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There may have been similar events, but non quite like Kensico with the enormous lawn and the dam as a background and a perfect spillway for drafting. The flea market of 'stuff' was terrific and the competitions were great on so many levels. I was very active in the 70's and 80's, not so much in the 90's, came back in 20's when the next generation of my family were just coming into firefighting. I enjoyed participating in their learning, but I have to say, that in as much as firefighting has always been serious and dangerous, the changes in the last 20 years took most of the 'fun' out of it. Those that remember the Kensico days will know what I mean. It isn't the same, it won't ever be the same again, that's just the way it goes.

I have had a few experiences with the tracks since my district covered a Metro North station. We pulled a guy from under the train when he tried to stop it and decided to duck at the last minute. Ended up a couple cars in, but only suffered a head laceration. He later drove into a building (Fiore's Beverage). Another time we were called for a track fire. It was a suicide. Person wrapped wire around themselves, layed down and used a pipe to connect to the third rail. Then there was the guy who was sitting on the tracks. When I got to him his top half faced one direction and his bottom half the other. Subway or rail line, the tracks are a dangerous place, whether on foot or in a vehicle.

Its a pretty deep trough between the ties and rails. If you keep your wits about you and hunker down in the trough, the cars should pass over over you and you'll keep your head. Don't forget the third rail. Unless you're an athlete, or get some help, you won't have time to climb out if the train is bearing down on you. So, if you fail to exercise all the cautions previously mentioned, your only hope is likely the trough.

Money. While I agree with all your points, and, that they would greatly improve the fire service and the general public which we protect, in light of the current and yet to come economic conditions, anything that increases costs will be met with great resistance regardless of the potential benefits. When you look at the statistics you quoted, they are only in the same league with general gun violence and automobile deaths. Gun violence receives enormous publicity, with no results, and automobile deaths, I believe, have continued to decline because of better built/safer autos and public scrutiny and police action on DUI. I just moved to a perfect example of money and the fire service. My street is the County line. One side of the street is 'M' County. Big, bright, new fire stations, paid personnel, modern fleet of apparatus. The other side of the street is 'L' County. Its volunteer, the nearest station is 3 miles away, its a small two bay concrete masonry block building, no windows, one personnel door on the side and an elevated water tank outside to fill the water tanks. The next station is 15 miles away, its a two bay drive through metal pre-fab, no windows, one personnel door. Neither station has a paved apron or parking, its dirt. There are two more stations that I have yet to see. Apparatus, by our usual standards, is what we had as reserve, ten years ago. This is a truly rural community, like a vast amount of this country, and the associated costs with the improvements you speak of, and I agree with, could not be supported by the community, not without hardship that could be more than the community could absorb. Now, if you want to talk about a national standard that, by Obama speak, levels the playing field and allocates money and resources to poor rural areas to upgrade their infrastructure, apparatus and training without sticking them with a bill they can't pay, then I'm sure these less fortunate, less populated smaller tax base areas would jump on board to improve their abilities and capabilities.

The Mayans were somewhat correct. It's just the end of the world as we know it. RIP to the fallen, hope for a speedy and full recovery for the wounded, life in hell for the perpetrator.

Maybe the Mayans doing the calendar just ran out of 'ink' and since they were so far ahead decided to take a break and get back to it later and in the meantime their civilization expired.

I think the comment about knowing what you are getting is valid because as was also noted, there is no certainty regarding response level with the volunteer depts regardless of their proficiency and knowledge of the area. That said, the choices of who are called for mutual aid are interesting in that some of the called departments are so 'small' and short staffed themselves, that in the event an all hands in their own district they'll need to bring in mutual aid themselves.

Where's the Federal Q? Are you using an electronic Q?

Wrong to want a piece of the action, there was none. That's not what it was about, but yes that's our mindset today, gimme, gimme, gimme. Right about losing his life over the boots. People get killed for a lot less than a good pair of winter boots where he lives.

And he probably votes.

While I am sorry to see Twinkies go offline for awhile, they are not the same as they were, and not as good as they were in the 60's and 70's. Don't know what they did but the cake was more dense and golden back then. Anyway, bonehead move by the Union bosses, who will still have their overpaid jobs. Hostess has been struggling for years in and out of several bankruptcies and never being able to get all sides to come up with a long term workable plan. Someone will pick up the assets but that does not mean the employees will get their old jobs back. And, its not just the immediate 18,500 jobs. How many residual jobs will be lost as a result of the facilities closing? All the people who worked for companies that serviced those facilities and businesses those employees supported. The trickle down could reach much further. There is plenty of blame to go around as to why Hostess failed, but right now, the final nail was pounded in by the Union.

Additionally, almost every gas station is also a propane tank swap location as well. Just as a home generator is an absolute essential down here, it will be up there as well. Particularly with your temperature swings.

We're starting to feel the effects of Sandy now, light breezes expected to increase as the day goes on and get sustained to around 30 mph with gusts in 40 mph range. Some rain with it but nothing like Isaac that flooded us out. Palm Beach County schools closing 3 hours early today and closed tomorrow as a precaution. It's staying far enough off shore and not big (wide) enough to do us any damage, just some inconvenience.

Fine, so charge $1.00 That takes care of the obligation, just as the Mayor must take $1.00 in pay rather than work for free.

Presumably, I hope, we would find in future episodes that the Rescue Captain shooting up has a physical condition he is trying to mask in order to stay on the job and be the enormous hero he thinks he is. While I have only been a volunteer for 35 years in 4 different fire and 3 different EMS departments, I have never encountered this intense alpha male conflict at all. Is this something common in paid stations? The closest I can come to it is the 'friendly' fire of having a large number of brothers and nephews in the same company. I kept waiting for the fisticuffs to break out at any moment last night. And, Ladder Captain, ditch the Resident fiance for the much hotter Paramedic and shut off the paternal clock. I guess the real problem is that we want to see a show about the JOB, and not get involved with the characters imagined personal lives.

I hope it isn't anything like 'Rescue Me'. Essentially I felt that 'Rescue Me' was an embarassment to the fire service. It portrayed the main characters as completely disfunctional, sub par human beings except for those times when they answered an alarm. Otherwise in or away from the station, they were a--holes. Not a single character I would want a young member to emulate.

While it is unfortunate that the Trooper was unable to maintain his grasp, he made the effort and it is indeed fortunate that he was not pulled over by the jumper himself.

I was actually being kind. It's absolutely necessary but rediculously expensive given my own experience in building firehouses in NY, CT and FL. When the original plans were published I made a post commenting on the fact that, at that time, it was an 18K SF structure with no accommodations for bunk rooms. 18K SF and you can't find a couple hundred SF for bunk space? This is a common grievance I have when I see plans for new or renovated volunteer firehouses. Not including bunk space is not planning for future considerations. Perhaps the final construction documents have changed. Bedford Hills had a contingency for bunk space in their renovation plans as an alternate, I don't know if they actually included it in the final construction.

It's a lot of money. Whether it needs to be that much, I don't know. I do know that Millwood desperately needs a new firehouse. If you saw the current one, you would wonder why it wasn't condemned and taking down years ago along with the Granite House.

I was just wondering about the grant. I assume that when the grant money runs out the City would have to spend its own money to keep the firefighters on at whatever the pay/benefits are commencing at the end of the grant period. Optimistically they could find the money to keep the firefighters, or perhaps these new hires whose initial training and years of experience costs have been paid by the grant are able to remain, taking the place of retiring firefighters. Be a shame to miss an opportunity for grant money to benefit the Dept. and community because of politics.

In a more comedic moment it reminds me of "Mother, Juggs and Speed".

I love the companion story in LoHud where they just exhumed and moved to another plot, away from the Kennedy plots, Mary Richardson Kennedy, recently driven to suicide by the abusive bullying of the Kennedy clan. What a sorry legacy of death and destruction within and in the wake of this 'family'. This was America's 'royalty'? I can't think of any other old, wealthy, storied American family with such a specious history. Certainly connecting your status to a political dynasty is no measure of greatness. As we readily see today, any moron can be a Member of Congress, or, even President.

I have been unable to get any feeds out of Scan 60 for about a week. You can go to www.scanct.com and they have a Westchester 60 control feed, among others.

A 'simple' installation can cost about $1.75 per sf. A more complicated installation, like in a McMansion, can cost $3.00 per sf. So if this was a 6,000 sf McMansion, the added cost could be, say $18,000.00. I would imagine in Armonk this was a multi million dollar home. Would the added cost have mattered? Would it have been a deal breaker. I doubt it. Homes with residential sprinklers, on average, incur half the damage of homes without sprinklers. While I do not have sprinklers in my home, since I live on a farm in an area without hydrants, the irrigation pump which draws from the canal water system is on its own standby generator and 1-3/4" hose lines are available at the house and the barn. I am also fortunate to be 2 miles equidistant between two paid fire stations. We also have all the buildings protected with lightening arrestors and of course heat and smoke detectors. But, that doesn't mean I'm immune from a tragedy. If I was building or doing a major renovation, I'd be inclined to add sprinklers.