helicopper

Here is the NIOSH report in question. NIOSH Alert - Unoccupied Structure Fires.pdf

What was his alternative? To be terminated. I've heard of jobs providing counseling and other assistance to people in similar situations and its sad that didn't happen in this case.

Sad story. It's a shame that neither the department or the union did anything to help him along the way and just cut him loose after failing the drug test.

Let me see if I get this straight... If this was my truck and I tricked it out this way it would be OK but if it is an official vehicle to be used by emergency responders that would be ridiculous? Have you looked at most emergency vehicles these days? They're comparably equipped. So the base vehicle is the Denali package, perhaps there's a reason for the power that we don't know about. Since we don't know who owns or operates it, or why it is equipped as it is, how can we judge the ridiculousness?

You are probably right. The spokesperson says that most of the time the ambulance is there already when they arrive so their response times can't be very good - maybe because of personnel availability? I don't think they'll cut their budget now that their call volume is decreasing by 1/3. That's part of the problem.

Link to Incident Alert According to the news articles personnel (from four counties) had to hike in 1.5 miles to get to this fire. I'm just curious, did anyone consider calling for aerial assistance? The State Police are right across the river in Newburgh and since this went on for so long they could also have brought a Huey down from Albany (with a larger bucket) to assist. It looks like there was at least one lake right there and another just down the road. Does anyone have more info?

NYS DEC has no air resources - their aviation was consolidated into the State Police Aviation Section some years back. The new NYC DEP helicopter is now equipped for firefighting but I don't know if they're performing that mission yet (may be training to be done, I'm not sure). Are West Point's helicopters (Hueys and now EC-145's) equipped for firefighting? I thought they called in National Guard aircraft (UH-60's) for that. Anyway, I think it was ground assets that responded to assist with this fire. My point is that these resources are out there and we should make sure people know about them and put them into their toolbox so when its appropriate they are considered.

Izzy is correct and it probably would have been done already but for the transition to the new software that is requiring lots of time and attention. We're not going to forget about you upstaters! Just give us a chance to get things set up! Thanks for posting.

Not to steal bnechis' thunder or anything but what will the impact on the city's ISO rating be? Can that be translated into an actual cost for city taxpayers (homeowners and businesses)? It may very well be less expensive for the taxpayer to keep the fire station open and staffed if they show the savings to the taxpayers in their insurance payments.

I agree with the premise that volunteers should volunteer but since that Elvis has already left the building, Somers had to come up with something. To their credit, they are not ignoring the problem. This has little to do with Somers but rather the issue of pay per call vs. paid personnel. Is it really just $25 per call? What is seven people show up for a call, do they pay them all? What happens at a PIAA where the FD has numerous members show up, who gets paid then? If the answer is just the first three on the ambulance, will that cause animosity among other members? Paid personnel doesn't necessarily mean that benefits are required. Simply by hiring part-time personnel, Somers could avoid becoming a full-time employer and actually pay more per hour to attract and retain quality EMT's. I truly hope that they don't run their own dispatch for fear of "losing control". That's a terrible waste of money and a duplication of resources. Good luck to Somers, I hope this plan reduces their problems.

Lookin' good so far!

A word of caution... This will likely become an emotionally charged thread for a few members and that emotion may cloud logic, reason, and good judgement in some responses. For that reason, PLEASE, please read your comments very carefully BEFORE you hit the "post" button and make sure you're contributing to the discussion and not merely making someones point for them!

This is one of the most shocking and offensive posts I've read here in a long time. To compare law enforcement to Nazis and their explorer programs to the Hitler Youth is patently absurd and further highlights your disdain for the police in our country. There is no police state or brutal dictators at work here. As was highlighted in earlier posts, this program is not unlike the 4-H program, scouting, or youth memberships in the fire service. It's an opportunity to learn more about the police, train with them, and hopefully gain an understanding and appreciation of what law enforcement is all about. Gee, you may benefit from that given your complete lack of understanding and distrust of them! Nobody is "informing" on anyone for anyone's benefit. Where do you get these wildly inaccurate notions? We do not live in a police state and explorer programs are not cultivating mindless drones who will blindly follow illegal and/or immoral leaders. If you find this country so unsettling perhaps you'd prefer another one. Of course, you may not be allowed to make comments like this in one of those countries and you may find that police states with brutal dictators do exist so choose carefully!

Any Presidential debate... for that matter any political debate. Very, very scary!!!

Date: 10/25/09 Time: 0045 hours (approximately) Location: 376 Bradhurst c/s Route 141, Hawthorne (Town of Mt Pleasant) Frequency: 156.015, 46.26, trunked Units Operating: Hawthorne, Valhalla, Thornwood FD's, Mt Pleasant PD, Con Ed Gas Weather Conditions: Cloudy Description Of Incident: Working fire in gas station. Well involved upon arrival. After knock down fire determined to be set to cover attempted burglary (theft of ATM). Gas leak in structure, Con Ed responding. Reporters: Writer: Chris192

Considering that there was a shooting in front of police headquarters and at the site of the proposed stadium at noon yesterday, I'm not sure I agree that it isn't so bad. If these guys think its OK to use South Broadway as their range in broad daylight it's pretty bad. On the plus side, if the stadium was there the City could have sold tickets to the shooting thereby generating some revenue.

Date: 10/22/09 Time: 1440 (approximately) Location: Lake Avenue Frequency: YPD F2 Units Operating: 4th Precinct Patrol (most), DD units, ESU Truck 3, Truck 4, 847, K9-3, 900, 410, Westchester County PD Aviation, Empress EMS Weather Conditions: clear, warm Description Of Incident: Foot pursuit of suspect picked up by Aviation, ground units directed to location where suspect was contained in wooded area. K-9 and ESU located suspect during resulting search and after violent struggle, suspect was apprehended. Writer: Chris192 Again this was an OUTSTANDING job by the YPD!

Date: 10/22/09 Time: approximately 1130 Location: Originally IFO 104 South Broadway (YPD HQ), then Chicken Island Parking Lot, and finally Schroeder Street Projects Frequency: YPD F1 and F2 Units Operating: YPD 4th Precinct (ALL), YPD 3rd Precinct (most), YPD 1st Precinct (101, 102, 104, 1A, 1B), YPD 2nd Precinct (204, 205, 206), ESU (all), ESU Captain, 847, K9-1, K9-3, 900 (Duty Captain), DD Captain, DD Units, CIU, Traffic Units, plus other YPD command staff, Westchester County PD Aviation Mutual aid was placed on stand-by to respond to Yonkers but those units were released without having to respond into the City. Description Of Incident: Originally a disorderly group, officer reported confirmed shots fired and gave chase to a group that fled into Schroeder Street, six suspects apprehended on Schroeder Street, three more at Nepperhan and School, and one found hiding in building by ESU and K-9. Several different locations being processed for evidence. Writer: Chris192 An outstanding job by the YPD!

The Department should put an American Flag on EVERY locker and then it wouldn't be an issue. I understand the policy issue - nothing means nothing - but this is a bad example.

SOD oversees: Aviation Unit Bomb Squad Canine Unit Marine Unit Special Response Team (SRT) (SWAT team) CBRNE Consequence Management along with other special projects.

INIT, can you post what the rotation is actually like? I've heard a lot about it - echoing what you said in your post - but haven't seen what you actually work if you're on it.

Because it is a county property/facility, the County PD has primary jurisdiction at the College. It is within the Town of Greenburgh so GPD can take action there as necessary but they don't patrol it routinely. Since it is NYS, the State Police could also take action there for that matter. Just the multiplicity/duplicity that is Westchester law enforcement.

Things going on locally and around the world have caused me to reflect on why we're all here and what we stand for. Regardless of whether we're paid or volunteer, ride with the busiest agency or the slowest, we're all supposed to be on the same side. We chose public service, we weren't drafted, and whether we chose to become police officers, firefighters, EMT's or paramedics as our profession or obsession, vocation or occupation we should be advocates for ourselves and each other. There are many hard questions to ask and answer in all the emergency services and we should all have the courage to ask and answer them but to attack or mock each other does nothing but belittle us and our professions. If you want to start a debate, please do so with respect and integrity and imagine yourself on the other side of the same question posed to you and/or your agency. If you're responding to a debate, please do so with an understanding that knowledge is powerful and if you educate your critics you may gain a smarter ally. Or in simple terms that I can understand, you get more flies with honey than with vinegar. Snide comments, bashing, or simply getting defensive does not advance your position. Emotions are running especially high right now - not just here in this little corner of cyberspace but nationally as we face budget shortfalls, layoffs, and cutbacks. In light of our recent local tragedy, fuses are understandably short and the least we can do is be understanding and tolerant of the different phases of grieving. Some anger is going to come out and rather than respond to it in kind, think of why these people are angry and offer support. Nothing is more disturbing than hearing a rookie/probie/newbie/whatever ranting about the agency down the street, the vollies across town or those paid guys. We're still, to this day, breeding that into our culture and we're never going to be as good as we claim until we put all that rhetoric behind us and start working together. It all starts with us! Set the example, strive to be better than you were yesterday, and be an advocate so our legacy is a better emergency service than we started with when we leave. Perhaps we should all reflect a bit on whether we want to create a legacy for our time in these emergency services or just be a spectator. Let's stop fighting with each other and start fighting with our legislators to make sure we have all the tools we need, all the training we can get, and all the support we deserve to keep doing the job that distinguishes us from all others. Maybe visiting these sites will help remind you of the big picture: National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial National Fallen Firefighters Memorial National EMS Memorial Service Be safe!

That was just to pick up the lunch at the A S Deli! We have a disproportionate number of naysayers around here so that's not surprising. You're absolutely right - to keep up with all the changes in the field, they need every nickel they can get and local budgets can't support these kinds of acquisitions all that often, especially in this economy.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,558943...c0.000000:b0:z5 Fortunately we're not in an earthquake prone (at least severe ones) area but this ought to get the SAR/tech rescue folks thinking about long term operations and how they would deal with a situation like this - even on a smaller scale.