Pyroinvestigator

The Village of Elmsford is only 1 square mile also....Thats the whole problem with westchester. There are 53 depts....this is crazy...every little area wants it's own dept.

Sleepy Hollow - Fire Boat 7 and boat 12

No...I don't think that is it...it is more like the nice hidden secret is out...that band aid burst and the wound it open. And one day these dirty little secrets are going to come out and there is no one to blame but ourselves. Don't try to put a butter fly on a open femur fracture. Do the right thing and admit the problem and seek help....WHAT EVER that means to FIX IT! *Edited To Keep Thread ON TOPIC

What is the cost and is it pay at the door or register?

Hospitals use diversion when they don't have any beds upstairs for patients to go to or they are understaffed on the floors......so the ER might be empty..and many times that I have arrived...the were just that, EMPTY..so the patient would get the whole ER and it's staff to themself...so it is NOT always true that the patient would not be given immediate care...and if you do bring in a pt. that needs immediate care...that is what triage is for....if you have someone who needs care...and 8 of the area hosp. are on diversion...then what do you do...drive 45 mins. to the open one....if that is the case....then what is the difference to bringing them to the diversion hosp. and having them wait.....and what good would it do if you are out of service for hours also and your coverage area has no emergency service.....as with CNTY fire stuff...this is where the state has to step in and start dealing with this and not just pretend like it doesn't exist.

JBE you are the first one to put down what the TRUE meaning and use of a squad is. This is EXACTLY what those squad engines are doing...though it is true that NR's apparatus should have been numbered "Squad 22" and not engine nor Squad 2....they threw a wrinkle into the system....A squad is nothing more than an engine with extra (special) equipment and manpower that is extra (specially) trained. They are NOT a rescue company but are a bridge between the 2. For everyday things they are an engine but with extra duties if/when needed....not a very hard concept nor such a big deal....as for a formal designation as to what changes an engine to a squad....well that is a question. If your dept. wants to change to a squad co. then you should find out what equipt. NYC uses as a standard and what YFD and NR have and the min. training and then form your own. Seems like we are spending a heck of alot of time on this one....

right now westchester is getting even worse rather than better with its numbering....we have ladder xy and tower ladder xy...what is the difference...no one else distinguishes them...and since now there is actually a tower ladder 1 and a ladder 1 and they are BOTH tower ladders...then there are the ladders that call themselves Truck xy...this is going to get someone hurt one day when an order is given for ladder xy to do something and tower ladder thinks he got that order...and since there is one freq. that is used here it is also possible for another dept to be out at the same time and over hear a transmission and think it is for them and follow that order....this comes into play again when guys shorten the numbers like the chiefs do to just 64 instead of 2264 (example!) and now engine 64 or ladder 64 is thought to have made that transmission....it is so past its time for this county to get off their a** and fix the numbering, radio freq. dispatch methods, 911 points and security, consolidation not DUPLICATION of depts and apparatus, manpower, min. requirements....EMS dispatch, parmedics in all areas, HEAR radios...could go on and on...when are we going to even START to face these problems and get moving on them!

I know a friend of mine who is in the carmel FD lives on Sparrow Ridge Rd. (even though it is in LCFD) and I don't see that there...

Please have someone check your street index....it is missing a street or 2

Ah....that would have been great....but the local PD numbers were out too.....so they had NO telephones!....so now What do ya do!

alriiiighty then...guess we hit a never there!....LOL....I couldn't agree more though...if you are only getting out because you are getting a couple of 16 year olds to get your trucks out...then you have a much bigger problem...time to find a better solution....this theme is one that keeps repeating itself around and around here in westchester...stop the damn turf wars...the little fifedums and the my truck is better than yours crap...and worry about the people you serve...and the lives we protect...if that means combining, dual response, hiring...what EVER,.....just do it!

Well I do know that in one southern WC dept...if you can believe this....they only send an engine and a rescue...sometimes JUST the rescue to commercial auto alarms....makes me wonder

and now you wonder why they hell this guy was just elected into office again....cut the cops and fireman...not the job of the government....well isn't that EXACTLY the job of the gov.....to protect its people...

how come no one has touched this?....seems like life mimics forum... There has been discussions here about tri dept. response, merging depts....what should be done..and shouldn't we be doing something about it now...why not start with the tri response like montross...or start merging like someone pointed out in the sound shore area....or shallowing small depts...such as Archville....

This is when I think there should be a critics corner for pictures....for accidents, fires, etc. you don't have to bash...just put up a picture which says a thousand words...maybe it will embarass the dept. or the chief into correcting the problem. We all make a mistake or two...but some are worse than others and if you see it in pictures...it is hard to dispute or justify....that is why I like the site..firefighter close calls. com....and there are pics. of westchester depts. there already....mail the pics to the chief and hope he does the right thing and uses it at training... we all need a reminder once in awhile....and better to be red faced for a minute than sorry for a lifetime

I am aware that the white plains and greenburgh area was affected greatly. GPD had no 911 nor Reg. phone or emergency phone lines...so in other words there was no way to call for the police or fire in greenburgh since the lines were down at control also...does this not worry anyone....why was this story so small and lacked to make a point of this....the 911 down in nyc for 4 of the cnty's was huge news....yet why was there never anything put over the news lines..this started prior to 11p and there should have been a scroll on each news telling people a number to call in emergency....next...as stated...what the hell about back up...pull some cards and the whole system is done...what if they didn't catch the guys right away with the cards...how long would it have taken to get new ones....what about security...if this is what can be done...shouldn't this be a guarded area....I believe this story should have been out there about the true scope of this.....

Agree whole heartedly....glad to see the problem exists in other batt. seems these guys get a radio, a car number and red lights and suddenly they are in charge of every dept. in the batt. I know of many cases that the batt. has been told to leave the scene just as years ago cnty car one was also...not to mention the fact that he crashed and totaled his car going to buff an alarm...they are a good tool for a large scale incident to ASSIST at the command post...and that is all they are supposed to do!

Please let me clear one thing up...the foam trailer is not and has nothing to do with the squads and as such squad six did not respond. Though I have heard that fairview may use the squad six bus to pull the trailer.

1- why wouldn't a pumper shuttle work...if the fire WAS put out with only 500 gal. then if another pumper came down the same road and emptied it's 500 into the first that would be 1000gal. and that would have worked and done it with a LOT less hose and work.... 2- Why not drop an inflatable by the (#1) with a floating pump or trash pump and bring it around to the area near the fire and hook up hose brought in on a pickup/suburban/utility etc.

NY Departments Consider Alcohol In Station JIM KINNEY Courtesy of The Saratogian BALLSTON SPA -- While Ballston Spa is rethinking its policy of allowing alcohol in its firehouses, many other volunteer companies around the county are either dry or thinking of going dry. 'I can remember at parades when they would have cans of beer right there on the truck,' said Don Kugler, chairman of the Board of Commissioners for the Greenfield Fire District. 'I'm going back 30 years. You can't do that anymore,' Kugler said. Today, the Maple Avenue Fire Company is completely dry, as is the district's Middle Grove Company. He said no beer is stored at the other firehouses in Porter Corners and Greenfield Center and drinking, even during social events there, is rare. The issue came up last week when three Ballston Spa volunteer firefighters resigned from the village fire department for making fake 911 calls and moving the village police car sent to investigate the calls. The three men -- Dan Jurcsak, Matt Wilski and Charles Travis -- said they'd been drinking after setting up a Halloween party Oct. 17 at the Eagle-Matt Lee firehouse. Last week, Ballston Spa Fire Chief Dick Duffy said the department would rethink policies allowing alcohol at its two firehouses, Eagle-Matt Lee and Union. Duffy couldn't be reached for comment this week. Village Mayor John Romano said Friday the policy hasn't been changed yet, but he plans to meet with Duffy soon and discuss a change. Kugler said it's not scenarios like Ballston Spa's that worry him. It's something much worse. 'What if one of those boys had gotten in an accident on his way home and killed himself?' he said. 'It's our necks out there.' Schuylerville Fire Chief Rick Drew said Schuyler Hose Co. has been dry for as long as he can remember. 'There is just no place for it,' Drew said. He thinks drinking in firehouses is becoming rare. Corinth Fire Chief Andy Kelley said there is alcohol consumed at the Corinth Firehouse, but only at social events. There is no alcohol at anything fire-related, and firefighters don't even drink at the firehouse after their drills. He said no one who has consumed alcohol ever has anything to do with responding to a fire or dealing with fire equipment. Corinth is planning to build a new firehouse on Route 9N in Corinth. That facility may be dry. 'Nobody wants the black eye,' Kelley said. What about westchester?

you are right...but why are we not doing anything about it....many places have laws that prohibit blocking or plantings within 3ft of a hydrant....why are we or the water dept. not enforcing that...and on another issue....what about the color code system...how many depts. think it is nice to just have rainbow hydrants...or the homeowners want them dark green to blend into to grass...why are we all not using the NFPA coloring and when is the last time that the ones that are colored checked to see if they still flow the same Gals. ](*,) .....sadly I think we caiter a bit too much...time to make sure we protect ourselves and them from themselves!

many FD's are ems providers..they are state certified first response providers and ARE part of the EMS...so just because they don't have an ambulance...means nothing....all the points above say it all....I think it is a no brainer and shouldn't require much thought as to why FD is there....as for paid ambulance services....most only show up with 2 personel...not many hands to help with more than one patient...nor stablize, traffic, fire hazard, spill etc., how many of you show up to an mva and see the PD directing the traffic...even though not our job...we do it...and as for the padding numbers...as it was said....fires are down and how do you expect people to pay the same amount or more for our service....we have to do MORE...Vol. or Career.....just look at North WP...one of the only vol. FD's to run first response. People will notice that they are getting something for what they pay.

Listen...before anyone gets started....the question put forth is this...if you have a problem getting out...what should you do about it....Nothing? hope it goes away....count on mutual aid? Hire paid...daytime or fully....merge? etc. This is an obvious problem occuring here in westchester. And many have chosen to do little about it...(also in Putnam) where just last month (as reported in the journal news) there was a fire in Put. Lake and the house burt to the ground and the chief was (give him some credit) quoted as saying they didn't have any manpower to put it out. (He doesn't get credit in the dept. of doing something about that). We all can't run and hide or pretend this situation doesn't exist. If it were your house..would you accept..."well, you don't pay much for this dept. and a career dept. would be very expensive....oh.. by the way ...sorry you don't have a house now"..... I AM NOT promoting changing everything to paid depts. (before someone even goes down that road)... the discussion is.....what should be done...it is a tough decision....but someone with power has to make it...and if it were you....what would you do.....

WOW..again a brilliant reply...good for you alsfirefighter......I couldn't have said it any better myself!!!!!