frenchie477

Just an update. The interlock sensors have been re-adjusted and we are keeping aerial controls. The foot opposite the side the ladder is on still picks up but we can still run the aerial thankfully. Thanks for all the responses. Also, as a side note... we just turned 100,000 miles on the old girl. Many many hard miles.

Everyone pretty much hit the nail on the head. I spoke to the Lt that has been dealing with the Pierce engineers on this. The torque box has been replaced once before and was checked this time and is working order. The outrigger picking up is normal for this apparatus but losing all aerial controls in the concerning part. We are working on figuring out exactly why the interlock is disengaging and why the micro switch isn't keeping things in check.

Thanks for the insights and I will check back when we get it figured out.

Anyone ever come across an outrigger that lifts off the ground during aerial operations? We have a 98 Pierce 100' rear mount tower ladder. The unit has 4 outriggers and the right rear stabilizer foot lifts up and disengages all aerial controls anytime the ladder is brought to the left. To re-engage controls you must switch back to stabilizer mode, drop the foot down to the ground again and then switch back to aerial mode.

The unit has been to our shop and been back to Pierce where the engineers deemed it "normal" based on the age and wear and tear of the vehicle and stated it was the suspension shifting. We have tried it in various situations and have jacked the truck up high enough to eliminate the suspension (in the rear) from the scenario completely. I can hardly believe this is normal.

ps - At 100 feet in the air it's scary moment when the ladder jerks to a stop and the truck teeters back and forth on 3 outriggers.

I've seen this product manufacturer pop up as of late. I've not seen it in person but some well regarded individuals in the fire service are backing this up and it looks awesome. http://www.mn8products.com/

Just purchased a Phenix TL2. With goggles attached it gets the NFPA cert. All in all, great helmet so far. Good fit, ride height and covers the required certifications without the weight. I opted to remove the goggles after passing inspection since I always use safety glasses anyway.

We live about 40 miles from the epicenter. Def felt it here. Had one small building collapse downtown. Some guys from the department have returned home to find their homes in shambles unfortunately. Thankfully nothing major has been affected.

Stacked tips all the way. I can't recall sizes but we do keep the adjustable on the truck as well. Can be moved from the tip or the turntable.

At least they admitted on TV that it was a comical thing... not to be taken too seriously.

We currently run David Clarkes on all of our rigs and, at least in my station, we use them faithfully. We can always hear oncoming emergency vehicle, the portable radio I wear when talking to EMS radio and the benefits of the intercom system. All in all it's a great system. We also are religious about hearing protection while running saws and fans and anything else loud like that. I'd like to keep my ears working for the next 30 or so...

National Geographic Channel has a show on now where they are cutting in half an old Ford Grumman Snorkel.

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/episode/fire-truck-4637/Overview

This is an awesome collection of photos. Thanks for sharing them and keep them coming please!

I agree with that 100% The smarter move would be make Beacon Engine a reserve engine location and move all the guys from Station 1 down to Station 2. Just my opinion.

^ So far the talks have been to close the house and lay off four career staff. The house being closed I could deal with I think, but laying off of four guys is not acceptable.

As is typically the case, our politicians in Beacon are not the brightest crayons in the box. They've looked into cutting almost all city services in some way or another from recreation to the DPW. Last week it was the DPW workers on the chopping block and somehow, magically they FOUND money they didn't know they had all of a sudden and were able to save those jobs. I'm glad they did, I have friends who work there however, doesn't it stink of corruption if they can find over $100,000 that no one knew we had? Who is managing the money if that's how our money is being handled? Needless to say things are getting bad in Beacon and I don't think it will be long till we revert to the beacon of old (20 years ago with burned out houses, shootings and an overall horrible reputation).

Exactly what I needed! I've never made any changes to my settings but I guess as the forums changed, so did the defaults. Thanks! It was actually deterring me from being here and just browsing posts.

I'm actually surprised that any of you expected realism. It's drama, for TV... it's about the ratings not the realism. 99% of it would not be allowed and would result in serious job losses for sure. I actually like the show.. not because of the realism, but because the characters crack me up and they're interactions make it watchable. Just my .02.

Thanks! We're signed up for the agility as of now.. hopefully this time I'll get to a medical somewhere

Congrats on the 95. I got a 90 and ranked 20. Scheduled for a physical as well.

Awesome photos. Thanks for sharing these!

There are a lot of considerations and most DOT supervisors would tell you they'd rather have 2 feet of snow than a storm in the 30-35 degree range. I worked Wednesday night and the temperature hovered between 31 and 33 degrees all night in the rain. If they spread sand at 2am, 3am, 4am, etc., it would have been a waste and washed out by the time it finally froze at 8:30. That's a considerable expense, not to mention the environmental impact of laying product over the river.

I can remember one Monday morning a few years ago when the same thing happened in the Newburgh area. I was on duty crew for NWVAC and we got called for 2 rigs to an MVA. By the time car 2 called on to assist a minute or 2 later, we had the initial accident covered, but the dispatcher told him there were 4 other MVA's in town that all happened simultaneously. All in all, we did something like of 15 calls in 90 minutes as everything turned to ice.

I agree 100%- It would have been a major waste to do that. It's just one those situations that happens now and again.

I believe that Middle Hope usually gets called for incidents on the eastbound side. Beacon for the westbound side. In this case, Beacon couldn't get through to the whole scene as well as the size of it.

When my pager went off for Middle Hope, I called 36 Control and advised that traffic was shut down and for them to come east in the west bound lane. I also advised extreme caution as the bridge surface was a sheet of ice.

One of our other drivers said that when they did reopen the bridge around 10:30, that it was like driving on the beach they had so much sand out there. Too bad they couldn't have gotton out there at 8 to do it.

Typically the bridge authority guys are right on top of sanding and plowing if need be. Like us though, they have people in charge who miss the boat sometimes.

Looking at the pictures on www.recordonline.com it appears not everyone is in compliance with the new safety vest laws yet.

Someone is always a vest picker... good eye, and your right, many (not all) departments down here haven't quite gotten that issue resolved yet. It's coming I assure you of that, just a little slower than everyone else it seems.

I'm another one of those "I was supposed to be there" - I just switched from glenham, to beacon, but don't have gear and can't actually do anything yet, and, my pager for BVAC was off, so that's a no go either.. figures.

50, glad you made it out unscathed for the most part! Hopefully your feeling better quickly.

In the case of patients- I always make it a point to give the county and update of arrival at the hospital and mileage if it's a male crew and female patient. Try cover myself and my crew best I can. IF, all those remarks made in the article are false. If they're real, those responsible need to be put away. It's hard enough to do our jobs and have a patient trust your capable of doing your job and people like this only make it harder. :angry:

I got mine on ebay, with the car mount charger for 100 shipped. Keep your eyes peeled and you'll find things.

Interesting perspective. I believe they are more appropriately held as enemy combatants under military rules than our civil laws.

It is also necessary to treat terrorism as a war crime or crime against humanity. Our civil laws mean nothing to people who believe we are all infidels anyway. Just like other conflicts, you can't use traditional tactics in guerilla warfare.

Fantastic point. This is essentially a guerilla war, constantly. It does require more drastic measures. What the line is between savagery and civility I'm not sure. I sure wish we could find it though. Keep them suffering and yet keep all the civil liberty people at bay.