gamewell45

I would suggest that a representative from career staff meet with the Captains from each volunteer company and lay their cards on the table and see what the volunteers will do to help their Brothers.

My son is a career FF down in SC, it's non-union (State law says municipalities are not required to recognize unions) and every year he has to undergo a rigorous physical exam.  If you fail it you have 60 days to meet the standards and if not, then you are out of a job.  No and's, if's or buts, your gone -- no union to go to bat for you.  Every morning everyone on shift exercises for 45 minutes (they stagger it so not everyone is exercising at the same time) to help them remain in shape.

Kinkchaser; you are correct; this will not solve all the labor problems in America and its not supposed to, but you have to start somewhere; of course we can keep putting off the issue and nothing will get done and it'll be business as usual. 
 
If you read the last paragraph in my posting I listed things that may help the Brothers in getting some action done which may restore their jobs.  You need reach out to the vollies and form a working partnership,  but keep in mind the thrust of my post.  If we are all going to be unionists, they we have to work together as a team and not play the role but work the role.

I suspect that most of the citizens could care less as long as the trucks show up.  Most of them are ignorant on how the fire department operates.

I suspect that most of the citizens could care less as long as the trucks show up.  Most of them are ignorant on how the fire department operates.

You do the possible; the impossible is just going to have to wait.

Thoughts and prayers go out to the deceased Brother's family and friends. Pray for a speedy recovery for the survivors in the ambulance as well.

Nice photo's; thanks for posting them!

Nice photo's; thanks for posting them!

Nice photo's; thanks for posting them!

I think we have to consider the fact that this site may have run its course as many end up doing. In addition, as a few have mentioned, many of the topics posted do not require much of a discussion if any.

Remember, every day is Saturday for the rest of your life. Congratulations.

If I can expand on that and do a comparison;
While I understand that conditions in a major city differ greatly from rural departments, much of what you have mentioned is already provided by the town I live in (and I suspect many of the towns where I live). We have a f/t building inspector, along with a part timer as well and between the two they do code enforcement, inspect properties and enforce the NYS UFP&BC.
While we provide volunteer EMS as part of our mission statement, we also provide ALS service through a commercial agency to meet the needs of the town. those residents whom may require assistance to get them home healthcare, special home equipment and facility placement are referred to the county social services.
Likewise, the county maintains a hazmat team; technical rescue is handled by the various county agencies.
My department also trains with other departments, particularly those charged with providing us mutual aid and visa versa.
I think it's pretty obvious that due to the size of the city you work in, they end up putting much of the workload on the fire department. But then again there is funding for that whereas where I live that would require funding (which the tax payers are not willing to bite into) and of course would mean duplication of services and as I'm sure you'll agree, that would be the last thing most of us would want to see especially in the era of consolidation encouragement.
Training for volunteers in the areas you mentioned that are out of the 4% scope of fire suppression where services already exist to handle that would be superfluous at best.

Some of u guys have way to much time on your hands .

let me weigh in on this- I have been quiet too long. NYS OFPC has set the standard--let me explain-- FF1-FF2-survival-FAST-RES tec-Eng Co operations-truck co ops-haz mat the list goes on. add them up and guess what you come up with the career standard or close enough. give or take a few hours. so the career firefighters get all of this at one shot we call it probie school or Career Academy or what ever name you want to give it. On the other side OFPC has divided all the classes into separate training modules. so it is possible and is being done by firefighters all over NYS just in a different manner.
So the Training is out there just in different formats.
Now for the quid pro quo--is spelling and grammar correct??
OFPC has left it to--"AHJ" authority having jurisdiction---gotta love spell check to establish the standards for individual fire departments.
The State legislature has established the Standard for fire departments with more then five personnel. that would be the 229 hour standard we have in NYS.
So the Career department are mandated by State Legislature and the other departments aren't-with the exception of OSHA and haz mat.
Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday season and above all be safe out there.

In the volunteer fire service its a lack of properly trained FF's committed and/or available to respond on demand; in the career service its a lack of funding for proper staffing; everyone wants proper staffing levels, but either don't want to raise taxes or shift funds to pay for it. In all honesty, I don't expect it to change materially much in our lifetimes given the current mindset of our politicians and voters.

One thing you failed to mention in your post (unless I missed it) is that you can be the most highly trained, competent firefighter in the business, yet if you cannot work with others, your completely useless to the fire service.

Let's be honest here and admit that there are people, both career and volunteer who have no business in the fire service. To deny that is being blatantly dishonest with yourself. In fact, almost every job, whether public or private sector have the same situation that is found in the fire service. Not all, but most firefighters, whether career or volunteer are professionals who do the best they can given the tools and training.

One thing you failed to mention in your post (unless I missed it) is that you can be the most highly trained, competent firefighter in the business, yet if you cannot work with others, your completely useless to the fire service.

Let's be honest here and admit that there are people, both career and volunteer who have no business in the fire service. To deny that is being blatantly dishonest with yourself. In fact, almost every job, whether public or private sector have the same situation that is found in the fire service. Not all, but most firefighters, whether career or volunteer are professionals who do the best they can given the tools and training.

One thing you failed to mention in your post (unless I missed it) is that you can be the most highly trained, competent firefighter in the business, yet if you cannot work with others, your completely useless to the fire service.

One thing you failed to mention in your post (unless I missed it) is that you can be the most highly trained, competent firefighter in the business, yet if you cannot work with others, your completely useless to the fire service.

One thing you failed to mention in your post (unless I missed it) is that you can be the most highly trained, competent firefighter in the business, yet if you cannot work with others, your completely useless to the fire service.

Let's be honest here and admit that there are people, both career and volunteer who have no business in the fire service. To deny that is being blatantly dishonest with yourself. In fact, almost every job, whether public or private sector have the same situation that is found in the fire service. Not all, but most firefighters, whether career or volunteer are professionals who do the best they can given the tools and training.

Let's be honest here and admit that there are people, both career and volunteer who have no business in the fire service. To deny that is being blatantly dishonest with yourself. In fact, almost every job, whether public or private sector have the same situation that is found in the fire service. Not all, but most firefighters, whether career or volunteer are professionals who do the best they can given the tools and training.