SageVigiles

Rest in Peace Chief!

Obviously I don't think that ALL of them are violent revolutionaires and anarchists, when I saw Occupy Boston I had conversations with a few of the more well-informed protestors who had some interesting things to say about various government spending issues. The difference between Occupy and your analogy is that when there's a corrupt police officer, firefighter or EMT their agency takes the responsibility for the incident and their members' actions. They don't have a choice, they have to. OWS welcomes every group in with open arms and takes no proactive steps to weed out the bad elements. Then when something bad happens they say "oh, it was an isolated fringe element that we didn't have anything to do with and take no responsibility for." But that's not how it works, you don't get to encourage people in your organization to do whatever they want then totally wash your hands of it when something bad happens and expect no consequences. This raid is the consequence of the out-of-control behavior this group has allowed in their midst. If they can't police themselves, the NYPD will have to do it for them.

Well that's the whole point of having an emergency operations plan and exercising it. The best plan in the world means nothing if its not practiced. Those issues need to be worked out BEFORE the incident so you can figure out the logistics, so I agree with you on that point for sure.

I got a good one for you. A few weeks ago I was in Boston at South Station and watched "Occupy Boston" for awhile. Many of the protestors were wearing anarchy t-shirts and holding anarchy signs while chanting "This is what democracy looks like" in a country that's actually a republic... clearly they were confused. #Occupyahistoryclass

Wait, the protestors are the police and fire department's friends? Is that why they defacate on RMPs, spit at Police Officers, pass out flyers that say "when to kill a cop," prevent cops from investigating sexual assaults and help the perpetrators avoid prosecution, prevent EMS from responding to medical emergencies and break an EMT's leg? With friends like those, who needs enemies? I respect the right to protest. But the fact of the matter is any other group that wanted to protest in that park that way would have been kicked out months ago. These kids need to follow the rules like everyone else, we as a country have humored them for long enough.

I heard this on the radio on my way into work. All I can say is thank God for the NYPD, FDNY and DSNY. Interesting, there are reports from some of the sympathizing media outlets that NYPD used tear gas, which they always said is not their policy. Could it have just been regular smoke to prevent the media circus or could it have been from the protestors themselves? Hoping the injured MOS recovers quickly and fully, anyone got an update on the status?

How much of it was really unavailable at a local shelter though? Local Health Departments should have the necessary capability to refrigerate medications, as should any school with a cafeteria. Medical devices that need to be charged can also be taken care of at a normal shelter with a generator. Milford and West Haven did it when we had no power for a week post-Irene. Again, use of an MRC with trained and licensed medical professionals can really step up the abilities of your shelter to provide basic care and keep the hospitals (and EMS agencies who might have to transport them there) from getting overcrowded with non-emergency patients. Ventilators and O2 patients are always an issue, because the Oxygen delivery companies are getting flurries of panicked calls regarding refills, etc.

The logistical and administrative issues that go with a NORMAL shelter are staggering, using a hospital would be a complete nightmare. We mostly use schools up here in CT since they USUALLY have generators and are normally closed for business during a significant event anyway. Many emergency shelters in south-central CT are staffed by Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) members, Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) members (this includes nurses, etc since a shelter is required to have a nurse,) the Fire Department (for "firewatch") and the Police Department, including their Animal Control Officers for pet sheltering if the State Animal Response Team is not utilized or available. Obviously Board of Ed personnel are present for building issues and to provide food in the cafeteria. During Irene I know West Haven also utilized the Fire Explorers to assist the CERT people with some of the logistics involved in the shelter operation. Some south-central towns use Red Cross to manage their shelters, some do not. Their policies and procedures sometimes don't jive with what the towns are looking for. There is also a discussion of regionalizing shelters in New Haven County AKA CT Region 2 so that resources don't get so spread out. Only issue with that is the logistics of moving people from one city to the other and back in a disaster.

Congratulations!!! You've just won a brand new can of worms!!!! As of Thursday the official word from NHFD is that they have no idea what they are doing for residency requirements yet. The only absolutely concrete thing is that they give 5 extra points to residents under the city's civil service policies. There is DISCUSSION (I repeat, discussion, NONE of this is concrete yet) of a cap on applications, that seems likely but the details of it are where we start wading into the rumor pool. It has been discussed at Board of Aldermen meetings to require 50% of the applications to be New Haven residents. It has also been discussed by certain advocacy groups that start with an "F" and end with an "irebirds Assocation" that 100% of the applications be NH residents, as in do not allow anyone from outside to take the test. Again, what actually is going to happen regarding residency requirements is completely unknown, and that's the official word from the Asst. Chief/Executive Officer at last week's orientation for the hiring process. Stay tuned, because this is going to get REAL interesting.

How much are they asking?

Assault on a Peace Officer Multiple incidents of sexual assault and rape (which members of OWS attempted to cover up) Multiple incidents of drug use/sale/distribution Multiple incidents of larceny, pickpocketing, etc Rioting (Atlanta, DC, Oakland) Need I continue?

Wait, you mean we're not just supposed to click our heels together and say "it wouldn't happen here, it wouldn't happen here, it wouldn't happen here" ??? That's what I was always told we were supposed to do if something like that happened. Alternatively you can just yell to the terrorists "BUT WE DON'T DO HAZMAT!" and proceed to "turn the pager off and drive upwind." /sarcasm Seriously, glad to see some local responders taking on this kind of exercise. Its great to have it all written down, but until you play it out and work out the kinks that come with this kind of operation, you're sure to miss something important. Its easy to just say "Oh, well we'd call in XYZ to do it for us," ignoring the fact that everyone else will be thinking the exact same thing. There's only so many resources out there folks. The reality of the situation is that every responder needs to be aware of what to do in these situations and how to get the ball rolling on controlling and mitigating the incident. Is this the New York National Guard's Civil Support Team? I know that those teams have some INCREDIBLE resources when it comes to HAZMAT/WMD, including some pretty advanced field laboratories. Most departments have no idea that it exists, but its something we should all be aware of for when the "Big One" really happens.

I sure wish they'd get a move on. I know its not up to NYPD at this point to make that decision, since this is a political hot potato, but I'd love to see ESU guys sending these numbskulls back to their socialism studies courses...

That would be "Here's your ride, eh?"

Izzy, I think there was a plan to put 777-7777 on all the new units... *Ducks for cover* Seriously though, AMR-New Haven will NOT be buying any more Sprinters, apparently the fuel costs were higher than anticipated. Not sure if that's a corporate-wide policy, regional or just New Haven.

Only difference I saw in the AMR buses was it doesn't say "EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES" or anything on the side of the box like these do.

Wow, had the honor of meeting Hal a few times at CFSI. A real loss to the fire service in this country, he was a big advocate for us. Rest in Peace Hal.

Recon team to Command, we've located the elephant in the room...

Saw a newly refurbished unit similar to that at AMR-New Haven today for some Incident Management Team business. Very sharp paint scheme. I wish I had my camera while I was down there to get a picture of their Mobile Command Center, it looks straight out of the movie Stripes.

I stand corrected. Great job by NYSP MRT and YPD Marine Unit!

My comments did not attempt to trivialize the actions of the Rockland County Tech-Rescue Team. I'm sure they are doing their best in what is definitely a delicate operation. I'm simply commenting (albeit sarcastically and with a little dark humor) on the stupidity and selfishness of one individual who PUT that team in harm's way in the first place.

Absolutely the right call, don't give him the satisfaction. Have 1 maintenance guy go up to the cable with a pair of bolt cutters. I'll bet you that idiot will climb up faster than anything. Either that or its #OccupyTheHudson...

Oh my God thank you for saying this. "Establishing Main Street Command" and properly using NIMS are too very different things. It also drives me nuts when departments establish Operations Section Chief for every call. If you're under your span of control, there's absolutely no reason to create the position. The point isn't to fill out boxes, its to organize the resources you need. The needs of the incident dictate your organizational chart, your organizational chart shouldn't be dictating the incident.

Just to be clear, the Assistant Chief of Administration is technically the Executive Officer of the department. The Assistant Chief of Operations is the highest tested, "civil service" position in the department, though I'm not sure how that jives with the Fire Marshal, who is also an Assistant Chief I believe. But the AC-Admin is the 2nd in Command. I'm not really sure what the rank of the actual EMS-5 is, they've had an acting one for over a year now since the previous one left, so I have no clue. The previous one only wore star of life insignia on his collar so I wasn't sure of his actual rank, but I think he MAY have been a Lieutenant. I know they were rotating who was holding the position, the senior most medics have been covering for a few months at a time while they wait for a test. I think the biggest aspect of the EMS-5 job is training and education, which is probably why EMS-5 runs out of the Fire Academy on Ella Grasso Boulevard with the Director of Training (Captain), Drillmaster (Lieutenant), Assistant Drillmasters and the shops.

Surprisingly, not that many NHFD guys go to UNH for Fire Science. For the 4 years I was there I saw only 1 NHFD guy in a class with me. There are a couple floating around but not the numbers you might think. I believe some of the Fire Inspectors and Investigators take some classes from the Fire/Arson Investigation program. Not sure if UNH provides a tuition discount to NHFD members, I know they do for the three West Haven Districts (Center, Allingtown, West Shore) but then again UNH is actually IN West Haven. The major is financially feasible because it is one of the largest majors on campus, but mostly due to kids out of high school going for their B.S. There aren't as many career guys going back for education as their used to be (this according to the professors,) though you see many more of them during night classes for obvious reasons.