50-65

Winona Lake (T/Newburgh) had 504. About the same as last year. As usual, very little fire, a couple of assist EMS, about 85 - 90% B.S. AFA's and minor MVA's.

yep. and if is the call that I'm thnking of, the ambulance was at the LZ with the patient a full 4 minutes before the ETA of the helicopter. (Remember, the "E" is for estimated). and I believe the ETA is to the scene, not necessarily on the ground. Then, based on the direction the helicopter was flying several minutes later, I could guess which hospital they were going to. After I timed it while listening to the radio traffic, my guess is that the ground ambulance would have arrived at the same hospital at nearly the same time as the helicopter.

And what about the vollies that regularly call on NFD as FAST or 2nd due? Are they (NFD) going to continue to respond?

Rather spend who knows how much $$ on another toy, I mean tool, what about NOT placing patients next to the exhaust or apparatus placement? The issue with the exhaust capture systems that few have ever mentioned is the potential for engine damage caused by drawing cold air through a hot engine. On the other hand, the EPA regulations have served to mainly run up production costs, maintenance costs, fuel costs, down time, etc.

Are they still planning on closing Engine 3 house?

This is why when operating at an MVA, I generally will have someone do nothing but keep an eye on traffic to warn us of stuff like this.

"No" is the short answer. Common sense rules would apply as far as securing the O2 cylinder, protecting it from exposure to heat (like NOT putting it on the back seat to bake in the sun), etc.

In our fire district, among other things, they participate in the LENS program. Drivers also have to be a minimum of 21 years old, have EVOC, and have apparatus specific training (pump ops, ladder ops, ladder placement, etc). Then, after a license check, they can begin supervised training. First in a parking lot where they begin to learn the blind spots, handling, equipment placement, etc. then on the road driving through various neighborhoods, traffic and road conditions. After training, a chief officer goes out with them, giving various tests. After he is satisfied, then they are added to the driver roster. We also do annual and random drug testing.

Just from my point of view... I work EMS for a commercial agency. Generally, dispatch will tell us if it is an Alpha (with traffic) response. Otherwise, it is assumed to be Code 3. That said, I will often go alpha depending on traffic conditions, time of day, distance, etc. Code 3 while transporting is rare and often extremely hazardous if family follows. That is generally reserved for the CPR in progress or other critical pt. On the fire side however, I have argued with the powers that be to no avail about response procedures. In my opinion, for AFA's, the chief officer and 1st due engine should respond code 3. 1st due truck and/or rescue should respond code 1. All 2nd due apparatus should remain manned in quarters. You can always step up response if needed, and it creates a lot less confusion for the public if you are cancelled and returned.

I can't say anything about either company as I have not worked for them. How long have you been an EMT? I get the feeling that you are on a BLS transport truck for Transcare. I had been an EMT for many years prior to actually working in EMS. When I first started actually working in EMS, I worked for a company that did, at the time, only transport work. Let me tell you, I learned a lot doing that. Talk to the nurses. Look at the charts. Look at your patient. talk your patient. If you want, you will learn alot about diseases, disease processes, pharmacology, and geriatrics. You can also meet some very cool people (I had the opportunity to meet one of the original Tuskagee Airmen). I also learned, because I had no medic to back me, to be a stronger EMT, to treat patients as effectively as possible with BLS skills and tools. Now that I work for a 911 company, I still try to learn something new every day. But most of the calls are ALS, and the medic does his work while I drive. Very rarely do I get the chance to get very involved in actual patient care. Ultimately it's up to you. But if you are happy where you are, learn from what you do and your day to do 911 calls will come. Good luck in whatever you do.

The most common basement oil tank is 275 gallons. There are also alot of 330's out there, especially in newer, larger homes. Propane, if used for everything, (heat, hot water, cooking, and sometimes clothes dryers) will vary from multiple 420# cylinders which hold 100 gallons to the 1000g tank for residential use. An above ground tank will typically be filled to 80%, underground tanks can be filled to 90%. I guess the determining factors would be what you are using it for and the layout of the property. Cylinders can go alongside a building (with certain restrictions) while horizontal tanks usually have to be at least 10' away. I do know of a manufactered home community in Orange County that has a 30,000 gallon propane tank.

Ok. thanks. Were you able to get close enough to turn off the tank at the valve? I've seen videos from various propane schools where they show this but didn't know if this was possible in this case. I think there is a school coming up soon in Orange County that hopefully I can attend.

Just curious, but it was the relief valve that was broken off? Since these are under the dome, which is usually above grade, how did the backhoe operator manage to hit that?

When I said "medic dependant" I mean that there are some EMT's that feel the need to have a medic respond to nearly every call. If a BLS unit alone was dispatched to a call, some, because of inexperience or whatever will want a medic. Others will not. In a system that responds with both EMT and Medic to every call, some EMT's won't do anything until told to. I am not saying that any particular EMT or agency is this way. Just that some EMT's are this way. I understand, and mentioned, that the patient should be evaluated by a medic if one is available. As far as pain control, at what point would you provide medicated pain relief? If the pt tells you it is 1 on 10 or 10 on 10 pain or some where in between, what would be your deciding factor?

This is very true. Thats why I said based on the IA information. And why does pain have to be "unbearable" and "excruciating" to warrant some analgesia? Doesn't just "bad" pain deserve treatment? Yes it does. However, some MD's may want you to limit the use of anagesics so they may better evaluate the patient in the ER. Maybe the patient had some co-morbid factors? As usual, the list goes on and on, and as usual, we are limited to the very narrow information that was transmitted over the air. Which is why I said that the patient should be evaualted by a medic. I have worked with Peekskill EMT's for quite sometime, and I would generally not consider them "medic-dependant". Not personally knowing them, I'll take your word for it. As far as "treatment" of any patient, I believe there is a difference between doing something for a patient and doing things to a patient.

Given the information in the IA, I don't see anything that would make this ALS. Uncontrolled arterial bleeding, yes. No exit wound or extended transport time? I don't see what an ALS workup would accomplish. An ALS exam, yes, to rule out any other injuries or factors. Pain control was also mentioned. Maybe. IF there was excrutiating, unbearable pain. I wouldn't start a line in the field for no reason other than to make the hospitals job easier. Maybe it was just a case of an EMT-B being medic dependant, unsure of his/her abilities, new and inexperienced?? I don't know.

(bold emphasis added) Many people who are against the death penalty will use this excuse, often citing the commandment "Thou shall not kill". What they fail to do is to realize that the Old Testament was translated into English from the original Hebrew. In the original Hebrew, the word translated here as "kill", meant the indisciminate taking of a human life, not the putting to death of someone as a violator of law. There are, in fact, several commandments, laws if you will, in the Old Testament, that call for the death penalty.

And Newburgh Lunch on Broadway. There used to be really good sandwich shop at Lake and S. William, where the empty Rite-Aid building is now.

They should fence in about 6 blocks on the lower east side, put all the gangs in there and let them fight it out. Then send the last man standing to prison. Even during the "blizzard" Thursday night/Friday morning, they had a stabbing and two armed robberies.

Improvise, adapt, and overcome. What is necessary for the good of the patient? Sometimes that is a little outside of the realm of "normal". These past couple of days were definately not normal. Remember, sometimes it is easier to ask for forgiveness than it is for permission. As a side bar, hats off to City of Newburgh DPW crews for plowing a path for us to get to patients Thursday night/Friday morning.

Yeah, looks like a C-8000 maybe

I'm sure it was tarped. Doesn't make a difference when you lay one over though. The tarps are only designed to keep stuff from blowing out. It's not a cargo securement device.

I don't think they have one there full-time, just from time to time. We recently had an MVA where we had one flown. They beat the engine to the LZ (about 5 min from the time we said to send 'em). I was talking to one of the medics and he said they were at Randall.

Not sure of the time or exact location, but New Hampton had an MVA with a medivac Friday overnite. That would be in the exit 3 area. Otherwise, sometimes you might see them returning to the airport next to 84 but that is, I believe, just east of the Middletown area.

Are there any guidelines, rules, or laws regarding police use of private property? Do they need permission from the property owner? What kind of liability does the property owner face if the police, with or without permission, use the property for enforcement actions? Hopefully some of you LEO's can answer this for me.