FFFORD

This sums in up in a way

So I've heard several times today and even seen some articles online that report that Gov. Christie is planning on ordering flags to half for Whitney Houston. There are so many ways to honor someone, but to orders all flags in the state to half?? I'd like to point out that tihs is the same honor that is given to heads of state but more importantly those we have lost in the service to our country...a good voice yes but definitely not worth of the same statewide symbol of honor and respect. Technically, only the President or govenrnor can order flags to half, that should give some indication of that serious, solemn nature the act represents. If these articles are true, shame on Gov. Christie! P.S. for those who may point out that it was perhaps done for other celebs in the past, it was inappropriate then and it's innapropriate now; two wrongs don't make a right.

Date: 1/17/12
Time: 08:20 hours
Location: 368 Himrod St x Wyckoff Ave
Frequency: FDNY Brooklyn
Weather Conditions: cold, overcast
Description Of Incident: fire on the 2nd floor extended to the 3rd floor and cockloft of a 3-story row-frame
Reporters/Writer: ryang
Additional Info:
Bushwick, Brooklyn, NY, 1/17/12
Address: 368 Himrod St between Wyckoff and St Nicholas Aves
08:22 hours
Box 751
Engs. 271, 277, 218
TL124, L112
Battalion 37
08:22 hours
Battalion 28 available replacing Battalion 37

10-75-751 - 08:22 hours
L124: 10-75 the Box, 3 story frame, 1st floor
E291
L140 (FAST Truck)
Battalion 37
Division 11
Squad 252
Rescue 2
7-5-751 - 08:24 hours
E237, L176 S/C
RAC2
2-2-751 - 08:26 hours
Engs. 206, 222, 217
E207 w/ Satellite 6
TL135
Battalion 35 (Safety Officer)
Battalion 57 (Resource Unit Leader)
Safety, Rescue Battalions
Tactical Support 1
FieldCom 1, Command Tactical Unit
Car 7 (DAC James Leonard, Brooklyn Borough Commander)
08:26 hours
Receiving report of people on the rear fire escapes.
08:27 hours - Duration 7 minutes
Battalion 28: We have fire on the 2nd extended to the 3rd floor, 3 story row frame 20x40 multiple dwelling, occupied. 1 line stretched in operation, 2nd line being stretched, primary search being conducted, trucks are opening up, we have 2 10-45s at this moment. Exposure 1 is a street, exposure 2 is a similar attached, exposure 3 is a rear yard, exposure 4 is a 1-story commercial bodega-type building.
08:30 hours
The staging area is Bleecker St and Wyckoff Ave
08:32 hours
Car 17 (BC Michael F. Gala Jr., Chief of Personnel) is responding
08:46 hours - Duration 25 minutes
Division 11: Box 751, we have 3 lines stretched, 3 in operation, we have heavy fire on the 2nd and 3rd floors. 124 opening up from the bucket on the 3rd floor.
08:48 hours - Duration 27 minutes
FieldCom: Progress Report on Box 751, Division 11 reports 3 lines stretched and in operation, we have heavy fire still on the 2nd and 3rd floors and the cockloft. Members have been removed from the 3rd floor and the roof and they have a tower ladder operating on the 3rd floor. Fire is still Doubtful, k.
3-3-751 - 08:53 hours
Engs. 233, 214, 216, 286
L103 acting 112, TL111
Battalion 44
Battalion 51 (Staging Manager)
Battalion 33 (Air Recon Chief)
Mask Service Unit
08:57 hours
E286 was involved in an MVA and is unable to respond, E227 assigned.
09:01 hours
Car 23 (Press Officer) is responding
09:08 hours
L108, TL146 S/C
09:14 hours - Duration 54 minutes
FC: Progress Report on the 3rd Alarm Box 751, at this time Car 7, DAC Leonard reports: he has 5 lines stretched and in operation, searches are in progress, the main body of fire has been knocked down. The primary searches of exposure 2 are complete and negative, and the 2 previously reported 10-45s are both code 4 (Green Tag, Minor). He places the fire Probably Will Hold and would like to special call 1 additional Battalion Chief for relief.
Battalion 48 acting 35 S/C
09:20 hours
FC: At Box 751, Car 7 is going to close down the staging area. Any further units can respond directly to the Command Post.
09:28 hours - Duration 1 hour 7 minutes
FC: Box 751, can you special call 2 additional trucks. Also we have the exposures: exposure 1 is a street, exposure 2 is a similar attached, exposure 3 is a rear yard, exposure 4 is a 1-story attached
L102, T104 S/C
09:39 hours - Duration 1 hour 18 minutes
FC: Progress Report on the 3rd Alarm Box 751, at this time Car 7, DAC Leonard reports: he has 5 lines stretched, main body of fire has been knocked down, trucks are opening up and extinguishing pockets of fire, primaries in fire building are complete and negative. The unconscious male reported on the 1st floor is now accounted for. Secondary searches are delayed due to heavy debris. There was slight extension to exposure 4 which is 183 Wyckoff, that's been extinguished. Fire remains Probably Will Hold.
4-4-751 - 09:46 hours - Duration 1 hour 26 minutes
FC: At Box 751, by orders of Car 7, DAC Leonard, transmit a 4th Alarm for relief purposes. He would like the engines only, and places the fire Under Control.
Engs. 230, 299 acting 286, 229, 235
09:51 hours
FC: Car 7 would like to request Buildings Dept. to check the stability of the building, and make sure utilities are responding. Also transmit a 10-41 code 1 (Suspicious Fire, Occupied Structure) for heavy fire on arrival. Also notify incoming units that the rear fire escape has been compromised and is not to be used.
09:57 hours
FC: At Box 751, Car 7 reports that primary and secondary searches throughout the fire building are complete and negative.
10:10 hours
FC: At Box 751 we have an updated 10-45 count: it's going to be 3 10-45 code 4s and 1 10-45 code 3 (Yellow Tag, Delayed)
Relocations:
Engines: 33/211, 16/216, 220/222, 298/227, 255/233, 228/235, 332/277, 299/286
Ladders: 11/108, 131/111, 103/112, 151/112
Battalions: 48/35, 2/35

I am a emergency manager at a large hospital in NJ.
Using hospitals as a shelter is full of issues. The historical reference would be hospitals in New Orleans during Katrina. The general public was taken in because the thought was the storm would be over in <12 hours. The all changed when the levees broken and the City was flooded. Many hospital lost power and HVAC and all the other comforts that people take for granted. Combine this with the fact these evacuees simply could not go anywhere else lead to some very "interesting" times. Unable to find food the "guests" decided to raid the pantry of the hospitals and enter other unauthorized areas. It and of itself this would have been only a major problem but the hospital still had to provide medical care, food and other services to the patients who were not evacuated as well as the staff taking care of them. Part of the Joint Commission elements of performance is that hospitals provide a means to shelter employees,their families, and possible their pets. This in light that a hospital needs staff to run it. The staff will be more inclined to support the hospital if the hospital can provide for their families. As witnessed in Katrina many people would not evacuate because provision had not been made for pets. This process is very complicated. There are 4500 employees at my hospital. If if have had two kids per family that is still 4500 kids I'm expected to shelter.
A Special Needs Shelter is an emergency facility capable of providing special medical or nursing care which does not necessitate an acute care hospital setting. Despite that fact some patient do end up at a hospital. That is very expensive. We did take in 24 patients from a nursing home that was flood but we were able to put them in their own unit because we decompressed the patient volume due to the threat of Hurricane Irene. Even then we charged the nursing home for our services. In turn the nursing home sought relief from FEMA.
Another issue we ran into is taking care of nursing home evacuees from facilities in South Jersey. many of these patients were transported without their medical records nor a list of medications. Many couldn't even tell us the name of their medication because when in a nursing home someone came at the appointed time and told them to take X, Y, and Z. Fortunately these patients were not transported directly to our hospital but when the reach the college facility they were using as a shelter (BTW had no medical services available) they were subsequently transport to the hospital because of medical issues. One patient had a history of a stroke that left him without the ability to speak, making a chance of getting even something as simple as a name a hardship.
Combine all these issues into a hospital that had a very small margin of staffing to beds, an overcrowded ED even on the best of days. Pease remember, first and foremost, hospitals is an acute care facility providing healthcare for patients. As such, the hospital's resources are already committed to those who need them most, and the hospital is not equipped to act as a shelter during a disaster.

Actually the last line is what really gets me. They are supposed to be fine they are not supposed to take a beating. They are supposed to call for enough help to quell the situation. I'm really wondering what tactics you would advise to diffuse the situation? It's the same thing we hear about DJ Henry or an incident in Yonkers. A proper use of force and police procedure is not a pretty thing to watch but that dosen't make it wrong and it usually results after the offending party or parties fail to comply with numerous lawful orders. I for one am glad the rangers and all those there doing their job are fine.

If they were would they tell you?

P.O. Hess was engaging an armed advesary, DJ henry was armed with a 2 ton vehicle and was using it as a weapon against officer Hess. PO Hess thankfully put down the threat but was severly injured in the process having his knee cap pushed up into his thigh.
P.O. Hess saved countless lives that night by putting himself in harms way instead of letting a highly intoxicated driver drive through a crowded parking lot. P.O. Hess acted heroically and selflessly. He is a hero in my book and is deserving of a lot more than a medal.

For what it's worth I will post here what I posted on another site in regards to this topic.
Re: Bridgeport Fire Department faulted in firefighter deaths
Could this tragedy have been averted? I do not know as I was not there. I have not read the report in it's entirety but what I do know is that in almost every such instance the reports that stem from LODDs invariably say that they can be and should have been avoided. I do not believe that to be a fair assessment in every instance since it is always easy to find fault after the fact. The Officers and FFs on scene did what was for them the right actions at the time. That events spun out of control and ultimately led to the deaths of two members is tragic, but to me definitely not due to negligence or incomptence. At the risk of sounding cold or unconcerned I have to say it: we must remember that firefighting is an inherently dangerous undertaking. That means that we all run the risk of serious injury or even death in perfoming our duty. No amount of safety officers, or regulations is going to lessen that risk if in fact we are to continue to enter burning buildings. In the end it is a risk vs benefit decision and sometimes given the available information that decision can turn out badly as it did in this case. My heart truly goes out to the families and the members of the BFD and I too mourn the loss of these two FFs. To me their memory will best be served by learning the lessons that can be learned to help prevent similar events in the future.
And this is where NIOSH and other LODD reports come into play. We must heed the information that is learned from the investigations. If areas are lacking they must be corrected inasmuch as resources allow that to occur. Recrimination is useless and in fact counterproductive. If "bad" decisions were made then it is far more important to find out why they were made rather than to assign blame for them. Nothing will be gained from the "blame game" other than to paralyze the fire officer's ability to make decisions lest he make the wrong one and face professional repurcussions or worse. As an aside in talking with my British colleagues here I have learned that in the UK right now there is a Chief and a number of other Fire Officers that are being prosecuted for manslaughter. The charges stem from a fire in which 4 FFs were killed in a roof collapse. These officers are being held criminally responsible for the decision to send them into the building in which there was a report of possible victims (in the end there were none). What this has done is effectively eradicated the ability of officers to make hard decisions, risky but necessary decisions, about commiting FFs for fear of going to jail. I fear that we too are fast approaching a time when a similar attitude prevails here, and to me that would be the most self defeating and destructive outcome imaginable.
For many of us that came up in years past we relied on our training and experience to get us through tough spots, and to my mind this cannot and should not change. But with that must come the realization that in some ways the job itself has changed and so too must our attitude and actions when working a fire. I do not believe we need a safety officer to tell us that. Instead our training must reflect the new realities we face, and the culture of the department itself must also reflect them. But this must be done without losing sight of the fact that in the end we will face perilous and potentially deadly circumstances in performing our duty, if in fact we are going to continue to perform it.
The Officers on scene that day, like so many in others cites and towns across the Nation that face an LODD, will carry the burden of the decisions they made forever. We need not blame, fault or cite them for those decisions as I am sure they believed them to be the right ones at the time. All we can do, in fact what we must do all of us, is learn from tragedies like this and apply what we have learned. If equipment is faulty, fix it. If the training is lacking, fix it. If members are out of shape, fix it. If communications is an issue, fix it. If the culture of your dept is stuck too far in the past, change it.
RIP Lt Velasquez and FF Baik. Let us honor their memory by continuing to save lives and put out fires.
Sorry for the rant
Cogs

Does it really matter who posts RIP on of these threads? Its not like there's any unique info coming from this thread. The story is all over the media. So yes, on EMTBravo a thread about lights and consolidation os going to get a lot more attention than this tragedy. But that is only because there are better places to focus your concern than a thread here that just posts links to other sites.

I think these decision makers and lawyers need a real taste of the fire department...
In a fire (or any situation really) if you are the man behind me, I don't give a F what color you are...but you better be the best damn person for that job.

I think it should say "The whole group will face the death penalty."

Not to sound like a know-it-all, but a simple question: Why did that rig even leave the street?
When you go to a fire that is burning a field, or any fire that doesn't have an immediate exposure, and life is not in danger, quite often, we bring the highest dollar exposures, and park them in harms way, then put a bunch of life hazards(our people) into the mix. Don't get me wrong, not trying to criticize, and I know it is only a small snapshot into what is happening there, but it puzzles me.
From what I can see, it looks like it was a field. If there is no humans, animals, or buildings/equipment in the way, how big a deal is it really? Keep the rig (which in this case appears to have been two wheel drive?) on the pavement, and stretch a line or two to it. After the spring we have had, it's surprising the truck isn't sunk in the mud anyway. If there was a building involved, I would think it is connected to the road by a driveway.
To me, seeing a burned up pumper in the middle of a burned field, with no hose stretched, just doesn't make sense.

My fire department had a formal training session in regards to these types of suicides. you gave a great overview of the topic. Although I dont know if most patients will initiate the 9-1-1 response. That is why we also trained for the civilian who discovered the body and entered the car, especially in the event the victim did not label the vehicle. If you catch them as they initiate the response, you can try to rescue them, but USE EXTREME CAUTION. I would not attempt rescue without a SCBA, or even a full class A or B Hazmat suit as it might not be H2S after all. Not worth risking your life in a situation like this. If I recall correctly, if you smell a "rotten egg" odor, you are in big trouble already. H2S will inhibit the cytochrome oxidase pathway in the body similar to Cyanide. This will lead to hypoxia and death. I am only working on a couple hours of sleep right now but I do not recall any treatment Pre-hospital providers can provide besides a secure airway. You very well may be correct on the "poppers" though. I will have to go back through my notes, but I think in the ED we will hyperbarracs and assess for MetHb. But overall, I think the chances they succeed are high.
Anyone else catch that the license plate was a "MD" plate???

As some ex-Empress EMS EMT's would say, including two members of this forum, "ALS is just a luxury, BLS is a neccesity".
I am a Paramedic, and know ALS interventions can save lives. BUT, as I was taught, BLS before ALS always. If you don't have strong BLS, then your ALS isn't going to matter.
I think the problem is, and has been for a while, is that some providers become "Flycar Dependent", and Paramedics don't help the situation by delegating tasks to let EMT's learn.
I think there are a lot of EMT's with good intentions, but have become too dependent on Paramedics for everything.

There are a lot of good stores online to purcahse scanner antennas. The main thing when thinking about truck lip mounts is where to locate the antenna. Make sure whether you mount it on the side of the truck top or closest to your rear window, try and have it centered as possible. This will give you a good ground plane (or counterpoise) with your truck deck (also make sure that the truck door is metal, poly carbon doors will not give you a good ground). A good little trick when setting up the lip mount is to scrape off a little paint where the set screws will bit into the metal, this will assist in getting that good ground. You don't have to do this for scanner antennas so much compared to two-way radios, but it will help a lot. The set screws will mark up the paint anyway, and little to no rust should form, but check up on the mount every so often.
There are many styles of lip mounts to choose from. Preferably I would recommend an NMO antenna connector style mount. It's the most common style mount and many scanner antenna manufactures that produce both the mount and antenna in a package. Some like Hustler make a nice whip scanner antenna bu their truck lip mount is very large an noticeable. Me personally I would get a smaller looking mount and purchase a separate antenna.
Also when choosing your antenna, make sure that you select one that will cover all the frequencies you want to hear. Don't get something that is tuned for UHF and is small for a stealthy loo because it won't pick up Low Band and 150 Mhz unless you are right up on the transmitter. Try and get a multi band antenna if possible. You can spend anywhere from $20 to $100 for one. Also the most expensive is not necessarily the best.
They get good reception yes but only on a "local" level. Just a little "geek-time" explanation, any antenna that does not have a good ground plane (ie. like in radios, the negative side connected to metal) you are only going to pic up strong transmission signals. These types of antennas need to be run as a dipole, basically the center connector (the part the whip of the antenna touches) has to go one what while the shield part of the antenna wire (the ground) has to run the other way. Also the suction cups don't last very long and in cold weather without proper maintenance, will eventually fall off or loose their shape. Don;t get me wrong, they are a great alternative if you only want to listen to local traffic and want to have that "hidden" look, but they are a lot of maintenance. Nothing is worse that having one of these strung across the front windshield while driving then it pops off in front of you. These are best suited to be mounted on the back window instead.

Date: 2/1/2011
Time: 21:09
Location: 184-186 Bridgeport ave, house on corner of BPT ave and Sullivan rd
Frequency: 33.86
Units Operating: SFD companies 1, 3, and 4. SEMS, SPD, DOT for sand. Nichols FD, Derby FD
Weather Conditions: hail/rain
Description Of Incident:
companies 1, 3, and 4 for the "fully involved" structure fire at address above. First units in confirmed worker with fire on the first floor of a 2.5 story balloon frame, heavy smoke conditions on 2nd floor. E2 grabbing a plug and going to work. E32 with another line to the front door. E35 to feed E32. homeowners evacuated, but cats (4) are still inside. one cat rescued from "C" side, another escaped, unable to find remaining 2 cats. Derby FD to cover station 1, Nichols FD to cover station 3. first floor had heavy fire, especially in bedroom. 2nd floor heavy smoke, no fire. interior reported house has 2 separate attics, no fire in either. bulk of fire was k/d in about 10 minutes of arrival, crews opening up walls/ceilings, hitting hot spots. no further fire found. Crews with lighting to search for remaining 2 cats, but none found. DOT to sand road.
photos from keith at fireground images:
Shelton Fire
Reporters:
Writer:

Got off facebook 10/09. Never re-activated my account. Best thing I ever did, and I am 22 years old in college. everyone thinks I am nuts but I dont miss it one bit. Maybe in time to come, far down the road when I want to reconnect with people, I will return. But for now, I dont need it. Plus, I already spend too much time on this website as it is!

These are photos of Rombout Fire Departments structure fire that occurred at 226 Windsor Rd just before midnight on Sunday. Firefighters arrived to find fire through the roof of a ~ 4500 sq ft residence with high winds, heavy snow, white-out conditions, and near zero wind chill ...... Perfect weather for firefighting....... Firefighters apparently attempted an interior attack but were forced to retreat due to insufficent water and rapid fire spread due to the high winds...... I arrived as Command advised that they were going defensive....... I had a tough time keeping my lens free of snow and debris due to the high winds and only shot with one of two cameras I normally shoot with as a result...... This was clearly a frustrating fire for all who were there.....

A shot from the front...... Hughsonvilles FAST Team and Village of Fishkill......

It was snowing heavily and very windy.......

Hey, I found a hot spot........

A shot from the rear..... These guys were inside under the fire but had to pull out due to rapidly deteriorating conditions......

Insurmountable odds.....

With the wind fanning the fire and water issues.... Crews were ordered to pull back their lines and were clearly frustrated that they were defeated .....

This is shot of the Central Hudson gas man..... He had just retrieved the power meter but said "I killed the power but It's up to guys to turn off the gas.... It's too damn hot!"

While a tanker shuttle was being initiated, Rombout's Tower gets set up......

Village of Fishkill firefighters watch as 62-45 hits the fire......

The end.....

As far as field treatment goes, medics dont have invasive hemodynamic monitoring there is not much you can do. If the kid is herniating then it's time for surgery, however by the time s/s of herniation are detected it's already too late. Also depends on the type of herniation (central. uncal, subflacine), if it's a central then good luck with that one. I haven't seen many people come back from those, they usually end up being veggies, trached/peg'ed and off to the nursing home, sounds like fun right? Not the way I'd wanna live.
I honestly don't think that medics should carry mannitol, do you know what the ICP is that ur treating? Sounds dangerous to me. In my ICU we aren't treating with mannitol until they are 15 or so and no coming down with drugs (propofol/Fentanyl/ativan) We usually snow these kids down as far as we can get them, they are usually max at 50mcg/kg/min of propofol and whatever we can give them. We don't often use hyperventilation off the bat, but we attempt to keep the PCO2 near 30.
So how do you help this kid. 1. Pray and 2. Get him to a level 1 trauma ASAP because he needs an emergency craniotomy.
Hypercarbia (high CO2) = Vasoconstriction, less blood flow
Hypocarbia (low CO2) = Vasodilation, more blood flow

hyperventilation is still part of ER treatment for signs of ICP/herniation. you want to achieve a PCO2 of 30. it creates cerebral alkalosis and reflex vasoconstriction of arterioles leading to decreased cerebral blood volume. However in this case hyperventilation is contraindicated. Hyperventilation is not to be used within the first 24 hours of onset of herniation. you also need to be able to monitor ABGs.
Other treatment for herniation is sedation (propofol or fentanyl) especially if the patient is agitated. you can also use diuretics (mannitol) if they have normal renal function, Barbituates (decrease o2 demand of the brain) 10mg/kg load and then titrate to 1-3mg/kg/hr. At the hospital they might do surgery as another option.
Source - PA school -
Edit - it is not contrainticated, I just looked back in my notes. It says, "try to avoid in the first 24 hours"

As the driver of SFRD Engine 1 this morning I just want to say that ALL precautions were taken while we were operating at a fully involved vehicle fire. The vehicle that was on fire was located in the breakdown lane of I-95 southbound. CSP had two patrol cars on scene , both with their emergency lights operating, both blocking the breakdown lane. As we approached the scene I positioned the engine approximately 75' short of the fire and at an angle that took control of the center and right lanes of I-95. CSP had also put out road flares to warn southbound vehicles of the hazard. Second due SFRD Engine 6 arrived shortly thereafter and also blocked the right two lanes of I95. During the incident the left lane of I-95 remained open and vehicle traffic was passing the scene at full posted speed limit (55) and at much greater speeds, in my estimation.  After extinguishment Engine 6 was clesared and Engine 1 remained on scene. The crash ocurred as the damaged vehicle from the fire was being loaded on a flatbed wrecker. The impact was immense! The tractor trailer continued down I95 approximately 600 yards after impact. Fortunately all three firefighters and our Officer were unhurt by the impact or flying debris. One of the CSP Troopers was hit by debris and was transported to Stamford Hospital for minor injuries. The tow operator was uninjured. The impact from the tractor trailer lifted the rear of the apparatus 1-2' off the ground and forward approximately 4'. The vehicle's maxi brake was applied as well as the rear tire being  chocked. All members were wearing high reflective safety vests over turn-out gear. The cab and trailer suffered signifigant damage as well. The SOG's developed by the SFRD concerning apparatus placement at vehicle fires DEFINATELY prevented injury to SFRD personel. <br>

Date: Sept 26th, 2010
Time: 10:59 am
Location: 42 Rivera Trail
Frequency:
Units Operating: Plattekill, Modena, Cronomer Valley, Orange Lake, Coldenham, Clinotondale, Mobile Life, UCATF, Central Hudson
Weather Conditions: Overcast
Description Of Incident: Reported Working Fire, Initial Report of Smoke and Flame Showing
Reporters/Writer: Cman473
10:59 am, Co # 47 and Cronomer Valley w/ Truck 301 Dispatched for Reported Structure Fire 42 Rivera Trail
11:02 Car 1 and 3 On scene Reporting Smoke Showing
11:03 Command reports fire on 2nd floor, heavy smoke smoke, transmit 2nd Alarms.
On 2nd Alarm;

Modena w/ 1 Tanker and Manpower
Coldenham w/ FAST Team
Orange Lake w/ 1 Rescue to Stand By at Station #1
Clintondale w/ 1 Engine to Stand By at Station #1
Central Hudson for a Power Cut
UC ATF Investigation
Town of Plattekill Building and Code Enforcement to the Scene

11:03 Engine 1, 2 and 645 Responding
11:04 Engine 3, 4, FP 36 and 647 Responding, Car 2 On Scene
11:10 Command requests ALS to Scene for Tenant w/ Smoke Inhalation
11:11 Command Reporting Active Fire B/C Side and C Side Bedrooms, Approx 100' x 35' 2 Story Brick and Wood Frame.
Engine 1; 3 Lines to work, 1-2 1/2" and 2-1 3/4"
Truck 301 Operating on Roof to Vent
Engine 2 and 3 Water Supply and Tanker Ops
Engine 4 for Manpower and Support Equipment
36 For Traffic
645 and 647 Rehab and Medical
Modena 40-20 Tanker ops
Coldenham FAST
11:15 Orange Lake Requested to the Scene for Water Supply Operation on Old Unionville Road to Supply Tankers, not to use New Unionville as Water was not sufficient
11:28 Fire Appears to be out, checking for extension and overhaul; via Car 4 to Operations
11:41 Final; Fire Knocked down, Overhaul
12:3o; Mutual aid released, Keep Orange Lake and Clintondale for Stand By
13:13 In SVC In Quarters
Final Report of Investigation; Accidental, Started by Space Heater igniting mattress and contents.
Heavy Smoke Dame to 2nf Floor, Heavy Fire Damage to room of origin. Water Damage to 1st floor. 10 people displaced.
Good Job By all, Fast knock Down, No Injuries to FF's. Plattekill Alone had 52 members On Scene.
Car 3

When I drive an ambulance for my Volunteer corps I will actually go no lights no sirens even if dispatched priority 1 (lights/siren). all depending on the dispatch. If I am dispatched to something like impending/possible MIs, respiratory arrests, MVCs, drownings, and a few others I will go priority 1. I also take into account the distance to the scene. if its a short trip, I'm not going priority 1. if its long, (up to 15 minutes in my town) I will usually use lights if I am in higher traffic areas, and then shut down if not in high traffic. I also have a lot of old country roads in my town which I would not travel any different in speed. I always get the, "dude its priority 1, what are you doing?" and I usually just have to explain to them my thoughts. all about driving with "due regard."

The Town of Groton (pronounced Grah-ton)is very unique as it has 9 separate fire taxation districts and they either contract or host a local fire department. They also have two industrial departments, the US Naval Sub Base Fire Department and Groton-New London Airport ARFF within the town boarder.
The City of Groton is a autonomous municipality located along the Thames River in the Town of Groton, just south of the Sub Base. They operate as a combination department from two stations ("G-1" & "G-2") with two engines, a ladder truck, a rescue (I beleive its still in service) and a reserve pumper. They only have 4 career person on a shift who can drop down to three on a shift. With the drop in the number of volunteers in the department, the career staff has been wanting a study concering their staffing, needless to say the mayor has been against any study. The CGFD covers the City of Groton and the West Pleasant Valley Fire District which boarders the Sub Base.
Poquonnock Bridge Fire District("G-3") operates a career department from two stations covering the majority of the township.
Noank Fire Department (Noank Fire District) (G-4) is a volunteer fire department located in Noank village located between Mystic and Groton Long Point.
The Mystic Fire Department (Mystic Fire District)(G-5) is a separate fire district that covers the southern area around the Mystic river in both the towns of Groton and Stonington. There one station on either side of the river.
The Old Mystic Fire District (G-6) operates from two stations covering the northern Mystic River area in both townsd of Groton and Stonington. OMFD has a paid chief, deputy, fire marshal and inspectors.
Center Groton Fire District (G-7) covers the northern portion of the town along boardering the G-3 district and the Town of Ledyard.
Groton Long Point Fire Department(G-8) operates out of one station in the Groton Long Point section of the township. They cover the Groton Long Point Association and the Mumford Cove Fire District.
Pfizer has its own fire department / brigades and is desginated "G-9" whihc covers the Pfizer industrial cetner in Groton City. They will respond to fires in the city when requested.
Electic Boat (aka "EB") where a majority of the USNs subs are made has its own fire department and has the county designation "D". Their firehouse is litterally across the street for City of Groton Station and they will respond upon request into the City of Groton.
The US Naval Sub Base Fire Department (C-1 & C-2) covers the northern section of the town of Groton, the base and off base housing areas. They have one station on the base and a second on Route 12 near the off base housing. Sub Base is also a regional mutual aid hazmat and fast unit for the area as well.
There are aso three separate police departments as well: City of Groton, Town of Groton and Groton Long Point. Plus Sub base police and security for EB and Pfizer.
Now before anyone starts on the who band-wagon about consolidation, do not mention it in this town and the residents, not the fire departments, will have a fit and fight you tooth and nail about it!!! Each taxation district under CT's "Home Rule" laws is considered a minicipal government.
All the Groton Fire Departments are dispatched by Groton Fire Alarm while teh SUb Base and the two industrial departments have thier own dispatch.

Blah blah blah...........warning lights people......warning lights!
WHO CARES!
I ride around in a big red engine or truck. It has flashing lights and we use it on streets highways ect.....The only thing that is really going to make a difference for your safety is YOU! Use your head and pay attention. I've been standing on the highway and seen people work REALLY hard to squeeze their car between the flares we put up to close a portion of the road. I've had motorcycles weave right through the firemen on the scene.
Lights, stripes, ribbons, flares don't matter that much. The only thing that will keep you safe is using your head and some proper rig placement. The only thing that's going to keep you safe and stop drivers from coming near you while you work is to make them UNABLE to.