gamewell45

Starbucks Coffee = burnt coffee Double D's (dunkin donuts) is infinitely superior.

An Exempt Firefighter is a volunteer fireman who's served 5 or more years of active service in a volunteer fire company/district/department.

The club consists of Active firefighters, Exempt Firefighters, social members (Buffs, wanna-bee's, etc) and I believe honorary members. As far as i know, they don't receive any two percent monies. They do some sort of fund raising work to run the organization. and they march in parades as well....Thats about all i know about the group.

Good luck collecting money from some of the people. Some out of state drivers may not have insurance on their vehicles (I believe there are still some states where it is not a requirement that you have any insurance on your vehicle) and it would be interesting to see how they'd go about collecting it. Automatic alarms is one thing; but charging for other services might become more of a headache then its worth in collecting the monies.

I realize that every department has different policies, however in my department, the driver stays with the truck during parades, funerals, details, etc unless someone (such as another firefighter or fire-police officer) is designated to replace him to watch the trucks for security purposes only. If the trucks are running, then another qualified driver must relieve the driver requesting relief. While there can be no guarantee that a manned fire apparatus will never be stolen nor vandalized, the chances are lessened with someone watching the fort.

yes, because if anything happens to that truck or someone gets hurt if the truck moves while its unattended, the driver will be held accountable.

My position (and the position of every fire department i've been a member of) is the MPO/Chauffeur stays with the apparatus at all times unless relieved by a qualified operator whether the pumper/ladder truck is in active use or parked at the scene. The chauffeur has complete responsibility for that apparatus once it leaves the fire station until its returned and parked.

Chris, when I was a fireman in Westchester in the mid-1970's i was aware of two areas that were in "no man's land".....Usonia homes in Mount Pleasant and a part of Silver Lake in West Harrison. They were in no fire distrnict or fire protection district at the time; evenutally Usonia was able to get fire protection from Pleasantville FD in the mid-1980's i recall; but i'm not sure if Silver Lake ever was able to get into a fire district. Those were the only two area i knew of with no fire protection tho' i'm sure there are most likely more throughout the state..

Raz, there's definitely alot of merit in what you've said. Its rational and makes sense.

Cogs, the career guys are covered by a collective bargaining agreement that was agreed to by the city and union. Penalizing the career guys financially over this dispute is not only unfair, it violates the spirit of the collective bargaining process. Even attempting to broach this subject with the union could cause considerable damage to the city's credibility next time contract talks come around. There would be no trust between the parties and the long-term ramifications would be damaging for both sides in this dispute. I'm a enthusiasic supporter of the volunteer system, but not at the expense of career staff already employed. When they were hired, there was a committment from both sides both legally and morally & as taxpayers there is an obligation to honor that. I'm sure with time and patience, this issue will be resolved between the city and volunteers and everyone will move past this. Just my opinion as an non-resident of your state.

When we'd go out and visit with our Brother firefighters in Pittsburgh, Pa., they'd invite us to go out with them and "pump some iron". The first time we weren't too sure what they meant until we ended up at the bar drinking Iron City Beer. Even when served chilled, it was brutal stuff to try and drink.

As far fetched as this may sound, if you were photographing medical documents on the fire scene such as the forms used by EMS personnel when they assess patients and publishing them, that could constitute a violation of HIPAA. In reading the link you supplied, I found the following paragraph to be most pursuasive: 本簡明資訊向您說明根據OCR執行的法律您享有的民權。同時也告訴您如何提出申訴。 Although it is in a foreign language, for those of you who can read it, will shed light on any questions you may have about HIPAA and yes Photounit you are 100% correct in your statement.

As long as you do not violate "hippa" laws you can snap away to your hearts content. The working press enjoys in some cases, unprecedented access to fire and accident scenes, though rarely do they attempt to enter someones residence in an effort to take photos tho' some paparazzi will stop at no ends to get "that photo" including breaking the law.

During my college years, Pabst Blue Ribbon was the staple of drinking. If It was served almost bone-chilling cold, it was drinkable. I used to be able to get it for .25 per can.

HFD you are so correct; when i became a volunteer almost 33 years ago, we received absolutely nothing except as you mentioned a death benefit which your estate received from the BA. The district gave us nothing for many years; of course we didn't expect anything, however the introduction of some perks (LOSAP mainly) was a nice gesture by the district to say "thanks" for our efforts. Plenty of districts outside the suburbs to this day give their volunteers nothing, including no LOSAP program.

The health benefit issue is really off topic so i don't want to get into it but i'd be happy to debate it with you in another thread specifically on this topic. I believe that the $500 is real money; just like the $200 tax credit volunteers got this past year was real money.

What are we supposed to do with these children who have no medical benefits? Deny them treatment and possibly have them get into a life threatening situation? Somehow that goes against the grain of a civilized society. I also happen to think that $500.00 is not a measly amount of money. Its sure better then what we now have.

Chris, i have no problem shifting the costs to the fire district, however if we do that, then by all rights other programs the state provides to local communities, such as state aid for public schools, social programs and other "pork projects" that benefit a town or region should likewise be absorbed by the towns and cities.

Hopefully it never happens, but somehow I think that if you or I are lying on the street in full cardiac arrest, we are not going to have much say in who works on us.

Yes, we do have a very effective lobbying mechanism in place and I also believe that the spirit of volunteerism is alive and well.

I'll be happy to take you up on that.

Thats very true; fortunatley there are only maybe a dozen or so people in here that have that mentality and for the most part they are irrelevent.

I think, if during negotiations, the company had knowledge of the issues they now claim were responsible for no longer accepting coverage and didn't make the union aware of their concerns and possible ramifications thereof, then at worst case scenario, there is a violation of the spirit of the labor agreement and quite possible a violation of failing to bargain in good faith. Should make an interesting case for the labor attorney's if the union decides to ajudicate it.

Using that anaolgy, that would disqualify the current sitting President of the United States who was arrested and convicted at least twice of crimes. Once for drunken driving and the second time for disorderly conduct. And he is sworn to uphold the Constitution of the United States, which in essence is the highest laws in the land.

Good luck finding another major labor union to join if you leave CSEA. As part of AFSCME they are a member of the AFL-CIO, and as such the "three year rule" applies before you can either join or affiliate with another labor union thats part of the AFL-CIO, unless you form your own independent union or association. If you form an independent union the start up costs fall soley on the shoulders of the members and once you find out what the start costs will run you, you'll have second thoughts unless the membership is around 2,000 or more. I'm not familiar with the CSEA union nor how they operate, however if your shop prepares a list of issues that they find troublesome and approach the local Executive Board to discuss it, many of the issues might be rectified to the satisfaction of the membership; eitherway its best to try to work for change from within if its at all possible.