SageVigiles

Suspect is Faisal Shahzad, a naturalized citizen from Pakistan. 30 y/o, formerly of Shelton, CT and most recently of Bridgeport, CT. Arrested by Customs and Border Protection Agents at JFK. He was attempting to catch a flight to Dubai.

I disagree, the biggest problem is that they spend money on equipment but have no idea how to use it or its limitation. Everyone SHOULD have a bailout system of some kind, even if its just a rope, if thats what works for you. But you gotta work with it to know what its/your limitations are. That's why I took my harness off my gear, I don't get enough practice with it, and half the time it just gets in the way. Rope and a hook is good enough for me, as long as it slows my descent I'm comfortable enough.

Rest in Peace gentlemen, the job you do is incredible.

Absolutely, this is why all responders (Fire, Police, EMS) should be trained in the basic recognition of explosive devices and terrorist tactics, this was a very close call.

This was done to Putnam Lake FD back in '08 when us Ball Pond guys were standing by at their firehouse. Here's a tip, lock up your letters for your signs. There was a mini "prank war" which stayed within the bounds of tastefulness but was nonetheless hilarious. My favorite one is "Probie, get me the winter air for the tires."

Today was UNH Fire Science Club's annual "buff trip." This year we went to Jersey. Here are some shots of Elizabeth FD houses/apparatus and Port Authority rigs from Newark Airport, thanks to both those departments for letting us in their houses. Some of these shots suck because they were inside the house and I had no room/light to take good ones. Elizabeth, NJ Headquarters, home of Engine 7, Ladder 1, Rescue 1, Rescue 2 (UASI), Special Operations, the Battallion Chief, the Deputy Chief, 2 BLS buses and some other staff vehicles: Engine 7 Special Operations, a lumber/equipment truck: Rescue 1: Ladder 1 I'll post a ton more from Elizabeth later (including a tiller), here's some Port Authority Stuff: Hanging between the Police Desk and the ARFF Garage at Newark Airport: View from the Officer's seat (though since they ride 1 to a rig most of the time, and the Sergeant has his own ARFF rig, I guess its not really the Officer seat) Car fire rig for the garages: Emergency Rig for extrications, etc. The club members posing with PAPD Officers: I have a TON more, but these are the highlights for now.

Our website below, maintained by one of my Corporals who is going to school for graphic/web design. Upcoming events, pictures, information about our program and our monthly newsletter (written and edited by various Explorers.) http://www.danburypoliceexplorers.org We also maintain a facebook group, but I wouldn't advise joining, you'll get a ton of messages from me and the other Deputy Chiefs and Advisors about upcoming events, what uniforms to wear, etc. But some good pictures get posted there. Just type Danbury Police Explorers into the search area.

Time for some more: Back to Elizabeth HQ, where the guys came up with a creative way to store a boat: Battallion Chief's car, Ford Excursion: Off to a closed station, where they keep part of the NJ State "Neptune" system, this deck gun can throw out FIVE THOUSAND GALLONS per minute, hooking up to 12" ®LDH (Really) Large Diameter Hose: Staff car, Dodge Durango out front of the "Elizabeth Emergency Response Facility" paid for by the Port Authority of NY/NJ Hazardous Materials Unit, purchased by the Port Authority for the Elizabeth FD. EFD Rehab Unit: Some EFD EMS units, the EFD just took over EMS a few months ago from the Police Department, they run all BLS trucks: Arguably one of my favorite rigs, the EFD Decon Unit, a classic "stepvan" style HAZMAT truck: This picture is horrible, but the lighting sucked in this house. This is another part of the "Neptune System" a roll-off pump similar to a dumpster truck on a Freightliner cab/chassis: That is a 12" discharge, with a 3" relief... wow. Downtown Station, home of Engine 1 and Tower Ladder 3:

Andy, what do you have peace officer for? Your Post or something else?

NFPA is the industry standard, so you'd better have a damned good reason why you aren't following it when it comes time for court. Simply saying "its not mandatory" is not going to suffice, contrary to popular belief.

After reading the Peeksill IA for the missing child I got to wondering, who gets called in your jurisdiction for a search for missing children? What is the responsibility of your agency (Fire/Police/EMS?) in these incidents? What outside resources do you use? In Danbury it is a coordinated effort between the Fire Department, Danbury Hospital EMS and the Police Department. State Police is used for Aviation support and K9 teams. My Police Explorer post is used for assisting in searching large areas as well as the local Civil Air Patrol Wing's Cadets. CAP cheats though, they get to use planes... (Obviously joking, all's fair when its a missing kid, but a little interagency rivalry never hurt anyone as long as you can still work WELL together.) Seriously though, what do you do in your town?

Nice piece. Good to see the media BEHIND the Police every once in awhile. Tactical training is a great time anyway, definitely builds some trust and teamwork that's hard to get any other way.

You CAN use turnout gear after 10 years, if its still in good shape and inspected yearly after that. But at that point, its almost cheaper to buy new gear.

Why does NIOSH like Massachusetts more than the rest of us? Why aren't they pushing for firefighter seatbelt laws EVERYWHERE?

Funny you should ask. A few years back in New Fairfield we did just that. We have no dive team, but we put a few marine units in the water with UW cameras and water rescue trained members.

Head on MVA with 1 fatality.

Date: 4/18/10 Time: 1855 Hours Location: 71 Candle Hill Road Frequency: 155.675 Units Operating: New Fairfield FD, Sherman FD, Danbury Squad 7 (Light and Air), Putnam Lake and Danbury Germantown Company to cover, Fire Police, CSP, CL&P Weather Conditions: Clear Description Of Incident: Working Structure Fire, multiple 911 calls, well involved on arrival Reporters: Writer: SageVigiles Shoulda went home this weekend...

I know for a fact they are in New Haven, Hartford and points between there and Boston, I was talking to an Officer who works Union Station in New Haven just the other day. Apparently they go to one of the FLETC academies (I believe the one for the Postal Police and other uniformed Federal LEOs.) Screw it, I'll put a resume in and see what happens. Worst they can say is "no," right?

Here here.

My Fire Administration professor brought this up a few weeks ago in class. Its something I would never have even thought of, and I found it very interesting. Below the article is the area of this that we discussed. So here's the relevance to fire/emergency services: Traditionally, the governmental organization that gets "carte blanche" for budgets is the Board of Education. If ever cuts need to be made, the BoE says they are going to cut afterschool programs, band, sports, etc. Then parents come out in DROVES to fight against the cuts and support their school district. This happened mostly during the period when the "Baby Boomers" had children in school. Now that the Boomers are getting older, and the majority of their children will have graduated public school. Good luck trying to get those people to come out and vote for higher school budgets (and thus, higher taxes) when they will see none of the benefit. My professor posited the idea that schools will no longer be the service that the Baby Boomers are concerned with. As they are getting older, their medical care and safety will become their key concern. (No, I'm not calling anyone here old, just bringing up a point) So the question is, do you think this will create a shift in public policy shifting less demand for educational programs and a larger concern for fire, police and EMS services? Those of us in this business know we've been dealing with an aging society for years, but as the large "bubble" approaches, we're going to need more rigs and personnel on the road. Do you think, for lack of a better term, Carte Blanche will be granted to our organizations? Food for thought. Discuss.

Cogs, thanks for biting. The idea is that the people will be less inclined to care about the educational system since it will be a "my kids don't go to school, so I why should I pay for it" mentality, similar to the "my house doesn't catch fire, why should I pay for the fire department" mentality we see now. I'm wondering whether we will see the former become more prevalent as opposed to the latter.

Absolutely terrible, I can only imagine how horrible that ride was...

Rest in Peace Captain Iaccino, my prayers go out to the Roosevelt Fire Department and his family, particularly his two sons who are also on the Department.

Watching it on CMT's website now... pretty good so far.

Realistically, what does a Mutual Aid Coordinator need? They aren't in command of operations, are they? Their job is just to call for the backup so the Chief doesn't have to. Sounds like the requirements should be more emergency management/ICS related than anything. But they do seem like pretty lax requirements.