Alpinerunner

OK....So heaven forbid something bad happens to you in the line of duty as a VF you would expect NOTHING???You would just handle everything on your own health insurance? and when your unable to work you have that much money saved up to survive on your own with out your job,GOD bless you.I'm not looking for a pension, I love being a volunteer but when one of us go down then we should be taken care of correct? Under the VF benefit laws we're covered for all the same things as paid FF...except the brain cancer part never was put in. Tax breaks and all the other breaks please inform me on what they are?????????????.........Matt

If you are hurt in the line of duty your health care costs are covered. You can also collect workman's comp. At least that's the case in my dept, and I'm pretty sure that's common.

Police Force Nearly Halved, Camden Feels Impact

by Joseph Goldstein

March 6th, 2011

CAMDEN, N.J. — Since the city laid off nearly half its police force in January, the mayor and police chief have tried to stay positive, with the police chief even suggesting that his leaner force will be a model for others facing similar circumstances.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/07/nyregion/07camden.html

I believe a wheel fell off a GEMS ambulance in the past week en route to 95, and they run new ambulances! You can't prevent everything.

Very cool photos! I assume the whole ship is standpipe'd. Do you know if they use sea water or use a supply of freshwater?

Then why are new safety standards developped? If a model t was safe, why produce anything safer?

That could become a factor if said maintenance is kept up very well and the vehicle lasts a significant amount of years.

But we aren't talking about keeping up with safety innovations, we're talking about reliability.

I disagree that there is an age or mileage at which a vehicle is unsafe or unreliable. If you do proper inspections and preventative maintentance, and check the chassis for rust, a vehicle can be safe and reliable indefinitely. The issue, of course, becomes economics.

130,000 miles is a good life.

Very amazing. The one piece of info I would have liked to have is why CPR went on so long without transport. Did the helicopter take that long to get there? Or did the heli medics decide it would be better/easier to work him on the ground?

Some ice KO'd a woman in Stamford this winter. A truck company responded and took down what else they could.

Hopefully the M8s ride smoother than the current trains on the NH line. I'm not sure if it's the trains or the track, but I used to ride the Harlem line in from Katonah, and compared to that, the NH line rides like a logging truck

EDIT: Sorry for the repeat posts. Board was giving me this error when I tried to submit. I continue to get this problem:

An error occured with the SQL server:

mySQL query error: SELECT COUNT(*) as topicviews FROM ibf_topic_views WHERE views_tid=40876

This is not a problem with IP.Board but rather with your SQL server. Please contact your host and copy the message shown above.

Mods please delete.

Hopefully the M8s ride smoother than the current trains on the NH line. I'm not sure if it's the trains or the track, but I used to ride the Harlem line in from Katonah, and compared to that, the NH line rides like a logging truck

I'm definitely looking forward to these trains. I hope they ride smoother than the current NH line trains. I used to ride the Harlem line in from Katonah, and there is a dramatic difference in smoothness between the NH line and Harlem line. I'm not sure if it's the track or the trains, but the NH line is like riding a logging truck compared to the Harlem line

Without having any experience with "how things were", I would still tend to think the risk/safety balance is right where it should be. As the article points out, hazards are higher now, with heavier fire load, and less durable construction. It's just not worth it to "make the push" when the risk of collapse is so high. If there is life to be saved, I think any firefighter will up the allowable risk. But it is NEVER Ok to be serious injured in a fire when there is no life there to save, and I think that is the message that is getting out.

Awesome pics everyone. I used up all my rep points.

The article says he was a firefighter, not EMT, although it may have been updated since posted. The Post usually doesn't have the correct info the first time around, haha.

Public official are always held to a higher standard. That's always the way it's going to be. No one might be all that surprised that a "stockbroker" took advantage of this women, but the thought of a FF or a LEO doing, that's a harder concept to accept, and as a result, is seen by some as more newsworthy.

Speaking only for myself, I have no problem with being held to a higher standard.

That is certainly also true. I guess that creates the shock value that the media can capitalize on.

Look at the title to these articles. They clearly wrote it for shock value, as there was no need to drag the woman's husband into it.

Wilton fire lieutenant, wife arrested for scamming elderly woman in New Canaan

Staff Reports Tuesday, March 1, 2011

A Wilton fire department lieutenant and his wife -- a former stock broker -- have been arrested in New Canaan for allegedly misappropriating more than $1 million of funds from an elderly Greenwich woman suffering from dementia.

http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/policereports/article/Wilton-fire-lieutenant-wife-arrested-for-1035791.php

This is how the article should have been titled:

Police: Greenwich woman with dementia scammed by former financial advisor

Staff Reports Tuesday, March 1, 2011

An elderly Greenwich woman suffering from dementia was scammed out of more than $1 million in funds by her financial advisor, a former Smith Barney employee from New Canaan, over a period of time from April 2006 to November 2008, according to New Canaan police.

http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/policereports/article/Police-Greenwich-woman-with-dementia-scammed-by-1035798.php

My guess is it has nothing to do with the engine. It's probably part of the dedicated A/C system for the box, or exhaust for an auxillary heating system, if it doesn't use a heat exchanger with engine coolant.

Two paramedic service is pretty impressive. Do any other areas have that?

That is too bad. I'm an admin on another board (for cars) and it's funny how many people create multiple SNs and don't think it can be traced.

The only thing I can think of is it's easier to comment on mindless things on the internet than real scenarios and tactics. In the case of the Westchester Co special resources, that is a localized region, and anyone outside that area wouldn't have any input on it. Additionally, I think it's hard to discuss specific tactics or discussing how a job would have gone better on the internet, when essentially no one on the board was there. I check VES all the time (dedicated to tactics and tools) and they only update every couple weeks. I'm not saying we can't do better, I'm just saying that I think it's hard to do routinely do over the internet.

As was stated, it makes it much easier to abuse their powers. I guess they want to look like the cops too...

You've got to be kidding me. What are you talking about? Are you insinuating that they will use this vehicle to pull people over? It's the department's choice if they want to use this lettering. I don't see the point of it, personally, but there is no need to attack any department for choosing it. It's my understanding that many NY Volly Chiefs use their cars for personal business so that they are always able to respond while in or near district. This makes sense and I wouldn't consider it abuse if it's part of their department's policies.

It's also possible that when the public sees a chiefs vehicle at the grocery store, and don't understand why, they will consider it abuse (as you stated), when it actully is done for a good reason. Maybe they are trying to avoid bad press? The public also thinks that when we shut our lights and sirens off en route, that we are just playing with them. If these towns could afford to have a Chief sit in the station all day and wait for calls, I'm sure they would.

Does anyone know if we just show up and pay at the door or do we have to pre register?

According to last year's flyer, you pay at the door. I don't know if that will change.

Thats definitely not the case at all. Lights are part of a warning package, if you will. That package includes color schemes and patterns, emergency lighting and audible warning devices.

Think about it, why are more and more agencies adopting European style color schemes and pattern and why are chevrons beginning to be mandated for emergency vehicles? Because studies have shown that certain colors, color combinations and patterns increase visibility to the human eye and help direct motorists away from the vehicle.

Yes, colors are important. Red stands out, chevrons stand out. A maltese on a door and a town name is not apart of that visibility package.

While demonizing public works is never OK, there is something to be said for the efficiency of regionalized services.