RES24CUE

X635 Well said... I, as part of the volunteer community, constantly hear people saying, "Call them early, you can always send them back." To me, this seems like an excuse for not having a competent commanding officer who can respond quickly and make the correct decision as far as the necessary mutual aid for that particular situation. This rationale is a counterbalance for inexperienced and poorly trained ICs. Anyone can wear a white helmet and call the whole county and then start returning units once they are confident that they have the situation under control. This is a crutch for people who are not confident in their abilities (or lack there of). What happened to the day and age when you had salty fire chiefs who took pride in actually knowing what they are doing? Instead, modern day chiefs have no training beyond Firefighter 1(I understand that some fire departments have extensive training requirements for chief and I commend them for that) and getting a white helmet is their reward for responding to the most automatic alarms over that past few years and being an "agreeable" officer who strokes everyones ego and wins the popularity contest that is our electoral promotional exam. (Ever hear the term "paper chief"). Additionally, in todays world, more and more mutual aid units are being called because chiefs and officers never know whether they are going to get an engine with 2 firefighters on it or a mutual aid chief rolling solo hoping that a few of his guys are going to take their POVs to the fire so that he and his department don't look like a shitshow. I know that there is a standard set forth by the county that you must have a minimum of 5 interior firefighters to respond mutual aid. However, this standard is loosely followed as many departments respond shorthanded knowing that they will most likely be returned, sent to a water source, or re-directed to stand-by because the mutual aid chief is "calling them early, because he can always send them back" and they don't want to tarnish the good name of their organization by having to state over the radio that they are unable to staff an engine for a working fire time and time again. I personally have been at fires and seen engines show up with just a chauffeur, or only a few junior members/fire police along for the ride. These crews will do a lot of good when they are needed to pull a line to the attic huh?

I was being sarcastic. I know that they are not volunteer. Wow...

Are they volunteer?

Date: 11/12/13 Time: 8:08 Incident Type: Pedestrian Struck by Train Location: 3/4 Mile South of the Hartsdale Train Station IAO Pipeline District: Hartsdale FD, Hartsdale EMS, MTA PD, etc. Units: Unknown Description: MTA reporting indefinite delays due to a fatality at the Hartsdale Train Station. Commuters shoud prepare for an extended delay due to police activity. ***This information has not officially been announced. This was stated in an apology over the loudspeaker on the train on which I am delayed.***

I think it means that the electrician who is yelling into the radio (and all of the high school students under his command...assuming its after 2:30) can't handle the situation and they want someone who has undergone some formal training in patient care to arrive more quickly to let them off the hook. Plus it sounds really cool when said electrician yells "expedite the medic" into the radio so that all his mutual aid buddies who are sitting by their scanners or walking arount with their pagers on "c" to hear. Very authoritative...

Idiots who get their...... stuck in things...classic!

From what I have seen, Tech Rescue rarely gets called. I believe they are only dispatched/requested once or twice per month if at all. Also, by the time a chauffeur gets the truck to meet the members on scene and start to go to work, the local organizations have already devised and executed a different intervention. I remember them getting called to Armonk for a wreck requiring rope rescue. By the time the first few members got on scene the Greenburgh PD Technical Rescue Team had already gotten the patient out. Another instance they were called to Croton Falls for a rope rescue, but they were canceled before the truck even signed on. Seems like a lot of great training for very little use.

Had the pleasure of taking Stiloski's Heavy Duty Extrication Class that he teaches. Captain Morris made extremely complex and technical evolutions, that challenged a number of veteran career and volunteer firefighters, look like a regular walk in the park. His incredible knowledge of both the rescue equipment and the overall operation were everpresent at all times during the class. I wish him the best of luck in his retirement as he as surely earned some rest and relaxation.

If they were going to go to the nearest level 1 from Brewster wouldn't that be Danbury?

I find booster reels useful for small brush fires and exterior trash can fires just to save the time of re-packing the hose. In the department that I ran with, engines did not have bumper lines due to the steep grade of a number of hills in town that eliminate the possibility of having an extended bumper. Generally, the booster line was put into use on any exterior fire where the saftety of civilians and firefighters alike would not be compromised if we all just sat there and let the fire burn itself out. Just makes it look good and saves a little time to hit it with the booster line.

If it was your house with your family, what would you rather have? A crew of 3 strong men in their 20's and 30's or a crew of 3 120-140 pound women in their 20s and 30s? Our bodies are built for different purposes and the female physique is generally (as there are a few exceptions) not constructed to handle the intense amount of strength required to perform the above-and-beyond arduous firefighing tasks. A lot of hiring tests now have different standars for men and women that acknowledges this disparity. If strengh is a quality that is valued when selecting those who are good candidates for the firefighting profession, why should we lower our standards for equal opportunity I completely disagree with this as it puts the lives of fellow firefighters and the public at risk. I recently took an Advanced FAST class at the Westchester County Fire Training Center and the 12 men in the class were having a tremendous amount of difficulty performing many of the evolutions. I'd like to see a pair of female firefighters try to carry a 180lb (250 in gear) unsonscious male firefighter up a flight of stairs. I don't know about everyone else, but if it's my ass that goes down in a basement job, I hope that crew of BROTHER firefighters will show up to get me out.

I believe in this instance, the aggravated unlicensed operation is a criminal offense. The arresting officer would have the option of taking the subject into custody or issuing a desk appearance ticket that would allow him to simply show up at a court date. So, its essentially a double-edged sword. If you decline to allow the officer to search you and your vehicle then it is pretty much guaranteed that he will be taking you to jail for the unlicenced operation. Once you are in custody, then he has the right to search you and your vehicle. If you allow him to search you and your vehicle knowing that you have a firearm in your posession that exceeds the amount of ammunition permitted by the SAFE act, then he will eventually find said weapon and take you to jail. I would say that the best thing that an individual could do would be to inform the officer that you are carrying a firearm and be as amenable as possible (respectful, not argumentative, allowing him to search your vehicle, etc.) with the hope that he will either overlook the firearms violation or give you a pep talk and let you take a couple rounds out of your weapon to make it compliant with the SAFE act and give you the desk appearance ticket for the suspended license. That would be way better a few hours in jail and having to get your vehicle out of impound.

It's about time that someone took action!!!! I commend the Fire District in that municipality for having the guts to take drastic measures. I can't tell you how many times that I have attended a "mandatory" training in my department. However, when the class was over, and members didn't show, their keys remained on and their gear remained on the rack. Why? Because people are too afraid that a member is just going to quit. Then his friends and father and everyone else that he is connected to will be disgruntled also and stop coming around. I can't tell you how many times I have heard things like "we need everyone we can get" and "we'll take anybody." I tell you what we don't need; a sexual harrassment suit because someone didn't attend the mandatory sensitivity training; an accident that takes a piece of apparatus out of service for a few months because someone did't attend the mandatory driver training; or god forbid, a line of duty death because someone didn't take thier mandatory Firefighter 1 trainnig. We CAN afford to lose a few members who are untrained or lack the respect for their command that tells them that they need to attend a certain class or training because its important to the goals of the organization. I actually heard an Officer brag recently that he didn't attend the mandatory sensistivity training because he thought it was stupid to a table full of young, new, impressionable firefighters. In the process, he undermined the authority of his commanding officers completely to those young members and gave them the impression that the Chiefs and Commissioner are "all bark and no bite." Yet, that officer ran for his position regardless, won, and currently holds his positon with or without the knowledge that his department deemed mandatory. Additionally, I have seen a tremendous amount of hesitation on behalf of the Commanding Officers to make trainings mandatory. I have always suggested mandatory Officer's classes in my department (which shall remain anonymous) if a person wants to be an Officer. The response, "we already don't have enough guys to fill the spots." You know what that makes them? Spot fillers...not trained, knowledgeable fire Officers. I have also suggested that it be mandatory the take Emergency Vehicle Operations Course in order to someone to be qualified as a Chauffeur and Pump Ops for someone to be qualified to drive an engine. The response, "We already have enough trouble getting the trucks out the door during the day." Once again, in this instance, you don't have Chauffeurs or Pump Operators, you have an accident waiting to happen. You have an individual responsible for the lives of 5-8 members with no formal training hauling ass down the road and a fire room full of firefighters with no water between them and the fire. There needs to be consequences for failure to comply with mandatory training in order for them to actually be mandatory. I can guarantee that after this mess in Newton Falls is sorted out, the next time the Newton Falls Fire District deems a training as mandatory and gives the department officers a mandate to see that all members are compliant, those officers will take them seriously. Once this department gets back on their feet, I am sure that they will be be a better trained and more qualified department. Its better to have your neighboring companies laughing at you for getting shut down than to have them saluting the engine carrying your casket to your final resting place. Plus, I'm sure that they don't mind taking in the extra calls while you get your asses in gear.

That's woth at least second base!

Who brought the Democrat?

Yes but at what cost to the taxpayer? You can't have a bunch of career guys sitting around a firehouse that gets one call every 3-4 days and working fire once every 3-4 years. Not only would they be bored out of their minds but it isn't worth paying $10 million dollars per year in salaries and benefits so that a $300,000 house can be saved once a decade. The cost doesn't equal the savings. And I know that a life is priceless...but in many small towns, just the opportunity to make a grab may only come about once every 50 years. And who is to say that a first arriving, qualified, TRAINED volunteer wouldn't make that same grab with the same level of skill.

This topic really does baffle me. So many people think that just pinning a badge on their chest makes them a fireman. However, very few actually want to earn the right to wear that badge by being able to do the job WELL! Everyone wants to be a heroic fireman when they meet a hot blonde at the bar, get pulled over for driving a little too fast (or having a few too many), or when they need to be well rounded on their college application/essay. Yet, when it comes time to take a long class to get thier firefighter 1, gather at the firehouse every tuesday night for drill, come to the firehouse an extra night every other week to do their Officer's rig checklist, or come to the firehouse on a saturday morning to clean the floors, then it is suddenly a "volunteer" fire department and they can't be expected to donate so much of their precious time. Thats when they all of a sudden "remember" that they have a family and a full time job that comes first...they never seem to have those commitments on the night of a parade, a serious fire call, a monthly barbecue, or a meeting with an open bar. But, all of a sudden, when the training starts or the brooms come out, they have a wife and kids that suddenly can't be left unattended for a few hours that night. Don't get me wrong, I am not trying to denounce the volunteer fire service or those that dedicate their time to helping their neightbors. I have been a volunteer for 10 years and am not a career firefighter. In that time I have taken just about every New York State training class that is offered at the Westchester County Fire Training Center and know many worthwhile volunteer firefighters who have made it their business to do the same; I would be that most of these men could give many of the career guys who b**** in these very forums, alongside the volunteers who are also bitching, a run for their money firematically. It is unfortunate that these types of volunteers seem to be a minority these days and the "do as little as possible to meet the minimum requirement" crowd is prevailing. In my opinion, the over-and-above volunteer firefigher is the proper way to be a volunteer firefighter. The firefighter who says "how can I better serve my neighbors" instead of he who says "how can my department better serve me." As this mentality prevails, and the former is overtaken by the latter, the tradition that is the volunteer fire service will surely fade into the past and become something that is remembered instead of practiced.

Captain Smart...the irony!

Sounds like a staffing problem not a problem with the system. The problem isn't with police department EMTs...its that their aren't enough of them!

As an Officer, I would not allow any cutting to take place at an extrication unless the EMT/Medic in the car is wearing Turnout Gear. On a number of occasions I have given the order that nothing is cut until the medic gets out of the car and dons his turnout gear. If there is an EMT in the vehicle, I have often removed him and replaced him with Fire Dept EMT in his turnout gear until the extrication is complete. Often times, I have EMS stage with the stretcher away from the hazards of the extrication and the fire dept brings the patient to them on a backboard...that is when their patient care starts. Not only is there glass breaking and jagged edges, EMTs are not trained in accident victim extrication and are often unaware of the potential hazards that occur when a cut is being made, whats behind the door panels, where the vehicle is going to move when it is manipulated, etc.

It sounds like a great solution to this conundrum is a system like Greenburgh, where the ambulances are operated by the police dept and the EMTs are police officers. If scene safety prior to EMS arrival is the first priority, then why not combine the two so that the people responsible for securing the scene are also the ones that will provide care. Police officers could take turns riding shifts in a patrol car and shifts on the bus. Then the EMTs will already have guns and vests so there would be no more need to argue over who is entitled to what! Plus this would leave a great system of coverage for busy nights. If the ambulances are slow and the police are busy, send the officers on the bus to assist on a police call. If the ambulances are busy and the police are slow, send a patrol unit to secure the scene and start patient care until an outside ambulance can make it to the scene.

As per what is taught in the Intro to FIre Officer and Fire Office 1 classes the proper size up should include the size of the structure (dimension and height), the type of construction, the conditions present upon arrival, the actions being taken by the on scene unit, an assignment for the incoming second due unit, request any additional resources, and establish command. Example 1: "Engine 1 is on location at a 2 1/2 story wood frame structure 60' x 30'; Heavy fire showing from the attached garage; Engine 1 is laying the driveway, stretching a 2 1/2; Engine 2 is to hit the hydrant at Main Street and Park Street and lay in to Engine 1. Start my first alarm assignment. Engine 1 Officer has Command." Example 2: "Engine 1 is on location at a 1 story ordinary construction 100' x 30'. Negative smoke or fire from the exterior. Engine 1 is investigating; Engine 2 can proceed non-emergency; Engine 1 Officer has Command." Although this seems like a lot to remember, with good practice it should take a relatively short amount of time to relay this information. If you take the time to just read this out loud you will see that it only takes about 15 seconds to give a detailed size-up that is integral to a successful operation. The size-up allows your additional units to know exactly what is happening at the incident, what they will find when they get there, what you have done so far, and the immediate steps that are required to support the crew that is already working on scene. Additionally, a detailed size-up will start your additional resources early and allow incoming chiefs to visualize what is going on at the incident and make preemptive decisions that will increase the probability of a successful operation.

Full Article: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/04/28/sc-woman-arrested-for-allegedly-using-ambulances-for-at-least-100-free-rides/?intcmp=obinsite I find this to be absolutely despicable. After hearing many stories of people with very serious injuries who drive themselves to the hospital because, in their opinion, they are capable of making it to the ER on their own. It is a shame that someone has to abuse the ambulance service to this degree in order for their conduct to be recognized and punished. Great work on behalf of the police department for following through with their investigation and securing an arrest. I have heard stories of the same type of abuses in Westchester. I know of one town that assigns a plow truck to their ambulance after significant snowfall. There is a Hasidic Jewish community within their response area. I have heard that frequently when it snows, someone has a "medical emergency" so that they don't have to shovel the long road into the compound.

SAN FRANCISCO – Some San Francisco firefighters are raking in six-figure overtime paychecks because of staffing shortages that have department managers scheduling numerous extra shifts, a newspaper reported. A lieutenant at Station 39 on Portola Avenue collected $221,000 in overtime last year, raising his total salary to $363,000, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. A paramedic-firefighter at Station 51 in the Presidio made $191,000 in overtime, taking his pay to $337,204, while three battalion chiefs made $113,000 to $124,000 each in overtime, boosting their pay to $316,000 to $332,000 each, the San Francisco Chronicle reported on Wednesday. Sign Me Up!!! Full Article http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/04/25/san-francisco-fire-lieutenant-makes-221000-in-ot-due-to-understaffing/?test=latestnews

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