Future Fireman

I pass by their yard often on my way to work. It's not a slug, but an actual cabless locomotive. I've only seen one, but it appears that they had more than 1 unit in the past: http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=391542&nseq=5 Mike

As much as I am for getting into Fire-EMS, the IAFF is in it for the wrong reasons. Yes, that will piss some union members off, but hear me out. The IAFF is concerned about 1 primary thing: Keeping or expanding their union base and bringing more benefits to their members. Their point is that NFPA standards are already place stations in places for quick response times. However, the result of this Fire based EMS most often, is FORCED ALS, since it seems that every department wants to proudly promote that they provide EMS at the Paramedic level by putting "PARAMEDIC" on the side of the engine. (Who needs those silly basics anyways?) Do we need a paramedic on every fire truck like they have in abundance out in California and in Florida and in various parts of the rest of the country? If your ambulance is coming just as quickly, no, you don't. Maybe if it's 30 minutes out. But it is a rather expensive WANT rather than a genuine need. All FD provided ALS first response does is make your service more expensive to provide and give uber-redundency in the duplication of services. Now, if you think I have a vendetta against Fire Based EMS or the IAFF you're wrong. I was an explorer for 4 years with a FD that did transporting EMS, and I love both sides. But everyone is quick to put PARAMEDIC on the side of the engine when they don't need to. So, what am I getting at? If the FD operates at the ALS first response level, that usually makes for alot of forced medics (IIRC, Dallas is setup this way. You MUST be a medic to get hired or even get promoted.) What does this lead to? A downgrade in patient care. All these medics care about is getting a FF job or getting promoted. They don't give a crap about the patients they treat. All they care about is going to fires. Personally, I am a big fan of ALS transporting ambulances and BLS engines & other first responders. I'm no expert in Fire or EMS, and I don't claim to be, but I'm less than thrilled about why most FDs get into EMS (the typical padding their call volume & ensuring funds/staffing - which is what NFPA 1710 & 1720 [for VFDs] are for.) I'm sorry if I pissed anyone off, but as a EMS newbie that is well versed in EMS news, it ticks me off that some agencies out there are providing EMS for the wrong reasons. I'm sure I'll get some angry rebuttals from this, but I'm just gonna shut up from here on out.

Maybe it's just FDNY. And the "Ambulance" part of it is up there for state/city specs or maybe KKK? I don't know, I'm no expert in the KKK standard.

That would be correct. I checked with a friend who was a CFR & is a Mass EMT. Per him, there's no Con Ed hours and no really reason to keep it, so I was wrong about that.

Here's my question. How do you take it down? Destroy it?

I don't know the exact answer to that one, but I think that CFR refreshers can count as Cont. Ed. I will check on that though and get back to you. As to CFRs not being in the protocols, basically the role of CFRs is to do the basics of the basics (I.e. C-Spine, CPR, Oxygen if trained, BP & pulse, etc.). CFR training varies depending on who's teaching it. It's sort of "recognized, but not recognized." Granted, you generally practice to your particular dept. or agencies EMS level. Every firefighter in the state is required to be, at minimum, a CFR. Pretty much that and Haz/Mat training for the feds is the only "mandated" training for every firefighter in the state. Yes, our system needs some tweaking and fixing here and there. Gotta love the Office of EMS.

As a Mass resident & current CFR holder, (As well as a Mass. EMT) I know it exists. The state doesn't "officially" recognize it in the protocols, but it is a form of EMS provider here in the Bay State. JFlynn, point taken.

Uh, last I knew, Boston operated at the CFR level. So even if they made their EMT, they could only practice at the first responder level. Unless BFD is trying to up it to EMT. (which I've never heard of that happening.)

This is true. But the medicines can give you a clue as to what's going on for your patient. I'm not going to get into a debate over EMT knowledge and scope of practice in regards to understanding medications. But the more information that the EMT can use to his/her advantage, the better. As for Willdog77, I apologize for getting your topic off-track. By all means, if you're looking for a handy pocket guide, Informed is the way to go. Mike

Josh, that may be true. But for your patient's medications that you don't know do what, it can pay to have that pocket guide. Case in point: 72 y/o male with a meds list longer than the Declaration of Independence. On that list there's Alendronate, Aggrenox, & Pacerone. Now, if you didn't have that pocket guide, how else would you know that Alendronate is for osteoperosis, Aggrenox is an anti-platet,& Pacerone is an anti-arrythmic? Don't get me wrong, if you're literally being a cook book EMT and using the field guide to get you through a call, there's a major problem. But that doesn't mean it shouldn't be used when appropriate. Mike

Informed has a good EMS field guide for Basic & EMT-Is out there. I paid $24 for mine, and I used it as a study guide for the state exam. Very informative and handy, and includes a prescription drug reference and a poison reference as well. Well worth it, IMO. Mike

Date: 9/11/11 Time: 14:45 Location: 11 Stanton St. Frequency: Ops-A Units Operating: Box 16/09: Engine 16, Engine 3, Engine 8, Engine 6, Ladder 2, Ladder 1, Rescue 1, Car 3. Ladder 7? is the RIT. Worcester EMS Car 9 & a unknown medic unit. 2nd alarm: Engine 13, Engine 12, Ladder 3, Car 4. Weather Conditions: Cloudly Description Of Incident: Box 16/09, Belmont St at Everard St. struck for a working structure fire at 11 Stanton Street. 3 story wood frame, "triple decker" found on arrival with fire in the back staircase. Fire is knocked down at this time and the Red Cross has been requested to the scene. Reporters: Future Fireman (Mike) Writer: Future Fireman (Mike)

Sorry, but no. Most departments have phased out the pull boxes. Boston's pretty much the only one left. No one to my knowledge in all of Central Mass uses a pull box at all. Worcester's the biggest city in the area, and they've never had any in the 19 years I've been a city resident. Springfield may of had some but out west, it gets rural really quick, defeating the purpose of them.

You're 5 feet off, Skip can verify this, but all the E-ONE RMA's in Beantown are 110, not 115. The Pierce units are 105 and the TLs are 85-95 ft. E-One's been making those for years, if I remember correctly.

Could it be a replacement to HM1's 2nd piece? Although, that would defeat the purpose of it being a walk in...

What's the giant appliance on the back of Engine 40? LDH manifold? And the 2nd Battalion has a tight squeeze in there, huh? Mike

I can name off at least 10 departments off the top of my head that don't have an E-ONE in their fleet. My former department that I was an explorer at, included.

Date: 6/23/11 Time: 19:04 Location: 58 Shrewsbury St. Frequency: 800 Trunked System, Ops-A on WFD's system Units Operating: Engine 6, Engine 12, Engine 13, Engine 2, Ladder 1, Ladder 3, Rescue 1, Car 3. Ladder 7 is RIT, Worcester EMS Box struck 19:04 2nd Alarm: Engine 3, Engine 16, Ladder 2, Car 4 19:08 Weather Conditions: Rainy & cool, 59 degrees, Easterly Wind at 7 MPH Description Of Incident: Box 7/12, Shrewsbury Street at Hill Street struck for 58 Shrewsbury St. Engine 6 arrived o/s 1 minute after the box, with smoke showing from a 3 story, wood frame Mixed Occupancy. (Business 1st floor, apartments above) Quickly upgraded that to heavy fire on the Charlie side of the building on the 3rd floor. Ladder 7 put to work, Ladder 2 assigned RIT duties. Fire is knocked down & FIU to the scene Reporters: (self) Writer: Future Fireman (Mike)

IT IS STILL ON! The tornado managed to miss the expo hall and the immediate vicinity. (That reminds me, I gotta figure out when I'm going, Friday or Saturday)

That was REALLY smart right there! The fire companies you saw were probably one of the task forces mobilized to respond. Rumor has it that after it went through Springfield it picked up again and became an EF-4. Again, that's a rumor, but I'm a native Masshole who has no clue about Tornadoes other than take cover and don't get sucked up with the cows.

Helicopper, don't get me wrong, consolidation may solve that problem for some departments. If you have multiple FD's within a small enough area that can merge and that will solve their problem, that's great. But that's not the end all be all answer. I know of a department to the south of me that covers one of the largest lakes in the state. They can barely get a crew out most days, and I've heard their dispatch toning them out for a driver and crew, for 3 times. It took them about 15 minutes to get the truck out the door. Now this was a weekday night before midnight, and they're just as bad during the daytime, even with the coverage staffing they have. From their site they have 2 firefighters from 0800-16:00, and 3 firefighters from 18:00-21:00. They've been trying for YEARS to get full-time personnel, but the town won't have it. Now keep in mind, this FD has only engine and truck duties. A seperate town agency, (Town) Rescue Squad, which was born out the town's Civil Defense, runs the FAST/RIT, extrication, etc., Between XYZ FD & XYZ Rescue, they have about 50 personnel, running out of 2 stations. And the FD has MORE personnel than the Rescue Squad out of that total. It's a rock and a hard place. They have auto-aid agreements, but the other FD's, like every FD, have their own staffing issues. The problem that occurs with regionalization/consolidation is that, what equipment are you all going to use. If Alpha FD uses ISI SCBAs and Bravo FD uses Scott, and Charlie one rounding out the group making the 1 consolidated FD uses MSA, what SCBA manufacturer does the consolidated FD use? A hodge-podge until the packs are slowly grandfathered out? The same goes for hose. AFD uses 4" LDH, BFD uses 6" LDH, and CFD uses 5". What supply hose should they use? Granted, personnel issues could be a result of intra-department politics, or a lack of active recruitment. Whatever the reason, FD's facing a staffing shortage need to take a good, hard look in the mirror and determine what they need to do to solve their problem. In the short time I've been on this site (a few years ago and recently, a couple weeks back) it completely blows me away how many FD's exist within such a small area. My entire area is covered by town-supported fire departments. No fire districts, no village FDs, just Town FD. That's pretty much how it goes for my entire state, although there are some fire districts and village FDs, but they are more prevalent on the cape and along the Mass. shoreline than the rest of the state. I could sit here for hours discussing what should be done, but that's not my job. I don't live there, and I'm hesitant to put my .02 cents in on a topic that doesn't concern me. I asked that question because the poster didn't give an anwer how to provide for 6 guys on the truck when departments have trouble even rolling it out the door. That's all I got, and I'm going to step off the soapbox and go to the corner of the room and continue to see how this topic turns out. Mike

Youtube video of damage in Brimfield: (Explicit!!!!!) http://youtu.be/SSPMOoAEys8

So....you want FD's that can barely get by with crews of 2, 3, and if they're lucky, 4 personnel, to staff with 6? How do you propose to fund that?

The tornadoes were all from one or two cells out of all of the severe thunderstorms that came through yesterday. The cell for the most part basically followed the path of the Mass Pike. It went all the way from Westfield & Greater Springfield area to finishing off in Millbury. Inbetween those two areas, there are at least a dozen towns that have sustained damage. The town of Southbridge got hit hard, and they actually had the tornado cross the I-84/I-90 Toll Plaza. Rt. 20 in that town is also impassible, although they are starting to finally clear away most of the damage. Oxford, 2 towns south of Worcester, got hit hard. Millbury, getting the tail end, just got the finishing touches of the storm. From my friends that are MFD's explorer post, they've had only a handful of storm related calls, which, considering the NWS was tracking a tornado through Millbury, is damn good. A friend from another forum I'm on, caught the following on the Webster Rescue online live feed: "Didn't catch the town, 'Roof is off Police HQ & EOC'" From a friend that's still on an ambulance task force (that got mobilized, around 17:30 yesterday) in Brimfield, he says that the area is basically destroyed. Springfield Fire & Police issued an all-staff recall yesterday. Unsure if that's still in effect. While a fire task force was responding to Palmer, another town hit hard, Worcester's Engine 16 was either on the Mass Pike or US 20, and had the tornado right in front of them while they were responding as part of the task force. Another friend, who's on a fire task force that came up from Connecticut, he said last night to the effect that the statement "It's pretty bad" is the understatement of the year. The Massachusetts FEMA USAR Task Force 1 has been mobilized and set up in Springfield. State of Emergency has been declared by the governor. For those that want to listen in to the scanners about the latest, here's 2 links to online scanner feeds. Webster Rescue Feed: www.websterrescue.com/live/shtml Hampden County Fire/PD feed: Radio Reference feed Mike

As long he has his ABC's, I'm stabilizing the hose due to the fact that it's an impaled object, putting him on his side, and maybe considering backboarding him, depending on what I would find on my assessment. Above all else, we're heading to the trauma center with a level 2 activation, possibly even level 1, depending on if his ABC's start to compensate and/or deteriorate. Mike