Arrowxt

The mornig pride USAR gear is good stuff if what you are going to do is going to put you in the path of what it was designed for. Ie: extrication, and so on. It does cost more but is built quite tough. Arrow

Not a lot was said about the rear mount pump, one that I like but I like even more when you are trying to incorporate two trucks/engines into one , such as a Rescue/Pumper. The compartmentation is huge.There are a lot of other benefits. But when I go back to driving, I want an enclosed top mount, with heat and A/C . Arrow

I agree about all the Chiefs going to a Mutual call. In my district only one Chief usually goes and the rest assemble back at our house. The Capt and lue always go if available. It helps to better protect our district and is less confusing. If we get called for or again for manpower than more than one Chief will respond in, but for just an engine or tanker you will usually only get one Chief . We also in some cases during the day have Chiefs from our surrounding districts respond to our station and ride rigs. (they either work here or live close by) When this happens they are there as Firefighters and do a heck of a job at it. They do the work and are great sources of information, but never try to command. We return the favor and it works well , when it happens. Arrow

What about the towns and districts that border other counties or other states. It comes down to common sense. Most departments will not allow members who cannot fight fire in there district to go on a run or to a fire in a mutual aid district. I know what the mutual aid departments are going to send my district when we call for them and they know what we will send if called for. I have confidence in that. Arrow

I bet it is not the manufacturer or the dealer. If they placed there fleet or assets against it then it is a financial institution. Anyway why did they buy the rig to start with. Maybe they should not have gambled on bingo. I would hate to see them be shut down over this , but I bet if they explore there options they will be able to keep themselves going. Arrow

Hey X, Enjoy the weather and get some more great shots of LAFD's Arrows . I think they are the best looking engines of any City department. And they are laid out very well. The Seagraves they have hold a close second but those Arrows sure are sweet. Arrow

I know this may spark some outrage, but the older I get the less I like the Blue/Green lights, They are just courtesy lights to begin with. Having one on when responding does not permit you to do anything above what is legal to do with out one in operation. They seem to just cause more accidents and pose more of a risk to the public. I know some are used in a responsible manner( I SOMETIMES and I mean Sometimes use one ) but never out of district and never to disobey the speed limit or a traffic control device. And when I do have my daughter with me I either do not respond or just drive in at a very normal rate of speed. Our district has rules governing them as for what calls they are to be used and how far out of the district you are. I will give credit where credit is due, we do not and have not in the past had many if any issues at all with them. Arrow

Good points. And a very good question as instances of this always seem to appear. In the end the entire organization is hurt by the actions of just a few. Arrow

I can agree with most of your post. Yes he should have been arrested not for just speeding but for endangering the welfare of a child , and for just flat out being a moron!(and ignoring a police officer) But what is with the "volunteerisim". Yes there are some of the "blue/red lighters" out there. I find your post offensive and just plain ignorant. I see you are an EMT . Something you just walked into or were you a "volly" to begin with ? And if you were or were not I do not care , as a Volly (as horrid as that sounds) I would choose to not drive over the speed limit to start with , let alone with my daughter in the car. I have met a few "pros" that are not worth the same that comes out of there mouths. There are a few in every bunch. Arrow

Nice Engine. It looks great and should serve you very well. Arrow

J, I agree about the hanging on the rope thing. True about the inspection as I inspect mine and look for damage to the outer sheath. Kermantle core does not like shock, thanks for the information, and I am going to grab my training rope in the afternoon, now that you mentioned knots, I havent been practicing for some time now. Arrow

Isn't New Windsor back? I thought I read in the paper they were. I thought the town supervisor did away with them and once he was voted out they came back. ??? Arrow

When I took low angle rope rescue , I was told that the ropes once used could not be used again, or the ropes used in training could not be used for a rescue, so in fact if you train with your rope............. my point was I carry one just in case, as I wear my seatbelt just in case. Arrow

I am not an instructer , but when you use a rescue rope once , you are not supposed to ever use it again, so if you train with it , it renders the rope useless. And the one in my pocket is the same one I bought almost ten years ago, but I bet in a pinch it would work and if it did not I guess I was pretty screwed anyhow. As far as bulk it has settled nicely and actually my spare gloves and the other stuff I carry makes more bulk than the rope. Its just like a seatbelt, dont ever want or plan to use it but........... Arrow

This happened awhile ago but I think it adds to the subject: A district over from ours got hammered with a lightning storm. They had at least ten trees and wires calls when they were dispatched for a house struck and on fire. At that point my department was called mutual aid to the structure fire quite a ride from our house. On the way they were again dispatched for a large commercial building struck and on fire, which was about a mile up the road from where we were currently. As I looked in the direction of there latest call I observed a large column of black smoke. As we approached the road that the last call was on we could not get through over the radio (due to large amounts of units responding to the first call) and could not give IC an update of our visual. We kept proceeding to the first call. Once we had made contact with IC and gave them an update and our location, we were then directed to turn around and proceed to the second call. Also once contact with IC was made we advised them that our other two engines were manned and at his disposal if he needed. We then pulled a u'ey and fought the fire and they dispatched another unit from us. It was a good lesson for the young guys we had on the rig, that is you do what you were dispatched to do. Arrow

I have carried an escape rope for quite some time , and last year my department issued a rope and beaner to all members. Arrow

Just saw the video. The truck is short, high and is fighting itself. I would love to see a spec on the unit , but watching the video( and the clarity is not that great) I have to go back to the part of my post that stated the axles are too light in the rear and they tried to compensate with a heavy front axle. The rears are throwing the weight to the front axle and the front is throwing it back to the rears. Arrow

Sounds like a drivetrain issue. Probably an unbalanced drive shaft. I should read more into it , and wonder if the unit has a pump , and if it does what make and model the pump is. That to me sounds too simple, but with the speed being a factor they have already rebalanced the tires and checked the rims. (I hope) The driveshafts would be the next to check , but can remain a problem if the correct shafts are not used in conjuction with the correct pump. The next area to look into would be the rear. Other than not driving it that would be my angle of approach, but I also question the axle weights and overall truck length and wheelbase. Too light a rear and trying to compensate with a heavy front will give you "rock and roll" . Like I said , I have not looked into it any further than the original post. Has anyone tried to seperate road speed and RPM of the drivetrain? Arrow

Similar , but looks built on an HME chassis. Arrow

Very well said x. I have seen this type of stuff going on since I joined the service. You know what? At a mutual aid call , as long as my guys are not in danger( and the two departments we most work with are very good) I let the district officers call the shots. Some guys rag on the calls made , and then try to arm chair what they would have done. You know what , I think going mutual aid is and has been some of the best firefighting I have done. I have gotten to see what works , what does not, and some things I thought would work and would not have worked. Arrow

In NY we still have not beaten the record for not having snowfall up until the point we are in , a record set some time ago. You know what the "global warming" issue is over? The fact that no one can or ever will be able to predict the weather. And because of that they make excuses such as "global warming" . It is not a secret that the climate has changed before. Arrow

You know , I never thought if it bothered the driver. But then again they have never said anything either. The movement of the truck keeps the PASS from going off but they do "chirp" when the air is turned on. On the way in I check the air level on the gauge as well. Arrow

I think the easy answer would be for a manufacturer to come out with a a lager buckle mechanism made for a gloved hand. But with that being said I would imagine both DOT and NFPA would be a large hurdle to overcome or it would have been done already. Pierce has a nice Harness free SCBA seat that works nice. They also offer on there new Velocity a super huge seat belt(length wise) you can wrap it around yourself twice. But a larger buckle would seem to the answer. Arrow

Probably was a Pierce ad.

I dress before riding on the unit leave zippers and snaps open finish when I am belted in, zip up boots on the way and put the shoulder straps of the SCBA on and turn valve to open and then finish when I am on the scene, BUT ALWAYS BELTED. ARROW