COH Bulldog

The City of Newburgh Firefighters are to be commended for their dedication to their jobs as firefighters. Those firefighters must deal with the cards that are dealt them. Of course every firefighter of that city would want more manning. I am sure they all fully understand how manning can have a very serious effect on both the civilians lives they are to protect as well as their own safety. Excluding any property damage. It is the first few minutes in any fire that have the most effect on it's outcome.
I Salute the City of Newburgh Firefighters for the job they do.
Thank you for your dedicated service to the citizens of Newburgh.
Just today is an article that was posted in the NY Daily News on how important the addition of the FIFTH Firefighter to several Engine Cos is. It points out that now this will enable them to get that water on the fire TWICE as fast as before. I realize that Newburgh is not about to put a fifth firefighter on their engine companies. But it does point out how manning plays such an important part when fighting a fire. Here is that article.
www.nydailynews.com/new-york/exclusive-fdny-companies-add-firefighter-article-1.2526155

There's no doubt that in our collective neck of the woods, (i.e. NY, CT) the level of redundancy borders on the absurd and that this is a costly and unnecessary waste. But on the flip side there is also no doubt that volunteers are far less costly than an all paid service, even with all that waste. To that point, I would contend that this would be so even if stations were consolidated and staffed by paid FFs and property/insurance losses were reduced by having that staff able to effect more positive outcomes sooner (although there's no empirical evidence to support that claim to the best of my knowledge). There is also no doubt that a paid service would provide a higher degree of protection in terms of trained personnel and the availability of that personnel, but as I stated earlier that too comes with a trade off, as less stations means longer response times in getting those trained personnel to incidents. Bottom line here is that volunteers will almost always be cheaper (and that's not even counting the transitional costs of shifting from a volunteer to paid service) and since they are, Mr. John Q. Public will happily live with having them as his sole source of fire protection. He doesn't think he'll ever need the fire department in the first place so he see no need to pay more for it then he already does, and besides, that's how it's always been. And if God forbid he does have a fire, well then...when Blubbery Barney and One tooth Willie (as some see volunteers) show up in their big red shiny parade piece firetruck and squirt water in his window, he's ok with that because his friends and neighbors came to his aid in his time of need and he's got home owner's insurance.
Career FFs will never fully replace volunteers, nor could they. The cost is just too prohibitive and thus there is no political will to make it so. Unfortunately for far too long the volunteer fire service in general has lived off that fact and refused to take steps to provide the best possible protection to those we serve. Like most of the rest of America it seems settling for mediocrity instead of striving for excellence is the new normal.
​And one last point that although it's been said before it bears repeating. Many of our predecessors on both sides of the paid / volly divide worked tirelessly to make our service better for us and our communities. When we spend more time infighting or pushing this or that agenda then we do serving, I think we are all doing a great disservice to those who came before us and those who will come after. We are all in this together and we could accomplish so much more, for those we serve and for ourselves, by building each other up than we do by trying to tear each other down..and that is something we should all strive for, because in the end there's nobody looking out for us but us.

In most places conditions are so much different.
1) Buildings, exposures, population etc are generally much different.
2) Training requirements are much different. In most places today career firefighters are required to attend a fulltime 16-18 week recruit school before riding on any fire trucks. Usually, during each shift, some form of training or building surveys are done in order to keep their required skills proficient.
3) Career firefighters operate under a semi military environment. There is a chain of command that must be followed. If rules or policy is not followed, some form of discipline can be taken against that individual.
4) To become a career firefighter there is a written and oral testing process, along with a very intense medical and a difficult CPAT agility test to successfully pass. Later comes a character investigation done by most police departments. As we know, the numbers are very high for those that apply, yet few are chosen.
5) Promotions within the career fire service are very difficult as well. Many individuals spent many years studying for the test day. In addition there is usually an oral interview with a score rating. When it is finely over, few are chosen over the number of individuals testing. Sometimes, there is also special school requirements that must be completed within a period of time to maintain that officer level.
The end result is that in most cases, only the very best candidates are chosen. For that, the people who pay for these firefighters expect the very best of service. And rightfully so. Those people have every right to expect their firefighters to help them in their time of need. And for those firefighters to thrown themselves into danger if necessary. That is the trade off. And if you happen to be one of those career firefighters, because of that, you must fully understand, that you are held to a higher standard than most individuals. You drop the ball and every other career firefighter gets dragged through the mud because of your foolish actions. The public trust you to go into their homes and apartments when no one is home. They will even hand you over their sick baby because they trust you. There's no other job like it.
Does the public appreciate what VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTERS do. Of course they do. Those guys are out there doing a job to help the public in their most desperate moments. No matter what the weather is, they are out there. They give up a nights sleep and still are expected to go to their fulltime jobs to support their families the next morning. Some come from outstanding careers or backgrounds. They have even helped me too.
I was a career firefighter. I was a volunteer firefighter as well. A career for 30 years and volunteer for 5 years prior to that. During my years as a career firefighter, on a few occasions I worked with volunteer firefighters. They depended on me and I depended on them. Yet when it was over, "you stay on your side of the fence, I'll stay on mine". That's pretty sad actually. Just a few hours before, we were cold and wet together. We might have had a few pretty hectic moments together. I'm sure their family members worried about them, just like my family members worried about me. We attended LODD funerals together for volunteer firefighters and career firefighters. The fact is that the smoke and heat was always the same. Career Firefighters and Volunteer Firefighters share a lot in common. They share things that no other groups share.
If you were to visit my home town you would find a Civil War going on. Between career and volunteer firefighters. Should I try to hide it ? No. Although I am not at all proud of what goes on here, "I know we are NOT alone". The reality is this, we should respect each other for what you do. "Instead of Fighting, We should be Uniting". Maybe it's time to think that over a bit. Remember, there are no promises made of going home in this fire service business. Over the years I learned that because I attended so many firefighter LODD funerals.

They should be handed down to the next officer in the line.
I won't comment on what happens where I live.

They should be handed down to the next officer in the line.
I won't comment on what happens where I live.

Huh, here we have a Command SUV that is assigned to the ranking officer (Fire Chief). It has numerous pieces of equipment and information stored in it that could be very useful at most incidents, therefore it is always made available when the ranking officer is not to be available. If your Chief's don't give up the buggy, how do they justify the costs of all the equipment carried? At that point it's just a perk of the "job".

we have 3 Chiefs all from different companies. If as the chief from my company I go away for 48 hrs or more the car gets passed to captain from my house. If he doesn't want to take it/can't it gets given to one of the other captains. If they dont take it it generally gets passed to a LT but that could change to a past chief based on the current climate in the department

Our Chiefs generally give their cars to Deputy Chiefs when they know they'll be out of service / out of town for more then 24 hours.
Chief's vehicles should be considered a department vehicle and if the person they are usually assigned to isn't going to be around (work, vacation, illness, etc.) and isn't able to do their duties, then it should be given to someone who can use it.

I can't guarantee things haven't changed, I've been 'retired' for several years, but in Briarcliff the Chiefs did not pass off their vehicles to Company officers in their absence. In addition to the Chief and his Assistants, there are numerous Deputy Chiefs (Past Chiefs) who will respond in their POV's to assume command.
Should no Chief or Deputy respond, command is by the Sr. Company officer. In the absence of any officers, command is by the Sr. member of the Company. I'm not familiar with any incident in which any of the above scenarios created a disagreement or discussion as to who was in command.
But, if you're down three Chiefs, can your Dept. afford to have more people responding directly to the scene? Somebody has to be on the apparatus. We have also had Deputy Chiefs who would respond to the firehouse rather than to the scene because as Drivers it guaranteed apparatus on the road.
There is most certainly an advantage to have an Officer on scene to size things up prior to the arrival of the apparatus, but you don't want him/her standing there waiting for apparatus that is waiting for drivers. All our officers are drivers.

They should be handed down to the next officer in the line.
I won't comment on what happens where I live.

They should be handed down to the next officer in the line.
I won't comment on what happens where I live.

They should be handed down to the next officer in the line.
I won't comment on what happens where I live.

They should be handed down to the next officer in the line.
I won't comment on what happens where I live.

Thanks. I saw that on their website also.

So what number does engine 582 go by now? I'm referring to the newer Ferrara that was numeted 582.

Not everybody is cut out to be an officer or chief and some people are happy to be firefighters. Nobody is entitled to those positions.

To serve your community and department in any capacity regardless. This job sound just like it is primarily a paid administrator.

Cornwall and Fort Montergermy FD's in Orange County will be selling trees.

Thanks.

Who did Buchanan's refurb?

Gotta love the Nyack antique engine that still works though!

Gotta love the Nyack antique engine that still works though!

Gotta love the Nyack antique engine that still works though!

Christmas in the US has really become a commercial endeavor. I find the true meaning of Christmas to be mostly nonexistent here these days. Just my opinion.
And let's not forget that to include everybody, we can't forget about the atheists. They might be offended by any religious symbol. They are part of our country too.