johnvv

I recall this fire-as it occurred on my shift. The fire happened in the early Am, and the only occupant in the bus at the time of the incident was the driver. The driver was also the person who called 911, and took the video.

Congratulations on your retirement Doug, you have earned it.

Rest in peace Dr. DeRobertis.

I'm in

Samantha @ Charlotte FD provides the street address, rigs responding, tactical channel, and a one or two word nature of the call- person shot, trauma, structure fire, fire alarm, etc. The rest of the information is delivered by dispatchers over the radio. If the information is sensitive,it's sent to the rigs computer.

At Charlotte Fire Department, Samantha is only used to dispatch to the stations. Human dispatchers then send out the incident over the radio with all the details from the call-taker. I agree with others, you can't replace human interaction with the 911 caller.

Charlotte Fire Department (NC) has used "Samantha" to dispatch for about a year. It does take a little while to get used to hearing her. They do give her a day off every once in a while to allow the dispatchers to train if the system goes down. She is also turned off during storms, because she has a hard time keeping up when the calls back up. Overall they system works good.

It's refreshing to read a good story in the papers about the fire service with all the bad press we have been getting recently. I worked with Jim on occasion shortly before he retired, and am not surprised by his actions or his modest response. I think these types of stories happen all the time, but sadly the papers don't want to cover it. Another reason may be the off duty/ retired emergency workers often provide lifesaving care, then fade into the crowd with modesty,without accolades. That's the type of people the fire service draws to it- people wanting to provide service to the community, and to help them in their time of need, with no desire to get attention for their actions. Great job Jim. Thanks to LoHud for the good press

Another example of why engineered fire protection in structures can't replace proper staffing levels in the fire service. My link My link

I'm interested in the thread- 2004 Road King- Keep it going!

Good luck with the book Jody. I hope the book ends with a happy ending.

Best of Luck Jody! Keep the fight alive!Get what you deserve.

Congratulations to the former White Plains Police Officers. Sadly, I haven't read of any good news for the White Plains Firefighters who were also laid off.

Congratulations to both firefighters. Hopefully the City will now hire back two laid off firefighters. Commissioner Chong could then welcome the firefighters "back to the family" as he did the police officers.

I happened to be in one of the CFD storage warehouses and came upon this fully restored Seagrave Pumper used for special functions. I was told that this apparatus did its service time here in Charlotte. Another antique to be restored that was in service with the CFD.

In regards to responding to fire calls with all seats in a 10 man cab filled, are two of the seats filled with Officers? It seems to me that the "span of control" of the people responding on the rig is exceeded.....

With the new current staffing levels at WPFD, I don't think there is enough firefighters left on shift to fight two trash can fires burning simultaniously in different locations! So how did the city with "its large tax base" end up in this sorry situation: 1) Fat Cat developers (Cappelli and others)were given property tax breaks for numerous years. These are the same structures that put a strain on public safety services with additional hazards for public safety personnel to deal with. 2) The revenue used to fund city services is based on sales tax which fluxiates with the economy instead of a stable property tax. If the city had raised property tax as the cost of living increased, they would not be in this situation. You don't need to be an economist to see that the city politicians recklessly mismanaged where the revenue to operate the city came from, and now Public Safety workers are made jobless and their lives are put at further risk because of their actions. Shame on the Mayor, Common Council and the residents of the city for their short sightness. In my 20+ years of fire service to the city, I would have never thought the city would lay off firefighters. Most know that the WPFD already operates on minimum staffing already, and their salaries are on the low side of the scale already. I only hope that WPFD firefighters and police aren't hurt or worse by the actions of mindless politicians. My thoughts are with my WPFD brothers - Be vigilant- I don't think the city is finished trying to take things from you....

Hey Hudson, When you win your case, maybe Frank Ricci can attend your lecture program at FDIC!

In December 2008, I had the opportunity to assist in a live burn of a MCD's. The live burn was jointly conducted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Engineering Department of the University of North Carolina. The structure was constructed in the 1980's and had a wood truss roof. Heat measuring thermocouples were placed in the building and the entire structure was fully documented with sketches, measurements,video and photographs.The purpose for the live burn was to collect data on how these structures hold up under fire conditions. The results of the burn are to be part of a future NIST Report. The fire was started using ordinary combustibles in a garbage can in the managers office. This room was located in the center of the structure. Its my estimation that the roof held up for approximately 15-20 minutes from the inception of the fire. I quite frankly expected the truss roof to fail earlier in the fire since the roof components were unprotected. Attached are the photographs from my position on a roof top across the street from the MCD's.

1/10- Lake Norman fire Department (NC) has taken delivery of a new fireboat. I don't know too much about it. It is about 40' in length, and it has a large door on its side that I assumed allowed easier acess to the water for the removal of patients. Its to be in service by April. FYI-Lake Norman is the largest fresh water lake in the state. It has 520 miles of shoreline and is 34 miles long and 8 miles wide. Its also a great lake to fish, take it from me!

The apparatus was requested on scene after a second alarm commercial structure fire. The company was requested to shore up the structure which was heavily compromized by fire. The rig is a special call apparatus, and is operated by one of the rescue companies. The truck contains all types of shoring equipment, tools and material.

Nice looking rig, but I'm disappointed that the new engines do not appear to have a front suction hookup. Does anyone know why? In a city where there are hydrants on every street corner, now instead of firefighters hooking the hydrant from the safety of the front of the rig, they will have a greater possibility of being exposed to vehicle hazards.

Maybe a better word in my previous posting should have been a change in contract instead giving back. Its still a change in a negotiated contract and I believe similiar Municipalities will attempt the same tactic to re- negotiate contracts due to their past financial mismanagment.

Now that NRFD is "giving back" to the city a raise that was negotiated and agreed to by the city, which city is going to use this strategy next? I'm thinking of another city that is closely compared to NR, just got an arbitrated contract, and who's city provided huge tax incentives to big developers.Does anyone know who I'm thinking of?