helicopper

Doesn't all that translate into EDP???

Amen brother!

The law doesn't define "billy" but it does have a specific exemption (quoted below) for auxiliary police to carry a "police baton". If they're using the term billy for police baton we'll probably find case law that defines a police baton as such a "billy". As JJB and Truck 4 stated, they are illegal but more importantly their use opens you up to major liability - personally! Your agency will probably not defend you because you're acting outside the scope of your employment and training. I would check your agencies policies very closely - you probably have rules prohibiting carrying illegal items or weapons. You'd be in violation of those too. Not only do you need training in how to use it, you need training in when you're authorized to use it. Police go through mandatory training on the laws regarding the use of force and every weapon system they carry every year. Do you? Just an opinion - if, in self defense, you struck a patient or other person with a flashlight, radio, clipboard, lifepak, oxygen tank, stretcher, ambulance (sorry I got on a roll but I think you get the point ) you could probably successfully argue that it was self defense and you had no choice but to improvise with an approved piece of equipment. When you break out the (illegal) expandable POLICE baton and, without training in its proper use, use it in the same situation you're probably going to be charged with ASSAULT and CRIMINAL POSSESSION OF A WEAPON. It will be argued that your actions were premeditated because you consciously chose to carry a prohibited item and the focus will never be the fact that you were defending yourself! You will become a defendant and run the risk of losing your EMS certification if convicted of a crime (see quote below). Just because you can buy one doesn't mean you should and doesn't mean you're not breaking the law in NY by possessing it. Every EMS provider needs a flashlight though!!!

Why just Florida? How about the great state of New York?

Mt Pleasant made a single zone request - "blue alert" if memory serves. I hate the color codes! This was the first "red alert" that I'm aware of since the inception of the new mutual aid plan a couple of years ago...

Recently I've noticed a lot of decals posted advertising the local emergency service(s) with a "Dial 555-1212" not 911. Here we are in 2007, 911 is almost universally known as the way to access emergency assistance yet we're telling our consituents to dial a seven digit phone number instead. Dialing in through a seven digit number doesn't provide the dispatcher with the same info as 911, the correct address and other info may not be available for starters... Anybody have any idea why we still promote this practice? I could see "In an emergency dial 911" followed by "For information or to volunteer call the (non-emergency #)" but that's not what these say. My question du jour!

Why didn't you just stand on the tracks to get a better angle???

Within the hospital it is simply absurd! You should send them a big fat BILL for service to discourage the practice. Why would the insurance company make them call EMS for intra-facility transfers? Don't they wheel people to the OR, ICU, units, X-ray, etc. every day? If a person is going from the ER to the ICU on the 4th floor, they generally take an elevator not an ambulance! If you have to enter the hospital to access a patient, my simple mind tells me that they're already within the confines of the hospital and don't need an EMS response. EMTALA is a great thing to know about but I would also hope that common sense would prevail. I thought this thread was going to talk about associated nursing homes and/or doctors offices/clinics in "nearby" buildings - I never imagined that you'd be going to the hospital to pick up our patient and drop off our patient - talk about a short trip. You hit the nail on the head here - common sense must apply. I would also suggest that if the hospital (or other healthcare facility) is a system abuser, the EMS agency should meet with the hospital to discuss alternatives - perhaps a contract for an interfacility transport provider is in order? I don't think it is appropriate for healthcare facilities to be a drain on limited 911 EMS resources.

Al Sharpton is the worst kind of racist. Nobody is rallying against him for his overtly hostile "slip" of the tongue when he said that all five cops in the Sean Bell case should be shot! He gets on his bully pulpit and spews venom and hatred at least as badly as any other racists/extremist groups. I just wish the media would stop giving him the forum to air these ridiculous arguments to millions of people. Hate the double standard!

Date: 04/09/07 Time: 1857 Location: 26 Westview Avenue, x-street Ferris and North Broadway Frequency: WPPD and WPFD Units Operating: WPPD and WPFD Description Of Incident: Working structure fire - PD ESU on scene reporting heavy smoke from structure. EMS to stage at Church and Westview per PD Supervisor. PD setting up traffic control around area. Writer: Chris192

Actually, I believe it is OLD! It's a longer coat than we're all familiar with that used to be popular and is probably still pretty popular up north where they have only two seasons - winter and the 4th of July. It's alot warmer than the current stuff we all wear - made of wool if its the coat I'm thinking of. And I'm sure that you'd be promptly pummeled if a trooper heard you call it beige. They are after all the "GRAY gods"!!!

I know that when I started in MV EMS many moons ago, one of the ambulances was formerly assigned to the FD and still had a Federal Q and other adornments that you wouldn't see on a commerical ambulance. That was mid 1980's. I don't know if/when the FD stopped providing EMS but they definitely had an ambulance at one time. I'm sure some of the other guys and girls from way back when can expand on this.

There are exceptions to the law for certain personnel but as I understand it - and I strongly recommend verifying this for yourself - contracts can be written to permit equalizing overtime over a pay period or contract period to allow for schedules like that. However, if you work more than the scheduled number of hours or shifts in a week, you're entitled to OT 1.5 pay. If you're affected, contact the DOL and a good attorney ASAP to protect yourself and your interests. Historically if an EMS agency is taking actions like this now, it may get worse and the straight time pay may not be there when you expect it! Protect yourself and your families!!!

How is that not illegal? I thought the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) said that time in excess of 40 hours in a week would be compensated at time and one-half? If this is the agency that I'm thinking of, I'm not surprised at all!

I'd be really interested to see that - anecdotally the incidence of heart disease that's affected the LE side of the house has been in the 40's and 50's - not the 60's. Now I gotta see if they're any studies or analyses on this side of the street.

Makes all the sense in the world as long as the units on the opposite side don't stop in the left lane and start jumping over the barrier (or worse stopping on the shoulder and crossing lanes of traffic like Frogger). This creates more havoc than it helps! If it's on your side, deal with it. If it's on the other side consider yourself lucky, go home and wait for the next one! ALS is right - it's all about resource management! Someone please manage!!!

Hey ALS, you're right that heart disease is killing us - in law enforcement too - but is age the critical factor? Does anyone know the breakdown of ages for these LODD's? I suspect that the victims are actually YOUNGER than the mandatory retirement age of 62. That leads me to believe that we have to address other risk factors besides age - stress, diet, exercise, etc. Are we doing enough to combat this? I'm guessing that we probably aren't.

It's no worse than playing for the Red Sox!

Never, never discount the possibility that someone handcuffed behind their back can access things at their sides or even to the front - especially a juvenile who is more flexible than older career criminals. Handcuffs are only temporary restraints and are not a sure-fire way of controlling someone!

They are hired as ops coordinators, right? One of the coordinator's duties is firefighting. They are not hired as firefighters with ancillary duties. That's why I said they're operations first. How much time do they spend training for crash rescue and firefighting? 10% 20%? A firefighter spends most if not all of their time training to be a firefighter. That was my point on their roles. They are all trained and when an alert comes in they all focus on the mission at hand but that's not their primary job.

I'm sorry if we weren't clear already - airport operations personnel staff the two airport fire trucks required by FAR. They have a minimum level of coverage as required but they are all performing double duty - first operations, then fire rescue. Unless I misunderstood X635's point - he's saying the activity at the airport warrants a higher level of preparedness than the current coverage. 635?

Federal regulations do provide the minimum requirements for airport certification. I think Seth's point is we should have more than the minimum at Westchester since they're getting so much busier/bigger and I think he makes a great point. The following is the text from the Federal Aviation Regulations part 139 relating to aircraft rescue and firefighting:

Less beans vs. more beans the firehouse chili?

The airport's plan calls for the initial IC to be the Airport Operations Supervisor who commands the initial response of airport fire resources. After that it should go to unified command with the airport, FD's, PD, and airline. There is at least one PAD in the terminal and the police cars on the airport have them. In fact, I think it was last year the cops at the airport had a CPR save in the terminal with an AED. I think the idea that the airport needs to improve their emergency response capability is a valid one especially with the increased traffic but I don't know if anyone will go for a full-time FD or EMS.

Troopers: Connecticut man does 142 mph on I-684 By TERENCE CORCORAN THE JOURNAL NEWS (Original publication: March 27, 2007) SOUTHEAST - A Connecticut man will have a chance to tell a judge why he was in such a hurry after troopers clocked him doing 142 miles per hours on Interstate 684, state police said today. Michael Maciejewski, 24, of Litchfield, Conn., is scheduled to appear April 24 in town court after he was ticketed for speeding southbound on the highway, Sgt. Joseph Malorgio said. The charge is a traffic violation. Troopers from the Brewster barracks were running radar around 10 p.m. Sunday when they clocked a 2001 Acura doing 142 mph in the 65-mph zone, Malorgio said. A special laser that can read a license plate from 1,000 feet away captured an image of the car's license in case Maciejewski didn't stop, but police said he pulled the car over as soon as the troopers activated the lights and siren on their cruiser. Police said Maciejewski could face the possible suspension of his driving privileges in New York state.