sympathomedic

Antique, I am not sure I undertsand your question. They did climb the arial boom to the bucket, they had to limbo under the wires. It was a mid-mount boom. To get in the bucket while the boom was in the bed would have been tough. They would have had to crawl under the truck, rear of the rear wheels, for some diatance. Also the wheels were on the street, but the back of the truck was over the sidewalk, so the ground was about 8" higher than the street, giving them even less head room to crawl. I guess they made a command choice to limbo instread of crawl. I guess you are asking why did they not climb the boom while it was down? Good question. Maybe they did. I only saw them coming DOWN the boom at the end.

I am scheduled for 40/week/Full timers must do 36-40/week. We do not have 24 hour shifts, we have 8's 12's and I think 10's for the raceway due to its hours. But you can make 24 hours out of 8's and 12's. I don't suggest doing that unless you work up to it. Even a quiet shift can erupt and if you can't do the job at hour 23 1/2 as sharp as at hour 2, then don't try, you are screwing the patient and THAT is a no-no. Our tours begin and end at all hours, so you can do let's say 7A to 3P, take a nap and meal break and go 7P to 7A, thereby getting 20 hours done in a short period of time, and allowing a needed recoup period. A recent major renovation to our bldg. kind of erased the bunk room, but I have heard they may make a new one. OT goes out to per-diems first, then full timers in seniority order. No you cannot start as a per-diem. You must be full time and if you must, you can apply to be a per diem. If you were not a good full-timer (lates, bang outs, issues) they will not allow you to be a per-diem, they would prefer you gone. Per diems I think must do 1 tour/week or two/month? not sure. IF you are skilled and flexible you can work a lot of OT. We have different places to work- Yonkers raceway which requires a NYS track license, Mohegan VAC, Hawthorne FD, Peekskill VAC, Westchester Med Center. Each one requires some training and some guys can do all, some none. If you can work any tour any time there is lots of OT. If you perform at a sub-par level you may not be permitted to work the "outside systems". If you screw up enough at an outside system, you can be removed from it. I forgot to mention, $50,000 LODD death benefit. I realized that if you change careers, you can tell folks you went from Loss Prevention to Loss of life prevention. He He.

Been doing EMS for 32 years, last 26 as a medic at Empress. I couldn't see myself doing much else. At my seniority, pay and benefits are pretty good. I work two days a week, and work at other places on days off and I NEVER work weekends. We have about a dozen EMT's that have over 20 years on the job. We are a Union shop so our raises are by contract, and I think we have 2 1/2 years left on this one, annual raises of about 4%, but it varies by year. Also vacation, holiday, 401K, medical, life, unused time-off match etc. At the other end of your career, the contract now has an "age-out" clause. After 25 years, you can work 20 hours/week and get full medical- critical at that age and when you have a family. You get less time off, but working 20 hours a week, you need less. And you can come back to full time if you want. You should buy the book 'Peoplecare" 2nd edition, but Thom Dick. Available at emergencystuff.com. If that guy started a religion, I would convert. There is gold on every page. He will help you understand as to if you have it in you to go the long hall, and advice as to how to do it. As he says, "Almost nobody can do this job."

Man am I glad someone asked about this. I have always had the same question. I anxiously await an informed answer.

At Empress we do a fair amount of prison work. The CO in the van follows the ambulance, and there is a CO in the ambulance. We rarely go lights and sirens, but sometimes. In years past they had no lights/sirens on their vans- STATE vans, not NYC. A few years later they had them. A CO told me that it had some to someones attention that if we go light/sirens and they are following us, they too need lights and sirens. Doesn't quite apply to your scenario, but it does pertain to your question- if an inmate is having a medical emergency, and an armed CO must follow him to the ED, then that CO should have a lights/sirens on.

Well Hot Damn! I had always hoped something would come along to allow us to give SOMETHING that would transport oxygen. I thought it would be some new fluid. I would like to see the cost and protocols for this. I really really hope it works. This could be the biggest advance since the AED.

I think the book was called, "So Others Might Live", a history fo the FDNY. It mentioned that there had been more than 1 or 2 "LODD's" of fire buffs in FDNY's past. VERY good book.

Two observations: Bob is 100% correct. You MUST PRACTCE the changover from manual to machine CPR. Not a slide show, not a table top, but on the floor, on your knees with a mannaquin, at least 3 times per member. EVERY member, not just the young bucks. When we got these (the Zoll model) in Somers, the difference in no-compression time between the very first round and the last round of practice was very significant- like enough to save v/s not save a person. I gamely assume we are all in this to do just that? So we all should make the effort to succeed, yes/no? Especially the Lucus, as it is difficult or impossible to to CPR while you are locking it in place. The Zoll allows for manual CPR to be done up until the last second. I like the Lucus better. Secondly, the IAFF DID do some studies to try to prove that having FD on scene made pt outcomes better. They ran two scenarios, (a construction accident with obstructed access, and another one I can't recall) and did it (I think) 3 times each with several manpower configurations- BLS amb and 1 and then 2 medics on an engine, then 2 medics on an ambulance and EMT's on the engine, and some others (working with a fairly poor memory here, I bet $10 Barry knows the study and can post a link). What I recall they proved was that more medics on scene faster got pt care tasks accomplished faster. Since these were not done with actual sick/injured folks, there was no way to prove if faster task accomplishment = better outcome. I think they just wanted everyone to assume that that faster MUST BE BETTER, and therefore commit to have lots of firemen around. Just like we all want our bosses/budget makers to assume that if there are lots of usm, then we get to calls faster and have better care, even though in many cases we could double our response times with no significant negative impact. But as usual, I digress, sorry.

At Empress a few years ago we had a very buffy youg lady come visit us from Canada. She just wanted to see urban emergency services. She came from a VERY rural area (Saskatoon/ Leeds in Saskatchawan province). She rode with us and NYC EMS and some NYC private hospital EMS. Yonkers ESU gave her a fairly elaborate demo of their trucks. She was very nice and folks helped her out and she loved it. Folks will TRADE patches with you. Your post sounded more fire oriented, but if you want to ride in Yonkers EMS, message me and if I can figure out how to open an EMTBravo private message, I will try to help you out. We have 5 medic programs and several EMT classes that send their students to us, as well as occasional riders from London Ambulance (Yes, THAT London) so space may be an issue. I urge you to bring appropriate apparal and credentials/ID, foot wear etc. Bill

These CPR machines kind of make me nuts. By every meassure, they SHOULD be producing more viable saves. I am sure that with $$millions worth of sales, there are many studies going on so the two main manufacturers can clakim they have more saves, yet the numbers don't seem to be there. That said, they are a HUGE convenience. They make arrests run smother, quieter and the scene less chaotic. I also think they contribute to arrests being run longer, which I think in some cases = better. They make moving the arrest pt safer, though I bet someone will comment that in the perfect world we don't transport arrests. No matter how you slice it, this is a big positive for a large swath of Westchester. Yonkers has them and I know of several squads that are using sales demos. Seems just a matter of time that all CPR in Westchester will be done by machine.

Congratulations Mr. Harvey! This award could not have found a harder working or more conciencous care giver to belong to. Dick is a a bonafide shite magnet, having worked many of the toughest calls around- the 3 Yonkers firemen out the window comes to mind but that is just one. He did another major MVA that same night that never made any headlines. Still working Yonkers, still pulling OT, carrying gear up and people down and still doing all that with that heavy medicare card in his wallet My hat is truly off to You, Brother Harvey. (Unfortunately, Dick is even less tech saavy than I, so he will likely not see this unless someone shows him.)

Please don't beat me too hard: I am not a cop, and I am at best minimally a fireman. I am a Union official and I read a lot- Cop and FD mags and The Chief. In the NYPD acadamy, is there ANY fire training? What would happen if the guy that makes the PD acadamy curiculum contacted his counterpart at the FD acadamy and tried to set up a short class on FD ops and dos and don'ts for trainees? My guess is that someone would not like it and make a fuss, maybe even a Union official. For the folks online here that have a much better knowledge of NYC FD and PD ops- would this work? Do you think it is a dumb idea, esp given the hindsight of this event where well-meaning responders became badly injured? Would it be so awful that two agencies that serve the public at emergencies share a bit of knowledge about the best and safest way to do it? So awful that despite this tragedy we not change anything?

This is a Chrysler Vicotry Siren, powered by a V6 Hemi engine. www.victorysiren.com It does not spin like a regular siren, it compresses air. But the enitre unit does turn at 2RPM, though the one in the pic looks like it has been taken off its turntable. Per the site, this thing produces enough power that it makes nearby dry grass smolder when they crank it up- the transfer of power from the engine to sound energy is that great.

This contract was written like what, a decade ago? Probably renewed over time. Meanwhile we divested ourselves of the commissioner who wrote it. Now, with other commissioners in place, the mood has swung. I think (not sure) WEMS is now on a month-to-month, with no long term contract. If it was put to bid, how many companies do you know of that would be interested in that kind of work around here? If you were once a commissioner and get hired by a vendor you worked with, I doubt there is a law. It certainly fails the smell test, but on the scale of government corruption and back door deals it is barely a blip. One of that commissioners pet projects was spending over $1 million on the SFD radio system with new consoles; towers, repeaters etc. That is why it may sound different. The new voice you hear is probably his, since he was hired to supervise a system he never worked in. Interesting note: When the BOFC first looked at going to 60, they found that the contract was worded in such a way that IF WEMS was fired as the dispatch provider, they still had to be permitted to remain in the firehouse and dispatch their own units.

We are paying WEMS many tens of thousands of dollars a year to do it. They guy wrote up the contract as a Somers FD commissioner was voted out of office (came in third in a three=way race as an incumbent running against two non-members!) Surprise! He is now the dispatch supervisor for WEMS!

OK ya got me there. I thought all clicks were created equal. I have never heard of a premium click. I just clicked now, and it sounded like it always has.

I don't either, but I clicked the link and it took me to the article.

Did you read the article? Yes, he was in jail. He still is. He has now been indicted (Grand Jury) for the crimes for which he was accused. He remains in jail, unable to post bail or bond (there is a difference). He will now either have a trial (trial jury or bench trial) {where the judge renders a verdict} or plead guilty. #1 Read the article #2 Watch Law and Order sometime.

Kevin was about the nicest guy anyone could meet on the job. My heart truly goes out to both his home and job families. Bill

Maybe I should clarify: None of our dry hydrants are attached to the resevoirs. They hook to private ponds or in two cases a lake. Small side story- about 6 years ago there was a big project in Town to tear down and re-build a shopping center that had been abonadoned due to poisoned ground water. To get it done they had to lay a quite a bit of water main from route 35 to Baldwin Place. I am guesing about 5-6 miles. Since the water main was to serve the shopping center and NOT the homes along its route, the origianl plan DID NOT INCLUDE HYDRANTS! After an effort, the put in hydrants about every 500 feet.

In our Town, (Somers) we have one entire resevoir in Town (The Amawalk), and our entire Eastern boundary is made up of the Muscoot Resevoir and (I think) the East Branch Resevoir. Yet there is pretty much no draft sites. There are a few DEP boat launches, protected by a heavy duty gate with a big lock with a metal shield around it. Yeah we could k-12 it off if the draft engine had a k12. My point is that there are many gallons of water sitting around, but the owner (DEP) has no abligation to be fire friendly, and I am guessing their laws trump ours. I can see their point- a site easy for us to use = a site easy for a guy to dump a truck full of poison in there and screw up the water supply. We have about 8 dry hydrants and at least 3 cysterns that I know of.

Hey Barry, that is a cool idea about the hydrant/hard suction. A less effective but way easier idea is to use the source pumpers tank, in addition to the hydrant, to fill the tankers. Then re-fill the source engine tank in between tanker fills. We have 1000 gal engine tanks here, so that is 1/3 the fill right there. (holy crap, I almost sound like a fireman!) The second 5" fill was more to allow two tankers to be filling and/or hooking/unhooking at the same time. Since the 5" were 25' long and one off the side and one off the back of the source, it allowed the two tankers to stop close enough to the source at the same time, rather than line up and wait. The amount of time actually flowing 5" water to both simultaniously was rather short- but enough to brown a few loads of laundry I am sure. As for my favorite people, the NFPA, I will ask the Town about altering the zoning so the next time we build a river, we build it closer to the road. Actually there was river near this fire and be thought about using it. It was nearly all frozen, with a pretty low water level, and maybe a water flow too small to support the fire needs. It would truly suck to stage the engine, set it up, cut the hole, only to find a trickle under the ice. Did you say above you saw an engine lift water 150 vertical feet and still put out 2000 GPM through a mile of hose? I MUST not be reading that right.

This is one of those exceedingly rare cases where I can offer a valid comment: 1- we had a fire, 2-I was there and 3- I think the article referenced was about the fire. This came in as a working fire, and one of our officers confirmed it in less than 3 minutes. It took me 10-12 minutes to get there in an engine, going from first tone to on-scene, and I was there third, I believe. I was then directed to a hydrant at BOCES, which google has as 1.9 miles away and a 6 minute drive (by car, not tanker.) in order to fill tankers. Our chief called tankers from Yorktown, Katonah, Goldens Bridge and Millwood. And we had our own 3000 gal tanker and a 2000gal tank engine. At times I was filling two tankers at once with a 5 inch line to each and maxing out the hydrant- to which I was hooked with a 5 inch and a 3 inch intake line. Being that I was out of the engine setting up, and running 200 yards to cut a chain on a gate to help the tankers with their approach, I missed a lot of radio traffic. It sure seemed to me they arrived at my spot fast and empty. What I am trying to get across is there were no complications, but it was a big hassle as compared with the hook-up and look-up type of water supply that many of my less rural brother MPO's are blessed with.

I am with you 100% Seth. I am sure there are studies out there about the effects of over-zelouse use of Narcan, but I am not aware of any untoward effects. We all know they can exist. The benefits seem to far outweigh the dangers. Perhaps even of greater importance is that if an OD pt is going to vomit on and then attack their rescuer, I would prefer that it be someone other than me.

I have always wanted to say something about the b line drivers and this seems like a good place. I been doing Yonkers EMS for 25 years. These guys always seem to have their eyes and ears open for our trucks. They always move over for us. I can imagine the extra 40 feet of bus between them and us and the ambient noise on board would make hearing us much harder, but they yield right away, consistantly. I once had a female b-line driver having excrutiating abdomenal pain. She WOULD NOT leave that seat until a b-line supervisor arrived to take control of her bus. My hat is off to these drivers for their skills in sharing the crowded roads of Yonkers.