A Sound Shore Regional Fire Department?

[x635 4,066]

The Mount Vernon 2nd Alarm Discussion thread over in the IAW forum, as well as a thread in this forum, got me thinking....

This will probaly go over like a loud fart in church, but here it goes......this is for discussion purposes only, and opinion based, so don't attack me or anyone else. Only constructive comments will be tolerated.

The combination of infastructure

Wouldn't it be a good idea if Mount Vernon, Pelham, Pelham Manor, and New Rochelle merged or created a merged response plan??? I would think that this would be an effective way to boost manpower, improve training, better allocation and distrubution of equipment. Why is it really neccesary for each department to have there own seperate department and all the other things that go along with it? Especially when they go to everbody elses fires as well. Is it really effective for each department to have the huge one department structure they currently have, or would one unified structure benefit everyone?

And while I'm stirring the pot here, why not add a dash of EMS to go with it. They could intergrate a ALS Ambulance or two into each city and or/station.

Whaddya think?

[Pudge3311 5]

Dont think it will happen any time soon, if ever for that matter.

Not to take a swing at any departments, but heres my take.

Who would want to do anything with Mt. Vernon. A fully paid fire dept. still using open cab engines and trucks as first response apparatus.

Pelham and Pelham Manor have talked about consolidating and such for a number of years and are back at it. As usual, nothing really comes of it, it is talked about and then something else becomes more important and it is dropped yet again. Also the Manor has officers, while Pelham does not.

New Rochelle would be the loser in all of this. They have the most current fleet of apparatus, and are able to staff their five engines and three ladders every shift. Now if only they could staff their rescue as well.

The other questions that would then pop up, what happens to the Volunteers in Pelham and Pelham Manor? Who decides which stations stay in service, what apparatus is in each station, and what the staffing level would be?

Simply put, if u really wanted to combine the departments, you would have to do the whole county, like they have out west, leaving cities like yonkers and white plains to decide for themselves if they wanted to be a part of it. Otherwise, might as well just leave things how they are.

[RWC130 594]

X635 and Pudge3311 you brought up some good points but...

Who would want to do anything with Mt. Vernon.  A fully paid fire dept. still using open cab engines and trucks as first response apparatus.

What does the apparatus have to do with the manpower issue?

Most of us in Westchester are fortunate to have very pretty washed & waxed, $200,000 to $800,000 apparatus but some do not and you can't judge a department cause of that.

Now with that being said....

635, I think the concept is a great idea. I have to give credit to volunteer departments like Buchanan, Montrose, and Verplanck who recognized they had a manpower problem and found a solution that seems to be working great. The "Tri-Village Response."

I think the problem that you would run into would be the administration of the departments. It's not easy to admit you have a manpower or for that matter an equipment problem. In doing such does that make you as the Chief or Mayor a failure? NO!

I think they need to pull heads out of some a.... and admit they have a problem and try to fix it. If hiring more firefighters is not an option then you better try other avenues of approach. Depleting mutual aid departments of apparatus and manpower everytime you have something more than a car fire is not the way to go. Should the City of Mount Vernon have been so quick to disband the Volunteers? Hmmmm

We ALL have the same goal as firefighters paid or volunteer.

Well, most of us do. Let's put our heads together and stop the BS.

Great idea X635!

[Pudge3311 5]

rwc130,

I didnt mean to make it seem that the apparatus has anything to do with manpower.

The issue was really more about pointing out the fact that Mt. Vernon, I believe, is one of the only cities in westchester that seems to have a budget surplus. Having said that, im not saying that they should spend it all in one place, or not save for a rainy day, but improving something as vital as a fire department might be a good idea. Adding more manpower would be my first thought. New equipment also seems like a good idea, first to update the fleet but also to improve moral. Thats not to say moral isnt high, but new equipment usually brings a renewed desire.

If im not mistaken, the city is awaiting two new engines, a new foam truck, and may be looking into a new rescue in the near future. Any confirmation on that would be welcome.

Again, apparatus is a tool used to put out the fire, and you cant put out the fire without the men to use the equipment. Sorry if i gave the wrong idea.

[hudson144 150]

POLITICS,POLITICS,POLITICS!

The mayor doesn't give one hoot for the FD.It is well known,we are like many other fire depts throughout the great usa. FDMV does have 2 engines and a truck on order and yes the foam unit is close to being a reality again. Alot of internal problems exist at FDMV> Will it ever change? who the hell knows.It is one of the best jobs in westchester even with all the bs.Shiny rigs don't put out the fires,handlines,airpacks,axes,haligans,and firefighters put them out.Yes we are short on manpower and I can't see that changing for a long time. We always are fighting with the administration for manning. The mutail aid problem isn't our problem,its the upper echelons problem,why isn't yonkers fd invited to the jobs? because they have the balls to say no we aren't supplementing mount vernons manpower problem! as a firefighter in mount vernon i wish that yfd was still on the invite list because you know that when yfd shows up they come in with fully staffed rigs with officers and respond asap,not when others call in for ot to cover the rigs.the mount vernon fd still operatesd as a one or two room dept with a staff of agressive men who have alot of pride in what they are trained to do. for those that do condemn us and they are out there we do the best with what we got! for the other depts that came in to bail us out-thank you! we do appreciate what you guys do for us!to rwc130-having the vols there would only bring up the divorce rate in nys,(LOL) i think we are doing between 5000-6000 calls a year,explain that one to your sweethearts when you are never home! just goofin on ya Rob, anyway- fdmv is still a good job but has alot of hurdles to go over just like alot of other depts, be safe!