mfkap

I apologize if my remarks were harsh or critical. Your initial post presented the scenario of children dropping like flies, and pediatric intubations occurring all over the city. Studies have shown that this is just not the case, and even without screening for these rare non-egg allergies, occurrences of anaphylaxis is extremely rare, around the order of one in a million. This is a divisive and emotional issue across the country, full of misinformation and half-truths on both sides. In the best case scenario, many will get the vaccine, and people will complain that the outbreak wasn't so bad and we didn't need the vaccine, despite the fact that the vaccine very well could have been the reason the outbreak wasn't so bad.

I have only worked in the hospitals in NYC, and most have moved from latex. I am surprised that latex is still around prehospital. I guess it takes time (and money). As for the anaphylaxis, it has been well documented that it happens in around one out of every million vaccinations given. So statistically, if every single child in NYC schools were vaccinated, there would be one case. It appears that a few (million) people have received the flu vaccine in the past in NYC, and I don't ever remember the ICU overflowing with intubated vaccine casualties.

Can you cite a source for any of this? It seems to be gleamed more from anti-vax literature than from information that someone with any decision-making power should be using. The "can and will" line seems bizarre coming from someone that has any more training than a Red Cross First Aid course. Aside from the anti-vax tone, I assume that you are getting parental consent for the vaccine? Wouldn't the vaccine consent form mention the egg allergy, the only concerning one, unless you are using latex gloves, which is just irresponsible at this point.

Even if it can cause a fire, it sounds like a reasonable side effect. It is the only (or largely most successful) possible cure for a pretty significant ailment. I think it would be more of a training issue for operators than something to avoid due to the chance of fire.

I have a red/amber light stick in the back of my SUV, it is about 12"-18" long. I have it because if I am driving and see an accident, and I have a legal or moral duty to act, I can make my vehicle slightly more visible if I use it to protect myself at the scene as a first responder. I drive a Honda, and I don't know of any Honda police vehicles, well, anywhere. And I don't think there is a possible way to impersonate a police officer with my rear-facing stick. I have had it since 2004, and never had anyone (local/county/state) care about it. I am from the school of thought that I really DON'T want to look like a police officer, as it can only increase the dangers to myself, and I have neither the training or the equipment to protect myself from those dangers. I think this might be why Greenburgh is working on making the EMS and Police vehicles more distinct from each other.

This was my original point, but you said it much better. The problem here is that this person dedicated most of his life to EMS. Now he has lost that privilege through his own bad decisions and life choices. He did something terrible, and I hope he is punished. But after he has paid his price to society, what is he left with? Where can his life go? I hope that this can serve as a wake-up call for him and he can find another career to enjoy and succeed at. However, as those LEO's can probably attest to better than I, this can often open the door into more bad decisions with further consequences. For a guy that has some issues but at heart means well, it is sad to see.

So YOU are the one stealing food out of my lounge?!

Unless it is Fire-based EMS, there is very little, if any, tax dollar going into EMS in Westchester. There is a reason that EMS does 10x the calls of fire, yet our toys (vehicles) cost 10%. And I have to say, I am amazed at the direction that this discussion has taken. Here is one of our "brothers" who obviously has a problem, and has made some bad decisions. He needed help, and didn't get it. I might be as guilty as the next guy, I did little to help him when he was under my command. But it is the nature of volunteering in Westchester. We don't have health benefits, human resources, or other fancy things that you would need to give him the help he needed. We need manpower so bad that we take the people least suited to provide it. Now he is in trouble, and people are blaming Sleepy Hollow? What about the story about a firefighter that went joyriding with a girl and flipped the engine? I didn't see a single post about "how he got the keys. Heck, people even defended him. This is a terrible situation, one that will have lifelong consequences for someone we would have called a "brother" last week. And if you guys want to see how others view us, take a look at the lohud comments. These people thought/felt this way about us before some guy crashed a used police car. Why?

Sorry, wanted to let this go, but Bush appointed a friend of his as the head of FEMA. And this friend was a horse judge. He judged horses. And he was put in charge of FEMA. Any and every problem that happened was a direct result of George W, either through is appointment of Bushies or his lack of action. Blaming the mayor is good, except that FEMA failed on a MASSIVE scale, ignored previous warnings and simulations, and failed to respond well in 2 different states. Oh, and they screwed up for 6 months after the hurricane, which has nothing to do with your mayor. And is it a mayors job to recognize the hazard? Is he trained in that? If only we had a federal agency that is supposed to look out for disasters and respond to them... if only the hurricane rode in on a horse.

The 2093 suburban in the last picture is the former 2092. I am under the assumption that when the chiefs change that 2091 and 2092 will swap numbers, and 2093 will stay as 2093, since it is the oldest chief vehicle.

Here is an article about an ambulance in Nevada, saw something wrong and conducted a traffic stop. http://www.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?A...NEWS18/81202016 What are the rules/regulations about that up in NY? I assume that the logic was that the person could have been in danger. Anyone here outside of Greenburgh conducted a traffic stop in an ambulance (or fire engine I guess?). I assume it is illegal?

Cell Phone pictures from the scene are up at: http://www.nydailynews.com/money/galleries...n_pictures.html If you take a look at picture 11, you can see a woman clearly past the tape and overturned shopping carts, wondering why she isn't allowed in. Apparently a few police cars and crime scene tape didn't mean anything to her. You can almost hear the conversation the officer is having with her. I think it is time we move to electrified crime scene tape.

Boy, you sure know how to make friends! Maybe there is a problem with education in this country, but did you just say that we made it through the Great Depression with all of our big businesses intact? Really? Seriously? Also, $40,000 for a Civic? Did you know that most Honda Accords are assembled in Ohio, with 70% domestic parts? Have you ever taken a class in economics, or even supply and demand? Every single run-on sentence in your statement is not only poorly written but completely and totally incorrect. Please, you are certainly entitled to your opinions, but to be so nasty to other people, so sure of your beliefs, and so unbelievably incorrect all at once indicates that you might be better off not pressing that "Add Reply" button.

If you are looking to get the Canon, Costco has the XSi with 2 lenses for around $900. You get a large zoom lens (75mm-300mm) and both lenses are IS if I recall correctly. You can add the 50mm f/1.8 prime lens for less than $100, which might be the best lens for the money that is made for any camera at the moment. This will give you a good camera, lenses from 18-55 and 75-300, and a decent portrait/low light lens for less than $1000. If I didn't already have a long lens I would buy the package just for the lens and to upgrade my XTi to live view (which the XSi has).

This comment is what gives me hope in the future of the fire service. We are teaching juniors that it is your job to not get hurt. "I was too busy doing my job, that is why I did not use safety precautions" is the reason people get hurt. Safety precautions ARE your job. If we are getting the change in culture with Juniors, we might have a chance.