helicopper

Congrats and thanks!

Hey all! Let's stay on topic. The issue is whether or not legislation should be passed or amended authorizing rear facing blue lights on all emergency vehicles. Currently only police vehicles are authorized for such a display. Posts off topic or in violation of the forum rules have been deleted to keep this discussion on topic. If anyone wants to start a discussion about fraternal organizations and their effectiveness, please do so in another thread. Thanks!

Sorry for the short notice but this was just brought to my attention this afternoon. As this applies to almost all of us it warrants review and commentary if you see anything that could affect us. Just do it quickly! Referenced analysis and link to NPRM are also below in case the embedded links don't work. CFSI_Analysis_Memo_on_PSOB_Proposed_Changes.pdf http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/comp...900006480663906

As I've stated in many threads prior to this one, I am a strong advocate for the appropriate use of helicopters for transportation. Note the qualifier though. I don't think if you're within a ten minute drive to the medical center (or any other designated trauma center) there is any medical benefit to air transport and for the majority of cases within a 30 minute drive to a trauma center the benefit is only marginal at best. I think that the art of medevac decision making has been lost and replaced by factors not related to the patient. If you look at the military origin of medevacs, the premise was getting a surgical candidate to a surgical setting as fast as possible. We've bastardized that to take a "trauma patient" to a "trauma center". In my opinion, we should get back to the basics and focus on patients in need of surgical intervention and not isolated extremity trauma or transport decisions made solely on mechanism. It would be great to see an analysis of medevac transports in our region to see if there is an issue or simply unfounded speculation. Until that time, I won't be convinced that we're doing the right thing. How many medevac transports result in a surgical admission to the hospital? How many result in a general admission to the hospital for more than 24 hours? How many are treated and released from the ER? Without answers to these and many other questions, it's hard to say what's appropriate or not and I'm not aware of anyone asking these questions to figure it out. Employees of medevac providers even say that they will use a ground unit for some interfacility transports because the total time will be less than air transport would take. All this said, I think there are many cases in more isolated parts of this region where the use of a medevac is indicated and entirely appropriate.

You might consider spelling it correctly if you like it so much! Sorry, I couldn't resist! As for this whole campaign and election nightmare, I'm disgusted by the antics of both parties and their so-called platforms. Instead of promoting ideas to correct the deficiencies (real or perceived) in the current administration and explaining what they'll do if elected, all they do is point fingers and blame the other party for everything that is wrong with this Country today. Every politician has skeletons in his/her closet and will do almost anything for a photo op so all the "he said, she said" stuff is getting very tiring. There are only about two months until the election. Now would be good time to start holding both sides to the issues and demanding answers to how they're going to right the course of the great nation and correct all the things that have already been identified as issues. And the media is to blame for much of this. They put so much spin on things (depending on which network you watch or newspaper you read) that its hard to figure out where the news begins and ends and where the editorial commentary begins and ends. What happened to the days of simply reporting the news and letting the viewers/readers formulate our own opinions? Now we have to our opinions stated to us by a pretty face in front of a teleprompter? Come on!

If they were returning from a job why not stop and pick it up themselves or immediately return when notified that it was on the side of the road?

Looks like the Gulf coast may be testing their evacuation plans again next week. Ike has the potential to be as bad (if not worse) than Gustav and they're still working on recovering from that one... So many storms so close together is a real challenge.

4-6 inches or rain is possible for us. Break out the boots and pumps!!!

Are we talking about recreational hunting as in "hey bubba, fire up the helicopter so we can go bag a <insert animal here>" or are we talking about herd control by the state environmental conservation agency or its contractors? If hunting from helicopters is legal in Alaska its not poaching. poaching noun 1. trespassing in search of game 2. The illegal shooting, trapping, or taking of game or fish from private or public property. verb (present participle of, poach)

With regard to number 4, according to the article the police officer was off-duty, removed it from the roadway to avoid an accident, and notified the FD that it was there. If he was off-duty he was nothing more than a good samaritan and had no responsibility to babysit the boat. I think the liability rests with number 2. The driver of the truck - either didn't know equipment was insecure and/or kept driving after it fell off.

Interesting follow-up to similar threads about White Plains and New Rochelle highrises and highrise tactics posted here in the past. The environmental impact statement calls for the developer to support two new fire companies being added to the City as a result of their buildings. Do other cities have the same provisions?

I have no idea what you're talking about!

Considering that the IRS mileage rate is up to .585 per mile, this is the LEAST they can do. Why don't they just make the language of the bill reflect using the IRS rate so it doesn't have to be amended? Gotta love legislators!

LA Governor Jindal's update: Governor Bobby Jindal held a press conference along with U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff to give an update on state and federal preparedness measures surrounding the impact of Hurricane Gustav on Louisiana. Governor Jindal said, "Our most up to date information from the Hurricane Center shows that the storm did not reorganize as well as it could have, which is good news; but, again, we expect tropical storm force winds overnight tonight and as early as late this evening. St. Bernard, Plaquemines, and Terrebonne Parishes will get tropical storm force winds by midnight. Those areas at the mouth of the Mississippi River will get hurricane force winds early Monday morning. The Hurricane Center said hurricane wind warnings will stretch from Lake Charles to Baton Rouge. "The eye of the storm is expected to hit midday tomorrow, and the storm is predicted to leave the state before it stalls." The Governor added that Baton Rouge and central Louisiana should be aware of possible 70 to 80 miles-per-hour winds as the hurricane comes through the state, which will likely cause power outages and downed trees. The Governor said that he visited Lakefront Airport earlier today to thank the National Guard for their support in evacuating medical patients out of South Louisiana. Additionally, the Governor said that this afternoon he signed a memorandum of understanding between Louisiana and Missouri and Tennessee for the use of their National Guard forces assisting evacuation and response operations. SPECIAL NEEDS SHELTERS UPDATE: The Governor announced that the state has worked with several states to identify shelters for special needs individuals, including 53,000 spots in eight states. The Governor said that there is currently no wait for non-critical patients for air evacuations, and the state has extra air capacity available. The Governor said that region 1 (New Orleans) is done evacuating homebound patients and the city is currently evacuating their 73 remaining patients from hospitals now. Region 3 (Houma) - homebound and nursing homes are evacuated, and hospitals who wanted to evacuate have done so. Region 5 (Lake Charles) has reported one nursing home that now needs to be evacuated and the state is working to assist them. Currently, 84 out of 115 nursing homes in impacted areas have evacuated - which is around 8,000 individuals (at least 27 with state assistance), and 27 hospitals have had full or partial evacuations. Governor Jindal also spoke about the risk of evacuating critically ill patients from hospitals and said that there are reports of three unconfirmed deaths that occurred during evacuation efforts. The Governor said that the state continues to help hospitals, nursing homes, and local officials work to evacuate people out of harm's way and his prayers go out to the families of those who have been lost. EVACUATION SUPPORT UPDATE: Governor Jindal said that seven states are helping Louisiana to shelter more than 29,000 citizens at 107 shelters. Texas has offered to shelter several thousand patients, Oklahoma has agreed to accept 4,000 general evacuees, and 150 medical patients from southwest Louisiana hospitals are expected to arrive at the Oklahoma Air National Guard Base at WillRogersAirport in Oklahoma City today. More than 25,000 citizens are currently sheltered in Louisiana in 120 Red Cross shelters. Four state-run Critical Transportation Needs Shelters are full (10,000 capacity), two FEMA/Red Cross Critical Transportation Needs Shelters are full (5,500 capacity), and the five Medical Special Needs Shelters across the state still have several hundred slots remaining (649 patients currently sheltered there). Additionally, Louisiana continues to work with AL, AR, TX, OK, MO, KY, GA, and TN to provide additional shelter space for thousands of residents, as needed. Buses will arrive in Ascension and Lafayette once evacuations are complete for search and rescue operations, and more than 400 buses are still available in New Orleans. The Governor said that 123 general population shelters are open in Louisiana and the local OEPs and Red Cross workers continue to take in those citizens seeking shelter. Governor Jindal said that utility teams including 11,000 utility workers from out of state are staged and standing by to help turn back on utilities after the storm passes, and they will start working on the essential functions of hospitals, fire service, water, and sewer systems. The Governor said that around six to seven hours after landfall the state will start surveillance efforts to identify damaged areas. Additionally, the Governor announced that 96 percent of oil and 82 percent of natural gas in federal waters in the Gulf is currently shut in, in preparation for the storm. Louisiana State Police estimates that 95 percent of the two million people expected to evacuate have done so, accounting for a total of more than 1.9 million people evacuating the coast - the largest evacuation in the history of the state. SEARCH AND RESCUE UPDATE: Governor Jindal said that the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries will work alongside the Coast Guard and FEMA and the National Guard during search and rescue operations. SAR operations will be based at three locations, and have determined three other forward-leaning bases, including: West Bank, Abbeville, and Nicholls State University. The Governor said that 300 people with 200 boats plus 500 people with equipment from the federal government and other states will support SAR operations after the storm and for example California is now also supporting SAR operations by sending 100 people with 16 boats. New York and Michigan are also sending additional support units. There are already people staging at Camp Beauregard and there is capacity for 700 people at Lamar Dixon. Additionally, Mississippi has three 100-member search and rescue teams, which may be freed up to help Louisiana's efforts. Governor Jindal closed by encouraging all media and residents to visit www.emergency.louisiana.gov for most updated information on storm. August 31, 2008: Governor Jindal's Afternoon Update on Hurricane Gustav Preparedness Efforts BATON ROUGE - Today, Governor Bobby Jindal held a press conference to give an update on state preparedness measures surrounding the impact of Hurricane Gustav on Louisiana. Governor Jindal said, "Hurricane Gustav is a Category 3 storm, but is only 15 miles-per-hour below Category 4 level. We will be experiencing tropical storm force winds to begin as early as late this evening. Currently, the National Hurricane Center predicts there is only a small window for intensification, which is good news, but could change track at any point. Governor Jindal said, "If the storm track remains perfectly on course as predicted by the Hurricane Center, it could slow down and lose half of its power as it moves through Louisiana in the first 12 hours, which means we will see up to around 10 inches of rain even in central Louisiana." Governor Jindal added that all 64 parishes in the state have now declared a state of emergency. In addition to yesterday's parish evacuations, Lafayette has issued a voluntary evacuation order today, Acadia reports that 1/3 of their population has evacuated, Jefferson Parish reports that they are 80 to 90 percent evacuated, and the National Guard has assisted 4,500 residents out of Jefferson Parish. More than 14,930 residents have been evacuated out of New Orleans, the Houma area reported that they have evacuated all their nursing homes and homebound residents, and with FEMA assistance, 2 trains of more than 2,000 people have been evacuated from New Orleans. FEMA has also coordinated 22 flights of more than 2,240 people to shelters in six other states to assist in evacuation efforts. The Governor said he spoke to President Bush this morning and that he agreed to activate Title 32, which activates federal funding for National Guard units in other states, instead of just relying on federal reimbursement. The Governor said he has also spoken to Senator McCain, Senator Biden, and Senator Obama, who called for updates on the storm. Additionally, the Governor spoke to Secretary Chertoff, FEMA Administrator David Paulison, and Commander of the US Northern Command Gen. Victor Renuart today on the state's federal assistance needs. Governor Jindal said he requested six to seven more DMAT teams to assist in medical special needs evacuation, and that the President also said he would provide aircraft support in the evacuation efforts to continue every 30 minutes. Governor Jindal said he also spoke to Texas Governor Rick Perry earlier this morning to thank him for their state's support by sending six C-130s needed to evacuate special needs patients from Lakefront Airport in New Orleans, in addition to his conversations with the Governors of Mississippi and Alabama. The Governor said Alabama has offered to shelter 10,000 more people in general shelter facilities. SPECIAL NEEDS SHELTERS UPDATE: Governor Jindal said the state is working with several states to identify shelters for medical special needs individuals, including 53,000 critical needs slot in eight states (more than 7,000 of which have already been filled - and the state continues to fill them at this time), including: * AL - 10K capacity * AR - 4K capacity * MO - 5K capacity * TX - 10K capacity * TN - 6K capacity * GA - 10K capacity * OK - 4K capacity * KY - 4K capacity Currently, 84 out of 115 nursing homes have evacuated in Louisiana (27 with state assistance), and 27 hospitals have had full or partial evacuations. The state is continuing to move special needs patients out of Lafourche Airport, Thibodaux Regional Airport, and Patterson Airport. Federal support flights are assisting in medical evacuations by taking patients to out-of-state locations, including Little Rock, Oklahoma City, Dallas and Albuquerque. Texas is helping to take patients to a medical shelter in Austin and Mississippi has also provided a C-17 aircraft to assist the operation. Governor Jindal strongly encouraged those nursing homes in non-mandatory evacuation parishes to evacuate out of harm's way. NATIONAL GUARD UPDATE: The National Guard is fully mobilized, including over 7000 Louisiana Guardsmen. Guard Security forces have been deployed across coastal LA to secure communities evacuating: * 1750 in New Orleans * 230 in Jefferson Parish * 42 in St Bernard * 122 in Plaqumines * 339 in St Tammany More than 2,000 Guard security/support forces have deployed to South Central and Southwest LA. 500 guardsmen are assisting New Orleans in support of the city's citizen evacuation plan (including more than 400 bus drivers & over 100 guardsmen are assisting the city with movement control of citizens and evacuation busses). There are 1,800 additional troops from other states en route, and the Guard is expecting 16,000 additional troops to arrive in next 24-48 hours. The Guard has requested support for their security operations through the EMAC (over 1500 guardsmen): * 1 Multi Purpose Battalion from KY - over 500 guardsmen * 1 Multi Purpose Battalion from TN - over 500 guardsmen * 1 Multi Purpose Battalion from MO - over 500 guardsmen Guard aviation EMAC requests from 12 states will arrive prior to landfall (total of 26 aircraft) : * AR - 1 Aviation Battalion Headquarters - 40 guardsmen * IA - 1 helo * PA - 2 helo * MD - 1 helo * IL - 3 helo * OH - 1 helo * KY - 8 helos * GA - 1 plane * MS - 5 helos * IN - 1 plane * FL - 1 plane * TX - 1 plane Aviation EMAC requests from 3 states will arrive post landfall (total of 12 aircraft): * NY - 3 helos * NE - 5 helos * CO - 4 helos Guard has also made EMAC requests for 88 additional guardsmen: * TN - satellite communications unit - 35 guardsmen * TN - special communications team - 10 guardsmen * WV - special communications team - 4 guardsmen * TN - logistics distribution team - 28 guardsmen * Various states - Public Affairs Team - 11 guardsmen The Guard is currently positioning evacuation helicopters in LaFourche, Morgan City, New Iberia, and St James to conduct emergency medical evacuations as needed to assist parishes. Additionally, nine LANG teams (190 guardsmen) are supporting Contra Flow missions in coordination with the Louisiana State Police in Souteast, Southwest and South Central LA. CONTRA-FLOW UPDATE: Governor Jindal said the Louisiana State Police is continuing contraflow operations in both southeast and southwest Louisiana at this time. Their operations began shortly after 4:00 AM this morning and at this time they expect to be done before midnight. State Police, in conjunction with officials in Mississippi, are continuously monitoring the contraflow operation in both states and making minor adjustments as necessary to continue uninterrupted traffic flow on all major highways. As of the Governor's briefing, they had stopped contraflow on I-49 because the traffic was light. SEARCH AND RESCUE EFFORT UPDATE: Governor Jindal said the Department of Wildlife has filed an EMAC request for 200 additional officers to support their mission, an increase over the 200 requested yesterday to assist in search and rescue operations. The Department is working with FEMA to expedite this request the units are moved quickly. Additionally, 100 swiftwater units are set to come in from Los Angeles County, CA; and TX sent 52 search and rescue team members here this morning. DOC UPDATE: Governor Jindal said the Department of Corrections have evacuated a total of 8,146 inmates by relocating them to state correctional facilities across the state and parish prisons further north. The Department is supporting local law enforcement in coastal Louisiana by providing space for post-evacuation and post-storm arrestees. Governor Jindal closed by encouraging all media and residents to visit www.emergency.louisiana.gov for most updated information on storm.

New York State's Incident Management Team (IMT) deployed today for Louisiana. Don't know exactly where they're being assigned yet but I will report back. As I understand it, there are a total of four incident management teams responding to EMAC requests for assistance to Louisiana along the Gulf coast south and west of New Orleans (the hardest hit areas). Don't have the rundown on other teams yet but will try to update that as well.

I believe that the points regarding staffing the apparatus with trained and qualified firefighters has been made. There has been very insightful discussion about it and the need to train in all aspects of truck company operations - not just operating the aerial - but let's move on. The whole issue of career/volunteer issue is rising in this thread and I will echo a previous comment - the point has been made. Please move the discussion back to the original question to keep this thread on topic. Thanks!

Nothing hydraulic? Really? What then would you use? I ask with sincere curiosity and no sarcasm! I point this out because it is so easy to miss the tone of a typed message.

What kind of car was it? Any idea how long it had been in the water?

Just bear in mind that (especially at this time of year) foliage can obscure a human form and make it almost unrecognizable with thermal imaging. Searching water for the bobbing head is also extremely difficult, much more so at ground level. I urge you all to practice, practice, practice and not just with guys standing on the firehouse apron but guys in the woods or other locations so you get used to the different ways the image is presented. Properly used, thermal imaging cameras can pick up a discarded firearm, other contraband, tire marks left by a fleeing vehicle and much, much more. But, like anything else, it is a perishable skill. If you only pull the TIC and use it to scan a ceiling once in a while you can easily miss the human accident victim or other target that you want to find. Don't feel bad LAD19DER, I've found more transformers on poles than I'd care to count and have sent ground units after a raccoon during a search. Still doesn't top the crew out west that had a K-9 unit "check" what turned out to be a beehive, though! Practice, practice, practice!!!

Link to Journal News Article Congratulations to the new Chief of the Larchmont PD!

Chief, thanks for your response. While the incident at Nyack Hospital and apparatus response plan used by Nyack's FD started this conversation it is not strictly about your Department; it is a discussion about resource management and deployment strategies in general. Hopefully everyone will continue to focus on the issue in general and not the department specifically so this remains a positive exchange. I, for one, appreciate your taking the time to respond and provide your viewpoint about it so others can learn about how Nyack really does it. And you're absolutely right, there are many ways to accomplish the same task and there is very likely more than one right way. Your response really highlights that this forum can be used for intelligent discussion even when people disagree or have different ideas. Thanks again!

I certainly hope that whatever provider gets the contract has the necessary resources to start working as required by the contract and add more vehicles/personnel as needed. If a company bid on the contract that doesn't have vehicles or personnel to at least start coverage, it would be a big red flag to me. Does this contract include the BLS ambulances being "tested" now?

Don't forget AA!

I've heard a lot of dispatchers use 10-6 and 10-3 to indicate to units in the field that they are on the phone and to stand-by. Not quite how the codes are intended but I guess its preferable to "Stand-by on landline" for some reason.

I believe this quote from an earlier post answers your question. Bunker gear/turnout gear is good but it is not the answer. The goal, as I understand it, is to make the human outline unmistakable. Striping on otherwise dark clothing does not do that. This thread started as a question about EMS providers - what about the non-fire affiliated EMS agencies? What are they doing?