wraftery

Right, Paul. The only way to tell if the CO alarm is real or not is through atmospheric testing. To do so, you may have to try and recreate the conditions that caused alarm activation. Talk to the homeowner. Was the family cooking, drying clothes, did they have the heating system on.? What windows were open or closed? Did fire personnel open windows to vent? Then put the building back to the way it was just before alarm activation was. Give it a little time to build up the CO if any is present. Then use your meter starting from the most likely culprit

Right on the money! They are GUIDElines,not the Ten Commandments. They are STANDARD operating procedures, and intended for the standard incident. We have to be able to stray from these documents when necessary. Yes, you are going to have to explain your actions for straying, and you can't let the "I'm not going against SOP's" attitude get in the way of your better judgement. Many years ago there were two armies at war with other. One army allowed their officers to stray from the plan of need be, without the permission of a superior officer, when communications were down or for other possible reasons. The other army forbade their officers from doing anything without getting permission from a superior. Army #2 were the Nazis and they lost the war.

Not my quote, but I like it: "A little CO inhalation isn't a bad thing. It helps me get back to sleep after those middle-of-the-night runs."

I have a cousin who I knew worked at the World Trade Center but I didn't know where until the 10th anniversary. She sent me a picture of her pass for the 79th floor. I don't know which tower, and I won't ask her,either. She'll say when she's ready. She didn't go to work on 9/11. Instead, she took the day off to go to the pound and get a puppy.

I, too am not a fan of PPA. They tell you "Don't push fire with a fog line because the fire will often go someplace you don't want." There is little difference between pushing it with fog or pushing it with fans. Even Mittendorf, the self-appointed guru of PPA will tell you that. While on the subject of Mittendorf, one of his statements is that before you use positive pressure, you must have complete control of the building's openings and ventilation paths. I never figured I ever had control of a building until the fire is out, thus, PPV. Even a one room fire in a single story residence can go terribly wrong if you didn't know about the hole in the wall of the fire room. When do you find that hole? After knockdown. On another note, I don't consider pressurizing a stairway as either PPA or PPV. I consider it a tactical move and it concerns only the stairwell in question. Instead of more acronyms, why don't we just call it "pressurizing a stairway" even though we are using our PP's. That way nobody gets confused. This is an easy tactic to keep smoke out of the stairway for either evacuation or attack.

Also, FYI, Va Beach has a separate EMS Dept. Chesapeake FD runs the EMS System for the city EMT's are FF's

Haven't been in Hartsdale for a few years, but it was much the same as NRFD. No symptoms gets 1 Eng with meters, With Symptoms gets a full box assignment and EMS. Virginia Beach and Chesapeake are similar. to the above.

Great! A Vet dies and what does he get? A form letter from the President, (electronically signed, of course), and Taps on a Boombox. Once the Commander-in-Chief figures out how much the government can save by discontinuing the flag ceremony, the flag draped coffin will be gone, too. As Michelle Obama said "All this for a flag?"

Barry gimme a break. I said "flying" and never mentioned BLEVE. You're the one who said BLEVE. That's why they wanted to put you in the back of the truck for the hurricane relief trip. I stuck up for you, remember? And in the Grant Av neighborhood, they weren't interested in whether it was a BLEVE or a bridge abutment that put that tank in their back yard.

You are right. The only reason I made it up was for the tests. AND the tests don't necessarily have anything to do with the job. And don't forget Kingman, AZ and White Plains, NY when you are talking about flying propane tanks. Westchester county has a great simulator. Great only if you understand what the noises and appearance of flames mean, why you are cooling where you are cooling, and so on. The instructor has to use his controller so that the sequence of events is also a plausible one. If not, you spent a couple of hours happily putting the wet stuff on the red stuff without a clue what you are supposed to accomplish. If this is so, you are the guy the bleve wants to kill.

Good post and thanks for the acronym update. A word about acronyms: They are "whatever works for you." If you have trouble remembering an acronym because it's too long, shorten it or change it so you will remember as much as possible. Promotional exams always had a question about color codes for sprinkler heads, something that most of us rarely commit to memory. But jeez, for a couple of points on the exam, it was pretty easy to make up my own acronym. Ugly Women's Beds Rarely Get Overworked. It means nothing to anyone but me. Yeah, I'm a little older, but I remember my acronyms, and I will still remember them at 0200 in the dead of winter, on scene with a major leak going on. That's the time your acronym comes into play, and you have to be right. For you boaters out there, I still use "Even red nuns have odd black cans" even though odd numbered buoys have not been painted black since someplace in the 70's. Also, feel free to say (to yourself, of course) "the rabbit comes out of the hole...etc" when tying that old knot that will get you to the ground a lot faster than the follow-thru 8, but that's a whole 'nother topic. I have nothing against the new, but the old sometimes comes in handy.

This is a good point. If you are looking for gas with a meter, try the corners of ceilings. This is also true for CO meters. Also, HVAC units or forced air heating units will put these gases into some "unscientific" places. Remember that fire is a science, firefighting is an art. Sorry, the cybergods only posted half my post so this is the do-over

Most flammable gases are heavier than air, but there are a common few that are lighter than air. Does anybody know the acronym "HA HA MICE"? I don't want to give you the answer just yet since it might be a good discussion topic.

Barry it was your idea and your truck that started this. No Gray Goose for them...1 year...next

Siting outside for so long? I never remember it NOT being there and I am 65 years old! I must be made of titanium. Surely it can't be just plain ol' steel. Then again maybe they dump the griddle grease on it.

It's simple logic; For example, here's this morning's conversation with my wife: Me: What's your plan for today, Hon? Wife: Well, the hamper is full again. Me; OK, I'll go get you a bigger hamper

Now that the hurricane has passed George's Key, we have to develop a plan for all the stuff Bnechis collected. Much is perishable and must be used soon, so a Labor Day "work detail" might be in order for Westchester. The non perishables can be stored. I suggest a cache someplace to keep things like the Capt. Morgans. Barry can still drive down to Chesapeake with a cache that can be used for the next FL hurricane, and also the next VA/NC hurricane. Barry: make sure the cache you bring contains the Gray Goose. I am going shopping for Vermouth, olives and those little plastic swords. Why can't FEMA think like this?

OOPSIE Daisy. Sorry, Barry, I guess the pork is out of the question, huh? We'll do shrimp instead. That's pronounced Shree-ump.

From: Safety Officer To: Planning Section Chief Barry This trip (NY to the Keys) cannot be done in one day. Drivers and passengers will require rehab at about the half-way mark which happens to be Chesapeake, VA. I noted the supply list that you are bringing to EFDCAPT115 and have determined that you will be severely and dangerously overloaded and may cause the good Captain's little island to sink. Please advise when you are coming and we can unload half of those supplies in order to prevent a tragedy at George's Key. In the meantime, I will locate an old 275gal Fuel Oil Tank and start cutting it in half for the pig roast. Glad to do my part. Bill Safety Officer

I agree with Sage and JM 15. Almost all upper floor searches are done without a hoseline. At most, a hoseline will be placed at the bottom of the stairway to protect egress. With fire on the floor or floors below an upper floor Primary search should be done as quickly as possible and then members should get the hell out of there. Attempting to do such a search with a hoseline accompanyment would take too much time in many cases. Of course, placement of egress ladders for the upper floor members is of paramount importance. If it is night time, "light up" the windows where you have placed the egress ladders, and also the egress points that came with the building such as fire escape windows. The guy that gets in trouble above the fire will instinctively look for light to find his way out.

We face liability in everything we do. Why don't man-up on auto alarms, reset the alarm system and advise the RP as you say. There's Liability if we stay and wait for the RP, Liability if we reset and leave. The Gamewell box system hit the streets in the late 18oo's, and FireMEN have been resetting systems ever since until you and your city attorney got a brainstorm that a no touch policy will get you off the iability hook. Wrong! If anything happens, and I do mean anything, somebody might wind up suing you. If you are right of wrong, it is still going to cost you money. And your city attorney? He is often in his position because he was unable to start or buy into his own practice. In a couple of years he will save enough money to go into private practice and will "jump the fence." He will be the one suing you and taking your money. Maybe we should stop calling ourselves "The Bravest."

Where this thread went shows us how irrational fire service people can be. If there no plan for All to follow, we are all going in different directions. Say, isn't that partially why FDNY established a career department?

I've been reading this thread and I'm a little confused. Are these actual test questions for a promotional exam from FF to say Lt.? They seem too simple to me for that level of promotonal exam. They are more along the lines of a final exam for Aerial Apparatus Operator Course. Along with any testing system there should be a bibliography, and the test should be job related. A Lt's test should ask questions on Engine or Truck Company Operations, Leadership, Hazmats, Building Construction, etc. Not hydraulic tank capacity. Sure, the Lt supervises the FF and should know tank capacity, but from when he was a FF. Also, asking questions on a blog like EMTBravo is not a mortal sin, but it a poor place to get your test answers. The info may or not be correct. You are better off getting a study group together. Not only will you prepare for the test, (using the bibliography) but there is a distinct possibility you will learn something more than just the test material. This will definitely come in handy once you pass the test and go for your interview. Not to brag, but to prove a point- I've taken a lot of tests, guys, and this is the best way to study: Relax at home, but at the firehouse, skip the TV and study. Maybe you can score 104.6 someday.

Barry, I love it! I believe you just gave them the reasons for havibg a paid chief...to correct all of the above.

Looks like the new officers have had enough to chew on with all the posts that came down this thread. And REALLY LISTEN to wm6ff. Read her post again...the part about pissing people off. A new Lt. is very often Gung Ho and hot to trot. He has taken a couple of courses and wants the older guys to throw out a lot of things they do and follow the New Loo. Befriend the old guys, ask them what they would like to see in training. You might be surprised. You cannot order respect, you have to earn it. That takes time and patience. Remember they're watching you. Who? The people below you and the people above you. When an 18 year old goes away to college, they usually are happy to leave home because their father and his way thinking is so dumb. Once they graduate and are looking for a job, they are amazed at how much the old man learned in four short years.