helicopper

On what do you base the highlighted statement? The roads in Heritage Hills, like many other private roads, are in fact governed by the Vehicle and Traffic Law so the "private property exception" you claim wouldn't apply. Can you please cite the law making this possible? Thank you.

Somebody lasered the blimp from Yankee Stadium a few weeks ago. They were trying to get the video to see if they could arrest somebody but I don't know the final outcome. WAS, it's like having somebody blast you with highbeams - you know when you're getting illuminated.

And apparently a village employee as well. Disgraceful.

Date: 09-11-10 Time: 1800 Location: 144 Elm Street, c/s Linden and Oak Frequency: YPD, YFD Units Operating: YFD Engines 306, 303, 304, 309, 3## (?) Ladders 71, 72*, Rescue 1, Battalion 2 (?), YPD units for traffic Weather Conditions: Clear Description Of Incident: Fire in rear of two story approximately 20x50 building. Some first due apparatus were delayed/unavailable because of a MVA with injuries in the same area. 2 L/S/O through front of building, 1 L/S/O from rear of building. Main body of fire knocked down by about 1815. Reporters: Chris192 Writer: Chris192

Date: 09-11-10 Time: 2315 Box: 8800 Location: North end of Van Cortlandt Park - IRO 325 McLean Avenue (Yonkers). Frequency: WCPD F1, YPD F2, YFD, FDNY, NYPD 50, NYPD SOD Units Operating: Westchester County PD Aviation, YPD 305, 303, YFD, FDNY, NYPD Aviation Weather Conditions: Clear Description Of Incident: While on another assignment, WC Aviation observed a brush fire in the woods behind 325 McLean Avenue. YFD responded and determined that the fire was well into Van Cortlandt Park and the FDNY was notified. YPD 305 and 303 attempted to locate a path into the fire which was in a remote wooded area more than 1/4 mile from the nearest road at the top of a hill. Due to the remote location and different communications centers involved, the FDNY did not arrive on scene until approximately 0030 and had to hand stretch a line in to the location. WC Aviation requested NYPD Aviation to relieve them to coordinate with ground units. Reporters/Writer: Chris192 (in the air), Oswegowind (on the air) 0145 hrs- B-27 transmitting 10-75, no special units. 0200 hrs- Div. 7 rpts Using All Hands, no special units. Long stretch into the woods and using Yonkers hydrants. 0226 hrs - Div 7 requests an additional engine and truck. Stretched more than 40 lengths of hose to fire, additional companies to assist with picking up. Fire probably will hold.

Ahhh, the problem of 40+ PSAP's in a county of less than 1 million people.

= Failure of management to properly train and supervise. = Failure of management to properly train and supervise. Many of us will argue that there is no need to go lights and siren to the hospital with an arrest. It is difficult enough to properly perform CPR in an ambulance without being bounced around in the back by someone sailing to the hospital like that. With ALS on board there is very little else that the hospital can do to improve the outcome so it really isn't necessary. = Failure of management to properly train and supervise. We need more leadership and direction within our EMS organizations. Management needs to be just that, management. You can't keep the marginal driver "because he's available on days" or allow below standard performance "because we're volunteers". There are some agencies who have excellent leadership and proactive training (both initial and ongoing) but they're not the ones we read about...

http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_16026/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=G6nSuwIY

Yes, we are called that but the reality is that the overwhelming majority of our work is not, in fact, an "emergency". It may be perceived as one by the caller, someone may be out of control and need us to help restore control to them in a situation that overwhelms them, but don't for a minute think that everything we do is an emergency. The sooner you embrace that notion the more rewarding you'll find your career. It has never ceased to amaze me when a 22 year old claims to be "burned out" in EMS. I know 40 and 50 year olds who still love their job in EMS. Why? Because they have realistic expectations and understand that what we do isn't an emergency FOR US! If your profile is correct and you're really just starting out please try to remember this - and remember the guidance from other people who love the job - because if you go down the adrenaline junkie road you're bound for disappointment.

This post highlights the issue in the article. "So EMS abuses the lights and siren" is an unacceptable position. We have a mandate to everyone in our community, not just the person who dialed 911, so when we broadside someone in an intersection or have any other emergency vehicle accident, we're not fulfilling our mission and we're failing our consituents. "Forced to abuse it"? Again, the system is failing and we're making no effort to correct it. If we have a proactive EMD system and respond based on reasonably obtained info, fine. When we use the rationale that any call could be another call we're setting ourselves up for a problem. Finally, getting to the call is only one part of the problem. As pointed out, going to the hospital with lights and siren is inappropriate 99% of the time and yet time and time again we see it.

Agreed! Unfortunately it is too well kept a secret and they really scaled back the numbers of flights and destinations.

This is the second time that we've been hit in Yonkers - both times resulted in an arrest. We were hit once in White Plains too but unfortunately there was no arrest in that case. There have been several reported incidents involving airplanes over the past year in/around Westchester. A few near the airport and other isolated cases elsewhere. The problem is nearly epidemic in the industry. The Philadelphia/Baltimore area has been getting inundated with these incidents thanks to exceptionally bright laser "toys" being sold on the Jersey Shore and in Ocean City, MD. http://www.delmarvanow.com/article/20100908/NEWS01/100908007/1002/MARYLAND--Police-warn-of-laser-danger-after-OC-incident http://articles.latimes.com/2010/aug/29/local/la-me-faa-laser-20100829 http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/7188560.html http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Laser+pointer+incident+injures+HAWC1+crew+members+Calgary+charged/3409375/story.html

Barry's right. There are many airports that don't have the parking issues we do. Of course we're not going to be able to change it ourselves but it doesn't mean we can't talk about it. I mean, really, if we didn't talk about the things that are beyond our control there'd be about 9 threads on this board. It may not be cheap but it is easy and conveient. EWR is no problem either and if you go to other states it gets even easier. DFW, LAS, MCO, PHX, all have well organized facilities for their travelers.

It has been proven that this is not true. Years ago, when the NY State Police only had red rear facing lights they were plagued with many rear-end collisions. One of their really sharp EVOC guys (Faugh, I believe) did a study and they demonstrated that adding amber to the rear-facing lights significantly reduced the number of collisions. Blue has been proven to be even more effective than amber so the color definitely does play a role. Of course when 11 vehicles all with lights flashing, strobing, oscillating, wig-wagging, and blinking are all over the road, it does make it difficult to navigate.

Yes. When they close the parking structure they post signs directly you to whichever space is being used for overflow parking. There is also a guard at the entrance who tries to keep people moving. The best solution is getting dropped off because parking is almost as expensive as the city airports but you're right - that doesn't work well for early AM flights.

Sorry but I have to disagree. There is definitely not enough parking for commercial passengers and there never has been. 15 years ago in the old quonset hut terminal when the only travelers were business folks shuttling back and forth to DC and Chicago there wasn't enough parking and the situation hasn't improved. Parking on the grass, in traffic lanes, or anywhere you can shoe horn a car isn't adequate parking. The parking structure was designed using the demographics of 15 years ago before AirTran or JetBlue existed let alone operated out of HPN. Politics definitely played a role in all this. The overflow lots do help but the bottom line is the airport has outgrown itself in parking and in the terminal. Watching families of four walk down airport road with all their luggage to the overflow lots out by building 2 or 3 highlights how screwed up the situation is. The County has always yielded to the political wills of the neighborhood instead of treating the airport as the revenue stream that it is.

That's a great idea. Like the really old aircraft carriers with a ski jump like ramp at the end. A runway bridge right over 120 and 684 and we're in business. Then we can start bringing the big boy's (737, 757) in for flights. Then Westchester will learn about noise. Hey, Bill, watch out for the F-18's. They have a special ways of dealing with complaints!

Date: 09-06-10 Time: 1000 and onging Location: Four Mile Canyon Area Departments: Boulder FD, PD, EMS, Emergency Management, plus County resources and mutual aid. Description: Many homes and farms are being evacuated as a major wildfire(s) fueled by high winds moves through the area. Several homes and at least one fire engine have been destroyed. Large-scale evacuations and relocations underway, one fire is only about 75% contained right now. Winds are gusting to 45 MPH and have grounded small firefighting airplanes. Two larger airplanes are enroute to support the operation. Links: http://www.9news.com...51618&catid=339 http://www.denverpos...ews/ci_16005028 Writer: Chris192

It shouldn't matter that this was a volunteer agency. The management of a volunteer EMS agency has just as much responsibility to manage as does any other organization. We can't look the other way "because we're volunteers" nor should we elect to provide less supervision, training, and risk detection and mitigation because it comes at a cost. They didn't blink at spending 100K on the ambulance so they should be willing to spend 1K to protect that investment and their reputation if not the people they're tasked with protecting. Another option is to simply require members to disclose any accidents, arrests, or tickets on a membership survey. Sure someone may lie but if they do and are caught it could be grounds for dismissal. There are a lot of options but the bigger message here isn't the ambulance accident, it's the lack of management that allowed it to occur. This is strictly not a criticism of the VAC involved but of all agencies that choose to ignore or abdicate their responsibilities.

Boy I'm glad you're not a flight planner for an airline!! Sure the A320 can make it there with full fuel but as you point out, they can't carry a full passenger load. That makes it a losing proposition because every flight out of JFK to LAS is full. There are also margins built in for safety that consider the weather, passenger/baggage weights, and such. According to JetBlue, it simply won't work at Westchester.

According to JetBlue they can't do HPN to Vegas because of the runway length and fuel requirement. If we can get the airport to extend the runway out over 684 we may have a chance!

Interesting article - quite telling that the property tax levy is ONE THIRD that of Westchester. Maybe we should stop the "we've always done it this way nonsense" and start some real reform. http://www.lohud.com...AID=20108310363

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/09/nj_approves_controversial_chan.html

I believe the 708 funds are allocated to the counties in NYS with nuclear power plants for the special planning required there. They are not competitive grants.

It is probably NOT cheaper to hire from within. Hiring from within requires administrative and supervisory overhead costs, civil service testing and hiring issues (if applicable - I believe Somers is a fire district so they could be civil service), medical and other benefits, salaries, training, uniform, initial, on-going, and in-service training. Then there's the issue of the selection process and since you're certainly not going to take everyone somebody will get their feelings hurt. To staff one ambulance 24/7/365 with full-time employees you'll probably need about 10 people. On a part-time basis you'll need even more people and a great deal more supervision/administration. WIth a contracted service providing the personnel, you only have to pay for the people working (their rate of pay charged may be hire than you'd have to pay - and higher than the rate of pay the EMT's receive) but that covers the adminstrative costs the contractor incurs.