226 Linda Ave - All The Time

[Flashpoint 94]

It seems like Hawthorne goes to 226 Linda Ave (Hawthorne Cedar Knolls Residential Treatment Center) numerous times a day, for commercial alarms and mostly minor EMS calls. This has got to be taxing on their resources, yet not a tax paying property.

How do you prevent volunteer burnout with someplace like this? I would not want to be getting up at 3 in the morning every night for several nights in a row for the same repetitive bull.

[HalfVolley 11]

It's like North White Plains going to Old Orchard street all the time, or Briarcliff and the Atria.

[dwcfireman 656]

It seems like Hawthorne goes to 226 Linda Ave (Hawthorne Cedar Knolls Residential Treatment Center) numerous times a day, for commercial alarms and mostly minor EMS calls. This has got to be taxing on their resources, yet not a tax paying property.

How do you prevent volunteer burnout with someplace like this? I would not want to be getting up at 3 in the morning every night for several nights in a row for the same repetitive bull.

I remember when I was an officer in HFD that no one would show up for these calls. We could get L56 up there with a crew of 3 on average, and it was always awful. The kids never respected us, and we started to refuse a response until PD was on scene. We even worked with the staff to do fire prevention programs, mostly to prevent kids from pulling the alarms, but that had little effect. And the EMS calls are 99% of the time either EDP or assaults. No wonder volunteers stopped showing up for the calls....total BS....but a few of us kept responding because someone had to.

Now I'm seeing the effect with 1606 Old Orchard Street. No one wants to waste their time for another BS commercial alarm, and the County doesn't seem to care enough to fix that alarm.

The frequent flyer calls are a waste of taxpayer money and a waste of time for the volunteers that respond. And there is no way you're going to entice responders to respond if they know it's going to be the same old story. On one side you have this annoyance that you don't want to deal with, and the other there is still a duty to respond to make sure that the building is still not on fire. It's the very definition of crying wolf, and it's going to hurt someone someday.

[ex-commish 490]

The police as well. Besides having to have to respond to fire and ems calls they are up there frequently for assaults, robberies and other crimes. While agree the frequent flyer calls are a waste of taxpayer money there is still a duty to respond. Biggest problem is the administrators at Cedar Knolls have their heads in the clouds and don't seem to want to deal with any issues.

[fire patrol nyc 153]

How about Mount Vernon fire/ems going to 21 W Sanford blvd.2 sometimes 3 times every day for the last 2+ years, they have responded more then 1000 times...can't beat this....when will it stop, when somebody dies because the bus is tied up on Sanford blvd? ps it's the same patient every time minor complaints,almost always RMA....

[CordellOrange 10]

Can you bill these facilities like 226 Linda or get them to contract with a private ambulance service?

Does North White Plains FD have an ambulance? I don't see it on their website. I monitor Westchester and I hear them dispatched to EMS and the Engine respond but they are a volunteer department right?

[CordellOrange 10]

North White Plains FD does not have an ambulance. Valhalla VAC or Armonk FD responds to EMS calls with them with an ambulance.

So they are a volunteer fire agency that does EMS first response? That's dedication! Are their members EMT's?

[Dinosaur 844]

It's like North White Plains going to Old Orchard street all the time, or Briarcliff and the Atria.

I don't think the Atria applies to this discussion. They are not a tax exempt property.

[Ladder44 73]

So they are a volunteer fire agency that does EMS first response? That's dedication! Are their members EMT's?

There are multiple volly FDs who do ems first responder in CT. Watertown and Farmington. (farmington has 5-7 iaff guys during the day time hours) AMR is transport.

[ex-commish 490]

Can you bill these facilities like 226 Linda or get them to contract with a private ambulance service?

Does North White Plains FD have an ambulance? I don't see it on their website. I monitor Westchester and I hear them dispatched to EMS and the Engine respond but they are a volunteer department right?

As a sitting commissioner I wanted to and suggested to my board in the past to look into seeing of they would contract to private EMS it never went anywhere and until my term is up this month it wouldn't be proper to say here publicly as to why but I have my suspicions if you want to know e-mail me at amanc2196@aol.com

[dwcfireman 656]

The police as well. Besides having to have to respond to fire and ems calls they are up there frequently for assaults, robberies and other crimes. While agree the frequent flyer calls are a waste of taxpayer money there is still a duty to respond. Biggest problem is the administrators at Cedar Knolls have their heads in the clouds and don't seem to want to deal with any issues.

You and I both know very well that we've been up and down that road with their admin...lol. Nothing will change.

Can you bill these facilities like 226 Linda or get them to contract with a private ambulance service?

From the FD side, we at one point started fining them every time we responded for avoidable automatic alarms and malicious pulls. As far as EMS, I seriously doubt they would ever contract a private service (and I'm sure Transcare/Empress/whoever won't want a contract there).

So they are a volunteer fire agency that does EMS first response? That's dedication! Are their members EMT's?

NWP is covered by Valhalla VAC for EMS calls. NWPFD only responds to ALS calls (essentially when the 37 Medic is also dispatched), and there are a handfull of members that are EMT's. Protocol is that an EMT must be present for E74 to respond to an EMS call.

[FF1 172]

I thought you volunteered or accepted professional positions with the up front knowledge of responding to each and every call, as if its an emergency. Emergency services are supposed to be dedicated to the communities, in which, they protect, regardless of the address, nature and frequancy of the call.

It boggles my mind that people are acknowledging the fact that they "pick and choose" which alarm to respond to. This mentality contridicts everything that the emergency services stand for.

Let the officers be officers, commissioners be commissioners and handle the problems, if determined that a problem exists and in the mean time, remember what you signed up for and serve your community everytime the alarm goes off.

Edited December 8, 2015 by FF1

[dwcfireman 656]

On Route 22 calls, Armonk usually sends an ambulance to the scene.

As far as I know this happens between the bridge and Old Orchard St.

[Viper 139]

I thought you volunteered or accepted professional positions with the up front knowledge of responding to each and every call, as if its an emergency. Emergency services are supposed to be dedicated to the communities, in which, they protect, regardless of the address, nature and frequancy of the call.

It boggles my mind that people are acknowledging the fact that they "pick and choose" which alarm to respond to. This mentality contridicts everything that the emergency services stand for.

Let the officers be officers, commissioners be commissioners and handle the problems, if determined that a problem exists and in the mean time, remember what you signed up for and serve your community everytime the alarm goes off.

Ideally, yes and I agree. On the same token, volunteers are taking time away from their personal lives and families, something that's increasingly difficult to do. Add on top of the fact these facilities give nothing back to the community, yet tax their resources immensely. How's the guy who's lived in that district for 50 years and is a homeowner who's having a legit heart attack going to feel when he has to wait for a mutual aid ambulance because this one facility has called for the 5th time today for a stubbed toe because the facility nurse called in sick or is on vacation so their protocol is to call EMS instead of covering her shift. That's not fair to anyone.

[wedgeclose 59]

A very touchy subject but one that needs to be addressed. A facility such as Cedar Knolls most times is UNDERSTAFFED and what staff that are there JUST DON'T WANT TO BE BOTHERED with the same old crap so they ship the problems out. Much like many nursing homes do on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays because they too don't want the hassle of dealing with "frequent flyers all weekend or night long..IT IS FACT. The recent explosion of 'assisted living" facilities such as Atria and their cousins have inundated EMS agencies with "Slip and falls..and no one from the facility is trained or willing to pick the people up or render help. They call EMS to come and pick the people off the floor...that is NOT what EMS is for! Atria accounts for no less than 20 % of calls in Ossining and Briarcliff during the day....THAT MY FRIENDS IS ABUSING THE SYSTEM TO THE HILT.