% on-line. Whatever you do, make sure the school is accredited by some entity that will insure your efforts are recognized. One option you may want to explore is Empire State College. They have options for emergency management degrees and have both on-line and on-site coursework. They have a location in Hartsdale and are accredited as part of the State University of New York. Good luck!