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Some great points there.......also, I think TL's cost signifcantly more to aqquire and maintain then regular straight sticks......when you have TL's within a reasonable distance, can't the money be spent wiser elsewhere? Tower Ladders rock, and are a great tool, but, IMO, not in every single community. You lose a huge tactical advantage (manuvering, etc) when that happens. Also, Chappaqua you have Mount Kisco,Pleasantville, Thornwood, and Bedford Hills all nearby with TL's. I too sometimes wonder, what happened to the good old straight stick truck?Whereas the TL company used to be more of a specialty unit, now a straight stick ladder is becoming the specialty unit.

Tons of great apparatus photos: Click on "New Gallery" http://www.code11.net/

Great video about NYPD ESU =D> Available from FSP Books and Videos http://www.fire-police-ems.com/videos/vn1095.shtml or A and E's website.

Sometimes, the more subtle tone audio changes could be that they are using a different make/model tone encoder as well .

I like both. Voice is good because it's what were used to, and we can monitor other communications with our alerting device enroute to the incident, plus I feel the dispatchers voice often helps with alerting. Alpha is good for when you are out of range/out of town/mowing your lawn/etc......also good because you can reference the information (whats the cross/house # again?) and relay additonal information (Building hazards,preplans,etc) Alpha can also be used to notify members of meetings, drills, apparatus changes, weather conditions, etc etc such as Yorktown does. Both systems compliment each other nicely.

I know this belongs in the SWV Forum, but I feel this one is better suited here: http://www.firestationdesign.com/ Comprehensive webstie about Fire Station desgin and construction.

NYS Trooper Examination Scheduled for March 2004 http://www.troopers.state.ny.us/RecTprs/Re...cruitindex.html

FDNY Fire Alarm Dispatcher Exam.......will be open for filing from December 3 - December 23, 2003 filing...As soon as the notice is up, I will provide a link here.

http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcas/pdf/firealarmdispatch.pdf

Thanks for the info!!!......Providing I am not working or otherwise commited, I will definelty be at the parade and maybe the picnic.

What kind of stuff have you done in the past?

Ardsley had to spend extra $$ for E-164 so it would fit into a very narrow, low bay. If you see the pic on the Ardsley Profile, you will notice a smooth roofline with special lightbar mount. It is VERY difficult and dangerous to manuver this rig in and out of the bay-there is about 1/2 inch clearance in either direction. There have been a couple of mishaps due to the narrow openings, which have cost money to fix. When Ardsley bought Quint-1 (Our first ladder ever) ,they added an extra bay because we had no place for it otherwise. I guess if you have the chance to modify your facility to accomadate the new apparatus, that would be the best idea.Some cases thats not even an option. Howver, to spend the extra money to modify an apparatus to make it fit when your facility is inadequate, thats throwing money away. I say keep the rig you have alive until you can make the building safe, sound, and a good fit for the apparatus you need, not the other way around.

It's used widely in California With new apparatus open cab design, it's not really that practical. For a doghouse style engine, the can be very beneficial. However, they are hard and tricky to wear when trying to put on your SCBA and gear.And of course, this type of system works best for a tiller and a walk in rescue, where members are seperated significantly I dont think as an intercom sytem is the best/only use for this. I think a headset type device system works best when it is wired so the pump panell/ladder operator can wear one, keeping his hands mostly free and drowns out some of the background noise. Even might be a good idea in the TL bucket, or for the officer/driver to keep his hands free, when you a foot switch, it frees up your hands. Boston and Worcester EMS have these for their C-Med (Medical Control) radios. They have a foot switch and knee switch. When you are taking care of a critical patient, it's nice to be able to talk to the doc/hosp and have your hands free. Ive also seen a new smaller wireless generation of these devices, that "plug"(maybe transfer over is a better word, since they are wirelss) right into your portable when you unplug from the truck, and also intergrate with your SCBA mask. These definetly can improve safety and effeciency when used appropritely.

Dates usually come out around March/April.

I beleive it was Remember585 brought up in a chat on this board that videotapes were a good training tool for those members that could not attend a drill,whic is an excellent idea. I think, especially a new Sony DVD HandyCam :wink: (Nice camera, recrds straight to a DVD that you can pop right in your player) would be a great investment for any department. It would serve as a great visual aid for incident and drill critque, provding you have sufficient personel to operate one. It also, like a digital camera, serves a great documentation and archiving tool. I've heard of departments that carry a videocamera on their first due and point it at the incident (mounted on a tripod that can be quickly deploted anywhere and then left) to record the incident for documentation and future critique. I will try and find more information on this subject.

Is Lukas still sold, or did Hurst absorb the brand completly? I was using Lukas at AFD, and the tools were great. Don't really have much experience with any other brand.

Ardsley has the same thing. Still doesn't help the person who can't or is not ready to buy yet though. Just a small token for those who do own a overpriced home, but as you said hopefully a step in the right direction.

The best tool(s) in extrication is compassion, training,skill, and interagency cooperation. We're there for the PATIENT, ultimately, and in alot of cases that is lost in the "excitment" of an extrication. Being an EMS provider that has had the chance to work pin jobs with several different agencies,as well as a FF doing the extrication, I've seen many different situation. The BEST extrication is the ones where everybody can put aside their own egos and (for lack of a better word) personal agenda (i.e. fighting over the tool,putting on a show, i dont like this person or agency and so on) and care about the PERSON, the human being inside the vehicle. THATS WHO YOUR THERE FOR. Also, people sometimes get tunnel vision at bad MVA's. I once had a FD ready to cut the drivers side door and roof off, (Didn't even ask EMS what they wanted to do, how they wanted to remove the patient) . Meanwhile, while they were preparing, we removed the potentially unstable pt easily and quickly off the bench seat on the passenger side door, despite the FF's protesting that they "had to" cut the car in order to get the patient out. As I was once taught in a EMS course, "Least Invasive to Most Invasive" and "You dont use a daisycutter to kill an ant" *Edit*BTW, forgot to add we later saw the same car in the body shop getting repaired, something that might not have applied if the car was cut. That fact shouldnt neccasarily be the first in your mind, but just an interesting tidbit. But I guess I'm going a little off topic, the discussion was about the tools after all. 8)

Has anybody in Westchester participated in this program?: http://www.helpingourown.org I know there are alot of fortunate deparatments in Westchester, and I think alot of times when equipment is replaced, the old stuff is just stowed in a back room till it gets crusty or is thrown away. My question would be if anybody would be interested in teaming up to try and gather some old but usable equipment from WC FD's to donate to some needy US deparments that could really benefit from stuff that no longer serves our needs? Or is my FD the only "packrat" dept? I know I'm throwing alot of ideas around in this forum, but it would be great if we could gather up some stuff and a couple of us could get together and deliver it on behalf of ALL FF's in Westchester.... Let me know if anybody would be willing to help out with this endeavor.

Also cross reference this thread for more: http://emtbravo.just5buckshosting.com/phpB...wtopic.php?t=67

Some great points here. I feel that when designing apparatus, compatibility with other districts equipment and facilites should be taken into account. Money is also an issue. If people could learn to share more, could we ideally cut down on the duplication of services, which would save a great deal of money that could be invested in new types of training, new tools, gear, etc. It seems like everybody has the need to have one "of their own"....not neccarily a bad thing in all cases. IMHO, There's ALOT of duplication of service and apparatus in Westchester. By creating more centralized resource and real task force type of systems, we could save ourselves alot of money that could be invested elsewhere. Rescues are not only as Rescues, but as versatile incident support vehicles that are useful at many incidents. I feel that every department should have one, at least a light rescue. Ladders, however, are quite pricey and expensive to maintain. Tower ladders more so. Does every department need a TL? Do you use a daisycutter to kill a mouse? Simplicity,effiecieny, and cost need to be considered.

What type of rig is best suited? Rescue? Ladder, Engine? Really depends on the department, and needs of the team Ideally, for me, a Quint because its multi-faceted, and can work other jobs if needed somewhere else. I also feel a rescue is a good because it carries rescue tools in case a more complicated rescue issue arises. Something like S-270 is suited well because it was spec'd to be able to function as a FAST unit. Something like a Mini-rescue,or utility body truck with crew cab, could also be a good idea because it allows the FAS team to deploy without stripping more apparatus from the district., as well as allow it to keep the equipment dedicated,set up, and ready for exclusive FAST use, and can possibly get closer to the scene. What type of equipment is standard for your FAS team Your basic truck company tools what do you think a team should have that yours doesn't? Thermal Imaging Camera ,Stokes Basket, FAS Tarp,Cascade unit,buddy breath system. How many members is your ideal team, and how many do your respond with ( max and mini numbers) 6, Max, for accountability and control issues. Driver, Officer, 4 FF's

On my way to DD this AM to get my new DD Caramel Swirl Latte (Which are really good, the latte,capp, and espresso line will be availabe in Westchester in January) I got to see the new '04 Dodge Durango. Now, I had only seen pics of it up to this point, and I really didnt like it from the pics, but when I saw it in person...WOW...its one hot truck...looks real good, much different from the pics)...Now, cant wait to see the first fly or chiefs car off this new design, and long awaited redesign of the Dakota which supposedly will closely resemble this. BTW, the new DD on Knollwood Rd In Greenburgh WILL have a drive-thru (And Baskin-Robbins) Also, the new Best Buy in Hartsdale is open. It's where Service Mechandise was. Norwalk will open soon as well.