BBBMF

Actually last year NY was over funded. If you average out pension costs to the tax payers over a career rather than just the boom and bust cycle of the last 10 years pensions are an excellent investment for the taxpayers. Both social security and state pension systems were raided when they were profitable. I keep pointing this out, but you people on the right keep ignoring it. HAD GOVERNMENTS MAINTAINED THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS RATHER THAN REDUCING THEM BECAUSE OF STRONG MARKET RETURNS NY, NYC, AND I'm SURE MANY OTHER FUNDS WOULD STILL BE FUNDED WITHOUT THESE MASSIVE INCREASES. 2000% increases in taxpayer contributions is outrageous. But ask yourself what changed to necessitate those changes. There wasn't a surge in retirements nor was there a spike in payouts. The government finally got caught with their hand in the cookie jar. All of this applies to social security too. They kept kicking the ball down the road saying we'll pay it back later, but later never came.

Time to "retire" early and go on Welfare...gaurenteed money, zero work hours, no bosses and free medical & no worries about the state pension system

The answer to the bullying problem is Boxing Lessons

Unless you want to keep your head in the sand and adhere to some strict ideology, you have to see that the pension benefits allotted to prior generations of civil service employees are no longer sustainable in today's economic climate.
And, if we're going to be honest about it, those pension benefits were justified in order to attract persons into civil service as, then, civil service compensation was notably less than private sector compensation.
In the last 40 years however, civil service compensation has in many instances, increased to match or even exceed private sector compensation.

Seeing the above makes my blood boil.
It is partisan horsesh1t.
This nation create ENORMOUS new wealth each year and will continue to do so, what has changed in the past few decades is how this wealth is distributed.
The people at the top through buying members of Congress, state legislatures has advocated for changes in the law that allow a CEO to be paid tens of millions for firing tens of thousands.
CEO pay has gone up 400% while ordinary worker compensation has gone down in the same time period.
If some of you want to accept the current political dogma from both parties that all our fiscal woes are the fault of TAX PAYING civil servants you do so at your own peril.
One political party only advocates for the already rich and corporations, the other party advocates for illegals and thinks money grows on trees, NEITHER party gives a damn about the hardworking middle class.
You can't demand pensions be cut or eliminated for working people as Cuomo has while demanding another tax cut for the rich and an increase in welfare.

You can thank FASNY for not having them... Remember, they're always looking out for our best interests!

Excellent reply and shows how things can and should be done. The one question I have and its rhetorical and not really answerable..is what will happen when this is no longer sustainable? I know many departments that start like this...but then society and demographics catches up and the switch occurs and it starts with..well okay they can't make that but what can we do its all we have at this point.
At some point....someone needs to stand up and realize the things that stops progression from something that is critical to the people you serve when some of the things mentioned here happens:
1. Being a firefighter is what you do...it should not be what you are. If that's the case it will make many other areas of your life suffer. Pride is great, be proud of what you do....but get over the pride and personal control issues when personnel and management are on the decline. You may find your department is better with full time management.
2. Its not about control its about service and safety. Regulations and standards are made to keep your people safe and in many ways to give better service with training requirements...again full time management will keep on track with these things and get it done.
3. When a career chief isn't available...or leaves his position and retires..that's it...he retires. If you need ex-chiefs to fill calls...you have issues far beyond administrative. Not to mention your not teaching line officers how to handle calls and get comfortable doing so. If you can't trust them because they're inexperienced...you just show another glaring issues for your department. I see this a lot in combo departments and mentioned often "we don't want them (professional staff) to get control" . Here's a newflash..get over yourself. IF you hate paid staff so much why remain in a combo department?

From my visits to the Fire training center, it seems to work for the time being. WCFTC has many great fire instructors who are able to use what they have, in addition to their own personal experience and knowledge to train new and old firefighters how to get the job done. All the vehicles are housed inside the buildings and granted it may be a little tight, that really does not matter. 60 control does an excellent job receiving and dispatching runs and the instructors are producing.
We're in a tight economy and we don't need to start planning projects which there is no money to allocate towards. You left, why do you care so much...Come back and help fix it if it's really bothering you.

From my visits to the Fire training center, it seems to work for the time being. WCFTC has many great fire instructors who are able to use what they have, in addition to their own personal experience and knowledge to train new and old firefighters how to get the job done. All the vehicles are housed inside the buildings and granted it may be a little tight, that really does not matter. 60 control does an excellent job receiving and dispatching runs and the instructors are producing.
We're in a tight economy and we don't need to start planning projects which there is no money to allocate towards. You left, why do you care so much...Come back and help fix it if it's really bothering you.

As long as I have been in the fire service, I know that firefighting is won by aggressive strategies and not aggresive tactics. Thats what make the NYC Fire Dept. the greatest department in the world. Every member on the riding list has a pre-assignment of tools he/she is bringing and where they're going. To affect these procedures, one needs to be able to read and comprehend those assignments and be ready to make split second decisions. So to say that the test was bias because it's asking a person whether they can read or comprehend is preposterous!!!
It's my belief that minorities who have not been given the opportunities to learn reading and comprehension are indeed a fault of society over centuries. However, that in no way means they're entitled to a job which involves such inherent risk of their own lives, the lives of our brothers, and the lives of civilians we're sworn to protect. Maybe this judge should look at other entrance exams to other city jobs...everyone on this earth is here to do a job and i am not here to take away from what anyone does, but you don't need to read and comprehend how to do many many other city jobs which are inherently much safer where an employee won't get others hurt or maimed. Maybe that is why other agencies have become so diversified and not the fire department. If you want to help people, give them jobs where they cannot hurt themselves or anyone else but not the fire department. If there's one glitch in the machine, it breaks down. If you cannot read and comprehend, you cannot understand the job and if you cannot do your job as a firefighter...people die! Thats a fact! AND i pray this is not the outcome but it is sadly inevidible......
It's sad for all the people on the job who actually earned the right to put on such a prestigious uniform and didn't feel they were "entitled" to it.

As long as I have been in the fire service, I know that firefighting is won by aggressive strategies and not aggresive tactics. Thats what make the NYC Fire Dept. the greatest department in the world. Every member on the riding list has a pre-assignment of tools he/she is bringing and where they're going. To affect these procedures, one needs to be able to read and comprehend those assignments and be ready to make split second decisions. So to say that the test was bias because it's asking a person whether they can read or comprehend is preposterous!!!
It's my belief that minorities who have not been given the opportunities to learn reading and comprehension are indeed a fault of society over centuries. However, that in no way means they're entitled to a job which involves such inherent risk of their own lives, the lives of our brothers, and the lives of civilians we're sworn to protect. Maybe this judge should look at other entrance exams to other city jobs...everyone on this earth is here to do a job and i am not here to take away from what anyone does, but you don't need to read and comprehend how to do many many other city jobs which are inherently much safer where an employee won't get others hurt or maimed. Maybe that is why other agencies have become so diversified and not the fire department. If you want to help people, give them jobs where they cannot hurt themselves or anyone else but not the fire department. If there's one glitch in the machine, it breaks down. If you cannot read and comprehend, you cannot understand the job and if you cannot do your job as a firefighter...people die! Thats a fact! AND i pray this is not the outcome but it is sadly inevidible......
It's sad for all the people on the job who actually earned the right to put on such a prestigious uniform and didn't feel they were "entitled" to it.

Nicely done!
A couple other ideas to add...
1. If you have a really tight door-to-jam situation, slide the adz of the haligan from the middle of the door into the jam as this will help get your tool in between the door and jam quickly so you can set up to gap.
2. Also, bring a couple door chocks, if you're limited on manpower and just have a haligan tool, you can gap the door, set the chock to save the gap created and reset the adz to further gap. If you gap it enough to get the fork in, go ahead and set the fork to force the door.
3. Some areas of town may have many multi dwellings with multiple apartments. Many of these apartments may have angle iron. Size up your building and do bring a flat head axe if necessary...Using the blade, you can create a gap between the angle iron and the jam so as to get your tool in place to force the door. Otherwise like M-Ave said, Bring the Maul!
4. Wood door, wood jam, use the pike of the haligan to spike the jam and push the locking mechanism out of the keeper. If this fails, go conventional
Also, always use your legs for leverage if possible when you're gapping. Obviously easier with a right swinging door because the way the pike is situated on a haligan. And always keep a firm grip on the adz end and the fork end. This will keep your tool going in the direction you want it to and not popping out of the jam.
Like the captain in the vid said...keep your eyes on the prize; once your past the jam, your past the door!

The Vulcan Society IS Racism in the FDNY. This is a group with one agenda and they do not care about how they achieve their goal. Every day they operate is another day they do damage to the FDNY, the services it renders and the lives of New York City residents.

We idolized and memorialized Whitney Houston, yet looked the other way concerning her well known substance abuse and tumultuous life with singer Bobby Brown.
Charlie Sheen is 45 and his story is all over the news because he is a
substance abuser, an adulterer, sexually promiscuous and obnoxious.
Lindsay Lohan is 24 and her story is all over the news because she is a
celebrity drug addict and thief.
Something as frivolous as Kim Kardashian's stupid wedding [and
short-lived marriage] was shoved down our throats, While........
Justin Allen 23
Brett Linley 29
Matthew Weikert 29
Justus Bartett 27
Dave Santos 21
Jesse Reed 26
Matthew Johnson 21
Zachary Fisher 24
Brandon King 23
Christopher Goeke 23
and Sheldon Tate 27...
Are all Marines who gave their lives last month for you. There is no
media for them; not even a mention of their names.
Young Men who most likely came from rural America seeking a chance
to better themselves and to serve this county.
Rest In Peace, and THANK YOU,TROOPS.
This was an email i got and wanted to share it

This loser should be turned over to the brothers at FDNY Ladder 12 so they can have a nice serious chat with him! Just my opinion.

Matty...So sorry to see you go brother...I only got to work with you on a few runs at the VA and at the firehouse but your smile and your presence always lit up the room. May the big man above take care of you through your next journey in the heavens above.
To all your family, friends, brothers, and sisters, my deepest condolences for the loss of a great brother. May the lord do his best to heal this wound for all of us.
Rest in Peace Matty O

Matty...So sorry to see you go brother...I only got to work with you on a few runs at the VA and at the firehouse but your smile and your presence always lit up the room. May the big man above take care of you through your next journey in the heavens above.
To all your family, friends, brothers, and sisters, my deepest condolences for the loss of a great brother. May the lord do his best to heal this wound for all of us.
Rest in Peace Matty O

What does it matter? It matters to those of us who are Yorktown taxpayers, or have family members who are Yorktown taxpayers. It matters to those of us who want to see a capable, streamlined, consolidated emergency service system here in Westchester County instead of the conglomerate of districts and agencies that currently exist. Perhaps they didn't obtain or use this money illegally, but if they were able to save this money from their regular operating budget, then did they really need that money in the first place? Plus the taxpayers already said "No", we don't want you spending millions on a new firehouse, and that's just what they're doing, spending millions of taxpayers dollars on a new firehouse.
Have they done their homework? If so, then what is the benefit? As far as we know, there are no members that live in the vicinity of this new proposed firehouse. There is an extremely minimal number of calls in the Southern end of town. Millwood FD is a mile away, and to get to parts of the Yorktown District, they have to drive through Millwood's District. Where's the benefit? I'm failing to see it unless someone can offer up a good arguement as to the benefit of this project.
With that line of thinking, maybe every department should train and equip a HazMat Team, a Dive Team, a USAR Team, etc., because maybe one day they will be able to save a life. It's simply not fiscally responsible, that's why we utilize mutual aid from the County's TRT, Career Departments that have these capabilities, and other agencies (such as Yorktown's well established Water Rescue Team)to supplement our responses to these incidents. No different then Yorktown and Millwood entering a mutual aid agreement for the Southern end of Yorktown. Now I don't know if that option was ever explored, but if it wasn't, that's being financially irresponsible.
It's not criticizing. In addition to being Firefighters, Paramedics, EMT's, Police Officers, etc., we all have one thing in common; We're all Taxyapers! I never understood the mentality some of us have when it comes to finances. Are our functions important to the community? Of course. Should be be properly trained and equipped to respond to emergencies? Of course. But just because we provide a vital function for the communities we serve doesn't give us carte blanche to be financially irresponsible and think that the ideologies of budgeting don't apply to us.
Most of us aren't just going to "get over it" simply because you dictate we should. We question and discuss things because in the end, we are all looking to improve the "system" that exists here in Westchester, and many of us want to see the "home rule" and "fiefdom" way of doing things start to dissolve a bit, and this project has not only isolated the department from the taxpayers, it also ignores other alternatives for Fire Departments to consolidate services and save money for the taxpayers, while still providing high quality service.
Simply because other firefighters on this board are being reasonable and questioning the necessity of this project? So, I guess in the fire service everyone should just go along with anything and everything the other "brothers" are doing, regardless of how irresponsible or unnecessary it may be?

Yeah....give me a cause and I'll give you a statistic.

Maybe the responsible action should've been to say..."hey lets just give that part of the fire district to Millwood, they're only a half a mile away anyway"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nice job...
WHy fight for a middle class tax break when we'll just spend it on new firehouses we don't need....Oh sorry i forgot about the surge in fire duty

Maybe the responsible action should've been to say..."hey lets just give that part of the fire district to Millwood, they're only a half a mile away anyway"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nice job...
WHy fight for a middle class tax break when we'll just spend it on new firehouses we don't need....Oh sorry i forgot about the surge in fire duty

If memory serves, When it was last up for public vote, this point came up and the answer from the commissioners was something along the lines of none, but this will get volunteers from other parts of town to "hang out here".
Me Too!
If YFD builds this house, can YFD guarentee a response time with apparatus and manpower that is acceptable to its own standards?
Since, YFD would still respond they would have no liability, particularly since the voters turn down expansion.
This new fire station with an engine, tanker and dive truck will not help anyone if it does not have staffing. If they have outgrown the other fire stations, they need to consider:
1) do they have the right size fleet (that they can staff and operate)?
2) do the existing stations need additions?
3) could they add a bay in Millwood to help handle it? And going back in history, didn't YFD have an engine stationed in Millwood many years ago?
With this move and the state mandated tax cap, the tax payers may never allow it.
And most can't get a winning team on the field.
Firefighters put out fire, not fire stations and rigs
The dead horse is any dept that can not put enough interior firefighters onscene in under 10 minutes 24/7/365. As vollunteer numbers drop and career depts face reduction, this will continue to be an issue. Most of the country is already seen the light but we would rather be taxed high and get poor service for it, just so we can be proud of our own little kingdom.

Maybe the responsible action should've been to say..."hey lets just give that part of the fire district to Millwood, they're only a half a mile away anyway"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nice job...
WHy fight for a middle class tax break when we'll just spend it on new firehouses we don't need....Oh sorry i forgot about the surge in fire duty

Maybe the responsible action should've been to say..."hey lets just give that part of the fire district to Millwood, they're only a half a mile away anyway"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nice job...
WHy fight for a middle class tax break when we'll just spend it on new firehouses we don't need....Oh sorry i forgot about the surge in fire duty

Im glad to see taxpayer money go to good use to build a firehouse where its so desperately needed, and there are no other firehouses around for miles....
Millwood.

Ahh to be young and naive. I might be young too, but I know that there is a huge difference between what OFPC's recommends on volunteer training (remember NYS is a home rule state, so FF1 is not required), and FDNY's career academy. The volunteers do not go through the FDNY academy, which would make is almost impossible for them to fit seamlessly into the FDNY's operations. The last thing the FDNY is worried about, are these volunteer companies taking away their jobs. They're worried that their standards and training requirements are not kept up as adequately as the FDNY's, which could endanger the lives of the citizens and responders even more. They "pick on them" because the fail to produce training requirements, or certificates of their members to the FDNY to show that they are all adequately trained.
Everyone might love cake, but that doesn't mean cake is good for you.