Little Black Book

[PEMO3 523]

Lets try and put together a resource list for Westchester County of what is available out there in the way of specialty apparatus (not the every day ladders, engines, ambulance, etc). Their capabilities, response times and availability, method of request, etc. Together we can help each other create our own little black books and be better prepared for the future.

[SteveOFD 176]

You mean something like Rockland County has. This book has almost everything related to firefighting resources in Rockland County.

[Bnechis 3,961]

Lets try and put together a resource list for Westchester County of what is available out there in the way of specialty apparatus (not the every day ladders, engines, ambulance, etc). Their capabilities, response times and availability, method of request, etc. Together we can help each other create our own little black books and be better prepared for the future.

I have one from Westchester County, but they stopped updating it 20 years ago. Infact the one I had was outdated the day they printed it. with the number of agencies and rigs, its almost impossible to maintain. particularly when agencies dont want any one else to know what they carry or that there capability is on paper only.

[PEMO3 523]

I find it very sad that we will spend pages discussing what is in trailers or why someone put white stripping on a white car but in 12 hours no one can put a productive line to help ourselves be more self sufficient in times of crisis and we wonder why we are in the state we are in. Very sad in deed. Just my opinion.

[JohnnyOV 2]

I guess I'll start.

Yorktown Heights Fire Department's Special Operations Division is comprised of 2 teams, the FASTeam and Water Rescue and Recovery Team:

The FASTeam consists of members who pride themselves on being extremely aggressive firemen who go above and beyond general firefighting skills, and prove to have exemplary knowledge of fire ground operations and a driven attitude of everyone goes home. The team trains twice a month in all aspects of firefighter rescue from simple firefighter packaging and removal, to collapse simulation with firefighter entrapment, under live fire situations in a live fire training center. We train on everything from 2:1 removal out 2nd and 3rd story windows, large area search, removal through holes in floors, to firefighters who have become entangled and cannot remove themselves. Some of our duties upon arrival on scene will include building 360 and scene size up, a team leader stationed with the IC, develop a rescue plan prior to a mayday being transmitted, pre-assigned tasks depending on residential or commercial style occupancies, setting up multiple points of egress (during an active interior operation) if not already accomplished and standing ready for the unfortunate case of a mayday situation. Our minimum manpower for response is 4 members, and regularly respond with 6-8. Engine 270 is our designated FAST apparatus with Rescue 16 as a reserve/backup.

Our other specialized unit is the Water Rescue and Recovery Unit (no longer classified only as a Dive Team) and our members are trained in mulitple area's of water rescue and recovery. Our services include dive rescue/recovery in open water, lakes, flood water and ice diving as well as ice rescue and swift water rescue. Our team is trained to the stringent standards of Dive Rescue International, and follows the strict NFPA guidelines for a water rescue/recovery team (NFPA 1006, 1670). Our Dive Captain and Lieutenant have also gone on to become trainers in multiple areas of water rescue. Our equipment includes a 12' zodiak, and an 18' heavy duty inflatable capable of supporting 5-6 men and all their equipment, all of the ropes and rigging for a technical swift water operation, and a full compliment of diving and swift water PPE for each of its members. The team is completely self contained on Rescue 55 with the boats in tow behind the truck. This style of response allows our team members to be fully geared up and ready for in water deployment almost immediately upon arriving on the scene.

The team refreshes their training yearly, as well as trains twice a month in all areas. Currently we are seeking SEMO and FEMA certifications to become the first certified volunteer water rescue team to be call upon during state or federally declared disaster sites. Minimum response for any water rescue call will be 5 members (a water rescue IC, primary tech, back up tech, 90% diver and rope tender) and we typically respond with 6-10 members.

Both teams have been called all over the county and the lower Hudson Valley for their services, and will continue to respond to any department who asks for our assistance. We are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and have one of the quickest assembling and response times for both teams due to coordination immediately after dispatch through wireless communications between team members (those blackberry texting groups are much more useful then just finding out who wants to go surfing, and 90% of our members personally own a blackberry and are involved in the group).

Edit: To request for either of our teams, contact 60-control and ask for Yorktown's FAST or Yorktown's dive/ice/swift water team.

Edited February 22, 2011 by JohnnyOV

[PEMO3 523]

Peekskill OEM's Scene Support and Emergency Response Team.

This group has is multi-tiered team that is comprised of Operations Officers can operate as on site Emergency Managers and possess IC-100,200,300,400,700 & 800 along with various other trainings and disciplines.

Our Support Specialists are all trained in IC 100, 200, 700 & 800 and are capable of assisting in command post operations.

Our entire team is trained in in-house client services to assist fire victims in placement with either family members or working with the Red Cross, alternative housing.

Peekskill OEM has a modified BeeLine paratransit bus that has been transformed into a climate controlled mobile command center equipped with 2 low band radios, 1 VHF radio, 2 UHF radios, 1 marine band radio, a Uniden scanner, 2 Desktop PC equipped with ICS software, a pole mounted video camera equipped with telescopic, low light and VHS record capabilities, an on board 120 volt inverter and a separate gasoline generator.

We are called out through the Peekskill Police Department.

(Photo credits to Matt Myers)

Edited February 23, 2011 by PEMO3

[PFDRes47cue 653]

Pleasantville VAC has a Rehab Unit (7605). This unit is equipped with basically everything needed to rehab firefighter, police, ems, etc at fire, mva's, or any other extended incident. You can request us 24/7 by contacting 60-Control and asking for Pleasantville VAC Rehab Unit. They will then contact Pleasanville PD who will tone us out.

On our rehab unit (7605) we have:

• tents
• cooling chairs
• non-cooling chairs
• misting fans
• cold water/gatorade
• cold wet towels
• vital monitoring equipment
• Carbon Monoxide detector (detects levels in the body)
• food (typically granola bars)
• ice
• oxygen
• propane heater
• generator with lights
• propane heater
• heated tent (attaches to propane heater)

*If you have any questions, feel free to ask!*

Edited February 23, 2011 by PFDRes47cue

[JFLYNN 681]

Lets try and put together a resource list for Westchester County of what is available out there in the way of specialty apparatus (not the every day ladders, engines, ambulance, etc). Their capabilities, response times and availability, method of request, etc. Together we can help each other create our own little black books and be better prepared for the future.

Recently in another thread someone mentioned "Westchester Battalion Chiefs" which was later pointed out was a misnomer and that the correct title is "Battalion Coordinator"? Wouldn't each of these individuals have an up to date and complete list of the capabilities of his respective Battalion, and in fact, all of Westchester County at least?

In Yonkers, our Operations Division maintains an inventory of what is (realistically) available to us in this region. By realistically I mean the equipment actually does exist and is functional, it is able to be brought to the scene in a reasonable time frame, and it is operated by an adequate number of qualified personnel.

I think you have identified a critically important issue which has not been addressed properly by those who are responsible for doing so. However, I don't agree with your solution. Anyone can post anything on the internet. The information obtained from this thread may or may not be accurate, and it will almost certainly be incomplete. Why not just write a letter or make a phone call to Westchester County DES asking if this information is readily available and if not, suggest that it be collected and made available?

I will state in advance that it was learned the hard way in the days following 9/11/01 that the capabilities of many individuals and agencies can be greatly exaggerated and that these claims must be vetted and credentialed in advance of any event.

[PEMO3 523]

Recently in another thread someone mentioned "Westchester Battalion Chiefs" which was later pointed out was a misnomer and that the correct title is "Battalion Coordinator"? Wouldn't each of these individuals have an up to date and complete list of the capabilities of his respective Battalion, and in fact, all of Westchester County at least?

In Yonkers, our Operations Division maintains an inventory of what is (realistically) available to us in this region. By realistically I mean the equipment actually does exist and is functional, it is able to be brought to the scene in a reasonable time frame, and it is operated by an adequate number of qualified personnel.

I think you have identified a critically important issue which has not been addressed properly by those who are responsible for doing so. However, I don't agree with your solution. Anyone can post anything on the internet. The information obtained from this thread may or may not be accurate, and it will almost certainly be incomplete. Why not just write a letter or make a phone call to Westchester County DES asking if this information is readily available and if not, suggest that it be collected and made available?

I will state in advance that it was learned the hard way in the days following 9/11/01 that the capabilities of many individuals and agencies can be greatly exaggerated and that these claims must be vetted and credentialed in advance of any event.

Congratulations to the Yonkers FD for having their own list but lets get to the real world. If 9/11/01 taught us one thing it was that if we wait for someone else to do something it may be to late. I for one do not want to see dedicated men and women caught with their turnout gear around their knees because they were waiting for the response to a letter that may never come. You of all people should know better and to be honest I am surprised. You, advocating for WC DES. In a perfect world you could ask the County DES for a list but, if you have spent any time in the past few days reading this forum you would have seen what prompted my post: over 3 pages of posts about Scene Support Trailers with not one answering what they do, how you request them and what they contain besides dust and this forum is full of WC DES personnel.

You go on to state that you do not agree with my solution. Information can be inaccurate, incomplete or have exaggerated claims and that there is an issue of vetting. I would ask what would stop an agency for saying "hey Agency A has XYZ lets go see it and find out if it would work if we need it." That's called vetting. Remember the lists the county creates are sometimes incomplete, outdated, and politically slanted. The only issue I see here and in most of your posts that you have a problem with is that they do not contain the line "Concept created by JFLYNN." If the information posted helps one agency become aware of a resource they did not know was available and in turn makes a job easier or saves a life then it will have served its purpose and it not no trees will have died it the printing.

[ny10570 745]

While this may not provide a definitive list of resources, it should be able to give people a head start on what might be out there and where to go for more answers.

[JFLYNN 681]

Congratulations to the Yonkers FD for having their own list but lets get to the real world. If 9/11/01 taught us one thing it was that if we wait for someone else to do something it may be to late. I for one do not want to see dedicated men and women caught with their turnout gear around their knees because they were waiting for the response to a letter that may never come. You of all people should know better and to be honest I am surprised. You, advocating for WC DES. In a perfect world you could ask the County DES for a list but, if you have spent any time in the past few days reading this forum you would have seen what prompted my post: over 3 pages of posts about Scene Support Trailers with not one answering what they do, how you request them and what they contain besides dust and this forum is full of WC DES personnel.

You go on to state that you do not agree with my solution. Information can be inaccurate, incomplete or have exaggerated claims and that there is an issue of vetting. I would ask what would stop an agency for saying "hey Agency A has XYZ lets go see it and find out if it would work if we need it." That's called vetting. Remember the lists the county creates are sometimes incomplete, outdated, and politically slanted. The only issue I see here and in most of your posts that you have a problem with is that they do not contain the line "Concept created by JFLYNN." If the information posted helps one agency become aware of a resource they did not know was available and in turn makes a job easier or saves a life then it will have served its purpose and it not no trees will have died it the printing.

Why do you infer that YFD is not the "real world"??

Why do you assume that I am advocating for WC DES?

I am surprised that you are apparently not aware of this but the concept of formal typing of resources, credentialing, and county coordinators coordinating, was not created by me. Since you are a retired supervisor in FDNY EMS I am surprised, first of all, that you can't conduct a civil disagreement without resorting to personal insult, and second of all, that you would propose such a haphazard and ineffective solution to a serious problem when the obvious solution is staring us right in the face and is apparently working just fine in counties throughout the U.S.

Professionals (which include both career and volunteer) must discipline themselves to not take these issues personally and to see the big picture. So, I didn't like your idea. Get over it. Admit I am right or make a better argument based on facts, not feelings.

To further illustrate my point I will use as an example a major terrorist attack or natural disaster with widespread media coverage. While it may feel good to respond from wherever you are with whatever you got and tell yourself that you are helping, it is recognized by professionals in this business that this type of response normally does more harm than good. The unitiated may ask, "how so? What can it hurt? And if our response saves a life or makes a job easier then it will have served its purpose, no?"...Well, no! Uncoordinated and undisciplined efforts typically do more harm than good. Communities are stripped of protection and the community where the major incident is occuring is overwhelmed by well meaning individuals with mostly the wrong equipment or skill set for what is required, and before long these 'helpers" who have crowded the area and slowed the response of those agencies who are actually requested and needed, are asking the already overwhelmed Incident Commander (or hopefully Incident Management Team) for food, fuel, bathrooms, and shelter. I realize this analogy is not exactly what we are talking about, but it's germane. Just because it feels good does not mean it's effective, and it may even be harmful.

Westchester County has people who are supposed to be coordinating all the emergency service assets of this county. I will not criticize them because I all too well realize that not every boss has adequate assets to accomplish everything he is tasked to do, so he or she must prioritize. Maybe that is the case in Westchester. If individuals such as yourself are concerned that this should be given a higher priority, why not use this forum to mobilize people to request / demand that assets be put in place or priorities shifted to accomplish this in a professional manner?

And please, lean away from the computer for a moment now before typing, take a deep breath, that's it...now let it out, and yes, qtip...

Edited February 24, 2011 by JFLYNN

[PEMO3 523]

JFLYNN, I will be the first to admit I was of base with my previous post on a few points. I am a professional and as such I also publicly apologize for insulting you. All the more reason to read before hitting the enter key.

I would like to say that you are missing the point of my beginning this post to start with. I am not, nor will I ever advocate freelancing or uncoordinated response to any level of an emergency be it a cat in a tree or major MCI. That level of unprofessional action should never come into play although we both know it does happen. What I was looking to do was bring to light the hidden "diamonds in the rough" that various chief officers may be unaware of in their own backyards. Whether those resources are credentialed and vetted are up to the agency that would use them as a "special call" unit. My original hope was to simply create a list of specialty units in the county not to advocate their responding to calls, stripping of resources, etc. This list is not readily available. My goal was to be proactive and amass the people here with the information and what should have been simple and create the list. Since there has been little interest I see it is of no need.

[Bnechis 3,961]

Whether those resources are credentialed and vetted are up to the agency that would use them as a "special call" unit.

The problem with not being credentialed is in many cases how would an IC know what he's getting? For example the XYZ FD announces its new Radio Tower Rescue Team along with a pic of its fancy new rig (repainted roll up Pepsi truck). The 123 Fire District recieves a call for an injured tower worker 180 feet up the tower. Upon arrival the chief sees a worker dangling at the 150 level and remembers that XYZ claims they can do this. The chief knows his dept. cant so he calls for XYZ. Can ZYX really handle this or did they take OFPC basic Rescue and they once watched a video of a Rescue?

The requesting agency does not have the expertise to vet a special unit.

Edited February 24, 2011 by Bnechis

[dwcfireman 656]

So, the year is 2011, right? With all the money that is out there for situational/operational readiness, why doesn't every fire department have at least one mobile computer with satellite internet, CAD, MDT systems, etc.? Honestly, with all of the technological advancements out there and how far we've come in just the last decade, why are we still relying on hard copies, or listing items in forums like this? I understand this thread is meant to help each other out, but not every firefighter, EMT, or chief is on this EMTBravo. Instead, why don't we take steps to move forward with technology and keeping that updated?

[PFDRes47cue 653]

So, the year is 2011, right? With all the money that is out there for situational/operational readiness, why doesn't every fire department have at least one mobile computer with satellite internet, CAD, MDT systems, etc.? Honestly, with all of the technological advancements out there and how far we've come in just the last decade, why are we still relying on hard copies, or listing items in forums like this? I understand this thread is meant to help each other out, but not every firefighter, EMT, or chief is on this EMTBravo. Instead, why don't we take steps to move forward with technology and keeping that updated?

Some departments give members problems over getting marching uniforms... Money is not the issue, in a perfect world, we would all have all the equipment we need.

[Bnechis 3,961]

So, the year is 2011, right? With all the money that is out there for situational/operational readiness, why doesn't every fire department have at least one mobile computer with satellite internet, CAD, MDT systems, etc.? Honestly, with all of the technological advancements out there and how far we've come in just the last decade, why are we still relying on hard copies, or listing items in forums like this? I understand this thread is meant to help each other out, but not every firefighter, EMT, or chief is on this EMTBravo. Instead, why don't we take steps to move forward with technology and keeping that updated?

According to the transcripts of the fire advisory board, when they discused setting up the trunked system, the majority of the reps felt that depts did not need MDT's so they advised the county not to waste there time developing the bandwigth.

[FFPCogs 863]

Although I am a neighbor to the East I will interject just a bit. The idea of having a list of available resources is a good one, as is verifying the credentials of the units on that list. Pointless to be on a list if you are not available 24/7 or don't the manpower and skill set to perform the tasks 24/7. That doesn't mean volunteers should be excludedm but it does mean that they have to assure they can meet the responsibility in, as Chief Flynn point out, a reasonable amount of time.

I guess it is my age or lack of tecno savvy but computers while very valuable machines are just that machines. I am very hesitant to put all my eggs in that basket. Yes a computer generated list is wonderful, but keep it's companion hard copy book in the Chief's car or rigs as well. The price of the printing and the effort in keeping it updated far outweighs the inability to acccess the info because the computer froze up. To use one of my favorite analogies when talking about relying on technology or machines...Plan to use the saw but bring the axe because no matter what the axe starts every time.

Cogs

[JohnnyOV 2]

According to the transcripts of the fire advisory board, when they discused setting up the trunked system, the majority of the reps felt that depts did not need MDT's so they advised the county not to waste there time developing the bandwigth.

I would give my... well I'll stop there since this is a family place ....to have MDT's in my rig. Who was on the board, and how did they determine that departments did not need MDT's? Did they go around and ask every individual chief and department? Having crucial information like hydrant location, and CIDS info at your finger tips for every run would be phenomenal. As a volunteer department that runs consistently over 600 fire only runs a year, and is almost 40 square miles big, it is physically impossible for even the smartest IC, Officer, Chauffeur and Fireman to remember everything about every commercial occupancy and be expected to do so. Who ever decided that MDT's weren't needed, then or now, needs to seriously think about their position on the board. This advisory board sounds like they still want to use "wet water."

[helicopper 1,050]

JFLYNN, I will be the first to admit I was of base with my previous post on a few points. I am a professional and as such I also publicly apologize for insulting you. All the more reason to read before hitting the enter key.

I would like to say that you are missing the point of my beginning this post to start with. I am not, nor will I ever advocate freelancing or uncoordinated response to any level of an emergency be it a cat in a tree or major MCI. That level of unprofessional action should never come into play although we both know it does happen. What I was looking to do was bring to light the hidden "diamonds in the rough" that various chief officers may be unaware of in their own backyards. Whether those resources are credentialed and vetted are up to the agency that would use them as a "special call" unit. My original hope was to simply create a list of specialty units in the county not to advocate their responding to calls, stripping of resources, etc. This list is not readily available. My goal was to be proactive and amass the people here with the information and what should have been simple and create the list. Since there has been little interest I see it is of no need.

One of the problems is that too often people don't know what they don't know and they proclaim themselves to be a resource that, in reality based upon measurable standards and credentialiing, they are not. The water tower analogy is a good one and I saw first hand how this problem can develop. A jurisdiction tried to send a "Type 1 IMT" to relieve a Type 2 IMT that had timed out and was being returned home during a hurricane. The "Type 1 IMT" was not an IMT at all and had ZERO credentials to be called anything let alone Type 1. But they put themselves out there and claimed to be something that they were not. There was no malice involved, they wanted to help (as was described in the prior analogies), but the people who called for and expected a Type 1 resource were left holding the bag.

There needs to be more accountability and resources need to be properly credentialed. Until that happens: CAVEAT EMPTOR!!!