velcroMedic1987

Federal grant money, of course. So you actually paid for part of it from Maine.

Was anyone up at the fire in Ramapo yesterday? Sounds like they had at least 3-4 aircraft dropping water and had some communciations problems because water hit ground crews a couple of times.

"60-Control"? The dispatch center threatened them? You're going to have to do better than that. As bnechis said, 60 control has no authority to do anything to an EMS agency, except maybe stop dispatching them and I'm not even sure they can stop that if there's an inter-municipal agreement for it. What would they be "fined" for exactly? A violation of what law or regulation? Sounds like you're getting information late in the game of telephone and the story has changed a lot! I don't even know if NYS DOH could "fine" them for not making calls.

They didn't have a lot of local frequencies programmed a few years ago when we were planning a big drill they were going to be part of. It seems that past administrations believed everyone communicates on SP frequencies. They must never have left Albany and come south to our part of the state. LOL As for why they landed and got a face to face briefing, my buddies in the ANG and the NYPD never start operations like that without planning for it, briefing it, and insuring that everyone is on the same page. The last thing you want is a ton of water being dropped on a ground crew.

The city barely gives them enough FF to cover the engines and ladders. Vehicle or not, how can they cover a rescue too?

Was it an officer involved shooting or did the suspect kill himself?

750 GPM pump and minimum 300 gallon tank. Re-read his post.

Neither of the examples you gave are four digits. What's that say about their numbering system.

Hey, since the snail mail is going the way of the buffalo too, maybe they can outfit the mail carriers with a garden hose and make them part of a fire response.

So what did it turn out to be in this case?

Date: 10-22-13 Time: 0800 Incident Type: Home heating oil spill Location: 35 St and 7th Avenue Units: Multiple FDNY, NYPD, OEM, NY Transit, FDNY EMS, Con Ed Description: Oil spill while filling residential oil tank. Approximately 50 gallons sprayed into the air contaminating delivery guy and civilians. Oil running into manholes and subway. Number 1 train stopped and power off 34-42 due to oil on the tracks. 10-80 transmitted and special call decon task force and shower unit to take care of six in need of decon.

This is an interesting discussion. It's interesting to see how many fans of PD consolidation there are here but everytime the subject of FD consolidation comes up it's a horrible idea. Hmmmm... Stores are private enterprises and have no comparison in this discussion. We don't pay for stores unless we choose to shop there. We do pay for every government service. That the Village of Tuckahoe chose to put its midnight desk cop on the road and have the County PD dispatch them only relates to dispatching. Your points about beat cops and CT is moot since this plan will put another Tuckahoe cop on the street. The resident "with clout" will still get a local cop and if it saves 200K a year, that may be substantial in a village the size of Tuckahoe.

900 of 1150 jobs? Do you mean civil service firefighter positions? I know there are a lot of FD's in Westchester but there aren't 1150, right?

Great anecdtotes but I've heard the same ones from others with other names substituted. The only ones that really sound true are, "they called their lawyers" or "they called the public affairs department (read spin doctors)". LOL

Don't we already have mandatory random drug testing in most departments? What's that got to do with taking the flu vaccine? I'm all for drug testing but I'm not sure I like the government or my employer dictating what medications/vaccinations I take. What's next? The government telling me that I have to take their multi-vitamin or birth control? Hmmmm... Slippery slope!

HIPPA doesn't apply to the relationship you have with your employer. It has to do with the exchange or sharing of your information with other entities. That horse has been beaten to death here already, there is more than one topic on that that. Your employer is obligated to provide certain vaccinations (Hepatitis, etc.) and you have to either accept them or decline them, in writing usually, so there is a permentant record to comply with OSHA and other regulatoins.

I've never heard of that in my 30 years in emergency services. I have heard of cops being assaulted or killed responding to domestics without adequate back-up. Most of the time the desk officer just calls an officer in off the road for a walk-in complaint anyway. Officers on the desk never started CPR, caught a bad-guy, or did anything other than answering the phone. If Westchester created a state of the art 911 center for police, fire and EMS, and everyone used it you could probably put 20-30 more cops a shift on the road. There are some really antiquated or archaic procedures out there. The State Police closed the barracks in Somers and Cortlandt when they opened the TMC didn't they? There are call boxes there. Anyone know if that created any issues?

Bronxville doesn't need "jurisdiction" to house a prisoner for Tuckahoe. They could take them to Yonkers or New Rochelle if they wanted to. No big deal there.

The written test is only one part of the hiring process. There is also an interview process, background check, medical assessment, agility/fitness assessment, and psychological assessment. This is what insures that the majority who make it through the process have the basic skills and aptitude for the job. As someone else said, the one in three rule pretty much gives the municipality the ability to hire the best candidate for the job. You can call best most well rounded if you want to but there is always the possibility that one of those hired won't cut it. Look at the FDNY academy class and all those flopping out of it. EMS providers don't necessarily make better cops and firefighters just like good EMT's don't necessarily make good paramedics. The ones who you see doing really well are those that really want it and work really hard. Effort generally distinguishes the cream from the chaff. College degrees don't necessarily mean much either. There are plenty of complete morons with PHD after their names and there are guys with a HS diploma who have a great understanding of things. Civil service written exams are only one piece of the process.

And when you exceed your allocation of sick days? Gonna still stick to that plan and just take leave without pay?

Your concern also has to be YOUR safety. If you have no protection and someone crashes into the crash, you're done. I'd rather be without a vehicle, alive and well at the side of the road then crushed between vehicles. How often is EMS there first anyway? Looking at most EMS response times, someone else is going to be there first.

The academies used to be an additional part of the screening process and assessed the candidate in areas that can't be tested. Of course they pushed you, the same way the military does, so you will improve and raise the limits of your strength, endurance, etc. Now they want you to simply "pass" because they passed the written exam - or were given a spot even though they failed the exam.

You're right, those resources haven't been mentioned. That's why I did. For single vehicle operations, you have to consider the barrier your vehicle establishes. That should be the first layer of defense. If you don't have enough flares to close a lane or two to protect yourself, your agency is doing you a great disservice. Closing a road with flares is also different than protecting a scene with them. Road closures with flares suck for exactly the reason you mentioned. People will drive through them if they are given a chance. An accident scene is a little bit different because there is something else in the lane ahead.

I'm just guessing that it will depend on department policy, access to the victim, and the perceived threat. If he is a potential threat, he should be handcuffed before we get there so we don't get injured by him. This is a completely different scenario too! You changed the focus because you didn't like people calling you out for being a judgmental ass in your earlier post. The Darwin comment suggests only one thing; that an overdose victim is lower on the evolutoinary scale and not worthy of our efforts. Deflect all you want, that's what you implied.

Hey, don't knock the avatar. That flag long predates the contemporary tea party.