hudson144

Just wondering how Departments regulate and rule on the wearing of the uniform, Grooming standards,wearing of badges,safety concerns, actions while wearing the uniform, etc. The FD is suppose to be a para-military organization and was curious what various rules are in place to keep that "Professional Look or Image"?

A fund has been established for the Family of FF Kevin Townes, for those of you who wish to donate; MT VERNON FALLEN FIGHTERS FUND

PO BOX 2085

MOUNT VERNON, NY 10551-2085

Thank you to all who have been there during this difficult time.

Rest in Peace Kev, thoughts and prayers go out to your family!

FDMV will issue a statement later in the day.

This hiring situation for FDNY is gettin real interesting, with a judge squashing any hiring and demanding a new test alot has gone on lately. Some real good scoop which might raise a few eyebrows out there. Go to Merit Matters.com to read some new information which may open some new doors with this whole mess. Hats off to Chief Mannix for his hard fight to keep "standards" in the FDNY!

Alot of rumors of a "clean Sweep",time will tell.Either way we all still have our jobs!!!

Just wondering throughout the Hudson Valley what changes we might see with new Mayors,Village managers etc. How will it effect your Department?

Make sure that when you sign up to take the test you use NYS as your legal residence, I have a friend who is going through some BS with FDNY when it comes down to getting his Vets points because they claim he was not in NY when he took the exam. Over a 3yr battle at this point! Good Luck and Thanks for serving.

Nice Family car you have there! Glad to see its back in town, jjc

In Cincinnati OH the Fire Chief was harrasing and retaliating against a member of the dept, the courts ruled that he acted on his own and not as A Fire Chief. He is liable for his actions and is now being sued. I know of a pending retaliation case where the Fire Chief might be sued personally! They are not exempt from work force rules put in place by the EEOC.

In this case the Buffalo City Civil service commissioner (under oath) stated that he didn't want to promote because of the lack of minorities in place for promotion. Sounds familiar to me. The atty who represents the Buffalo 13 (and myself) in the Mt Vernon 1 case has hired an economist to calculate the losses that these guys are out. It includes back pay with interest,projected loss etc. I believe as mention in the Buffalo news the settlement on the table is $4.1 million. The shame about this besides being denied a promotion based on race is that the people involved too include Mayors, civil service commissioners, city lawyers Fire Chiefs (my case) are protected and don't have to go into their own pockets when all is said and done! New Haven case was a $2 million settlement along with a $3million lawyers tab! Maybe if this was changed the dirty politics of the promotions will cease FOR ALL RACES!!!

Joey was a "plank holder" in Squad Co. 61 (Bronx), when we were "transformed" by DC Ray Downey (RIP 9-11-01) from an engine co. to a squad co. in SOC. As a newly formed co. we were constantly drilling and preparing to "go-online" as a squad, and many members of the hand-picked company were the original engine members. Joey loved going to the "Rock" every day tour for the months of training- he was always "up" for any type of hands-on activity. Especially when it came to "ropes". He was one of my "rope fairies"- guys who loved to take out the high-angle and confined space gear and rig up scenarios to drill on. I remember one "24" tour where we had spent the whole day training at the "Rock";came back to quarters for the night tour and had chow;drilled again for an hour on "firefighter removal" from the cellar, and then the brothers sat in the kitchem while I did paperwork in the co. office. Around midnight I heard footsteps (not Santa's reindeer) on the roof, so I climbed the scuttle ladder to check it out. There on the roof was Joey and the rest of the crew, setting up to do a "pickoff" from the top floor bunkroom. I was beat, and looking forward to lying down on the couch- but what could I say? I became the "victim" in the window for them to "rescue". You had to admire Joe's burning desire to excel at all phases of firefighting and rescue.

When I got promoted up a rank, he made me a "cutdown" halligan as an officers tool, w/ my nickname welded on it- that was the type of guy Joe was! His Dad (Joe,Sr) is a retired and well-loved Deputy Chief from the South Bronx (Div 6) and my heart gors out to him and the family, and the brothers who knew Joey on FDNY and LI where Joey was also a volly in his hometown. Sorry for this rambling message, but I'm surely going to miss Joey and his quiet but infectious smile and personality. Joey, R.I.P.,brother!

Thanks Lt for the additional information about Joey D. You weren't rambling,you told us info that many will admire about Joey D.

Lt Joseph DiBernardo and FF Jeff Cool of Rescues #3 FDNY, Joey'actions during that tragic morning saved Firefigher Cools life and because of that incident the Fire Service has gone ahead to provide training and proper gear for the Bailout Program. May Joey D rest in peace.

Thoughts and prayers go out to the DiBernardo family on the untimely death of Joey D. Joey survived the tragic FDNY Fire known as the "Black Sun" Fire. A member of Rescue 3 in the Bronx and a well respected instructor who has made an impact on many lives in the past. Rest in peace Joey D.

Interesting thoughts by all,if you look at Westchester County a "County Fire Dept" should have been established years ago with Firehouses positioned throughout the county with proper manning,zones,specialized apparatus etc. to be available. Fairfax County VA did this yrs ago. Can or could Westchester do this? Sounds like Westchester 2000 all over again. Duplication of services too include police services will always be here. As far as the Tri-village,don't see it happening other than joint responses or automatic mutual aid that they presently do now.

Maybe it might be time for the Yonkers members to reach out and see if the 30+ yr old Vulcan decree should be terminated! I have names and numbers if anyone might be interested in doing so!!!

Again another trench situation, these will continue to happen because of others out there not following safety guidelines in place because of other mishaps throughout the nation. In this situation I understand that the IC called for help as soon as proper sizeup determined a situation that has gone bad. The availability within your own community of construction crews with front end loaders,local lumber yards with lumber for shoring etc, and in this case a Vactor Truck from Fred A. Cook from Buchanan to assist in the Rescue of the victim. A pre-plan with contact numbers for "other than FD" equipment is not a bad idea. Great job to all involved!

Engine 121 a Ward LaFrance was bought by a few guys from West Haverstraw who were close friends with Ex Chief Tom Conklin, Ex Chief Joe Carroll, Ex chief Frank Oconnor to mention a few. I am not sure where it ended up but will look into it. Hate to say it but most of those guys have all passed away.

Actually Howie I remember it in the junk yard on lower south street in Peekskill, just up from Burnwell. If I remember correctly according to my father there was alot of hard feelings when they decided to get rid of it.Guy on the right might be John Kavanna.

At one point they did look into the IAFF with no success, if I am not mistaken they are together with some bases upstate and the unit on Long Island.

For years now the Firefighters at Stewart have provided a service to both the civilian and military communities too include Firefighting,EMS,Fire Inspections etc. When you read the job specs to work there many Fire Dept related courses or levels are in place to be employed as a "FIREFIGHTER" at Stewart ANGB. It boggles my mind that NYS still does not recognize these dedicated "FIREFIGHTERS" and classify them as DMNA workers. The trucks they drive have the words FIRE DEPARTMENT, the uniforms they wear have the words FIRE DEPARTMENT, the building that the FIRETRUCKS are housed in is known as the FIRE STATION. The Union who represents them (CSEA) IMO doesn't recognize them either. As a person who is just shy of 20 yrs serving in the USAF FD I am very much aware of the qualifications that many of theses members have and still wonder why the hell theyare not recognized as FIREFIGHTERS. To achieve certain ranks in the civilain FD at Stewart GUIDELINES are in place which by the way are almost identical to the United States Air Force Fire Protection Specialists job description. How is it that I can serve 1 weekend a month and 2 weeks out of the year at the same location as the civilain members and have the classification as a Firefighter? God forbid if one of these guys ever gets hurt or killed in the line of duty either on or off of the base the coverage would be minimal. Because of the wrong classification they don't qualify for the Heart/lung bill also. Somebody needs to open their eyes here and give these members the classification as a Firefighter and give them the benefits they deserve!

The one thing that I don't think is a great idea is when a department calls for a fast for a working fire and then puts them to work. I think thatafter a fast is on the scene and is established, they should remain as the fast. If you need more manpower, then go m/a for manpower and not another fast. There is no sence in putting them to work after they are there and then waiting for another fast to show up. Kinda defeaats the purpose.

Good point- I lately wonder how many fast teams are needed to put out a fire? Not to be sarcastic but i have been around and always listen to whats going on. Putting a fast team to work IMO can cause a delay if a team is to be deployed. The 1st arriiving team should be as stated in training have a plan in the event of a mishap with interior members. That original team most likely did a walk around to look for hazards, ways of egress etc. By activating that team the plan in place may not be used because the next team did not have the info passed onto them and alot of info is not handed off. I know its not easy standing around watching but the training that these teams have is vital to the attempt of a rescue of other firefighters.In many cases the fast team may arrive 20 mins later, fireground officers should delegate members to act as a fast team. I have heard that members of the dept where the fire is at should not be members of the fast team, does it really matter? Some depts may stage 2 members as the fast team just to satisfy the law, I have seen this 1st hand and basically that team is a smoke screen and when **** hits the fan and the untrained members don't have a clue as to what to do the dept policy failed. If you have ever read NIOSH reports you will know where this could go. I am sure there is alot more that others can add here.

I hope that none of the runoff went into the eastchester creek and hurt any fish! I'm sure the runoff was a concern and if you have ever been near or in the creek you will know that I was goofin about the fish, good job to all.

With the recent show Hoarders and some recent fires locally it wouldn't be a bad idea to discuss the hazards you might encounter when you are called to the structures packed with years of items. Collyers mansion in a nut shell is about a home in nyc occupied by 2 brothers who hoarded anything and everything. Conditions that were so bad that firefighters had to tunnel their way through the home. Lets use this as a training thread and bring out some points to ponder!

Its a great thing that many of us will appreciate, can't wait to see how this will turn into a big political press release! All dressed up with 3 new rigs like they did us a favor! AMAZING!!!!