AFS1970

I do not know about NY traffic law, but I have read the CT version several times, and have dealt with various interpretations during my two stints as an officer in my department. But I think the wording in CT may explain some of the original question here. the CT law provides for blue lights to be displayed on ...a vehicle being operated by an active member of a volunteer fire department or company or an active member of an organized civil preparedness auxiliary fire company... Nowhere does is say that it must be a privately owned vehicle. Simply that the vehicle must be operated by a Volunteer Firefighter. So I would suppose that fire apparatus would count since none of us use non-members drivers.

Rest in peace Brother

Rest in Peace, Brothers. Deepest sympathies to thie families and department.

Rest in peace

I too would like to know more about the type of industrial accident, especially as it effects structural integrity for the building. Without this information I am not willing to start such a large scale operation. It seems to me that there is not ICS structure present and more than a little freelancing going on. Even if each side will have it's own entry, these need to be coordinated, which they obviously are not. By far one of the biggest problems I have is with the CERT team performing any type of interior search. Even if they have some search training, it is most likely outdoor search techniques for missing persons, not interior methods for trapped people.

Rockin' for Randy Dispatcher - Firefighter - Father - Friend Celebrate the life of a special man! Tickets are $40 for food, drink & music Our friend and brother Randy Samaha was killed in a car accident on June 5th in Stratford. Come join us and give him the send off he deserves while helping his children. Randy was a Public Safety Dispatcher at Stamford 9-1-1 and a past Lieutenant with Glenbrook Fire Department in Stamford. At the time of his death, Randy was the sole income for his family. He left behind a wife and two small children. ALL PROCEDES WILL BENEFIT THE SAMAHA CHILDRENS FUND Monday, August 10th 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm West Park Place (Street will be closed for the event) between Summer St & Washington Blvd, Stamford. Food Donated by Twenty of Stamford Music Donated by EvilolivE

Just a reminder that this is only one week away. I also found out that one of our retired dispatchers who has a t-shirt & screen printing business is making up T-Shirts for the event.

Notice that the truck says "Emergency Serices" and not Fire Department. I am just guessing here, but that may be because there are statutory requirements that they either can't or won't met to be considered a fire department. There is a group in NYC somewhere that is called a shomrim (I think I spelled it right) and had a youtube video posted, they were doing the same thing but interfering with Law Enforcement. There was also a group in the New Haven CT area that was serving as an armed community watch program. In that case I know a CT security instructor who contacted them and offered to train them and help get them set up as a security agency for their community but they turned him down. Sadly it seems that groups like this, while possibly well intentioned, are determined to keep operating in a renegade manner, which is dangerous for everyone.

I have a friend who used to work as a houseman in Long Island. He did janitorial work but when a call came in he had to clock out to respond. He explained that this was just like any other employer who allowed employees to respond but did not have to pay him while he was volunteering. I think that if he needed to make up time he could clock back in and stay later to finish work.

I do not think that a college degree is the only answer, but it is certainly not a bad thing to have. However there are people out there who have never been to college and have a great deal more life experience than those in the same age group that did go on to higher education. How about factoring in Military Service, is it better, worse or just different than college as far as officer training goes? Try picking between three candidates (These are more or less real people I know) for an officer's position: Candidate 1: Firefighter 1, 4 Years in the Military, No College. Candidate 2: Fire Officer 2, No Military Service, No College. Candidate 3: Firefighter 2, No Military, Bachelors in Fire Science. Each one of these candidates brings different pluses and minuses to the table. I intentionally left out two key factors, age and time in the fire service. I don't think that a solid choice can be made based only on education. Experience and attitude must be weighed into the mix too. I also think that we place too much emphasis on certifications, as we have all met people that have a wall of paperwork and are not really firefighters.

RIP Brother.

Outstanding news. Congratulations Brothers.

I have nothing to do with organizing this event, I am just reporting the info from a flyer that is being circulated at work. GRADY J. STUDDARD Benefit Motorcycle Run June 13, 2009 Grady Studdard is a Paramedic for both Norwalk (CT) Hospital and American Medical Response - New Haven Division (CT). Grady has worked as a paramedic throughout Fairfield & New Haven counties for over 20 years. Grady has helped many people during his distinguished EMS career. On March 22, 2009, Grady was involved in a tragic motorcycle accident leaving him with life threatening injuries. Grady is currently at Gaylord Rehabilitation Center and will require long term rehabilitation to recuperate from his severe injuries. We are seeking donations from you to assist Grady and his family with the loss of his income and all the bills associated with his long term care and rehabilitation from this catestrophic injury. Any donations you can make to lessen the burden on Grady and his family would be greatly appreciated. Please make any Checks payable to: THE GRADY STUDDARD TRUST IRR TR Mail to Norwalk Police Union - Local 1727 P.O. Box 266 South Norwalk, CT 06856 Attention Grady Studdard Trust Fund On June 13 2009 there will be a benefit motorcycle run starting in Branford, CT and ending in Guilford, CT. THere will be Food, Music and a Raffle to benefit Grady at Fireman's Field in Guilford at the end of the run. Registration will be from 9:00 am to 10:30 am at Brother's Harley Davidson, 557 W. Main St. Branford. The Ride will depart at 11:00 am. $20.00 donation is requested from each person. The Ride concludes at 12:00 pm at Fireman's Field, Long Hill Rd., Guilford, CT. NO BIKE - NO WORRIES, COME AND SUPPORT GRADY DONATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED AT THE ENTRANCE TO FIREMANS FIELD This event will be held RAIN OR SHINE

Good job, guys.

You mean like this: WHAT?! That's insane, look how busy and how big the County of Westchester is. That's one County that should have it's own fire department, no exceptions! OK I admit it, I knew that would stir the pot but as it is a frequent topic on here I couldn't help myself.

My thoughts and prayers are with his family and his department, rest in peace Brother.

Not to take anything away from the discussion, but I have seen a longer version of this video that oddly enough was not titled Dangerous Driving. In it you see more of the scene that they are pulling up on, including another Engine with a line stretched to the car fire. Now I do not know what rig the video is from, but I know that in most districts in Stamford a car fire gets an Engine and a Truck. When I joined Belltown our SOP was to send 2 Engines to such fires. I can not imagine that we are the only places that send multiple units to these calls.

Good question, so I will not be running towards you with a torch. There is allot going on in this question however, which could lead to multiple answers. When does the New Guy stop being the New Guy? When he begins to think of the team and not the individual. After showing that he is willing to help without being asked. When you no longer have to ask him where he was instead of training, and more importantly when he starts training more than one drill night a week, by his own choice. When the next new guy comes in and the last new guy is helpful instead of holding his few minutes of seniority over the really new guys head. That is when he stopped being the new guy. When is a new member a Firefighter? This one really depends on who is asking. To the public we are all firefighters, like it or not. They see anything from turn out gear to a t-shirt and they assume us all to be Firefighters. The public does not know much about our training or certifications, and they certainly can not read a helmet shield. When I joined my department probies were issued yellow helmets. I also bought my own orange probationary shield for the front. During a presentation for some kids, one of the fathers was asking what probationary meant, and it was clear he just didn't get the concept that I was the new guy and still in training. Now if it is the state or an other fire department asking, the answer is usually when basic training is over. In Connecticut this is Firefighter 1. Now there are a growing number of departments that are including Firefighter 2 as part of basic. Many also include either MRT (CFR) or EMT also. To a certain extent the add on parts are a home rule issue, dictated more by what services you provide than anything else. But where it gets really sticky is in the minds of your fellow members. When are you a firefighter? probably somewhere after your first real working fire and somewhere before your 100th one. We had a group come out of a FF1 class last year, and almost all of the membership had the attitude that now all they needed were a few fires to really understand what is going on. Most of them were at the same big fire in another district and still there were a good number of us saying, OK that's one, but they shouldn't think that's it. Earning this title is very fluid and subjective. What is a Probationary? This is both an easy one and a hard one, because the answer is usually a matter of policy. For us Probation starts the day you join and is a minimum of six months, it can last as long as 18 months. FF1 is one of the requirements to come off of probation in our department. For the entire time you are on probation you are issued an orange shield that says probationary on it. However this does not always mean that you are not qualified as an Interior Firefighter. It simply means that either the time is not up or you have not taken our internal test to come off probation. We have had two members in recent the last couple of years that came in already certified FF1, they still wear the Probationary shield until the other requirements are met. We have another applicant who is certified coming in and he will also do this. Now to be fair these members usually serve a shorter probation than others but no one can serve less than a 6 month probation. In most career departments probation is a matter of a set time in a contract. The academy (or other basic training) is much shorter, due to the fact that employees are available full time. It is not unusual to see someone several months out of the academy who is still on probation. and visibly identified as such.

Back in the early 1980's, when cable TV first came to town, we had a similar although less disastrous even at my house. The installer was on the 1st floor and was drilling through the floor into the basement. He never went to look at what was underneath him. My mother was in the basement doing laundry and heard the drill bit come through above her head, so she looked up. The cable guy had drilled right through a fluorescent light fixture, somehow managing to miss all the wiring. We had no fire thankfully. Your incident also should make us all realize that you need to train as if your mutual aid or automatic aid companies are not there and will not be there for some time. We all need to train as if we are working alone (on a company level). That way when you do have more manpower, it will be that much easier.

First off, excellent article, very well said. Secondly, I can see this from an interesting perspective, because the only a [whatever] attitude was very prevalent in my profession. A few years ago there were several articles in trade journals about changing the attitude that we were "only dispatchers" as opposed to Police Officers or Firefighters. While a little more nuanced, this is pretty much the same concept. I have also been on EMS calls where I have heard EMT's who are Firefighters tell a patient that we are "only the fire department" and that the "Paramedics are on the way". This does absolutely nothing to inspire confidence in you or the service you are providing to the patient. To put this back in perspective imagine being on scene of a house fire and telling the homeowner that you are "just a volunteer" and that the "firefighters are on the way". What is that homeowner to think of you and the service that you are able to provide. Having seen this in the dispatch field as well as the volunteer fire service, I can say that the only way to be seen as something more than just something is by training and dedication or to use another oft quoted word: professionalism. Every time we allow there to be one set of standards for Career Firefighters and another for Volunteer Firefighters we fall into this trap. We have had endless debates on this very issue right here on EMTBravo, and to date they have solved nothing. In my opinion we should be coming at this from the standpoint that we should be looking for a minimum standard that is realistic for all Firefighters, not that either standard is better or worse, or that one side should be meeting the others standard. As for changing requirements, we should be looking to have any such changes phased in to minimize the adverse effect on all our members. When I was taking Safety Officer a few years ago, I was in class with a Deputy Chief from a few towns away. He was taking the class because he was nearing the end of a 5 year phase in for new Chief's requirements and he would have to give up his position if he did not pass Safety Officer. His department had run the class at least once a year but he was taking it here because he had scheduling conflicts with all the local classes. I was very impressed with the way they did this, to allow anyone dedicated enough to meet the standard while still raising the bar for all future Chiefs. It dopes not matter if this is our internal by laws or a new government regulation, we should be working towards making it as easy as possible to be the most professional we can at what we do.

I would think a regional add would be better, if for no other reason, radio stations are heard regionally.

I heard one on a NYC station that was from Suffolk County in Long Island. It was an unusually long ad too. The big question is what would something like this cost and will it actually be effective?

One other factor to this is that EMS is a relatively new service, as compared to Law Enforcement and Firefighting. While there are some agencies with long and proud traditions, the service as a hole is not that old. Remember Ambulances were run by undertakers, or it was the hospital, sending one out with no medical personnel. Watch an episode of Emergency and see just what the Ambulance drivers do vs what the Fire based Paramedics do. Of course this is not the case now, but when you look at wage and labor issues at the same point in the history of any police or fire department, I would bet you see a pretty similar picture, not that this helps those currently employed in the field.

You mean those Spock guys from Star Trek, right?

Rest in peace, thank you for keeping us free to say things like this.