Res1cueLT

Members
 View profile  See their activity

  • Content count

    17

  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by Res1cueLT

  1. Posted

    If we had to say there is a down side to being part of the Fire Serrvice this would be it. I was a member of the Yonkers Fire Department for almost 29 years and I can say with certainty that you burry too many friends before their time. However to go along with that is one of my sayings I used all the time. Everything in life is give and take, therefore if it were not for the Fire Service I would not have made so many Good and Close friends over the last 29 years. I had the pleasure of being one of A. Rods traing Officers when he started his career on the YFD, it was there that are friendship started. Tony was a True Gentleman, True Friend, Geat Firefighter, and one of the most giving people you would ever want to meet. He would do anything for a person in need, and he continued that even on his last day with us. The only thing that brings a sense of compfort to me as I think about my friend is that I know he is in excellent company with all the other Great people taken from us to early. You will truly be missed by the many people that you touched their lives

    Good bye MY FRIEND see you again one day.

    Your Friend

    Mike

    ex-commish, SageVigiles, norestriction and 12 others like this

  3. Posted

    Is it safer to operate off an arial? It depends on the angle,distance to the roof and the pitch of the roof. I would much rather climb a ground ladder to this particular roof than a arial extended 60-80 feet at a very low angle. Working off a ariel is not always safer. Seeing guys carrying tools while going up a ladder that is extended 50-80 ft at low angles would not be safer in this particular case or similar incidents. But if you don't position an arial in front you have less options from the start. Looks like a good job and a great stop!

    Some one gets it :)

  5. Posted

    Yonkers, be prepared to hear the same thing that was proposed a few years ago. Station 8 will CLOSE and Engine 308 will cease to exist. YFD will move Squad 11 to Station 7 and then proceed to CLOSE Station 11. Ladder 70 will cease to exist and YFD will move Tower Ladder 75 to Station 14 to replace it (vs. the better alternative of moving TL 75 to the propoposed to be closed Station 11)

    Wake up Yonkers, because the administration will more than likely propose these cuts within the YFD to close the budget gap. Add to this, you will most likely hear that the Sanitation Department will again propose a 1 day a week collecetion schedule. Then you will have the same slow down and piles of garbage seen on the sidewalks this summer and the city will smell like a sewer. You will also probably again watch the DPW Union heads, while attending a public city haul meeting, treating women reporters covering that meeting, like they were street walkers on the lower west side of Manhattan.

    Police Cuts will now allow the gangs of Yonkers to have free reign on the streets of Yonkers. Willow Avenue will again be "GANG CENTRAL" for them to have as they like.

    Yonkers, the Emerald Citiy !!!

    There is NO Willow Ave in Yonkers

  7. Posted

    I remember back in the day, like 6 years ago, myself and friend would take our waverunners out of yonkers and loop around manhattan back to the YO. It got so bad we stopped doing that route and headed north to bear mountain instead. One day on our way down and back to NYC, we were pulled over by coast guard (boarded twice as they would say), NYPD, Jersey state, Yonkers, and lastly NYC corrections. Yes corrections! Harrasment you think? And no, we were not drinking, speeding or jumping wakes. Just cruising along. Had all the safety equipement, etc. and we were let go every time. It took all the fun out of it.

    Maybe you just look like a trouble maker

  10. Posted

    Res1cue LT

    We tested it with 7.5 mm and 8 mm Aramid/Nylon Sterling Rope W/Crosby hook attached. The CMC EA just did not work well at all. How is Capt Dunn?

    Did you guys buy the XO's??

    Have the new EA will be testing them sometime this week, actually have 2 different new types. We have not had any problems with the older version jamming as of yet but because of the people reporting this we are looking at the newer versions. The EA was very close in the remote anchor testing when done in the standing and or crouching position. The XO beat it hands down in the crawling portion of the remote anchor testing. Everyone on the commitee, and random members asked,liked the "feel" of the EA during the actual decending process. That being said we looked at it like this: If I deploy my system I know I am going to descend, not so sure if I will be remote anchoring. The fact is if you can remote anchor you should, the hook is a last resort. Now we previously stated that the XO was better in the remote anchor testing when done from the crawling postion, lets return to that. If I am driven into or trapped in a room that I have to crawl, due to heat and or smoke conditions, I have to ask myself HONESTLY, will I try to remote, look for a window, or find a window and go back and remote or am I going to just find a window and go with the hook. I am almost certain it will be the last option for most of us. That means the crawling test doesn't mean all that much. The only time I actually see remote anchoring as a viable option is if I do not have to crawl. When I can call for another means of exiting the area (ie: Ladder, bucket, etc.) while I am waiting I would remote incase it didn't get there in time. Thses are just some of our thoughts and I am sure some would disagree, thats why I previously stated you should prioritize your criteria, because no one system is right for everyone. We haven't even touch the surface of other issues, getting hung up on a window sill, operating your system with burnt or injured hands etc.

    Well I hope that this gave you some insight into what goes into the process. This week should be interesting.

    Stay Safe

    Oh and who is Capt Dunn??

    Just kidding he is fine.

  11. Posted

    I think you're confusing me with someone else. I wouldn't want to take any credit for all the great work that our bailout rope committee members are doing. I am not involved and I have total confidence their efforts. These days I am mostly a paper pusher although I am a very interested observer of this issue.

    I do think one common problem that most departments, including ours, are going to have after spending all this time and money on selecting bailout rope systems is providing mandatory, ongoing, realistic training, as well as mandating that the systems be worn at all times and inspected regularly. The only way to do this for our own members benefit is to not only provide the opportunities for regular training, but to mandate that all members participate, and hold people accountable for not completing training as well as not regularly inspecting and wearing the systems.

    Accountability means someone has to be the "bad guy" and unfortunately too many fire service "leaders" are more concerned with being liked than with taking the necessary steps to increase firefighter health and safety...this would apply to many areas such as seatbelts, physical conditioning, regular, realistic training aimed at everyone not just at the junior guys who are still gung-ho, etc., but this is all a topic for another thread I guess....

    Was that a can of worms that was just opened????

  12. Posted

    Bob,

    We use the Petzl EXO. We tested the CMC Escape Artist 540 Belay, it jammed up several times doing about 200 slides. It also does not play out very smooth when hooking up to an anchor that's distant from the window. Hands down the EA did not work as well as the EXO. I see that Chief Flynn said they have a new CMC EA, if it has a post running through the center of the 540 belay cylinder then, I suspect that's causing the problem, if not I would like to see how it works. Stop over and see us next door, we can show you what we tested and how they worked out.

    What rope were you using when it jammed??

  13. Posted

    We are currently in the process of picking a system. We have tested many, and visited with departments to see what they were using. Bottom line is nothing is perfect so you have to assign priorities to your criteria. The first thing we did was to establish criteria, then we had several manufactures come in and demo there product with us. From there we were able to narrow the field to 4 devices. Further testing was done on those to narrow the field even further until there were only 2 left.

    While the doulble brake device seems to be the best choice at first glance it did not do well in the remote anchor testing.

    As far as the rope getting caught in the Escape artist: I am being told that there has not been a case when an aramid fiber rope was being used, if someone has conflicting info please let me know.

    There is a new design of the Escape artist which we will be testing this week.

    The XO had the same issue initially. Before the U-bolt was installed they had many jups on that device, until one day someane got the rope caught. That incident was why the u-bolt was developed.

    There must be a fromal process with written evauations, criteria, goals etc. Remeber once you establish your criteria it is highly unlikely you will find a device that fits them all so you will be forced to prioritize. If there were such a device everyone would buy it.

    Once you have gotten to the stage where you have picked the :

    Device

    Rope

    Length of rope

    anchor type

    Bag

    How to intergrate it into your gear.

    Then you will have the task of developing a traing program, which will include course material, initial training, and a refresher traing schedule.

    Also to be considered is the fact that this is a rapidly growing market with frequent new developments. This is not to say you should wait for something better, more that there should be constant research for further developments.

    [/quot

    Mike,

    Very good post...fairly comprehensive, but you forgot to tell them that when testing or training, all vehicles should be parked out of the drop zone and chin straps should be securely fastened.

    Thanks John, I forgot to add that you will never make all your members happy, so pick something that everyone can use not just your rope guys.

  14. Posted

    We are currently in the process of picking a system. We have tested many, and visited with departments to see what they were using. Bottom line is nothing is perfect so you have to assign priorities to your criteria. The first thing we did was to establish criteria, then we had several manufactures come in and demo there product with us. From there we were able to narrow the field to 4 devices. Further testing was done on those to narrow the field even further until there were only 2 left.

    While the doulble brake device seems to be the best choice at first glance it did not do well in the remote anchor testing.

    As far as the rope getting caught in the Escape artist: I am being told that there has not been a case when an aramid fiber rope was being used, if someone has conflicting info please let me know.

    There is a new design of the Escape artist which we will be testing this week.

    The XO had the same issue initially. Before the U-bolt was installed they had many jups on that device, until one day someane got the rope caught. That incident was why the u-bolt was developed.

    There must be a fromal process with written evauations, criteria, goals etc. Remeber once you establish your criteria it is highly unlikely you will find a device that fits them all so you will be forced to prioritize. If there were such a device everyone would buy it.

    Once you have gotten to the stage where you have picked the :

    Device

    Rope

    Length of rope

    anchor type

    Bag

    How to intergrate it into your gear.

    Then you will have the task of developing a traing program, which will include course material, initial training, and a refresher traing schedule.

    Also to be considered is the fact that this is a rapidly growing market with frequent new developments. This is not to say you should wait for something better, more that there should be constant research for further developments.

    fjp326 likes this