Larchmont FD Goes Out Of Service To Cover Yonkers

[Dinosaur 844]

Isn't LFD obligated to respond as a signatory of the mutual aid plan? If there was a county wide paid or combination department and there was a large 4th alarm going on there would be empty stations throughout the county (hopefully done in a systematic way). I'm not saying consolidation would not be good it would but anyone who thinks a consolidated department would staff all the apparatus or stations that exist at this point to the current levels is fooling themselves.

From the plan:

VII. Participation

Each Fire Agency participating in this Plan (“Participants”) shall make a good faith effort to

respond to each call for assistance received from The Westchester County Emergency Communications Center a/k/a “60 Control” (“60 Control”).

All requests for Mutual Aid must be coordinated through the County’s 60 Control.

Unless there are extenuating circumstances, requests for Mutual Aid should not be made directly from one Fire Agency to another. It is recognized, however, that circumstances may require a Fire Agency to make a Mutual Aid request directly to another Fire Agency. In those situations 60 Control shall be notified as soon as possible of such a request and provide all information to 60 Control required as if it were a request placed with 60 Control for Mutual Aid.

A Fire Agency may decline to respond to a request based on unit unavailability.

A Plan Participant may deem certain apparatus unavailable for Mutual Aid response. In such instances, prior written notification of that restriction must be made to 60 Control when becoming a Plan Participant. (For example, a Fire Agency may have special equipment that is restricted to the jurisdiction, e.g. aerial ladder, heavy rescue equipment or equipment that has highway clearance, weight or distance limitations, etc.)

A Plan Participant providing Mutual Aid to a requesting Fire Agency shall commit its equipment and manpower to the requesting Fire Agency until released by the Incident

Commander.

http://emergencyservices.westchestergov.com/images/stories/pdfs/FireMutualAidPlanAdopted12%2019%202012FINAL.pdf

[SOUSGT 357]

Does TMFD assume the liability from LFD when this situation happens?

N.Y. GMU. LAW § 209-g : NY Code - Section 209-G: Liability for outside aid

Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of law, general, special or local, any county, city, town, village or fire district requesting fire aid pursuant to section two hundred nine-e of this chapter or any county, city, town or village requesting police aid pursuant to section two hundred nine-f of this chapter, shall be liable and responsible to the assisting municipal corporation or fire district for any loss of or damage to apparatus or equipment or supplies and shall bear and pay the expense incurred in the operation and maintenance of any apparatus or equipment and the cost of materials and supplies used or consumed in rendering such aid and assistance, but such liability and responsibility shall not apply or extend to apparatus, equipment, materials and supplies owned or supplied by the state. - See more at: http://codes.lp.findlaw.com/nycode/GMU/10/209-g#sthash.HzrdHGBf.dpuf

[M' Ave 1,466]

This situation is a disgrace. The handling and management of resources in The Village of Lachmont is hollow. They are a career dept., which is understaffed. They have few volunteers and they've spent decades reducing the relevance and responsibility of that outfit. So, what you're left with, as with many of the local "combo" fire departments, is an illusion of safety. It's a great big gamble that the politicians typically win. Luck eventually runs out.

What has happened, twice, recently in Larchmont is an indicative of 2 problems:

1) Many FD's in Westchester lack any semblance of adequate staffing. This is a problem that some have tried to address through a regional consolidation plan....but no one has the stones to see it through, not to mention the fact that many are entrenched in guarding their own little fiefdom...

2) In this example, in this municipality, it appears that a serious lack of judgement was made. The residents of Larchmont pay some of the highest taxes in the NATION and they should expect the fire protection they pay for. What? Everyone was just so excited to go Yonkers they shut the lights and call the TMFD? This is gross-negligence in management. If someone died in a house fire in Larchmont, I would expect the LFD chief to go to jail. The LFD's first responsibility is to the residents of Larchmont. Mx aide is important to give and receive, but if you can't continue to perform your primary duties, you can't perform them for another municipality.