grumpyff

Several others have mentioned to watch where the slate tile will slide, but if it is a windy day watch out!!! The tiles often do not just fall straight down, but can catch a breeze, and fall a surprising distance from the building. From experience working at Pleasantville High School, slate roof on the original section (1929) we used to find pieces of slate in the grass about 50 feet from the building.

The project is mostly for LIRR into Grand Central, to relieve congestion in Penn Station and on the number 7 subway line. It was found that a lot of LIRR commuters work on the East side of Manhattan. I highly doubt we will ever see Metro North in Penn Station, as there is almost no room left on the platforms between LIRR, NJ transit and Amtrak. For those that are interested in in the East Side Access plan, there is a large display in Grand Central near the Station Master's office.

Ok, i'll bite, I joined Pleasantville Volunteer Fire Department Junior Corps at 16, in 1988. At 18, in 1990 joined the Ladder Company(at the time TL-5 and L-39), and transfered to the Fire Patrol Company in 1992 (Patrol 7, later Rescue 47). Associate member status in 2005. I also joined Pleasantville VAC Youth Corps. in 1989, and later became an EMT-D in 1994,and let it lapse in 1997. I resigned in 1998. In 1998, I was hired by the NYPD, and graduated the Police Academy in early 1999. Since then I have worked in both uniform Patrol, and plainclothes Anti-Crime units. Ialso graduated from John Jay College in 1995 with a BS in Fire Science. Also looking into the local Volunteer Fire Dept where I live, which always seems to get put off by some health concern, such as my wife surviving cancer one year ago, to two surgeries on my back, and one on my sinuses/deviated septum.

Some of the reasons: PRICE (slightly cheaper than Police Interceptor) Better gas milage than Fords Does not have the gas tank problem with rear end accidents like Ford. Some depts also feel it handles better, it does not have the boat like feel of the Crown Vic. NYPD running Impalas, Crown Vics, and Chargers to not put all eggs in one basket.

Most trucks have 3 to 4 smaller REP assigned to them. How many are out depends on staffing availible. The large truck usually remains in the house until needed. that is staffed with a sergeant and one police officer. For a smaller accidents, one REP with a crew of two can handle an extrication, although if other units are availible they will respond to assist. As for dispatching only the A unit, I am not so sure how that works.

As far as I know, the Intrepid still retains her oil fired steam boilers, but they have not been fired since the 1970's, and are most likely covered with asbestos. The next photo I got is FDNY fireboat Governor Alfred Smith, making red, white, and blue streams of water on the far side of the Hudson River (NJ side)

I was there this morning when they pulled her out. Very slow at first, but they finally got her out. The Intrepid was escorted by FDNY, NYPD, NJ State Police, and Coast Guard boats, as well NYPD aviation. Here are couple of photos I took. The first is FDNY fireboat Kevin C Kane:

That would be Metro North's Inspection Train, used for executives to examine the roadbeds/property.

I hear that all 'residents' will be moved to Ward's Island.

Watching the 11pm news, the ABC& Investigators did a report of the condition of Amtrak owned bridges in the area, including New Rochelle. Pretty scary stuff, I know it is sensationalized for TV, but seeing some of the photos, you wonder how nothing has happened. Here is a link to the article , with video : http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=...tors&id=4766303

I know it gets fustrating at times, but keep up the good work. This website is excellent, both in terms of training/information offered/knowledge of the members availible, and provides the Lounge for everything else. I have seen other websites destroyed by nonsense. Sometimes you just need to take a step back and let your moderators carry some of the load.

on the M7: Green = air brakes released in that car Yellow = air brakes applied in that car White = trainman controlling doors from that door panel Red (blinking) = parking brake applied in that car Blue = Automatic Speed Control active (Controlling car)

The color blue is visible greater distances and is more noticable than red, this is why the State Police fought for the rear facing blue light. I was I could find it,but one State Police agency (not sure if it was NYS) found that night time scenes it is safest to reduce the number of lights flashing to the rear. A lot of lights (especially red) tend to draw a drivers attention off the road and into the scene, making the driver pay more attention to the scene, than safely going around it. It was found that making the scene look like a construction site, with rear flashing amber lights and scene lighting tended to make drivers stay away from the scene. The idea of flashing amber lights = large construction vehicle. Here is one site that discusses this idea, as well ideas for placement of apparatus/ PD at a scene : http://www.lmnc.org/pdfs/LMCITMemos/Roadwa...yResponders.pdf Here is another site that offers training supplies (some are downloadable for free), and has a section on incidents of responders injured at scenes on roadways: http://www.respondersafety.com/

The Harlem is mostly commuter now. I think the only freight customer left is down near Mt Vernon West. The lumber yard takes its deliveries by truck now. There might still be one small siding there used by Metro North Maintenance of Way (MOW)

Once I got the chance to use a smooth bore nozzle during a live fire burn I was hooked. It was less energy spent fighting the nozzle reaction, and got better penetration, and knock down. Getting them in my old dept took some time, but it happened. A lot of our old timers were hooked on the combination/fog nozzles. We got all the arguement about protecting yourself with a fog stream/ ventilation potential. My other draw to the smooth bore nozzle was it for some reason your stretch of hose was too short, it was possible to shut of at the nozzle, not the pump panel, remove the nozzle tip and add on an apartment pack, and keep going.

As associate Pville member, let me guess, you got one of the 'purple' sets of turnout gear that sat towards the front of the fire house for years. Watch the integrity on the gear. We had some sets among the first bunker pant/short coat sets (purchased around 1994/95) where the interior fabric of the bunker pants dry rotted. Most Pville's gear isn't to bad, it was slow to get the bunker sets,at first , but the oldest sets are now about 15 years old. When I went to associate membership last year, I still had my original 'test' bunker pants( among the first pants bought ) in 1992. It was time for those to be retired.

I wish I could take credit for that invitation, but that was what Ferg e-mailed me.

Looking at the Historic Patterson website, the first fire house was on Main Street(now Route 311) near Locust Street, and is now used as storage. A picture is shown here :http://www.historicpatterson.org/Exhibits/ExhThenAndNow.php The picture is about 16 photos in, each photo has a before and after shot of Patterson. It also says elsewhere in the website that Patterson FD move in 1968/69 to a new building which eventually became the current Town Court/Library, when the fire department moved across Route 311 in 1991. There is also video of Patterson from 1960, and there is a small shot of Patterson FD about 7 minutes into the film at http://www.historicpatterson.org/Exhibits/ExhOurTown.php

Almost forgot Pleasantville. Old firehouse on Wheeler Avenue, middle of the block , I think it is #70(not sure). FD left in 195? when the current building on Washington Avenue was constructed. After that, the building was the Villlage Hall/Police Station until they moved to the current location at the end of Wheeler Ave. Now the building is private offices, but if you look closely at the top of the building, there are small beige bricks that have Maltese Crosses carved into them.

Pawling, NY former firehouse right in the middle of town, now houses a DMV office. I wish I had my camera, I was there on Thursday, and with the renovation that is going on, you could see the old lettering above the doors. Pawling FD, moved sometime in the 80's.

Not sure if I should post it here, or in the new videoshare forum.. The Navy is finally retiring the F14 Tomcat this weekend at NAS Oceana. Pretty cool video of the Tomcat from different eras. Also includes pictures of each squadrons tail design. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7...0&q=F-14+Tomcat

I went in January of this year, I highly recommend Disney Cruises.. I did the 3 day in the park/4 day cruise package. Well worth the money. Brought my family and luggage to the airport, with the luggage tags that Disney provided, and when I got to my hotel room the luggage was there. Leaving the park for the ship, again brought luggage to the designated drop off point, and got on the bus to the ship. Got in my room on the ship, and the luggage was there. As for the ship, there is tons to do. The food is excellent. Disney does something called 'rotational dinning'. There are 3 resturaunts on board, each with its own theme. You will get a dining schedule when you get on board, and you wait staff gets the same schedule, so you always deal with the same waiter and assistants. By the end up the cruise, the know some of your preferences. There is a fourth restaurant, Palo, that is adult only, and requires a 10 dollar per person fee to be paid on board. Each night at dinner had a different theme, cruise casual (no shorts, no swimsuits), pirate/tropical, and one night of semi-formal (shirt and tie). The ships Magic and Wonder ( I was on Wonder) both have a movie theater showing recent Disney movies, and a live theater later in the night. our cruise made two ports of call, Nassau and Disney's private Island, Castaway Cay. Castaway Cay was excellent swimming,snorkeling,bikes, hiking, etc (small fees apply). Even if you are not a big Disney fan there is plenty to do, and you will have a great time. The ship's crew and staff are very helpful, and the ship was immaculate. I am sure you jave seen this link: http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/dcl/en_US/index

Depends on the agency's pursuit policy. NYPD has a very, and I mean very RESTRICTIVE policy on pursuits. It can be called off by the police officer, the Patrol Supervisor (SGT or LT), or the dispatcher. NYPD limits pursuits to two RMPS and patrol supervisor , no vans, scooters, or motorcycles(which can start in a pursuit, but must stop when ever a car joins in. Pursuits are also limited to serious felonies..usually invovling shots fired at an officer, or a threat to a life. Remember, the Crown Vic(Police Interceptor) and the Impala are both capable of speeds over 100 mph. The Charger's big draw with the Hemi is a quicker 0 to 60 time. Comissioner Kelly's reasoning is to prevent a large portion of the fleet to be down due to recalls. Only car with any room in the back seat with a cage in place is the Crown Vic. The 2007 Impala has no room at all(I'm 5'8" and its a very tight fit) PS, only Highway got the Hemi, precints got the V6

Really make an effort to go if you can, as Metro-North is in the process of replacing the building with new ones. Not sure when the current building will be replaced, but it can't be that far off. The curent building was built almost 100 years ago. When youget inside look around, portions have heavy timber joists. Alos parts of the building have rails, with small circular turntables which were used to roll trucks (sets of wheels) off of locomotives/cars in order to be serviced in other sections of the building. Overall, the day is fun, you get to see the equipment up close, get free train ride, and plenty of info about the railroad. The employees take pride in what they do, and can answer most of your questions. My two kids loved it every time they went. As for the current building, does Croton have anything special instructions regarding response to the shop building due to is size, construction,age, use, etc.