dwcfireman

I agree. I don't understand why the mall WOULDN'T install CO Detectors on their own. Now, they're probably going to be the subject of many multi-million dollar lawsuits, instead of installing comparatively inexpensive CO detectors which may have prevented this situation altogether. I see this incident changing the game.
Also, can't local municipal code require CO Detectors as well?

Good luck on the move man. I live in SETX about 1 1/2 hours from Houston.
I can tell ya now, there probably won't be another test until much later this year, or next year. They have 2 Fast Track academies scheduled this year and 2 full academies scheduled equaling out to around 200 new hires.
HFD usually holds 3 different tests.
1. Non-Certified test (Requires 60 hrs of college credit, or 2 years military)
2. Certified Test ( TCFP & TDH EMT-B / P)
3. Paramedic (Non-fire cert)
If you have your Paramedic, you're in much better shape. I had talked to an HFD Paramedic the other week when I brought a patient to Memorial Hermann and he informed me they are still very short handed on paramedics right now and they had a lil fumble with this years budget in regards to sending employees to Paramedic school.
Either way, HFD is a great department, and I plan to try out next time they test.
Best of luck to you man. Any questions, feel free to ask. I'll help out as best I can.
Also, if you're not dead set on HFD, be sure to keep track of the TCFP website, as many Texas fire dept's post hiring notifications there.

Not to HIJACK the Moving to Texas thread but....
WOW!!!!! Nice photos Seth!

I'm not going to argue with you on this one, but sometimes a single incident is all it takes. I doubt anything will happen out of this, but it's nice to dream that someone, somewhere, already in NYS government would pull the trigger and get something rolling to prevent this from happening again.
Flip side, training in this situation would evolve a better outcome when this happens in the future. The first arriving EMS crew should have the training to recognize the issue at hand. I'm not saying that they should know for sure with one look that it's definitely a CO call or something else, but at least recognize that something beyond the scope of the initial call is going on. With that said, it would be cool to see some of this training for the public in general. I mean, if a few people understood the subtle clues of CO poisoning, and then all of a sudden 20 people in a restaurant get sick, then someone can stand up and say, "Let's go outside." I know this is far outside the box, and in a 'perfect world,' but it would be nice if it could all work out.
Every agency I have served with has always had a CO detector wither attached to the Officer/Senior FF, EMT, or EMS bag. It has never made a difference for me or for any of the crews I've worked with, but the detector has its use. Maybe one day it will save my life.

Yes, we monitor for HCN and CO. Air monitoring and RAD57 pulse oximetry.
We have three cyanokits available on our apparatus for use on members or civilians.

Absolutely wear SCBA. Another thought would be to utilize positive pressure ventilation during overhaul to ensure continuous flw of fresh air and toxic gas removal....yet we hardly see them being used.

I lived in Austin, TX for several years. It was awesome. I loved it. TX is a MUCH cheaper place to live, and the stereotype that TX has I found to be very untrue in a lot of aspects. Houston is a great city with a lot to offer anyone. Emergency Services in TX are very progressive in many fashions.
It's a great FD to work for, very busy. Do you have an EMS certification as well? That will be a BIG part of your job, as Houston FD runs BLS, ALS, and transporting units.
I found that FF certifications vary from department by department. The State may recognize some certifications, but there's always conflict because NY wants to do things their way and differently, so it's really a toss up when trying to transfer to any state. Most TX departments want you to learn other things that apply in TX, but not in NY, such as wildland firefighting.
Also to note, one of the best firefighter training schools in the country is located just north of Houston:
http://www.teex.com/esti/
Any questions , feel free to post here or PM me. I have several friends who work for Houston FD, and I can try and find out what I can for you. I also am familiar with a lot of things about moving from NY to TX, so again any questions let me know. Also, several members on here are native Texans that can help as well

You'll just love the humidity! Best of luck in your new job!

My previous department "strongly suggested" we didn't use radio straps because the placement of the radio could interfere with the pak-tracker transmitter. Personally I'd rather have my radio, works way more often...

I was more than a little excited to forward this study to the bosses a few months back.

We monitor cyanide during overhaul. During rehab we monitor pulse cooximetry for elevated CO. Assume elevated levels of CO have cyanide present...they are the toxic twins. Cyanokits will be available shortly in Yonkers.

Not required by NYS code

Are service businesses required to have CO detection and alarm systems to alert everybody inside (i.e. the same way a fire detection system alerts everyone to evacuate)? Seems like it's a good idea to prevent an incident like this one from happening. Does anyone have any light to shed on this?

This is interesting. I've never seen a vehicle like this for the ARFF service before. It looks like it's more designed towards a manpower-heavy operation, especially for larger airports that have larger ARFF departments (sorry, I don't think we'll ever see this at HPN). The Storm could be a great compliment to ARFF departments that also run on-field engine companies, thus bringing the manpower on an ARFF oriented vehicle rather than a modified engine. I can't wait to see how US airports apply this to their response agencies.

This is what we are currently playing with at HPN. Oshkosh HT Tractor with Trailer Sweeper/Blower Combo! We call it The Beast!!
(Picture fromOshkosh Airports website: http://www.oshkoshairport.com/en/SnowTrucks/ht-tractor/HTTractorModel.aspx)

This is what we are currently playing with at HPN. Oshkosh HT Tractor with Trailer Sweeper/Blower Combo! We call it The Beast!!
(Picture fromOshkosh Airports website: http://www.oshkoshairport.com/en/SnowTrucks/ht-tractor/HTTractorModel.aspx)

As an AIrcraft Rescue Firefighter, let me shed some light to this issue....
Even though it is more than definitely an accident scene, it is ALWAYS a crime scene. When the proper investigation authority comes in (FAA if the aircraft weighs less than 12,500lbs, NTSB if 12,500lbs or more), they're expecting to know abslutely everything about the accident. They want to know what position the throttle was in, which switches were in what position, what you did to mitigate the situation, the size of everybody's boots, what years your gloves were manufactured, etc. Literally everything! It is a crime scene! There are very few exceptions to where you can deviate from the federal regulations regarding aircraft accidents (such as local sherriff or police have authority to remove an aircraft from major roadways before FAA is on scene).
Since it is an accident, the local fire and EMS authorities will have jurisdiction until the scene is stabilized, then command is tranferred police officials once all hazards have been deemed safe and all victims have been transported. Mind you, even though the police have taken over, it's still every agencies' responsibility for the scene and what happened.
Let's look at the Cessna 206 that crashed behind MBIA in Armonk. When the crash initially occured, it was Armonk FD & EMS in charge. Once the fire was out and all vicitms were deemed DOA, the situation was handed over to North Castle PD. However, the property actually belonged to the NYC DEP, so DEP Police guarded the scene while FAA and NTSB responded for the investigation (NTSB always investigates fatal accidents). Once the FAA and NTSB were done, the DEP PD were in charge of the removal of the aircraft remains.
In Short, treat an aircraft accident as an MCI, and always treat as a crime scene (BECAUSE IT IS ALWAYS A CRIME SCENE!). Preserve the scene as best as you can and assist the FAA/NTSB in every way you can.

As an AIrcraft Rescue Firefighter, let me shed some light to this issue....
Even though it is more than definitely an accident scene, it is ALWAYS a crime scene. When the proper investigation authority comes in (FAA if the aircraft weighs less than 12,500lbs, NTSB if 12,500lbs or more), they're expecting to know abslutely everything about the accident. They want to know what position the throttle was in, which switches were in what position, what you did to mitigate the situation, the size of everybody's boots, what years your gloves were manufactured, etc. Literally everything! It is a crime scene! There are very few exceptions to where you can deviate from the federal regulations regarding aircraft accidents (such as local sherriff or police have authority to remove an aircraft from major roadways before FAA is on scene).
Since it is an accident, the local fire and EMS authorities will have jurisdiction until the scene is stabilized, then command is tranferred police officials once all hazards have been deemed safe and all victims have been transported. Mind you, even though the police have taken over, it's still every agencies' responsibility for the scene and what happened.
Let's look at the Cessna 206 that crashed behind MBIA in Armonk. When the crash initially occured, it was Armonk FD & EMS in charge. Once the fire was out and all vicitms were deemed DOA, the situation was handed over to North Castle PD. However, the property actually belonged to the NYC DEP, so DEP Police guarded the scene while FAA and NTSB responded for the investigation (NTSB always investigates fatal accidents). Once the FAA and NTSB were done, the DEP PD were in charge of the removal of the aircraft remains.
In Short, treat an aircraft accident as an MCI, and always treat as a crime scene (BECAUSE IT IS ALWAYS A CRIME SCENE!). Preserve the scene as best as you can and assist the FAA/NTSB in every way you can.

I would like to refer my answer to the top line of your profile picture.

This is an interesting topic. I remember from the couple of psychology classes I took in college that human emotions were explained, and the dynamic of the human psyche plays out differently for everyone. I never really understood it until I got into the working world, started networking, and just started talking to random people. It's absolutely amazing how different people have different levels of emotion, and more so how different people have different breaking points of when and where anger sets in.
I'm not going to say learning all of this makes me immune to not getting hurt on a personal level. EVERYONE gets their feelings hurt at some point. EVERYONE has those moments where you just walk away with your tail between you legs. What I have learned over the years is how to deal with it, ignore the negative criticism, and just move on. I remember a younger me who would lash out a bit too quickly before thinking about the situation, a younger me who though I was a bit more invincible and smarter than I actually was. But, I've slowly figured out (and still learning) how the world works, how people interact with each other, and how even social media molds our personalities.
The point I'm striving for is that there is no logical reason to get upset over menial things. There's no reason to get mad because someone put you down, or told you that you're wrong, or even when you get so frustrated with something that you just need to unleash. Just take a deep breath, exhale slowly, and remember that what that DB told you is just another meaningless comment. If you still feel ticked off about it, there's a support group for everybody, and it's called your favorite bar. Your friends will help you get over the anger over a few brewskies.
Since this is also mentioned, I would like to bring my post back around to the social media influence (aka cyber bullying). People get so comfortable hiding behind a screen name that they feel invincible enough to say what ever they want. I'm not going to hide the fact that I have fallen victim to this (yes, I used to be young and stupid, too). FFEMT150 is 100% correct that if you want to be negative to someone, if you want to put someone down, be a man and identify yourself! But I'm going to take it a step further...be a bigger man and stop yourself before you say something negative and/or derogatory. Think about your response, change the wording, and make it constructive. The only way anyone can move forward in this world is if we're all constructive with one another, and being negative with other people only prevents the process of forward thinking. EMTBravo.com is created for all of us emergency responders to talk and be constructive with one another to teach the younger members, inform the newer members, and to share information and ideas with eerybody else that does the same jobs that we all do.
So, if your feelings are hurt and your ego is bruised, brush it off and jump back on the wagon. You'll get over it. If you're the ones causing the bruises intentionally, you need to reevaluate your intentions of being a member on this site.
Justin McGory
Edit #1: I just want to add that I'm not mad at anyone in particular and not trying to call out specific people, I'm just pointing out some things that I have learned over the years to better myself and share my opinion with others.
Edit #2: Addition of intentionally to my final statement.

I remember ears and eyes open....mouth shut unless you had a question...at least that's the way it was 34 years ago.....say this know you could end up with harassment charges.

As we post these thoughts on the internet. LOL

That the internet is not a 100% reliable source of information.

There are many things rookies should know.... here is one thought I teach. RESPECT your uniforms. All 3 of them. Firefighting (actions on the fire ground), dress (actions when in class A's), and civilian (actions while off duty and wearing your FD t-shirts, hats, puffy jackets etc....)
Understand that YES you are held to a higher standard when your a firefighter. If you cannot respect this fact, understand it and live it, move on.

Just as it was told to me...short and sweet
Have big ears and a small mouth.
As for the why, well you can't learn anything if your lips are flapping and as a new guy it's your job to learn

I remember a time when you thought people were mad at you if your balls were not being broken. Now you have to worry about saying something to someone and next thing you know you are the target of a lawsuit or charges wether internal or external