efdcapt115

Yes the NYPD has Ford Fusions and Nissan Altimas. They both suck. Plain and simple they are too small. take a look at the list I posted of required equipment. The only way to get a computer in the Altima, is to cover the center stack (A/C heating controls, the stereo, etc. Open the computer mount, and you hit the front passenger in the knee with it. We have had a few ripped pants already, which comes out of our pockets. We are scared to see what happens when one of these things gets into an accident and the air bag deploys. The way it is set up, the big fear is the airbag will propel the light control switch box and computer mount into the front seat passenger. It feels like you are sitting on the floor. Getting the key into the ignition is next to impossible. The Fusion is a bit better, but we are constantly going thru tires. (They do not like the potholes.) I have yet to see a Fusion with a computer. Neither car has a cage, which is a huge pain in the a**, because now you must sit in the rear with the prisoner, seated directly behind the driver. So if your partner is tall, there is no room in the back. No way in hell you are going to put a prisoner behind the driver, unless you are looking to get injured or killed. Also forget about transporting more than one prisoner. With the Impala or the Crown Vic you can squeeze 3 prisoners in the back if needed. Yes, I have arrested 3 people in one shot, and no the prisoner transport vans (paddy wagons) are not always available, especially working a midnight. Both Fusions and Altimas have had other problems such as wiring lights and sirens in. our Mechanics have had trouble with some of them. The Fusion assigned to my command went almost 4 months with no gauges since the dash board is all LCD screen, so there was no knowing how much gas was in the car. The Altima still has the lights and siren shut off at times, an no one knows why. Both the Fusion and Altimas are hybrids, and as such will give you an estimated Miles Per Gallon. I think the average is only about 10 MPG, the last time I checked. The hybrid also costs about $1500 more than the Imapla according to this article http://carscoop.blogspot.com/2009/05/nypd-introduces-nissan-altima-hybrid.html > I have yet to see one get 35 MPG. I am a car almost 5 nights a week and I prefer taking a Van or an Impala over one of Bloomberg's green product demonstrations because the are not suited to our needs. Getting into and out of the car is a chore. I am only 5' 8" and I feel cramped in either hybrid. One of the guys I work with is 6'5", he does not fit into either, unless the seat is all the way back, and tilted to the point that no one can sit behind him. Nobody in my command likes the Altima, so often the LT or SGT get stuck with it since it is not good at transports. Also the Altima has no power outlets, so charging a phone is out of the question.. The Fusion has two outlets, but one is in the back. Also both ride low to the ground, so if you do a car stop, you have trouble seeing into SUVs, vans, etc. Take the hybrids and give them to non patrol functions like School saftey, traffic, auxillary. they have no place in real Police work.

1. The charger gets better mpg than a crown victoria. 2. one can hardly call orange county or newburgh urban. 3. even if you want to call Newburgh urban, they are so outgunned and under staffed, their officers need to everywhere immediately.
edit: *need to be everywhere immediately.*
Crown Vic, average mpg 7, Charger average mpg 17. 50,000 miles/10 mpg=5,000 gallons of gas. At an above average civilian rate $4.00/gallon, which is not even close to the municipal tax and levy free rate, 5,000gallons of gas X $4.00/gallon, you are still looking at $20,000 saving by not using the crown vic. If they have 5 chargers, they have saved themselves 100,000 annually. However, that is not nearly enough to hire even one additional officer considering benefits, allowance, salary, OT, comp. and pension...
You see it as losing money, when in reality it is saving money.

Altimas and Fusions are not police rated. NYPD has a lot of problems with the Altimas, they are way to small, to the point that a few holsters have been broken. Forget about putting any equipment in the back of an Altima, the battery takes up most of the trunk. Also very few of the NYPD cars have radios or computers mounted in them. When the NYPD first started getting the Impalas we had trouble fitting our required equipment into one of those
You have can have all the "better" guns you want, but you will still only be able to use them in a narrow set of circumstances.Just look at the news to see all the outrage when a police officer is involved in a justified shooting.

Please refer to the flag by its proper name only, Gadsden flag. I has so much more meaning than being adopted by a political movement in modern times.
Also the Navy Jack version is the rattlesnake and the wording over thirteen alternating red and white stripes. It was originally flown only on the oldest active wartime ship in service. This was changed to all navy ships to fly it after 9/11.
(*)

Now: All personnel costs covered for years #1 & #2. SFRD must pay for turnout gear and training (if they pay for any other recruits), same for uniforms. If they normally require new members to pay, then SFRD does not have to.
After 2 years, SFRD must pay all costs to maintain. SFRD is not obligated by the grant or law to maintain the positions after the 2 years.

How about by the Mayor, as the Grants 1st question is: has approval been given by the oversight level to submit this grant request?
Yes they should be advised, but at the time they are offered the job and not on EMTBravo or the newspaper. Yes it would be tough to lose it over funding. But the idea is to improve the safety of the citizens and the existing firefighters for the next 2 years. The hope is the economy will be better then and the funds can be found. The reality is over 2 years a dept the size of SFRD will probably have that many retirements and the positions might disapear based on attrition, but these new hired members will replace the retiring ones.
Even if they are laid off, they stay top of the list until positions open, so while it sucks to get laid off, it is highly likely that they will end up having a full career. They need to know whats up in the begining before they take that risk, but some will take it, even knowing what might happen.

Finally got around in getting a good shot of them coming back from the intrepid.

When it rains it really pours doesn't it?
Seth I want to add my own humble best wishes to you and for you.
Crazy thing is, a year or two down the road somehow everything always seems to make sense. I don't know why or how that is but life always seems to work that way.
Hang in there buddy, you're a survivor I can tell.

Seth,
I don't know what to say. I want to hit the rep button but it says "like." There's nothing to like about what you have been going through. It's kind of stunning to read all of this. I'm very sorry to read that you've been through so much pain and freakin agony.
You're going to be on my mind and in my prayers.
Never give up Brother. You'll have a lot of support going forward.
God Bless.

Seth,
I am VERY sorry to hear about your illness, losing your job and everything else!! I am glad you are moving back to NY, but I wish it was under better/different circumstances. Be strong and keep your head up and things will eventually fall back into place and get better again. Feel free to give me a shout if you need anything. Take care Brother!

Looks like that's the new HM-1 that was posted about earlier.
Also the Brothers of the Marine Unit couldn't have known they'd shortly be seeing some action, as the south Street Seaport pier caught fire yesterday and went to 3 Alarms. From what I read in the news it sounds like they did a great job in getting that fire under control fairly quickly.
It may be have been Firefighter Appreciation Day at the Intrepid, but every single day is Firefighter Appreciation Day in my book.

Nice shots guys!!! Here are mine…










Still Uploading...

Just to Expand on Init915's post, This is from the New York State Penal Law,
35.15 Justification; use of physical force in defense of a person.
2. A person may not use deadly physical force upon another person
under circumstances specified in subdivision one unless:
( He or she reasonably believes that such other person is committing
or attempting to commit a kidnapping, forcible rape, forcible criminal
sexual act or robbery; or

Just to clarify, these actions would have been clearly permissible under New York State law which has a provision for just this type of crime.
See PL 35.15 ( 2 )( b )

Hi guys,
I've had a rough couple of months.
I became critically ill in June while on a trip to Chicago, and was hospitalized in ICU intubated for several days.
A few days after I got home to Texas, same thing happened, I had a procedure to corrrect the problem, but while I was intubated I aspirated vomit somehome and came up with severe double pneumonia. Physically, I can only use the computer for a limited amount of time right now, and am still extremly weak but am getting better by the day.
While I was in the hospital, I had no access to my phone or computer. I lost my job because I wasn't elegible for FMLA yet and I ran out of time that I could use, so I'm on a very tight budget. I can reapply for my job, but read on to find out why I won't.
My PayPal account that I use to pay for this site was hacked, and I was cleaned out of all the funds for this site. Although PayPal will be reimbursing me, it will be several weeks. I'm on a limited budget right now, and bills for the website are due soon and I can't bill, sell, or design any ads right now to raise money, nor will I be soliciting donations.
Earlier this week, my luck started to turn around the best it can at this point. A very awesome longtime friend and great person helped me out, big time. I am thankful for him and his bosses because his actions and concern gave me great motivation to keep going and renewed my passion. For right now, all I'm going to be saying is that I'm moving back to NY in the next week.............................I think I'll be much happier back there, especially because I miss all my friends from NY and working there. I LOVE Austin and Texas and will miss it (I've lived here for 4+ years already), and have been succesful and had awesome experience with the agencies I worked for , but at this point I need to start taking care of myself. After I was no longer healthy enough to be a career firefighter anymore, my heart was broken and I really wasn't the same-it destroyed me, but I've finally had closure on that and want to have the old pre-2007 Seth back.
There is MUCH more to this story, but please don't speculate.
I also apologize for not getting back to all those who hae been calling and emailing, it just gets a little overwhelming right now as I recover.
I have over 1,500 emails personally from friends, collegues, and EMTBravo members and related to me since May 26th, and eventually I will get to them all.
I traded in my car and sold off a lot of my things and bought a small 2005 Ford F-350 Super Duty/Winnebago Aspect 23' RV with only 7,000 miles on it. It's got all the comforts of home, and is cheaper and easier for me to live, especially since I will still have the home in Texas.
Does anyone know of RV Parks in the NY/CT area that are affordable and have electric and water hookups?
I was hoping I could park it at an FD or EMS, and in exchange join that agency and they would technically have a driver in house. I am stilll a certified Firefighter and Paramedic, and am capable of driving, operating, and maintaining any type of emergency vehicle. I can drive ambulances, midmount and rearmount aerials and tower ladders, engines (I am certified in pumping and water supply), rescue trucks, tankers, brush trucks, etc. If someone knows of an agency that could work something out with me, I would greatly appreaciate it. Email me at seth@emtbravo.com if you know of anything, even if short term.
I hopefully will have a job lined up, but I am looking for a second job, if anyone knows anything that's open and pays decent. It doesn't have to be emergency services. Email me at seth@emtbravo.com .
I wish I never gave up some of my Westchester jobs I had, I always thought the grass was greener and kept moving up jobs, but I look back now and had it great right where I started.
Thanks guys for your concern, and whatever help you can offer me. I hope that some of you guys can come up and hang out with me when I get back.
There is more to what I am going through, but please don't speculate or comment on that.

Seth,
I don't know what to say. I want to hit the rep button but it says "like." There's nothing to like about what you have been going through. It's kind of stunning to read all of this. I'm very sorry to read that you've been through so much pain and freakin agony.
You're going to be on my mind and in my prayers.
Never give up Brother. You'll have a lot of support going forward.
God Bless.

Heres a few pictures i got.

"sfrd18", I consider you a friend. You don't have to be so formal and call me Mr Dennis. Although, I must say, if about another 94-95 % of your generation had the respect like you do, we'd all be a lot better off. And of course I respect you and I read all your post. Man, I just don't know how you keep up with all that stuff.,
And you're right. I do hope the guys read the stories on the Providence Fire Dept that I wrote. ( "My Introduction to Providence....on www.providencecitywide.com ). It's an Excellent, very Aggressive, Fire Dept that catches a lot of work and does a lot of running.
I retired several years ago from a small city dept in Connecticut. But after seeing that Providence FD in action, I certainly had wished that I had known about that job earlier.

To follow up on Mr. Dennis' story(a great story by the way), the Providence Fire Department is currently one of the largest and oldest FD's in New England, and the largest in Rhode Island. It is, like nfd2004 said, a great and might I add a very busy fire department.
The Providence Fire Department currently operates out of 14 Fire Stations in 2 Battalions. They also operate 14 Engines, 8 Ladders, 1 Special Hazards(Heavy Rescue), 1 Collapse/Trench Rescue Unit, 1 Fireboat, 2 Mini-Pumpers, an Air Supply Unit, several Canteen/Rehab. Units, and many support units, as well as 6 ALS Rescue Units(Ambulances), all manned by over 500 career FF's. The PFD responds to approximately 40-45,000 emergency calls annually, including a lot of EMS.
Wikipedia Article on the PFD
Firenews.org Page w/Pics

NIce pictures of Captain (then JHK Lt) Whaley and myself on the turntable of 36 Truck 2 years ago at a J O B in Millbrook.
We are all pulling for you J!
(photo by Bill Johnson - fdphotounit - one awesome photog!)

Well said efdchief115 and good luck in your new title !

And you know what? Yonkers was right then and they're right now. Mutual aid has been taken advantage of for years, and Yonkers, because they actually do thing RIGHT, have the proper staffing that other municipalities who have been pussyfooting around and playing games with manpower forever, was taken advantage of. Good for them for doing what they should; be responsible for and available to help the people of the city that pay their salaries.
The only way these problems are ever going to get fixed is for the powers that be to open their eyes, dust off the consolidation study that the firefighters themselves came up with as a solution to address the shortcomings in the system as it exists now, and has existed for too long.
Arguing about mutual aid is old.

Take a look at the red paint on the eves. Red paint, red smoke. lol
Have a great day.

Take a look at the red paint on the eves. Red paint, red smoke. lol
Have a great day.

Date:7/11/12
Time:15:30
Location:73-75 Lake Ave Tuckahoe
Frequency:
Units Operating:E-27,29,30,31 L-16,15 C-2102,2101 New Rochelle 1&1 to EFD Sta 1
Weather Conditions:hot
Description Of Incident:Fire in basement and 1st floor 2 1/2 frame row house. 2 lines operated, L-16 aerial to open roof. Quick knock down, extensive overhaul. No injuries.
Reporters:capt2102

Which is why I also Posted That Boston also recently Appointed The daughter of Lt Kevin Kelly assigned to ladder 26 who was Killed In the line of duty returneing from a run, the brakes on the apparatus failed, Crashed into a building Killing the Loo. who was Known from the Tv series In the 90's featuring The BFD., I personally considered taking the FAO test up there to at least hone some rusty skills, But I'm glad of the outcome... And for "INIT" Not 100% sure myself, going strickly by the Media article.. though I'm Sure contact with the Training division could define if not answer you query. My point In posting this is for all the Bad thats going on Nationally, Wisconsin, North Las Vegas, California , Scranton PA., Detroit Michigan and More,. Its Nice to see the Boston, Is Not "average" but well above average