mstrang1

I opened with the tree remark only because i was in UNIFORM, and getting seen peeing against a tree would not look good in the public eye. Remember, public image is EVERYTHING! and alot of FFs forget that. I will not rant more about that now, maybe later...

It happened a few weeks ago in Windsor Locks (CT) FD. strut lodged in the FFs leg. See Feb 05 Firehouse for article.

As a sidenote, I was involved in an accident involving the engine I was driving. RETURNING from a call on a busy 3 lane road in our first due district, the car in front of me suddenly stopped. Initially, I could not figure out why, when traffic in both other lanes continued. The light had turned yellow, and the car in front of me stopped suddenly. In my head I knew that this traffic light had an extra long yellow, and assumed, like most other NY drivers, that a yellow is like a green. wrong. I slammed the brakes, but could not stop in time. I swear if I had 5 more feet. There was traffic on both sides, so no swerve was possible. I pushed the stopped car into the crosswalk, luckily no pedestrians were there, as it is normally a busy crosswalk. Since then, I have learned to appreciate BRAKING DISTANCE more. Anyone who has crashed an engine(or truck) realizes that stopping distances are looong. Longer than you may realize. That is all. for now.

It does not mention who had the ROW, but even so, all fire dept vehicles and other emergency vehicles are supposed to slow at greens, and STOP at red lights. All too often I have been riding the back or the officer seat and had the driver fly through red lights. It scares the S#%& out of me. I have no problem confronting drivers and/or saying something to captains about people who constantly disobey traffic violations. And also, no matter time of day, sirens shall be used. Not to place blame, but that driver should have been using the siren, at least through the intersection.

WAS- My understanding is that they also gave up the ropes for monetary reasons, as the city would not pay to replace and/or maintain them.

Welcome home Jimmy!

No comment.

Hey WAS967. I don't wanna get CRABS, but I dont mind hydration and decent nutritional support! On a more serious note, many departments implement a "2 bottle" rule, in which after 2 SCBA bottles you automatically go for rehab for 20 minutes or so. In cases where you are doing exterior/defensive work where no SCBA is worn, then it should be changed to 20mins "in"/ 20 minutes rehab in hotter climates. The times are an estimate. If anyone looks at the rattlesnake FD website that I posted, all three of there identical engines have a coffee pot/ microwave/fridge/ hot water setup witha fully stocked inventory of soup, gatorade, coffee, etc.

http://www.geocities.com/Baja/Trails/7873/ Class 5 ISO Rating and no hydrants to be seen

In Ardsley FD. all members, with the exclusion of the Chief and Asst Cheifs, respond to the firehouse first. No members are allowed to respond to the scene in their PV, unless all apparatus have left quarters, and the IC requests add'l manpower to the scene. AT NO TIME DO PERSONAL VEHICLES ENTER THE NYS THRUWAY, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE CHIEF AND ASST CHIEFS.

From the 1/9/05 edition of The Hartford Courant: FIREFIGHTER/EMT The Southington Fire Department will accept applications for entry level Firefighter/EMT from January 11, 2005 until 1:00 p.m. Friday, February 4, 2005. Applicants must have current Connecticut EMT Certification. A recent Candidate Physical Ability Test card (issued after 5/1/2004) will be needed in order to take the written exam that will be scheduled for early May. To obtain information about CPAT testing please contact the State of Connecticut Commission on Fire Prevention and Control, Connecticut Fire Academy at (860) 627-6363 or (877) 528-3473, extension 221. The application closing date for the April CPAT testing is February 1, 2005. Applications may be obtained at: Fire Headquarters, 310 North Main Street Southington, CT after January 11, 2005 EOE

Congrats Seth! I too have known you for the better part of ten years, and wow, look where you are now! Hit the 1500 member mark!

I am a very good cook! I thoroughly enjoy cooking all the time, and baking too. Sometimes you just want a sandwich though, ya know?!

JBE- so you must be having fun times in the attic and basement of Ardsley Firehouse! We have all those---- and more! It's mostly bats... at one point last year I counted 60 leaving our abandoned hose tower in 10 minutes.

DMA- The county got rid of the "quint" designation. Now you are either a ladder or an engine.

Was talking to a train buff co -worker the other day. The overhead lines are definitley one of the main issues with buying new cars. They should use the diesels all winter on NH line, but cost more to run, so they dont. The new MNRR cars work better in the bad weather than the old ones, but electric and wet snow are, by obvious nature harder to maintain. On a FF/R note, if working around NH line tracks, be cautious of electrified rails by way of a fallen line somewhere down the line. if a power line falls on a rail, it will energize it for miles possibly.

Thank you for addition, DOC! One bad officer can mess up a whole department, especially if that one bad officer is a Chief!

I agree with DOC, but other things that come with experience include maturity, leadership abilities(maybe....), confidence, etc. In addition, just because someone has made every call and every drill/meeting, it does not make that person experienced and ablebodied. I may be wrong about this one person, as I do not know him, but generally speaking, 3 years is really not enough time to become an officer. One exception I can think of is someone who has joined the fire department at an older age who has the maturity, leadership abilities and confidence to manage people in other areas. This person just needs to get some experience in the fire field and apply his prior management skills to the fire dept. As long as this person has attained a decent amount of experience in 3 years, I do not see a problem with this person becoming a junior ranking officer(ie 2nd LT or LT, or in some depts, Capt). Someone who joins at 18 years of age and becomes a "bing bing" for 3 years cannot become mature and patient enough to be an officer in this time, generally speaking.

[mfc says]If I recall... They have a switch in the cab that pins one of the Q's at full speed until you step on the siren switch. At that time it kills the first Q and spins up the other. Seems to me they are both functional......

If you have a cautious driver, and always go left, and wait for traffic to go right, 1 electric siren, 1 Q2, and a standard air horn are more than enough warning. Anything beyond this is pretty ridiculous. Not only is it more of an expense on the cost of the rig, it places incredible stress on the electrical(Q2) and air (airhorn) systems. All these extra sirens and horns are enough to make any civilian drivers "freeze" in traffic, and therefore they will be SLOWER to get out of your way. Remember, you are asking permission for right of way, not taking it.

Another problem with FG ops on 46.26 is confusion regarding officers who like to shorten their Car numbers and Engine Numbers. Ardsley FD does not dispatch on 60, but oftentimes members use "13" to mean "2013" and "64" instead of "Engine 164". I am not sure if there is an Engine 64 or Engine 65 in the county, or in New Jersey, where we commonly pick up radio transmissions from. Proper terminology is desperately needed. Also, on an entirely different note, many departments still use 10-codes, which I am definitely against. 10 codes are different in many departments, and this will cause confusion among different depts operating on the same frequency.

I agree with CFD320, but have more to add. One thing I HATE is "it's his/her TURN"! What does that mean? Just because the person has a certain amount of time in the dept, regardless of ability, training, etc, they should be officer?! That burns me sooo much! Often I see people who have put years of service in, but those years are wasted basically. There are people who have excelled more, and have more experience, with only 5 or 6 years in the dept.

Ardsley uses E-164 currently for FAST calls. AFD is currently in the process of training most of its members in FAST ops. Most have basic FAST training, but not advanced.

I agree with x635. A true Fire Science degree, taught by college level professors, is a great idea. As someone who holds a BS in Fire Science, I know the rewards of such a degree. John Jay's program(which I am an alumni) is all classroom, which inhibits practical and hands on training, but a program 635 speaks of would incorporate these ideas. If this would come to fruition, great strides could be taken in the education of the firefighters in WC.

DFFD... Subway Rats, as I am told, is so named bc your Company room is in the far reaches of the basement.