helicopper

That's an improvement but at the time the SOTF was created, the hours were as stated. Does the State now mandate that every participant in the class actually participate in all the activities? I mean you can't be a haz-mat tech if you don't actually put on the PPE and an SCBA during the course can you?

Does a "confined space" team include collapse/trench and other aspects of technical rescue? Isn't putting the responsibilities of two different specialties on the membership of a single part-time team an impediment to their being able to maintain a high level of proficiency in both? I mean if you train once a month and have to divide the time between confined space and haz-mat aren't you going to go a long time between repeating skills?

In the context of your original post, at least a few of us couldn't distinguish between where your serious comments ended and jokes began.

According to the Poughkeepsie Journal (so it will be taken with a grain of salt), two of the vehicles had bullet holes in them and another had shell casings. That would support shoot out and not just a couple of good ol' boys firing some rounds into the air.

It was stupid, plain and simple. Perhaps it was a slow news day but as public service agencies, we are all held to higher public scrutiny and this story simply reinforces that fact. 1 - You're kidding right? You've never seen a news person flash their pearly whites during or after a news story? Do they not dress in $1000 suits, etc.? It's because they're in the PUBLIC EYE and they KNOW IT and behave accordingly! 2. Who knows? I'm not George Lucas or Steven Spielberg. Who cares - it looks bad regardless. 3. Wow, that's pretty harsh. Doesn't look to me like they had to do much to that video to make us look bad. 4. See # 2. 5. Comments like that will likely get you a visit from the Bureau for a complementary inspection. That's like telling the cop that just stopped you for gabbing on a cell phone that it was OK because that law isn't enforced. You're gonna get a ticket. 6. Who cares? We all should care! If an ambulance gets into an accident responding to a job, then we've just made matters worse. There have been debates on this site over the use of lights and siren over and over and it has been pointed out that "racing" to calls saves only a negligible amount of time - seconds in most cases (if at all). I feel sorry for the other members of that agency and everyone else in EMS who is made to look foolish by incidents such as this. She was interviewing him, in their ambulance building (which last time I was there had electronic door locks so it is highly unlikely that it wasn't arranged), so it was hardly "put on the spot". Lighting up and driving like an idiot (with or without a patient on a backboard) is a great way to defuse the situation! That's thinking like a professional! You're right, this did give EMS a black eye but the "ambulance chaser/video person" was in the ambulance so I think you're missing the point again. It's preached time and time again - always assume someone is watching you and behave accordingly. If you don't want to be the subject of a story like this, don't do stupid things. I'm not calling the person in the video stupid but I do think it was a stupid thing to do. He knows me, I know him, and I'm sure he won't be surprised by my comment.

Not for nothing but these are all supposed to be "professional" drivers, aren't they? There's no excuse for a locally based trucker to make such mistakes (if they're mistakes) and a professional from out of state should pay more attention to unfamilar roads. As for the signage, how big should it be? This is just one roadside sign and there are similar overhead ones. Seems pretty clear to me.

Barry, I imagine that the standard admission exam for any psych patient includes a medical component. That medical exam should uncover anything untoward caused by the Taser or other underlying conditions. Given the mental state of this (or any) psych patient, I'm guessing that you can't rely exclusively on their history. There does seem to be a breakdown in communications if nobody told the hospital that the patient was Tasered. But, as alsfirefighter indicated, there are many Taser suspects who do not go to the hospital at all making me wonder - besides the incomplete EMS report, what is the big deal here?

Gotta love the picture from Lohud too... A major route closed and there's DOT, sitting on the guiderail with their coffee... That's gonna fire up some commuters!

Was this person transported by EMS or by PD?

Did the hospital do anything differently for her because she was tasered? Shouldn't it have been the same screening that any incoming psych patient receives?

Date: 03/15/09 Time: 0030 Location: Old Croton Aqueduct from Summit St - Yonkers Frequency: 453.425 Units Operating: 4th Pct Patrol Units, ESU, K-9 6, 900 (Patrol Captain) Weather Conditions: Cold, Hazy Description Of Incident: R/C 405 in foot pursuit of male with a gun on aqueduct from Summit St. Suspect fled across Walsh Road to Memorial Field where he was apprehended by patrol units and ESU. K-9 6 responded for article search to recover handgun. 0055 - Handgun and both sneakers that the suspect ran out of recovered by K-9. EXCELLENT JOB BY ALL INVOLVED!! Writer: Chris192

Excerpt of a report by Lorraine Green Mazerolle for the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), full report available from their website. More recent info...

If you're a DEP police officer and get injured in the line of duty - responding to a call for shots fired or chasing trespassers in these cases - the city says don't worry, workers compensation will take care of you, eventually. Twice in the past year, injured police officers have been force to use accrued vacation time while out injured and if/when workers compensation kicks in, they'll only get a portion of their pay. Their job title says police officer, they attend the police academy, and they risk their lives doing their job but to the city they're not cops - this time. Read about this disgusting treatment of our brothers and sisters of the DEP PD. http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=...&id=6678370 http://gopetition.com/petitions/nyc-dep-police-officers.html Same story a year ago involving another injured officer: http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=...&id=6060340 Adding insult to injury, the Mayor of the City of New York traditionally visits seriously injured police officers and firefighters in the hospital. Has Mayor Bloomberg visited this DEP police officer - nope, not yet. What a disgrace! Just a few years ago, the City fought in the Court of Appeals to win recognition of the DEP officers as "full police officers" confirming that they have the authority to conduct enforcement action in the watershed area - an area comprising almost 2000 square miles. So, they have the authority to do the job but not to receive the benefits (or pay for that matter) of any other police officer. www.nyc.gov/html/law/downloads/pdf/pr051205.pdf http://www.law.cornell.edu/nyctap/I05_0075.htm NYC Examination Notice for "Environmental Police Officer" That's funny, the above announcement describes a job that very similar to the description for a NYC Police Officer. Hmmmmm..... If EMTBravo had a hall of shame, I'd be nominating Mayor Bloomberg and the NYC DEP. Simply a horrible situation and disgusting treatment of their employees.

From what I've been told, they do not have 207a or c and their default "protection" is workers compensation.

Above is quoted directly from Federal Aviation Regulations, Section 139.319 There may indeed be repercussions if the Airport does not meet the requirements of their FAA certification. They could lose their certificate (authority to operate), lose funding, be sanctioned administratively, or expose themselves to other liabilities. If asked to demonstrate it, the airport may have to respond to other locations where air carriers operate and nothing says the FAA couldn't ask to have this demonstrated during inclement weather. This is the standard - if the airport can consistently meet the standard during normal conditions, they should be able to meet the standard during an emergency At least they have a response time standard to meet!

As far as I know the Airport response is not unlike the response of many other departments in the County or our region. It's 3-5 members staffing 2 pieces of apparatus backed up by other trained airport personnel and the local FD's who respond to the airport. I'm not aware of any circumstance where they respond with only a single person and since I rely on these people in case I am ever the victim of a mishap, I assure you that I've looked into it!

Another thread on the subject for reference: http://www.emtbravo.net/index.php?showtopic=17396&hl=

Our children are going to inherit the worst debt this nation has ever seen and if the economy doesn't improve, who knows what else will be wrong. We're spending out of control, taxing and "borrowing" against the perceived value of our nation at a time when everyone should be collectively tightening the proverbial belts. I am a firm believer in our place as a world power providing aid to others in need but have to ask - how much money are we sending out to other countries this year? Next year? Etc.? Given the need right here within our borders right now, I propose a moratorium on any new federal aid for other countries and a 50% reduction in all aid leaving our borders. Simultaneously, the space program and other such endeavors should also face at least a 25% reduction in future spending until our economy can be taken off life support. This would have to improve our solvency and give us some much needed relief from out of control taxes and this burgeoning deficit. If you agree, or if you have more to add, I'm thinking about drafting a letter to Congress that we can all send in pleading our case. Any comments or thoughts on this?

It was a handheld thermal imaging camera. I believe that YPD ESU, MVPD ESU and WCPD Patrol Supervisors all carry them.

I received this e-mail today; it seems we're not alone in our disgust and concern. I haven't visited any of the websites referenced but the concept is interesting. For your reading enjoyment:

I'm not sure exactly what you're asking but it seems like an effort to turn this into a volunteer vs. career debate. Members of both the volunteer and career (and some who are members of BOTH) communities are stating their case and/or asking questions. Your question about law enforcement unions and volunteering is being spun off into a new thread in the police forum to keep this thread on topic and give you the opportunity to have your question answered in the proper venue. Despite strong opinions to the contrary expressed in this thread, I believe that the underlying issue here is that of training and response times not whether or not someone's receiving a paycheck for their service. If the members have the requisite training and equipment and can respond in a reasonable response time (as estabished by an objective panel of subject matter experts or national standards), I don't care what their truck or patch says. Now, if they can't or don't meet standards expected of such a resource, there is an issue.

Or an economically driven revolution! Methinks that given the current state of the economy, more and more people will be using words like consolidation and regionalization and unfortunately as is the case with our Fairview brothers, elimination. The right sales pitch might garner more support right now than we would have gotten just a few years ago. Sure, there will be holdouts but even if we cut the number of departments in half we'd be way ahead of the game!

[MOD hat on] First a moderator note, do not engage in sniping comments directed at other members! These posts will be immediately deleted! This thread has been for the most part a lively discussion about the state of technical (USAR) rescue in Westchester County. There are issues about availability and response times but these do not make it a career vs. volunteer issue. Please stick to the issues and don't allow emotion to cloud your objectivity. Let's keep this a mature intelligent discussion - even if we agree to disagree! [MOD hat off] Perhaps I wasn't clear. I was referring strictly to driving time from Valhalla or White Plains and, yes, a crew would have to be on-duty to avoid delays in that response. Shifting gears for a moment: As for training standards, what are the minimum requirements for the SOTF aside from being an FF in a participating department? For the SOTF members, speaking hypothetically because I realize policy is not set in an online forum, would the SOTF accept members from other fire departments (career or volunteer) if the individual FF met all the training requirements and was willing to meet any team requirements for assignment? Are there any allied services represented on the SOTF (police, EMS, engineers, etc.)? If training requirements and other things could be standardized, isn't there a benefit to having the Type 4 team train and drill with the Type 3 team and both train and drill with Type 1/2 teams?

Sorry, slow but I think the better option would be to elminate the SIX small governments within the town and make it a single government. I know everyone wants their own little paradise but in this economy I think we're going to have to start making hard decisions. I don't have the original Westchester2000 publication but back in the '80's all of what we're talking about was proposed for almost all of the same reasons. What happened? Nothing! Sadly I believe that some historian will be reading this 20 years from now observing the same thing. Or MORE!!! You're absolutely right! I don't know where the schools come up with their rates of inflation and requisite tax increases but they're obviously doing something very very wrong if everything costs 10% more every year. Wasn't there a recent proposal to cap such tax increases? Where'd that wind up?

And I promise you all that THIS will be videotaped from the helicopter! Just imagine the startled masses fleeing in horror...