firedude

My better half texted me this from the office saying, "This just isn't smart, right?"
(That's the office toaster oven by the way)

Because if every dept. does not have at least one of everything, Westchester will be in danger of losing its status of highest taxed county in America.
Most of the fires in northern Westchester have difficulty deploying a ladder fast enough to get into position ahead of the 1st due engine. Once blocked out it is useless. The main reason for this is that without inhouse staffed units the 1st priority is (and has to be) to get the 1st due engine out. In much of the non hydranted districts the next critical unit is the tanker. By the time enough members assemble to get the ladder out, its to late.
I know some will then say, if they had a quint it would be the 1st unit and problem solved, except the comprimises needed to make a quint work, mean it will show up with too little hose, not enough water and not enough ground ladders. Its better to get a dedicated truck from another company on AUTOMATIC AID to every fire call. That way you get a proper engine response to attack the fire and a proper truck response to do truck work.

Westchester Community College will offer two EMT Classes this summer. Both classes will be held at the OSSINING EXTENSION Site 22 Rocklege Ave (Arcadian Shopping Center). Each class earns 5 college credits. EVENING CLASS June 1 - August 18 MON thru Wed eve 6:30 - 9:30 PM. The Day class will start
JULY 5, 2011 and run Monday thru Thursday 9a - 4 p. State exam is also August 18th. Further information: 914 606 6507. www.sunywcc.edu

yes it did pass
thank god
287 will not be going any where any time soon

Nice shots.

Just thought I would share some of my photos from the 1st quarter of 2011.


















and two from my Tampa trip,


Comments and/or a rep are always greatly appreciated. Please do not take any of my photos without permission.

Good heads up, firedude.
Engine 288 is definetly overdue for replacement, especially with I-684 running through their district.
I would also think or hope that a Quint would be in their future as well.
But if they replace Engine 287, I will cry unless they gift me with it.

Cool shots, do you have pics of all of Harrison's rigs? And what is the new york state certerfied symbol on? Is it an ambulance?

State: New York
County: Dutchess
City/Town/Municipality/Dept: Chelsea Fire Department
Unit designation/identifier: 35-11
Chassis & Body (or Aerial) Manufacturer and model: KME Predator
Pump size, tank size (water/foam), aerial type & length: 1250/1000/0
Notes: Ground ladder storage inside the tank
Delivery expected 1st week of May

Just thought I would share some of my photos from the 1st quarter of 2011.


















and two from my Tampa trip,


Comments and/or a rep are always greatly appreciated. Please do not take any of my photos without permission.

Some Apparatus seen today at NJ Metro Urban Search and Rescue Strike Team Drill at Newark, NJ
Old Newark R1
Elizabeth, Hackensack
PAPD, Newark, Elizabeth
?, North Bergen, Jersey City, Hoboken
Metro USAR consists of Bayonne, Elizabeth, Hackensack, Hoboken, Jersey City, Newark, Paterson, North Hudson Regional and NJ Transit and Port Authority PD.

The New Rochelle Fire Dept. has classes at station #1 behind New Roc City.

This morning, the Rye Little League had their annual parade to kickoff the season. As usual, RFD, RPD and PCRRBEMS were there.




















I'll post some videos latter.
If you like my photos, please comment or give me a rep. It would be greatly appreciated.

Round Rock Fire Department (Williamson County, TX) New Brush 7
2011 Ford F-550/Siddons Skeeter T5

I am currently away at school, but when I was back for break at the end of March, we had received the new E-74 (with the pics posted, thanks firedude) but it was not yet in service, pending some last minute things. It very well could be in service now, but I would have to ask some of the guys in my dept. first before saying any more on that. We have been running Blauvelt's old rig for quite some time now as E-75, and it has served us really well, but needless to say a new engine has been a LONG time coming for us. The E-one that was posted from E-bay was actually sold to a vendor who repairs fire apparatus for use in 3rd world countries. From what I was told, the old 74 was actually repaired and shipped to Vietnam, where it will be used as a first due rig again. This is the most up-to-date information as I know of, I am sure other NWP members who are up on the current stuff unlike me could give you the best info. Hope this helps.

Date: 4/21/11
Time: 15:00
Location: Lake Shore Drive South Off Of Lovell Street
Frequency: 154.2200 Somers FD District-wide
Units Operating: Somers Fd and Ems, Goldens Bridge, Croton Falls, Battalion 13, NYSEG
Weather Conditions: Clear,Sunny,Windy
Description Of Incident Large brush fire in the area of Lake Shore Drive South in Lake Linconldale moving uphill towards Heritage Hills
Reporters: texastom
Writer: texastom
15:00 Somers dispatched to a possible brush fire in the area of Lake shore drive south off of Lovell Street in the are of Lake Lincolndale
15:05 2442 on scene reporting large brush fire moving up hill towards the Heritage Hills complex requesting mutual aid brush trucks from croton falls and goldens bridge also fire police to the scene to close the road
15:09 Engine 180 reporting that the fire is cresting the hill they'll need more manpower
15:12 Somers paid crew responding with 80B3 a volunteer crew is needed to call in
15:18 Goldens Bridge Brush truck cancelled now requesting an engine be relocated Somers Fire Headquarters 119 Primrose Street cross of Brick Hill Road and Valley Pond Road
15:19 Batt13 reports that the conditions are very windy all hands are working they're starting to get a handle on it
15:23 NYSEG requested to the scene for primaries rubbing on a tree believed to be the cause of the fire
15:43 Goldens Bridge and Croton Falls in service returning

Seth,
I want to thank you and everyone else for the kind words and best wishes. The accomplishments you credit me for achieving was a team effort. I have had some of the best officers that any chief can ask for, and this goes for the guys who aren’t even around anymore. When I was sworn in as assistant chief in 1996 I had set goal for myself and the officers and I set goal for our dept. I am proud to say 95% have been achieved and the other 5% are well on the way. As someone once said to me “leadership qualities are something you are born with” well I disagree with that statement. A true leader looks to learn, listen and educate others every day even when he or she is no longer the leader. Ralph Nader said it best, "The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers."
Thank you again, but make no mistake about it I maybe an EX or Past Chief but I will always look out for Yorktown and the fire service best interest.
Past Chief McGannon

Lets throw another wrinkle into this. 1st its not that Pelham will not provide additional taxes, in reality they can't. Because the population is so small, the per capita costs to improve are never going to happen. The real issue for Pelham, Pelham Manor and any other small community FD or understaffed FD (career, combo or vol.) is ISO's plan to change the rating system this year.
Under the new plan, any dept that responds to fire calls with fewer than 6 firefighters (2 in / 2 out, MPO & IC) will automatically become an ISO 9.
What does this mean for Pelham?
Annual insurance premiums for commercial and residential properties in Pelham is approximately $5.1 million. In Pelham Manor the premiums are approximately $5.9 million. Combined, the property owners in Pelham and Pelham Manor pay roughly $11 million per year in premiums.
Both PFD & PMFD are ISO PPC 4's. If the 2 depts do not restructure the way the respond to fire so the have at least 4 interior qulified members + an MPO & IC, Both villages will see the ISO change them to 9 and the insurance premiums will go up by 40% per year. Thats a combined increas of $4.4 MILLION.
This increase is more than the current combined budget of the 2 fire departments.
Meanwhile the Pelham Village Mayor and Board are considering reducing manning.
I suspect nothing will change until the ISO rating does and then the finger pointing at village hall will begin.

*PERSONAL OPINION* The E-One Titan ARFF vehicle is definitely not one of my favorite E-Ones. We had one here at HPN for a few years, and the truck was a piece of garbage. It was constantly out of service, parts were always breaking, and sometimes it wouldn't even pump! At one point you couldn't even open the driver side door from INSIDE the cab! The upgrade to the Oshkosh Strikers has definitely proven well for us. firedude, thanks for rockin' Airport 11 for you avatar. Looks Good!

I would just like to reconize the outgoing Chief of the Yorktown Heights Fire Department, Martin Mcgannon, for his many years of service as Chief to the department. During his tenure, he made numerous accomplishments and improvements to the Yorktown Heights FD, including switching back to the color red, spec'ing and purchasing a new Ladder, Rescue, FAST Engine, and first due Engine, building the dive team from one trailer into a full water rescue team, giving strong support to the Explorer post, and many other accomplishments too numerous to list.
I've known Martin both personally and professionally for over 10 years, and he is one of the nicest and most genuine people I know. I hope that he enjoys his "retirement" as Chief.
Congrats to all the new officers, and I hope all will lead by the example set by Chief Mcgannon.

Fort Worth, TX. Engine 35

Fort Worth, TX. Water 35

Fort Worth, TX. Attack 35

Fort Worth, TX. Rescue 35

Fort Worth, TX. Rescue 352

Some photos from basement fire in West Harrison. Rain was real heavy at some points. Photos are not the greatest, even with the SLR.

The application is just a formality. The Pavia administration already gave this candidate the job.

these two guys are the reported front runners.

FIRST OFF: THIS IS NOT MEANT TO "BASH" ANY DEPARTMENTS! THIS IS JUST FUEL FOR THOUGHT/DISCUSSION.

I have been noticing myself getting quite frustrated lately while listening to different frequencies because I have noticed that a lot of the time (not all of the time), the first on scene Chief or Officer (paid or volunteer) does not give a scene size-up. Whether the call be for a residential alarm, reported smoke from the structure, possible fire of some sort, mva, rescue, etc scene size-ups can be very useful. It does not take more than a few seconds to tell dispatch or incoming units what you have been presented with and observed upon arrival. You can inform responders of building type (construction, stories, etc), exposure issues, visible smoke condition, etc. Giving responders the heads up can lead to a safer scene in general. It is always nice to not be caught of guard.
Now I know that at least on person will say, "You should know the building type or exposure issues for every house or building in your response area." All I can say is, chances are, there is not a single person who knows the construction type and exposures problems for every building in his or her district. Even if you do know everything about every building or house in your response area, I am sure that you would not object to a size-up or reminder. After all, even the best members, or the most senior members, or the members with the biggest ego's make mistakes and can confuse an address.
Just this weekend alone, I heard several departments get called to fires, mva's, or smoke from a structure call. I can count on three fingers how times the first on scene personnel gave a size-up that could be deemed useful by responding personal. I do not consider the common "On-scene, smoke showing, will be out investigating," a useful scene size-up. Especially if the dispatch information was for smoke from a structure. Wouldn't it be a good idea to let dispatch and incoming personnel know where the smoke is showing from (A, B, C, D sides, roof, basement, etc)?
As far as MVA's or PIAA's, scene size-ups can be VERY important. The first on-scene Chief or Officer can easily get on the radio and say, "On-scene...we have a 3 car mva w/ the occupants still inside of two vehicle, 3 walking wounded, one car overturned into ditch with all occupants out, there visible fire at this time. I will advise on extrication and additional equipment/manpower needs." This may not be a good scene size-up and may also be too wordy or lengthy. However, If I heard this while responding, I would know exactly the scene that I was responding to. Scene size-ups for MVA's and PIAA's can be given by either first on-scene FD or EMS personnel (or both). A secondary report could be given after contacting the patients that briefly describes the injuries. (Ie: "One female complaining of neck & back pain who is 9 months pregnant, two males with lacerations, one to the forehead and one to the abdomen, etc"
Has it been proven that size-ups are a waste of time or not useful?
Have first on-scene personnel become so busy that the 10 seconds needed for a "good" scene size-up no longer exist? Have new protocols been put into effect that keep these first on-scene personnel busy from the start?
Thank you to the Chief's and Officer's who consistently provide incoming personnel with detailed and useful scene size-ups!
Happy Monday!
FINALLY: This thread is not meant to bash any departments, it is simply a general observation and I feel is a thread worthy questions or topic of discussion.