boca1day

You can or you must?
Time to change that. I see departments in a number of places who think they have a tanker, but ISO will not credit them with an ISO 8B. To move up from a 9 (the worst rating a fire dept can have) you need a minimum of 4,000 gallons of water on wheels in every response. Most places that get this improved rating (thus saving the community millions in insurance premiums) respond with an engine w/1,000 gal and a 3,000 gal tanker.

Ya know....yeah, it usually is. When you're in Westchester County, you're living in someone's little fiefdom. Someone's little slice of the pie and it's a ridiculous exercise in redundancy. I'm paying my property tax bill (which is insanely high) and wondering why they're always asking for more money, but there are fewer cops and the roads are like the surface of the moon.
Too many Chief's, not enough Indians.....lets streamline the operations around here and put our money and manpower to better use.
It's all about ratio's with the fire service. We DO have some good resources here, so lets expand their scope of coverage and better utilize them. We could use an analogy that would apply to many volunteer departments around here:
Lets say Dept. A has 5, reliable and involved members and that department answers 2 calls a day. Dept. B next door also has 5 reliable and involved members answering 2 calls a day. Well, 5 guys is useless...and those guys would probably jump at the opportunity to do more with their dedication. So, COMBINE those depts. and you've got 10 solid guys handling 4 calls a day. You've doubled your available manpower and simultaneously increased staff utilization by 100%. In the process, you could eliminate half the chief's and their vehicles, probably a firehouse to maintain and a redundant vehicle or two.
But....that'll never happen, because everyone is too interested in protecting their slice of the pie....

I was in a bar talking to a friend whom I had met when he and his family visited my firehouse several years earlier. As we talked, we were approached by 4 drunk guys who said they were "firefighters from London Fire Brigade here on holiday". They had overheard us talking, realized I was a Firefighter, and wanted to know if my firehouse was close by so they could visit. I said "no problem, the firehouse (not mine) is at 48th and 8th" (54 Engine/Ladder 4). I even told them to specifically ask for my friend, Steve, who was working. Out of the bar they stumbled and a 1/2 hour later I got a not-so-nice text from Steve telling me what he thought of me sending the guys for their "visit". I thought it was funny.

Ten House is a really special circumstance. I've worked there once or twice as a detail. Great guys, had a great tour there recently.
Here's the deal....that firehouse is a living memorial, a tourist destination and certainly highly visable. It's hard to even respond on alarms from there. The moment the door go up, they're mobbed. They have to put signs out telling people not to cross the apparatus door threshold. They have to use ropes to stop sidwalk traffic to pull out.
It's a revolving door and I'm sure that it can be too much at times.
**To anyone visitng NYC and planning to visit a firehouse:
Please visit us! We're happy to chat, talk a little shop and maybe give a quick tour. However, if you're in the know, (and you are 'cause you're on this site) visit off the beaten path a bit. Give the guys in Times Square and The World Trade Center a break if you can.

Trains stop at "Stations", we work in fireHOUSES
If you had a poor experience at any of the shops you visited, that's a shame. Remember, ya never know what kinda day they were having and sometimes the revolving door of visitors is hard to deal with. I'm not regularly assigned to work in Midtown, but I have on occasion and while everyone's happy to chat and entertain visitors, it's hard to get other work done and sometimes it's overwhelming.
I'm not trying to dissuade visitors, we welcome it. Shame there was a bad experience, ya just never know how that day was going...
As for the NYPost article, correct, the member quoted was not a "Probie". The NYPost, journalistic beacon of integrity, took some posts from the "FDNYRant" (which is the worst thing ever) for that article and called them "quotes".
All in all, some guys are not happy with the Open House, and I understand it, but it's a couple of hours for some positive PR on a Saturday. We'll live.

The new Engine 22 went in service this afternoon.

We have Spartan chassis on E21, 22, 23, 17, 18, R4, L-12, TL-11 from Smeal, Crimson, RD Murry, SVI & LTI. We also have other chassis.
The mechanics and members are happy.

Thanks Barry - I knew that you would make everything much clearer. NRFD has for sure, set the pace recently, in ordering and putting into service, fire apparatus that both meet the stringent NRFD specifications as well as getting the "Most Bang For Your Buck" (of course, the American LaFrance rigs being put to the side ).

Cool tool. According to my Haz-Mat Instructor, the state has 3 of them and is looking to add a 4th. Seems like a good addition to the DES resource pool!

Interesting topic as an 'outsider" to the local politics and policies. It appears there are many rules/policies that dictate the use of equipment and personnel during MCI's and "disasters", I'm surprised someone doesn't have the ability to suspend some rules in these cases? At some point we are withholding resources just in case they're needed for their primary mission. No doubt there's more political issues where there are more people and money, but up in my neck of the woods, we can suspend most EMS rules (with sound reasoning and judgement) in the cases of an MCI where the suspension of said rule(s) will benefit the mission.

You would think that the equipment manufactures would step up to the plate seeing a potential increase in sales. They could engineer a standard multiuse urban response vehicle. That will with a little modification prior to responding, be used as a command post, rehab site, portable victim/patient shelter, SNF transport or a MCI response vehicle (mobile ER, transport ect). This would simply the grant process and actually give the taxpayers a vehicle that would support not only the members of the emergency services but the taxpayers themselves in a time of emergency.

In my opinion, if you have this type of vehicle (METU) available at your disposal, why not utilize it for different types of incidents i.e. MCIs. I am sure that Yonkers would be more than happy to send their METU wherever it is needed, but there should be a County METU that responds to the same types of incidents as the Yonkers METU. What if there is an major incident that requires more than 1 METU? The recent train accident could have been much worse with so many more casualties. In that case, more than 1 METU would be needed.
I understand that the main purpose of the DES METU is to evacuate SNFs, but the evacuation of SNFs is not something that needs to be done on a regular basis. With that being said, instead of having the METU sitting around collecting dust, they should use it for MCIs, large scale rehab at a fire scene & so on. It would be a good use of the federal tax dollars.

I'm going to focus on the waste part of the issue. Why do we pay for (again, the source of the money is irrelevant) a piece of apparatus that will sit and collect dust and rust for it to be used once in a blue moon? If the WCDES METU was granted for the sole purpose of evacuating nursing homes and similar facilities, does that mean that we actually have a problem evacuating said facilities? Do we have to evacuate these facilities that often that we need a vehicle SOLELY for that purpose?
We've reacted wildly after every terror attack and every natural disaster to get the best, shiniest equipment, yet a lot of this equipment ends up sitting idle. If we have a METU, why can't it be used in MCI situations, not just to be able to get the motor running every now and then, but to use that darn thing? And couldn't it be part of a larger, regional task force, where it and similar units from around the area can work as a team to respond to large scale MCI calls?

Next applicants will want rides and wake up calls for the test like FDNY is doing! Oh wait CT Depts. don't lower the Bar for applicants. Good for them!

The New York State Police seem to have chosen the AWD Charger as it's replacement over what I thought was going to be the Ford Police Interceptor. Here are the variants, 2T23 and K111 are AWD models and G110 and G108 are RWD models

Correct but after the batch they have it will be Chargers. Here is the Interceptor setup

FDNY does not send a few units on Mutual aid. They send a 1st alarm assignment and they expect when they come to be put to work. I have never seen them come and cover.

The Philly part of EMStar is no longer part of EMStar. They split off last year around March and became part of some healthcare network. EMStar has their own dispatch based out of a HQ in Suffern, NY. They have an Orange County CAD in their Communications Room. If they are needed for a 911 call in OC, the call pops up on their CAD screen.

Well, I'm not a fan of any particular builder...but the quality of assembly seems to matter a lot. Just ask someone who works on a Ferrara rearmount delivered to the FDNY in the last few years.....
....same engine, trans, ect....but put together badly.

"If you have to ask how much it costs, you can't afford it." - J.P.Morgan

From the start it was stated that the METU was not to be used for any purpose other than evacuating a nursing home or hospital. So your statement can't be correct since that is the original intent. You seem very upset about this situation and "wasted tax dollars" but your location is listed as Rhode Island so what difference to you does it make if Westchester County's METU went?
There appears to be no actual plan for the unit (that I am aware of). I know if needed the members of the Technical Rescue Team are supposed to drive it and the facilities personnel would ride to handle medical care on board (Nurses, doctors etc.) I was hoping the other night would be a situation for the Commissioner to special call this resource, especially since the Tech Rescue team had members in/responding to the building for other special equipment.

ok, Maybe in the writers area or mind the fire service is alive and vibrant. From what I see, the fire service is in deep trouble. Volunteer membership is declining, career depts. are being cut to the bone, or are stagnant.
I believe todays firefighters are much better trained, and are more dedicated than previous generations. But there are not enough of them to fill the voids, at least in our area. Due to the increase in call volume, training, state and federal mandates, the fire service is finding itself hard pressed to keep up with todays conditions. We have too many Commissioners, Chiefs, and elected individuals, who are more worried about money and votes than fixing a broken system. A house fire today requires mutual aid. when there was more members in the dept. there was pride in taking care of your own business.
State and federal mandates, Bailout systems, 2 in 2 out, fast, NFPA, have been enacted to create a safer fire ground, But no more ff's to do the job. The patch on your uniform says XYZ fire dept, yet the truth is XYZ plus 5 surrounding depts. is what is needed for your average house fire. The writer doesn't like the bashing, but what is actually being bashed? the truth? The public is fed up with high taxes. Police depts. are consolidating, At some point, somehow the laws will have to change to allow fire depts. to do the same. Then and only then, at least in this area, will fd's be as alive and vibrant as the writer states.
This is just my opinion, let the bashing begin lol.

Good question......you'd need 160 psi, just to overcome friction loss. Add the 70 +/- psi at the nozzle and you've got the engine screaming and you're only going 400'
Our bed has 2 loads that lead with 1 1/4". They're both 6 lengths of 1 1/4" over 10 lengths of 2 1/2". Some places will use fewer lengths of 1 3/4" and more 2 1/2", but always 16 lengths. With our standard 15/16" smooth bore tip, we'll need a minimum of 220psi at the panel to achieve the flow we want. That leaves you 30psi to account for additional elevation (higher floors). 250psi is the limit without authorization and a lot of safety procedures....

I used to check this site more when the incident threads were up to date. There was a time when it seemed like at three in the afternoon or three in the morning emtbravo had good, detailed posts about every fire or pin job (anything significant where mutual aid was called). I work in an office where I can't monitor the pager all day so it was really great to know what was going on in the county. No one ever posts these anymore so I don't bother checking this as my resource. Now I check lohud or my local paper instead.
For me, the threads always turned into one of the following...
1. Career vs. Volunteer arguments
2. Everyone patting each other on the back for no reason
Boooorrrrrriiiiiiinnnnnnnggggggg!
Plus, I kept getting put on moderator watch where my posts had to be approved before they went into the threads for having unpopular opinions. For a past volunteer who is now getting back into it again I have very anti-emergency services views because I think that the volunteer fire system here in Westchester is seriously broken and am in favor of consolidation. That said, just because my opinions are negative and unpopular does not mean that they are wrong. When I sent a note to Seth asking why I was being censored he did not even bother to respond. So i seldom waste my time anymore.

What I never understood though is why do individuals who perform the Job of a FF have to be begged, persuaded,encouraged, etc.etc. to stay in some kind of good shape. We all know how important it is and how physically challenging it is so can we please just show a little initiative and start our own work out regiment on our off time. After all we as PFF have a pretty good work schedule and there should be no excuse for members not to work out on their own. Let's stop blaming Management for guys being out of shape and not providing a "Workout Program" and take some personal responsibility. I see plenty of Gyms in Stations with only a handful of guys utilizing them. It's like trying to persuade guys to learn their Job and become proficient at it when they have absolutely no interest at all. Here's a novice idea, put down your ipad and iphone, get up off the couch or push yourself away from the bowl of ice cream on the kitchen table and do some cardiovascular. Don't wait for the Powers to Be to tell you to do it! Many of us all have families at home we should be concerned about! JMO.