helicopper

But he plays one on TV!!! Actually this guy owns two high end restaurants - one in Piermont and the other in Garrison. Great food, great wines, great atmosphere, and GREAT (read HUGE) prices!!!

I read that article and the first thought that came to mind was the reliance on the thermal imaging camera. TI technology is GREAT - I think it is awesome for law enforcement and the fire service but I think the industry does a horrible job educating users on its limitations and actual capabilities. Thermal imaging cameras do not "see through" walls, doors, trees, windows, water, or anything else! They detect heat - nothing more! So, if this woman was in a bathroom (or any room for that matter) she would be invisible to the camera. Even if she was leaning on a standard hollow core door, they probably would not have picked her up with TI. The great benefit to the fire service is the ability of the TIC to locate fire (heat) without having to open up walls/ceilings etc. Unfortunately if that fire is well insulated - or in this case the victim is well insulated - the camera won't do you any good. The law enforcement community was hamstrung by a Supreme Court decision limiting the use of TI technology because some blowhole testified erroneously that thermal imaging equipment in use by law enforcement could "see through walls and show activity within". Despite expert testimony to the contrary, the court believed this yahoo and ruled against the warrantless use of TI cameras on houses. So, despite all the toys and technology, sometimes it is best to use "traditional" methods. DISCLAIMER: I am not in any way criticizing the fire department involved in this story. It is a tragedy and I am only pointing out a limitation to the therma imaging technology, not its use by the FD!

It's also useful to tell the moron who drove through the flares and into the flood water that, No, you're not coming in to "rescue" him and that he should walk out to your vehicle (with his license and registration)!!!!

How does paying a fee provide free parking??? Sorry, I couldn't resist!!!

Somewhere in the deep vaults buried under Washington, DC are the people who come up with some of this stuff - usually without consulting anyone who actually does it. Initially, NIMS planners proposed eliminating all 10 (or other) codes in favor of plain English. As you can imagine, the rebellion was quite impressive to behold! They backed off that in favor of the position that it is perfectly acceptable to use 10-codes in your regular day-to-day operations but when in a mutual aid or regional response revert to plain English so everyone understands what you're saying. I believe that the policy in NYC is when they use the interoperability channels for each borough, they don't use 10-codes. Maybe one of the City guys can confirm that?

I think (if memory serves and that's questionable) that studies have shown that the bucket seats with three point restraints are the safest for the responders in the back of the ambulance. Safer for us, second ambulance for the other victim. Seems like a reasonable guess.

If that is 16% of ALS calls, it sounds reasonable. 16 of 100 ALS calls require intubation - not extraordinary. 16% of ALL calls? That may be a little high.

I think part of it is just tradition, too. Dispatchers still to this day call the "Abbey Supervisor" on the radio. Old habits and traditions die hard!

Hey, don't knock my "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil" monkeys!!! They keep me from getting into TOO much trouble!!! lol Very well said!!! That's why I started posting and I'm absolutely certain that I've done all of the above!!! We should all be adults and even when people aren't the number of counter-productive posts are far outnumbered by the people posting genuine questions, answers or comments. The forum moderators do a great job of minimizing the BS too. We may not always agree with each other but we can always learn something from another viewpoint. Stop lurking!!!

Wow, that is SOME response! This just goes to show you that the FAST discussions on this board were really timely. Interesting concept, the establishment of a FAST Group rather than the single FAST unit. With the coverage and assignment issues that were previously discussed about FAST, maybe the "Group" approach is an approach that will work here in Westchester. Or maybe just call FDNY and ask them to send a 10-66 assignment!

So are there any pics out there yet???

Pretty comprehensive policies. I like the idea that you tell people right up front not to make unncessary transmissions and that they won't be answered. Thanks for sharing it!

Has anyone ever tried daily radio bingo? Issue dated bingo cards with all these numbers on it and try to get a full line of numbers before the day is out. I can see it now, EMTBravo prizes for the first person to get a "Bingo"!

Partyrock is right on... Someone needs to be not just IC in title but in actually command of the incident. If the highest ranking officer is actively working the operation, he/she isn't going to be in command and things like this are going to happen. Sounds like the two chief's should have had a quick 30 second pow-wow while you guys were stretching the line to determine who was going to do what and transfer command to the other chief if he was committed to setting up the portable pond. I know I'll take heat for this but as much as we all say we "use ICS" more often than not we really don't. At least not to the level we could/should. The only downside to the nailgun is you're constantly replacing boots. I once saw someone who will remain nameless draw a circle on the ground with a lumber crayon, put the IC in the circle, and threaten him with bodily harm if he left it. Absolutey hysterical. But it worked and we all knew where the CP was.

Westchester is the only Level 1 trauma center in the Hudson Valley Region. The only Area (Level 2) trauma centers are St. Francis, Sound Shore (New Rochelle), Good Samaritan and Nyack. That's all folks. Hudson Valley was designated an area trauma center for a while but gave up the designation. As good as a local community hospital may be, the requirements for a Level 1 trauma center designation are incredible and the costs to achieve them mind boggling. If Hudson Valley chose to give up the AREA designation, you can imagine how difficult that must have been to maintain because I can tell you they invested ALOT in getting the designation. Regional trauma centers are designed to be just that - regional. We (happily) don't see the sort of volume that justifies duplicate centers in close proximity. Having two regional centers competing with each other could negatively impact the whole house of cards. If you look at the statistics, there are tens of thousands of ER visits that don't require a trauma center - the proportion of IA's that involve transport to the Level 1 trauma centers at Westchester or Jacobi do not reflect a big percentage of these total ER visits. In other (simpler, I hope) words, the volume does not support establishing additional centers in Westchester, Putnam and Dutchess. A disparate proportion of trauma center candidates also go to Westchester because it is more fashionable to fly them there than drive to one of the area centers.

Da#n straight!!! I've worked in systems that required badges (and issued them) and agencies that didn't. In both, the personnel looked professional, acted professional, and were treated with respect. I've also worked in systems where personnel responded in civilian clothes and even when they were not quite as sharp as we would probably like, they acted professional and were treated as professionals. I happen to like uniformed EMS personnel but don't see any need for badges (issued or otherwise). With everyone switching to tactical style uniforms and embroidered name tapes, it does make it less of an issue. Look the part, act the part, and you'll be treated the way you want. I've seen plenty of people WITH badges (from alot of agenies) act like a complete jack@$$ and not deserve any respect so you can't convince me that the badge makes the slightest difference.

More like a complimentary psych exam!!! As for HPN, the only issue is parking. AirTran and JetBlue have completely changed the clientele and parking is an absolute nightmare! DEFINITELY have someone drive you or take a cab - it will still beat the traffic going to the City!!! I just flew out of Stewart on JetBlue and it was AWESOME! Actually EARLY arrival, no crowds, no traffic and dirt cheap parking!

Gotta agree with you here... I think mutual aid will still be available with a wall - they would just use the existing border crossing points. The wall is more of an issue between the legal crossing points.

No matter who you are, if you do all that you run a good chance of not getting a ticket. More often than not, people talk themselves into a ticket! And to add one more big one to Wolf's advice - PULL OVER RIGHT AWAY! Do NOT make the LEO follow (or chase) you!!!!! Follow the above advice, and if the LEO doesn't notice your lights, shiny badge, starched uniform hanging in the back, oodles of stickers from fraternal and benevolent organizations, VF or EMT license plates, etc. politely tell him what you do. Let him or her decide you've earned professional courtesy - don't demand it. Another two cents!

So, would Alamo's Chief of Operations be 81-1 or 81-7? Would a VAC Captain be 82-7 and not 82-1? I pity the poor dyslexic ones up there who think a boat is coming for their EMS calls!!!

So the Yonkers PD never operated AMBULANCES, right? I remember the E-rigs (predecessor of today's ESU) when they still had paramedics and AEMT-3's (remember THEM?) on them and they still performed ALS when necessary. They were still doing ALS when the contract ALS provider was delayed or unavailable due to multiple calls. Back in those days, Yonkers had TWO ambulances - one east and one west. Anybody know how many cover the City today?

What you said!!!

They will probably go after him for conduct unbecoming or other departmental regulations to that affect. As for the free speech card, try saying bomb at an airport and see how far your free speech argument gets you with the TSA as they inspect orifices with a microscope. I'm not a big fan of songs, video games, or other "stuff" that promotes acts of violence or criminal activity! The Supreme Court and other courts around the country have held that first amendment protections do not apply to threats or messages that can incite or promote illegal behavior. (Cut me some slack with the exact terms - I'm not a lawyer I just play one on TV) Promoting acts of violence against police certainly qualifies. Just another perspective.

Hey, wait a minute! Doesn't that make you guys a PAID COMMERCIAL SERVICE?!?!?! Disclaimer - for those of you unfamiliar with the concept, this is only a JOKE and not intended to start any sort of paid/unpaid or volunteer/career exchange.

I remember the Yonkers PD "E-rigs" that were paramedic "fly-cars" before they were as fashionable as they are now... Did they actually operate any ambulances, though? I don't remember that, when was it?