dwcfireman

A sad reminder that this is going to be a continuing problem....

Seth, you are going to buy a tree from us, right?

What do you mean "when manpower allows?" Is there a different level of staffing from day to day? Or are there overlapping shifts? It doesn't make sense that a piece of apparatus is available only "at times" and other rigs are getting an extra person "at times."

I have an idea for this, but with a modern looking engine....cold "drinks" from the pump panel, speakers in the tool compartments, and the "tank" is refrigerated for the "drinks." My brother-in-law wants a FANbulance for football games. I want the FANgine!

There is so much room on this rig....we don't know what to do with it! hahaha

Is it really that difficult to obey an officer's instructions? I'm pretty sure that I learned at a young age that you ALWAYS obey an officer's instructions...It's really sad that many Americans feel that they don't have to listen to the police because a few bad eggs made it into the national media scene. Brothers in blue, you may wear a different uniform than I, but you're all good in my book! Stay safe, stay vigilant!

Considering that the exterior line will only flow for maybe minute at most, it's very likely that the line will be shut down before the interior team gets to that area and won't be working against it anyway. The ATF laboratories found that the exterior line should be used for about 30 seconds, "resetting" the fire about 90 seconds, which is about enough time to get the interior line through the house to the room of origin (about 2 minutes).

According to the Irish firefighter I met in Waterford, this has been the tactic in Europe for over a decade (probably longer now). Let's start working smarter, not harder!

My opinion here is that since Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown are so close that if Sleep Hollow's ladder was in Ossining then Tarrytown has no problem sending one of their ladders on village up. Conversely, it does make more sense for a Tarrytown ladder to be sent to Ossining first (since they have two). However, there's an exorbitant amount of ladder trucks in the area (Tarrytown (2), Sleep Hollow, Ossining (2), Croton, Millwood, Pleasantville, Thornwood, Elmsford (2), etc.). With so many trucks around, you really can pick and choose who you want to run or stand-by for you. From what I understand of the mutual aid system, you can pick and choose departments and apparatus to fill out your 10-75, second alarm, etc. cards for the CAD system. If you go beyond the cards that you have filed, then 60 Control will pick for you at the moment, depending on who is available without stressing the surround area. The way I interpret good mutual aid is to take an extra rig from a few of your neighbors, then start skipping around as you declare higher alarms. There's no need to strip four districts off all of their apparatus and personnel when we have so many resources available to us. Some good examples are the tanker and EMS task forces. 60 Control will skip around throughout the county to provide the apparatus you requested without depleting a region of everything it MAY need.

It will also be outfitted with non-emergency equipment, such as cones, barricades, pump-out equipment, and possibly brush fire equipment for large events. The SOP's are being created for the vehicle, and we will use it as our needs fit. This is definitely a great addition to out fleet, and it will more than definitely be put to good use. To touch on the driver training thing....Most vollies start driver training on vehicles that are MUCH larger than anything they have driven before. Imagine only driving a Honda Civic for years (and, no, I'm not mocking the small, economical car) and being thrown into the driver seat of a 30 foot long fire truck. It makes sense that we start driver training with a vehicle that costs us under $4k and is already a little beat up, allowing the new driver to gain experience with a larger vehicle, rather than throwing the new driver in the front seat of a rig that costs $500k+. Now, that rescue.....COMING SOON!

"THE DEUCE"

I can't tell you off the top of my head that there is an OSHA or NFPA regulation on sharing masks, but it's a heck of a way to save money. I mean, we share SCBA packs, bottles, equipment, living space, bunks, etc. I would think as long as the mask is thoroughly cleaned after each use it's not a problem.

Keep these pictures coming! I love seeing other organizations' fleets!

umm....*speechless*....

This came across my Facebook feed earlier today. It is truly amazing how far our PPE has come over the years, and what it can protect us from. This instance is just another piece of evidence why it is EXTREMELY important for all of us to suit up properly. You never know when that PPE will save your life/limb/face.

I remember from a post long ago that a study was done for the consolidation of the lower Westchester departments (Larchmont, Pelham, Palham Manor, New Roc, Eastchester, Scarsdale...and a couple more). I don't recall the departments exactly, nor do I recall the exact outcome of the study, but it was something along the lines that only 6 firefighters would have to be hired in total between 9 departments. Barry, if you're still on here somewhere, I recall that you were the one that posted the information from this study...Please enlighten us!?! Even if consolidation of paid services happened, would there be adequate staffing levels between all of the departments? And, as always, my thoughts are with all of my injured brothers and sisters.

Of course the scores aren't based on race.....duh! And names don't mean anything these days. There are kids named Apple and North these days! Satire aside, did Stamford really require pictures?

Are they moving any resources from the other two houses to this new location, or are they going to buy more stuff to put in there? And, is it really necessary to build a third station? Could this be better if it was a relocation of the second station?

I was always under the impression that you could flow water through the ladder pipe regardless if it's in the rescue (2nd fly) or waterway (tip) locations. I can see that being on the second fly there may be pressure issues or maintenance issues with the pipes being not fully extended, but you can fly the nozzle at the tip without being fully extend. Does it have something to do with the reaction pressure being mid stick? Or am I missing something here? Honestly, just want to pick your brain if there's something I don't know.

http://13wham.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/emt-killed-ambulance-crash-riga-26365.shtml A firefighter from Bergen, NY (Monroe County) was killed when the ambulance he was in crashed into the back of a slow moving tractor/backhoe. The driver and a second passenger survived with non-life threatening injuries. Be careful out there, brothers. Danger lurks on every corner.

Stewart is: Owned by the Port Authority. Operated by AFCO/Avports (same company as Westchester). Utilizes NY State Police for law enforcement. Utilizes Air National Guard for ARFF services. Utilizes USDA Wildlife Services for airfield wildlife management.

I originally thought the Metz looked really cool and would be a great tool, and the folding bucket is awesome. But, now I see a lack of compartment space, and a lower turntable height. The folding bucket is still an awesome feature, though!

I don't understand why both the lights and sires and the need for each incoming rig to spray down the new apparatus (I understand that this is a "wet down," but it seems a bit ridiculous in this fashion). It just makes more sens to me to have a bbq, invite everyone over, and have a little ceremony to put the new toy in service. I even like how some departments break a bottle of bubbly on the bumper in the same way you would christen a ship.

Why the lights and sirens?

http://13wham.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/firefighter-involved-bloomfield-crash-24922.shtml?wap=0 This hits a little too close to home for me. I grew up in the next town over....A firefighter was injured while responding to a call that was NOT AN EMERGENCY! It's sad because the consequence can happen to any of us, regardless if we were responding or not, but this is definitely a reminder to everyone out there that you need to play it safe while heading to the station/scene. Follow the rules and get there safe!