helicopper

One of the problems with the quasi-freelancing when someone just 'shows-up' at an incident and offers their services to the IC is that when the IC is up to his neck in alligators, he/she accepts the help instead of doing what he/she would probably do under normal circumstances and send them packing. Once they're accepted once, they're empowered for the next time and we have the situation we have today. Another problem is when the chief officers condone the practice and don't deal with their own members who do it. If we had good accountability, there would be a way that the incident IC could notify the freelance members department of the member and their actions so something could be done above kicking them off the scene. Unfortunately, we all know how well our accountability works... I have to agree with wraftery about the differences between buffing and freelancing too. Buffs aren't generally the problem. Freelancers are certainly a problem!

How much mutual aid did this require? What about the regular city staffing? If everyone's called in, who's covering the next shift. Wow, EFD really earned their pay this year!

In addition to posting the VEHICLES that respond, can you post how many PERSONNEL respond? The WPFD question (2-3 on a company) raised a very interesting point. How many FF does this response include? Volunteer departments may not have a standard answer but the career jobs can give us the rundown. Thanks!

Just curious... Why the big difference between responses in the village and town? (Three more engines in the village) Is there a reason for the six (6) engine response on general alarms? I only ask because it is different than what seems to be the "usual" response. No criticism at all, just curiosity. Thanks!

It doesn't bring their father back but it must provide some comfort to know that their educations and more are all taken care of. The Peter Figoski Scholarship Fund is now over 1.3 MILLION dollars and donations are still coming in. Add to this the fact that over 20,000 people, mostly police, attended his funeral. It's nice to know that people still care even if it is after the fact.

Onondaga County has been facing bitter financial issues over the helicopter operation for a number of years and the Board of Legislators told the Sheriff that they would not fund the air operation in 2012 forcing the Sheriff to choose this path. It's a shame. The Onondaga Sheriff supports all of Onondaga County and the City of Syracuse with the helicopter and responds to adjoining counties for medevacs. Perhaps if we all dig deep it could be EMTBravo Aviation???

Thanks, I missed that when I first read it but saw the brush trucks special called. So it must have been the ghosts.

Buckets are not carried on the aircraft. They're stored at the respective bases until needed and are then deployed.

You have no standing if you're not already an employee with a claim to the pension. You're a prospective state employee with no standing and no damages, as far as I see it. Perhaps site counsel can weigh in???

And you need to have standing and prove damages to have a claim.

Did the ghosts leave a Christmas candle burning and start a fire? Any word on what the source was? Brush or structure? There's not a whole lot left out there.

As I understand it, it was a combination. PCSO did some good investigative work and narrowed the search area down to the Orange/Ulster area and an LPR on an Ulster County unit picked up her car in the motel parking lot.

Does all apparatus respond with a company officer and crew or is it just a matter of whomever shows up? (Looking for everyone's input not just Brian's)

Moose, I agree with you about the use of staging areas and no bag limit on freelancers with a year-round season on 'em but that presupposes two things. One is that a staging area has been established and two the resources aren't part of the initial response or immediately needed to operate. In both those situations, the resources should report directly to the scene for tactical assignment. This creates a challenge for both the IC and the resources especially in mutual aid situations. "Any good firefighter may know what has to be done" but it is up to the IC to determine when it is appropriate to do them, and how, and by whom. Those attitudes exist in all the emergency services and they're nothing more than another form of freelancing. That attitude needs to be adjusted and those with it reminded that there is a chain of command and responsibility that rests squarely on the IC. Asking him questions is not bothering him. Happy holidays and I hope Schoharie has finally dried out!

For all who are saying "HIPAA violation"... What is the "individually identifiable health information" that is contained in an image? Nowhere does it state that a patient's likeness, image, or photograph is protected information. Why all the hub-bub about HIPAA or am I missing something? Link to Source at HHS website

Is this one of the "crash" camera systems? Is it adjusted to record facing the stretcher or just the back of the stretcher looking toward the doors? You can of course stop civilians from doing something on or in your property that you can do yourself. That's the difference between public and private property. Does this VAC have a policy on recording or using this camera system?

In a public place, I may be willing to let it slide but not the back of my ambulance. Not a public place, subject to the rules and regulations of my agency, and if they're filming while immobilized they're going to be screwing up my care. They'll be turning their head to look around, moving their arms, etc. If they're immobilized they should be immobile! Does anyone have a policy on filming within their ambulance?

Ahhh, the task force concept. Imagine that? Unfortunately, because everyone works on their own, in their own jurisdiction/discipline we never see this achieved.

Sometimes, and it may just be once in a career, emergency workers are confronted with a situation that isn't "in the book" so they can't "go by the book". Officer Peck wasn't under the bus as a "rescue technician", he was under the bus as a HUMAN BEING giving comfort and support to another injured and frightened woman. When the crane toppled and pinned Bridget Gurney in NYC, there was a monster response and the FD/PD/MD did the same thing Officer Peck did. They put their lives at risk to save her. If I recall correctly there were no guarantees that they wouldn't be killed or injured in a secondary collapse. We've all heard stories like it and it is one of the most compelling characteristics about our profession. In the face of obvious, and sometimes not so obvious, danger, we do something compassionate and caring for a total stranger. Hopefully the first arriving rescue units insured that the bus was off, in park, wheels chocked and placed cribbing to protect them both. I don't commend Officer Peck as a rescue technician and I'm glad the FD arrived promptly to extricate the victim; I commend him for doing something selfless and compassionate. We're reminded daily of all the negative things people in our profession do. This is a nice reminder about the positive things.

It's not the first time that a cop or firefighter has done something heroic for a victim of a tragic accident. Anyone remember Bridget Gurney? Cops, firefighters, and a trauma doc (if I remember correctly) all put themselves in grave danger to rescue her. Our jobs are not without risk. We're just expected to manage the risk. If you want a safe job, go work at... ya know, I can't think of a job that is wholly without some risk. The officer in question obviously calculated the risk to himself and did the job anyway. His risk analysis was obviously accurate because he didn't get hurt himself. Kudos to him on a job well done! Nicely said too!

Short-term leaders and long-term problems. This is one of the reasons that we have such problems. Chiefs and agendas change every two years; commissioners may or may not be able to influence change in a single term and the apathy, complacency and resistance of the members themselves contribute further to the problem. When and where we vote for commissioners is only an incidental part of the problem. We need to rebuild the system from the top down, bottom up, and in every direction and not many people are willing or able to do that. We need a strategic vision with a regional perspective that can be used as the template for a "master plan" but those that lobby for change are usually overrun by those seeking the status quo. It's a real catch-22. [/sigh]

Just a few responses and already some interesting perspectives about the relationship between the agency "CEO" and/or "COO" and the employees (members if you prefer). I think most will agree that we ultimately serve the community but keeping to the point/spirit of the original post, try to describe the relationship between the "Chief" and "employees". Looking forward to more insightful responses.

This is not about you and nobody is criticizing you personally. So... (wait for it)... QTIP! (Where have I heard that before?) Standards should be consistent in EMS so the person dialing 911 gets quality care in a reasonable amount of time from competent and professional providers. There shouldn't be a different standard because one crew is volunteer and one is paid. The demand or expectation that there be different standards "because I'm a volunteer" is what most people have issues with. When there is no distinction, no double standard, no expectation of preferential treatment based on pay status you'll have an argument. In the meantime, the system is broken and we have to fix it. To respond to your comment specifically, those in the volunteer sector who resist minimum standards, quality improvement programs, training, rostering in station to reduce response times, argue against paid members despite the fact that they can't cover their calls, etc. are preventing meaningful improvements and while I wouldn't call them a "nuisance" are perpetuating the problem. If Empress (for example) covered only 75% of their calls in Yonkers do you think it would (should) be tolerated? Why do we tolerate it in the volunteer sector? Empress has to maintain enough units to cover their calls and their call volume is more than 10 times that of most volunteer agencies. When a volunteer agency can't consistently staff ONE unit for ONE call there is a problem. Stop crying the volunteer blues (that could be a song). Almost everyone started in the volunteer sector and many still are volunteers despite their paid job. That's not the point or the issue.

From what I've seen recently, they still do for widespread incidents like storms. For localized events the trucks you posted pictures of are used as their command and control points.

I've had the same argument countless times with my dad and he maintains that there are term limits. They're called elections. If people choose not to vote someone out or vote new blood in we have nobody to blame but ourselves. It's a cogent argument. Drives me nuts!