BBBMF

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.

I am not now nor will I ever be a facebook user.
I actually like forum based sites because it allows me to have focused discussions about related topics. Without having to filter out stuff that is not relevant to the discussions at hand.

Well guys after 43 years as a Port Chester Firefighter [ 18 years very active volunteer working at DPW then getting the dream job getting paid to do what I love to do this is my last day. It didn't end the way I wanted it too but away I go . I was fortunate to catch the war years when we went out every day for a job worked side by side with many dept.'s and made a lot of life long friends on mutual aid. I saw a lot of death and sorrow [ Gulliver's 24 DOA Stouffer's 26 DOA 9/11 world trade center ] and saved a few along the way but my greatest call was closing a large window [ life savers building ] for a 84 year old lady who was freezing because her window was open and she needed help. The next day she baked a apple pie for me and my partner. So I say good bye to it all and hope that I left a small mark somewhere. To my 2 sons that are following or trying to follow in my foot step's keep up the good work in this most rewarding profession . Good luck to the guy's that are left on my job and hope that thing's get better for you and the people we were sworn to protect.
Angelo Sposta [ Retired Local #1971 ]

Bump

Bump

Granted $100 is a little bit of money for an exam fee, the amount is infinitesimal in the greater scheme of a possible multi-million dollar career. People whose dream is to be a firefighter will take the exam no matter what the fee is and that's who we want for the job. Where there's a will, there's a way!
If a billionaire lost his eye sight tomorrow how much do you think he'd pay to get it back???

Sort of like the old kitchen table quote. Don't let the truth get in the way of a good story. They can go on TV and try to spin this any which way they please. The facts are indisputable. A gang member from Baltimore shot and killed his girlfriend ( most likely because she was going to out him on his plan ) and headed to NYC to " put wings on pigs today ". I can see the cover of the Times tomorrow. Ismaaiyl Brinsley was a good kid who was only weeks away from attending community college to get his life in order. He was active in his community ( selling crack to the community ) and a role model ( to the kids they hire to sell the crack ). His mother Ms Not his last name and father Mr not his last name ( because he a was being raised by his Aunt ) can't understand what went wrong in his life and can't believe those cops chased their son down the subway and shot him ( he would never kill himself ). Lets blame everyone in society for our problems and not look in the mirror and hold ourselves accountable. WHAT A TRAGEDY IN ALL ASPECTS OF THIS STORY. THANK YOU PRESIDENT OBAMA, MAYOR DEBLASIO, AL SHARPTON ( I refuse to use Rev in front of his name ) JESSE JACKSON AND ALL OF THE HATE SPEWING RACIST LEADERS IN THIS COUNTRY!!!!

1) This was the first I heard of this and am curious to hear more.
2) If they realized they have shortcomings in terms of membership and are pro-actively trying to fix that, I applaud them.
3) Personally, I feel that hiring "drivers" is just plain wrong. That just creates smoke and mirrors and unsafe operating practices IMO.
Think it's time to hire career staff? Do it the right way.
Better yet, look into consolidation/splitting costs for career staffing. Crazy I know, silly me.

That person is a medic??? Yikes!!! 😴

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

So you're a FF and take a month off to volunteer at a declared disaster like Sandy or Katrina. You get the leave but no pay. How're you supposed to survive with no income for a month?
This doesn't cover the "sorry I'm late boss but there there was a fire last night". Only declared states of emergency. How much of an impact will this really have on anything?

No fire TRUCK should carry water, that is what ENGINES are for.

WHY?

Positive publicity for the fire service and this turns into a heated battle?!!!! What the Funck!!!
And who cares if you're volley or paid. You're either a fireman or you're not! You either get it or you don't!

Positive publicity for the fire service and this turns into a heated battle?!!!! What the Funck!!!
And who cares if you're volley or paid. You're either a fireman or you're not! You either get it or you don't!

I don't think EDP is a pejorative or derogatory term either. Especially when you consider how the term came about. Also, like velcroMedic said, what is the alternative term? "mentally ill person" that isn't accurate as there are people who display emotional disturbance because of medical conditions (TBI, brain tumors etc) or developmental disabilities or extreme stress that don't meet the criteria to be termed "mentally ill."
As far as why emergency services personnel are hesitant to seek help, I think it has a lot more to do with the very real negative consequences on the job (i.e. desk duty, rubber gun squad, forced retirement, problems when taking psych evals for other jobs down the line). I'm not sure how to fix the issues with this though.
To the broader issue of an ineffective mental health system, there is an answer to that, just not one anyone wants to hear (increased use of hospitializations and institutionalizations of severely or dangerously ill persons)

Because in selling it, you reduce maintenance costs, insurance costs, replacement costs and the overall burden to the taxpayer. You can free up budgetary monies for other items. The list goes on and on. There just isn't a good reason for departments like the one I mentioned to have the size fleet that they do.
Same goes for many of the westchester fleets. You take a department with a few square mile coverage area who consistently can only put one piece on the road for calls. WHY do they need a fleet with three pumps? Or more? Why is there a county in NY with something like 57 heavy rescues with a smaller population than NYC who has 5?
It goes back to ones motivation and why you do what you do. Are your decisions made with the taxpayer in mind? Or your departments collective ego? Can you do it better with less? Do you need everything on that floor? Do you even use everything on that floor? Could you join forces with a neighbor and share services?

While that was a massive fire, the General Slocum was the "biggest" maritime disaster in NYC history
On June 15, 1904, the General Slocum caught fire and sank in the East River. At the time of the accident she was on a chartered run carrying members of a church group. An estimated 1,021 of the 1,342 people on board died. The General Slocum disaster was the New York area's worst disaster in terms of loss of life until the September 11, 2001 attacks and remains the worst maritime disaster in the city's history.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_General_Slocum

Positive publicity for the fire service and this turns into a heated battle?!!!! What the Funck!!!
And who cares if you're volley or paid. You're either a fireman or you're not! You either get it or you don't!

Positive publicity for the fire service and this turns into a heated battle?!!!! What the Funck!!!
And who cares if you're volley or paid. You're either a fireman or you're not! You either get it or you don't!

Positive publicity for the fire service and this turns into a heated battle?!!!! What the Funck!!!
And who cares if you're volley or paid. You're either a fireman or you're not! You either get it or you don't!

Positive publicity for the fire service and this turns into a heated battle?!!!! What the Funck!!!
And who cares if you're volley or paid. You're either a fireman or you're not! You either get it or you don't!

Positive publicity for the fire service and this turns into a heated battle?!!!! What the Funck!!!
And who cares if you're volley or paid. You're either a fireman or you're not! You either get it or you don't!

Positive publicity for the fire service and this turns into a heated battle?!!!! What the Funck!!!
And who cares if you're volley or paid. You're either a fireman or you're not! You either get it or you don't!

Unprofessional would be department's not getting off of 46.26 when everyone else is on a trunk frequency, or there's is an actual run or a job ongoing or getting on the radio to give your noon time test when companies are currently on a run or just finishing up. This guy just decided to man up and say what a lot of us are already thinking!