SageVigiles

Honestly, I hate it. The recent topics page is full of crap with very little relevant information on it. The most active discussions in the past few days have been about why cops shouldn't help firefighters and vice versa. Since tactical discussions are nonexistant on this forum anymore (mostly because every single one turns into a career vs. vollie thread) I pretty much use this site to see whats going on in the world via Incident Alerts and photos. Now IA's arent on the Recent Topics thread and nobody posts photos because they get picked to death from the Monday Morning QBs. Hence why most of the quality posters on this site have moved on or no longer post. This site needs to go back to its roots.

That not the entire truth. The NYPD ESU is trained, equipped and capable for preforming a high-angle rescue or vehicle extrication.

Yes. Very yes.

I won't mention what department or individual, but I've had a member of law enforcement on duty assist with operations during incidents before. The guy knew his stuff because he was a volunteer in a nearby department. We always appreciated the extra set of hands.

Wow, definitely a good training tool to prevent future incidents like this. In West Haven we have more than a few of these garden apartments and this is a plausible scenario for us. I forwarded this on to everyone else in my Firefighter 2 class and I'll be sure to put this up the next time we need a rainy day drill at the firehouse.

Rest in Peace "Little Brother." Very classy of this department to make him an "Honorary Firefighter." I'm a big fan of things like that to show appreciation for those in the community who support us.

Congratulations to Ossining FD. Here's to 200 more!

Yet another reason to stop going to newspapers for information. Between that and the regionalization of newspapers (IE: The "Danbury" News Times is run out of Bridgeport and is full of news about Bridgeport and Stamford) I won't really be that choked up when this form of media dies off.

In short, yes to all. I'm also not a carpenter but I'll briefly explain. Lightweight truss construction in modern houses, while economically efficient and structurally sound under ideal conditions, provides a higher surface area to mass ratio in regards to fire development and spread. In addition, the steel "gusset plates" that affix the different parts of the trusses do are frequently not reinforced with nails. When the metal heats up and expands these plates can pop out, meaning the truss fails. Since trusses are built using triangles its pretty simple to visualize what a triangle looks like when one side falls off. You're pretty much spot on about the sprinklers. Or at least that's the argument being made.

Very tragic story. My thoughts and prayers are with the son who survived, what a terrible thing to have happen. For those of you who responded to this incident, stay strong and remember to support each other.

Would make a helluva lot more sense than buying a $750,000 rescue truck for every city, town, village and fire district... But I doubt it would win very many parades...

That's actually a pretty cool idea. Also, I like the idea of Rolloff PODs for special ops calls. I know FDNY has used this concept for some of the collapse equipment. Connecticut USAR TF-1 also has 3 Mack Granites with rolloffs for just such a purpose. Not a bad idea if you need to mobilize a long distance (I'd imagine they could be loaded on military transports for national/international deployments.) Probably helps with maintenance costs too. Only need to repair 1 truck. I'd imagine not a whole lot can break on the rolloff part. If the truck goes out of service, just have a dumpster company on contract to carry it. Far be it from me to say "lets do things the way Europe does" but that is actually a pretty efficient means of operating. Its a pretty cool opportunity to see what they do outside of our Metro NYC (or American, for that matter) fire service bubble.

If you joined the FD looking to run nothing but working jobs, you've been duped. I agree with the previous post that Dinosaur referenced. False alarms are a great opportunity to learn your district and the nuances of difference occupancies. If you keep responding to the same place, you can drill into everyone's head where to place apparatus, where the fire alarm control center is located, where your primary and secondary water supply is, etc. I do agree with the idea of charging for excessive false alarms within a certain time frame, but not because it "damages morale." How about because it wastes fuel and other department resources. What if the cops said "we think going on false burglary alarms damages morale so we don't want to do them anymore." We'd all say how selfish and unprofessional it was.

Unbelievable. Frankly I'm surprised the 101st Alumni hasn't invaded Tulsa yet. But I can dream. Thank God Oklahoma still has the death penalty.

I believe 4 Guys is the manufacturer, same as Ball Pond's current engine and previous tanker.

Can't wait to see the Squad all finished. Chief, when are we expecting delivery?

Agreed. New Fairfield always did it, provided we weren't in drought conditions. We always warned them the water will come out brown, but if you're willing to treat it yourself its probably worth it. Usually asked for a donation, but it was never mandatory.

900 is pretty good for a uniform allowance. FR uniforms will eat that up quickly, but that's more than most in CT get.

That brings up a good point. If you want the shirts looking crisp I'd recommend something with military creases that are stitched in as opposed to glued/ironed.

Hours I don't mind, I like popping on to see who had jobs that day or overnight. Days however I agree with you, unless its "the big one" or has some kind of special circumstance I could care less who had a room and contents job 3 days ago.

I normally avoid these topics since I work for a dealer but you're WAY out of my area so I'll give you my opinion. 100% cotton is always going to have issues with color retention. Most manufacturers will claim they have the latest technology to prevent fading, shrinking, etc. Its cotton. Its going to fade, its going to shrink. Accept that now so you aren't surprised later on. Elbeco has a 100% cotton line that came out this year. I have a couple of the navy blue polos with the mic tabs and no-curl collars. They size pretty big out of the box to accomidate for the shrinking that will occur the first couple washings, so keep that in mind when you're sizing with them. But after a few washings they settle in to what I'd call a "normal" size. Very comfortable, all in all a good shirt for the money. The color retention is slightly better that the others I've tried, so there's that. They also make 100% cotton pants, but no button up shirts like FDNY has. I don't sell too much of their FR line but I believe there is one available. Elbeco re-inforces the crotch in their pants, I've never had a pair come back for a blowout yet. I don't wear 100% cotton pants, but the FR pants I own are Topps Firewear. All in all not bad. FR stuff is usually VERY stiff and uncomfortable IMO, but Topps' are decent. They also come in 4 pocket, cargo pants and have the button up shirts you're looking for in the colors you mentioned. They can also do the embroidery direct from the factory which is a plus. Blauer has both a 100% cotton and NFPA compliant FR line, as does Horace Small. Might want to check into those. Here's the bottom line for both: Cotton Positives: Decent prices, comfortable Cotton Negatives: Shrinking, color fading (use COLD water people, it goes a LONG way to keeping your stuff professional looking) FR Positives: Protection, less color fading FR Negatives: Sometimes very stiff, EXTREMELY expensive, you'll see what I mean the first time you have to buy a set.

Wow! What a great looking piece.

Great idea, glad to see NHFD doing their part to support the troops!

Nice! Other than the two Emergency Companies (medic units, they do about 6,000 runs EACH per year) Engine 4 is the busiest company in the city, as it protects the downtown district. This will replace a Pierce Quantum engine that 4's is running now out of Headquarters on Grand Ave.

I'm not a well versed NIMS Scholar, but yes, I believe they do. But as I understand it, not every incident requires Type 1 resources. Maybe someone here is more familiar than I with these concepts. There is also resource typing for personnel as well, I just can't seem to find that on the site right now.