helicopper

I happen to agree with your first point - the patient has the right to refuse. I'm just curious, if the patient is alert and oriented and doesn't want to go to the hospital what difference does calling medical control make? Sure, "call medical control" is a nice, safe answer to most questions but in this case what does it get you? On your second point, there is definitely a large number of people who think that a trauma patient is best served by a helicopter ride. I happen to disagree. Where appropriate the helicopter is a great resource but in my opinion it is often used inappropriately. This places the patient, flight crew, and others on the ground at risk unnecessarily! Sedating trauma patients in the field in order to force them onto a helicopter does seem extreme and I question the thought process. If you need to sedate to intubate or perform other treatments that's one thing but to do so just to get them onto the "air ambulance" is ridiculous. The recent spate of medevac crashes spurred me to post this question so we can discuss it and perhaps have a little more perspective when calling for a medevac. It is a dangerous venture and should not be taken lightly.

Good point - the name of department has been redacted.

What is the requirement for the physical? Is it "annually", is it "no later than X date", is it "per year". Is it written policy or is this subject to the interpretation of each chief? It seems to me that if you had an annual physical during the year, you'd be good. Even the FAA gives you a window to complete your annual physical. If you had an FAA medical on September 10, 2007 you have until the last day of September 2008 to get your next one. It doesn't expire on the exact date it was issued.

I can think of a number of situations where a patient may be conscious and a candidate for a trauma center. I've seen many patients from car accidents, penetrating trauma, falls, crush injuries, assaults, etc. where level of consciousness isn't the issue but candidacy for surgery is. It doesn't matter whether the helicopter is requested, responding, or on-scene for this situation. If the patient doesn't want to go in a helicopter what do you do? That's all. No need to complicate this with more "what-if's" or "if this then that". If Medical Control says transport by air but the patient still refuses what are you going to do? (Granted I think that medical control will probably defer to the patient's wishes) And I fully agree that documentation is critical!

If there's a crew of TWO, the idea that the driver is watching the ambulance isn't very realistic. On the subject of police cars, if the driver has to bail out to chase a suspect or intervene in an emergency or safeguard a scene with lighting and the vehicle as a barrier, it is hard to say take the keys out and lock it unless you have an idle system that allows that. Slayer, I think it can be restarted with the key if you attempt to move it without the key and it shuts down.

The picture may not look so bad but somebody's dead so I guess it was pretty bad.

To my knowledge they haven't caught him yet. And, since nobody pulled over for blue lights anyway, it shouldn't be a problem getting to calls.

One DPW... But how many school districts???

Guess none of you guys ever visited during a flood. There are a bunch of places in that area that are flood prone and can benefit from the proper equipment for emergency operations. It's better to have a couple of inexpensive boats to rescue people who think their SUV stands for SUbmarine Vehicle instead of using improper equipment - or no equipment at all - to do it.

That is an entirely separate issue and perhaps a valid question. But, for obvious reasons, I will neither comment or speculate on that one! As for the comment about the "incident" at an event a few years ago, I don't think anyone will argue that when the County Executive makes a public appearance at a major event, he should have a security detail. I think the question that was raised by the article in the JN and again here is why he needs it full-time especially at a time when budgets are particularly tight. According to the JN article there are a total of three (3) detectives on his detail. Hardly a major drain on the Detective Division of the County PD. 20Y2 also hit the nail on the head with the special designation status of Detective. The New York State Police (and many other agencies) make their pilots Sergeants (a non-competitive classification known as "Technical Sergeant") to recognize their special skills and advanced training. Just a way of keeping it as a career path and not a dead end! As for Detectives being assigned to the "River Patrol"... there are a few detectives assigned to the Marine Unit. Almost all of them received their marine training and experience while PO's and now cover the marine unit on a part-time basis. When they're done with the boat for the season they'll return to their regular detective positions. Greenburgh also makes their police officer paramedics detectives after three years. I believe that's to provide incentive to remain a medic. There are alot of different assignments/designations/etc. in a PD and they may be used for a multitude of reasons.

Why not? They are an executive protection detail, what's the big deal?

While that is certainly annoying it is better than no numbers at all. It is easy enough to identify which car 54 we're looking at. And, to be perfectly honest, sixteen or eighteen inch numbers are far better than twelve inch for quick identification at a distance.

You're not alone. From across the country (including the FDNY), emergency management personnel go to these types of incidents to train and "shadow" Type 1 and Type 2 incident management teams to develop their own personal skills and get credentialed. Unfortunately, if you're not "sponsored" by an agency or IMT and deployed with the operating team, you probably won't even get close to their ICP.

The airport lies in three different jurisdictions, Armonk, Harrison and Rye Brook. EMS is provided by the respective agency depending on where the aided case occurs. BLSFR/CPR-D is provided by the County PD who staff the airport 24/7. Fire service is very similar to the EMS and the three jurisdictions provide additional fire service above and beyond the initial response by CFR units at the airport. The CFR units are staffed by airport operations personnel.

Since water supply is such a critical issue in the northern part of Westchester and most of Putnam, why not pre-designate tanker strike-teams of 5-6 tankers with a couple of officers so when a job like this comes in it's a much more efficient call out (not to mention NIMS compliant)? They can be staggered geographically so as not to deplete any part of the County when activated and also train and drill together to perform as smoothly as possible when the time comes. If you need more than a tanker or two, activate a strike team. If you need more than a strike team, activate another strike team. I recall an incident in CT recently (Norwalk? New Haven?) where they lost municipal water and activated their County's tanker strike team. Whaddya all think?

You're welcome! And thanks for calling me a tool!! Alright, if the shoe fits... NYPD, State Police, and the County PD have all been used for fire suppression at large brush fires over the years and recently. I know that there have been requests for aerial observation and at least one request to check a building with the thermal imaging for hot spots. As kfire said, we're a resource that should be in the toolbox for you to consider when you have a big job.

It has been said to me when I've raised the same issue that there is a term limit every November and if we're all too stupid, naive, apathetic, or whatever to vote the incompetent or corrupt out of office shame on us. It's a valid point! Do you duty on November 4th and if you're not happy, let the elite ruling class hear it!

Depending on the circumstances we will respond to Putnam. We've been there many times in the past and have also been to other jurisdictions as well. As for what equipment you need, we can deliver a suitcase receiver that has everything in it that is needed to view the video feed in the field.

The article contradicts itself... Were they filling the kerosene lantern with gasoline or Coleman "liquid gas" (is that propane?)?

Wow, those are some very subjective views being touted as fact. Doesn't it bother the Chief that his third alarm only netted 8 people to fight the fire? All this controversy over career/volunteer and yet many departments that are on either side of the debate can't staff properly (by properly I mean in accordance with NFPA or ISO) and won't meet in the middle to resolve the problem for the benefit of the customers! It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

545 PEOPLE By Charlie Reese Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them. Have you ever wondered why, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits? Have you ever wondered why, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes? You and I don't propose a federal budget. The president does. You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does. You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does. You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does. One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president, and nine Supreme Court justices 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country. I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a president to do one cotton-picking thing. I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility to determine how he votes. Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party. What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits. The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it. The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the speaker of the House? She is the leader of the majority party. She and fellow House members, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to. It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million cannot replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts -- of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can't think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist. If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair. If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red. If the Army & Marines are in IRAQ , it's because they want them in IRAQ If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it's because they want it that way. They vote their own pay raises for themselves because they want it that way. There are no unsolvable government problems. Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power. Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like 'the economy,' 'inflation,' or 'politics' that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do. Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible. They, and they alone, have the power. They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees. We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess! Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the Sentinel Newspaper. What you do with this article now that you have read it is up to you, though you appear to have several choices. 1. You can send this to everyone in your address book, and hope' they' do something about it. 2. You can agree to 'vote against everyone that is currently in office, knowing that the process will take several years. 3. You can decide to 'run for office' yourself and agree to do the job properly. 4. Lastly, you can sit back and do nothing, or re-elect the current bunch. YOU DECIDE, BUT AT LEAST SEND IT TO EVERYONE IN YOUR ADDRESS BOOK, MAYBE SOMEONE IN THERE WILL DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!

The aerial view is a perspective that is all too often overlooked. The technology exists today to give the IC this view without taking him/her up in the aircraft. Many law enforcement aircraft are equipped with microwave downlink equipment that will allow video from onboard cameras to be transmitted directly to the command post. An alternative is to take the IC or other ranking officer up to view the scene first-hand. It is possible as you suggest to simply broadcast info about the scene to the ground but much can be lost in that translation and if everyone isn't on the same page, it may not even seem like the same language. The FDNY sends a Batt Chief up with NYPD Aviation on every 3rd Alarm or greater to provide that aerial perspective. Is this perspective useful? It sure can be! Will it make a measurable difference in the suppression effort? Who knows! What do the Chief's on this board think? Would this perspective be useful to you?

Only if they get out and VOTE! It never ceases to amaze me that in districts with say 10,000 eligible voters, the newspaper reports on election results of 243-115. Less than 5% of the voters actually vote. Pathetic!

I wish it was that plain or that simple. As it is there is a tendency to overdrive the effectiveness of lights and sirens. Now do so in an extremely heavy vehicle with a driver who may or may not have adequate training and you have a recipe for disaster. How many tanker rollover accidents do you hear about? Drivers, smart or not, need training, SOP/SOG's, evaluation, and experience not just reliance on "figuring it out".

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