trauma74

I remember the days of working at Empress and Stat Flight would be called to Yonkers. You could almost throw a rock at WCMC or Jacobi from anywhere in Yonkers. By the time the chopper lifted off, landed, unloaded their equipment, loaded the patient into the chopper and took off, we could have already had the patient at the trauma center. These Stat Flight runs could have been better utilized in the more rural areas.

http://www.emsresponder.com/article/articl...ction=1&id=4531

I am not at all surprised by this. I have seen something similar this on Rt. 17 thru Orange County on Friday and Sunday nights when the Hasidim are returning from weekends in the Catskill Mountains and the traffic is all backed up. http://wcbstv.com/investigates/local_story_333224110.html

I am going to guess at something here, maybe I am right or maybe I am wrong.................I bet that he really did get those Police parking placards from people at the PAPD & the MTA. The conversation probably went something like this "Here are some placards for you to use only when you really need them" "If you are caught doing anything illegal we are going to say that we do not have any affiliation with you and we will deny everything!" LOL!

CONTACT: Press Office (518) 474-4015 FOR RELEASE: Immediately December 6, 2006 Costs for State, Local Governments to Access Statewide Wireless Network May Total $790 Million System Hopes to Improve Communication with Emergency Personnel Statewide The State and local governments may have to spend as much as $790 million to acquire the equipment needed to access the $2 billion Statewide Wireless Network (SWN) being established to improve communications among public safety entities, according to a report issued today by State Comptroller Alan Hevesi. Neither the State Office for Technology nor the vendor has provided a firm estimate of how much it will cost government entities to acquire equipment to access the SWN. State costs are projected to total $260 million, including $160 million in financing costs, and local governments’ costs are expected to total $530 million, including $330 million in financing costs. The $790 million of additional costs is an estimate based on figures the manufacturer provided to the Comptroller’s office. Until now the only public estimate of the cost was “more than $100 million”, provided by a representative of M/A-COM, the vendor developing the network’s infrastructure, at an Assembly hearing held nearly three years ago. At this time, the equipment will all have to be purchased from M/A-COM and Hevesi called on the Pataki administration to take immediate steps to have the company fulfill its contractual commitment to license its technology to other companies. “The Statewide Wireless Network contract, approved more than a year ago, required M/A-COM to license its technology to three other equipment manufacturers to force companies to compete for local governments’ business and provide taxpayers with lower costs. But that has not occurred to date,” Hevesi said. “If our $2 billion investment in SWN is to be worthwhile, then equipment must be made more affordable to encourage government entities to use the system.” During its review of the $2 billion contract, the Comptroller’s office required the manufacturer to lower its proposed financing rate of eight percent to a more appropriate market rate of 6.5 percent. The contractor subsequently provided the Office of the State Comptroller with an estimate of financing cost savings for the State and local governments of as much as to $29 million based on the probable number of users of the system This estimate of savings allowed the Comptroller's office to calculate the $790 million in total additional costs. At the time the $2 billion contract was approved, Hevesi and others raised concerns that not enough was being done to encourage local governments to commit to use the network. The lack of involvement by local first responders would limit the benefit of a statewide system in an emergency. Hevesi released a briefing document for State officials detailing the award of the contract to M/A-COM and its terms, and highlighting ongoing concerns about the development of the SWN. The need to replace the State’s current communications infrastructure was identified by the New York State Police in 1996 and awareness was heightened after September 11, 2001. The State twice tried unsuccessfully to enter into agreements with single vendors to develop the system before initiating a competitive procurement in 2002 that resulted in the award of the contract to M/A-COM, which was approved in September 2005. Hevesi also released an audit which found irregularities in existing separate M/A-COM contracts for public safety telecommunications equipment with the Division of State Police (State Police), Department of Transportation (DOT) and Department of Correctional Services (DOCS). According to auditors, M/A-COM was paid for maintenance services it has no evidence were provided, continued to receive monthly fees from State Police and DOT after leases expired and the equipment was fully paid for, and charged varying and excessive financing rates for equipment leases. The audit, like the letter from the Office of the State Comptroller to the Governor’s Office regarding SWN, notes that consistency in contracting and savings could be achieved by allowing multiple agencies to acquire equipment from a single statewide contract. Despite discussions with the Executive before the audit was released to the agencies in September, no centralized contract has been put in place. According to the audit, during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2004, State Police, DOT and DOCS paid M/A-COM $17 million in contract expenditures including monthly lease payments, user fees, buy out costs and monthly maintenance agreement payments and for repairs not covered by monthly maintenance agreements. The audit, which examined the structure and associated costs of long term contracts, identified $35.3 million in excess costs and potential cost savings, including $14.5 million that auditors identified as excessive and inappropriate charges already incurred and for which the auditors recommended that the agencies recover or negotiate contract concessions with M/A-COM. M/A-COM disagreed with some of the audit findings but did credit the State with $158,462 in overpayments and has agreed to improved contract terms going forward. The contracts began with State Police, the Department of Transportation and the Department of Corrections in 1960, 1985, and 1998 respectively. As of February 18, 2005, agencies had spent $126 million pursuant to these contracts. The Statewide Wireless Network is a project to replace the obsolete communications infrastructure for the State with a radio network for public safety and public service agencies that works statewide. The SWN is intended to facilitate interagency and intergovernmental communications, allowing emergency personnel to communicate with each other, and is being designed to have the capacity for 65,000 users. The first phase of the regional implementation plan involves Erie and Chautauqua counties and is expected to meet its June 2007 anticipated completion date. The contract also provided for retrofit of the State Police Metro-21 system in New York City, which is expected to be completed this month. The SWN contract is a lease-purchase agreement, wherein the State is not obligated to make payments to M/A-COM until a regional section is completed, tested and accepted. The Office of the State Comptroller has committed to ongoing oversight of the project through a series of audits and payment reviews. ### Click here for a copy of the Comptroller's Report. Click here for a copy of the Comptroller's audit. Albany Phone: (518) 474-4015 Fax:(518) 473-8940 NYC Phone: (212) 681-4825 Fax:(212) 681-4468 Internet: http://www.osc.state.ny.us E-Mail:press@osc.state.ny.us

Although we did not order 2 new buses from PL, I have had the pleasure in the past to talk with Bud. I am sorry for the loss to the PL/Rescue 1 family.

I am asking for feedback from some of the members of EMT Bravo. Here is the situation. Every year my fire company, The Trout Brook Engine & Hose Company #3 of the Chester Fire District holds our Christmas Tree Fundraiser and usually a week or two before Christmas we have a Breakfast with Santa. We also do a Santa run where we drive Santa Claus around on the Engine and hand out candy canes to the local children in our District. The tree sales and breakfast work out to be a very good way for our company to make some money. My company has a good amount of members who are Jewish. For years they have always participated in our Christmas Fundraisers and the Santa Run. None of our Jewish members have ever taken offense to anything the company does that is Christmas related. Of my good friends Steve (he is Jewish) came up with some ideas for a joke and some good laughs. He tells our customers that aside from Christmas Trees we also Hannukah Bushes. He also tells everyone that Santa Claus has a companion named Hannukah Harry. Aside for these two things, Steve has also dressed up in our Santa suit and was Santa at the breakfast. All of the members of my company participate in busting balls about each others nationalities and their religion etc. It is never done to be mean or offensive to anyone and if the line gets crossed the ball busting stops and apologies are given. So, a few days ago when our trees were delivered our department safety officer (who is also our webmaster) recorded the following video and posted it on our website: www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hjTBjInzqc It was one the funniest things I have seen in a long time. Our members posted numerous messages on the site saying that they have not laughed that hard in a long time. This video was posted for several days and then an anonymous Jewish member of our department complained that the video was Anti-Semetic and degrading to the Jewish people. This member was the only one who complained about the video and against the wishes of many other members of the department the video was deleted from our department website. The deletion of this video has touched off a firestorm within the department. Our webmaster has been getting a lot of heat for this deletion and many members (including our jewish members) are up in arms. The webmaster stands behind his decision to delete the video as he says he is protecting himself and the department from a lawsuit. I am asking for anyone to watch this video and give me your opinion on the situation. Thanks in advance.

I wish the Chief a speedy recovery!

I just finished watching the HBO Documentary called Hacking Democracy. If I did not see some of the things I saw I would have never believed what they showed. It showed how votes on Diebold electronic voting machines could be changed without a record of this happening ever being recorded. I have never been one to acknowledge any type of conspiracy within the Government or the private companies that they contract to, but this really made me think of how there were people elected to office all across the Country who maybe should not be in the positions they are in. It would be my suggestion for all of you to watch this program and draw your own conclusions, but it will open your eyes.

Thank God his injuries were minor. My prayers for a speedy recovery go out to this officer.

They are not dropping anyone. They are adding Motorola. Now they will have Motorola, Kenwood and M/A COM.

Maybe NYSP will get one next. LOL! New Guns, New Lights, Why not a new pursuit vehicle?

http://www.chesterfiredepartment.org/2007/index.html

I have received unofficial word that NYCOMCO is becoming an official Motorola Dealer as of January 1st, 2007. I wonder what they are up to by making this move. If they think that they are going to win back all the FD's and VAC's they are wrong. Between Goosetown Communications, Crudele Communications, Albany Communications, MetroCom and AC Communications most of the non-police agencies in Orange County are well taken care of. Unfortunately, most of the PD's and the County are locked into long leases with NYCOMCO. They are paying all this money for horrible services.

I hope that all the members of EMTBravo and their families had a SAFE and Happy Thanksgiving. I worked my regular 2-10 shift so I missed out on dinner with my family, but I made triple time to sit at work, take a nap, surf the net, watch TV and eat a lot. Not so bad! Today I have another triple time shift because our Town gives us the Day After Thanksgiving as a Holiday. I LOVE CIVIL SERVICE!!!!!!!

This is a very sad situation. I really hope that for the sake of all the residents of NJ that something can be worked out.

I am not looking to rain on anyones parade here, but don't you think that before we support a Nationwide Broadband System we should get our voice communications taken care of first?

This dump of a place has been in existance way too long. NYC has been shipping their "unwanted" people here for years. These "residents" of "The Camp" aka Campees have raised the crime rate in Chester over 300%. Public Intoxication, Indecent Exposure, Shoplifting, Harassment, Assault, killing of nearby resident's animals all top the list of crimes committed on a daily basis by the residents of "The Camp". I am so happy to finally see that they are shutting this place down. IT IS ABOUT TIME!!!!! By Brendan Scott and Raja Abdulrahim Times Herald-Record November 17, 2006 Chester — It's the news this town's been waiting to hear for years. Camp La Guardia, the sprawling complex that gives shelter to as many as 1,001 of New York City's homeless men and provided decades of frustration and anxiety to its suburban neighbors, will close by July. New York's Department of Homeless Services announced the move yesterday morning, ending a protracted period of negotiations between the city and the communities that have hosted the camp since the Depression. "I am on cloud nine," said vocal shelter critic Michele Murphy. Orange County Executive Ed Diana held his own news conference in the afternoon to announce county plans to buy the 258-acre property for $8.5 million. Plans for the land include work force and senior housing, a central senior dining kitchen and storage for the county's new voting machines. Diana plans to bring the proposed purchase before the Legislature within the next 30 days. The future isn't as upbeat for the 240 employees who work at the shelter. Volunteers of America, which operates the shelter, plans to hold a local job fair. Department of Homeless Services employees will most likely be offered jobs at the department's other locations in the city. "The camp," as the shelter has long been known to locals, was once viewed as a harmless haven for convalescing old men. It was a place where, longtime residents remember, they went to talk to shelter residents or buy the produce grown on the camp's surrounding fields. But the camp had changed by the mid-1980s, as the crack epidemic and efforts to deinstitutionalize the state's mental health system sent a new, less predictable generation of homeless onto the city's streets. Located 45 miles from 42nd Street, Camp La Guardia became the city's single biggest shelter for homeless adults. At full capacity, the facility was nearly a third of the size of the adjacent Village of Chester. Relations between the city and local communities began to fray as encounters between locals and camp residents, who would walk daily to Chester's stores, grew ominous. Increased complaints of lewdness, harassment and public drunkenness prompted crackdowns by local police. Calls for greater oversight at the camp intensified in 1994, after a resident strangled a pet rabbit in front of a Greycourt Road woman. Five years later, the city relented and agreed to a host of rigorous guidelines intended to keep the most dangerous residents out of the shelter. Then, in 2002, a camp resident with a criminal past slashed a Warwick woman across the face with a broken soda bottle as she tried to bicycle past him on the Heritage Trail. Tensions exploded anew. Local leaders pressed for an independent monitor to oversee the camp. Local residents demanded it be closed altogether. But the city, which was coping with a sudden jump in homeless in the Big Apple, had little incentive to cooperate. Now that homeless rates have declined, the city has decided to close the facility and end its antagonistic relationship with its neighbors to the north. "The closing of Camp La Guardia is a milestone that tells us our plans are working," New York City Deputy Mayor Linda Gibbs said yesterday. Women's prison to public nuisance 1918: New York City opens its Greycourt Farm Colony, a women's prison, on a 258-acre farm that straddles the Chester-Blooming Grove border. 1934: The city turns the prison into a homeless shelter for single, adult men, naming it "Camp La Guardia" the next year. 1958: The camp's farm reports a 184,572-pound potato harvest, which goes to feed other homeless people in the city's system. 1980s: Complaints about camp residents increase in the wake of the crack epidemic and the deinstitutionalization of the mental health system. 1985: Blooming Grove activist Susan McCabe founds Committee for Safe Neighborhoods to oppose the camp. 1994: Community outrage over a camp resident who strangled a pet rabbit renews calls for greater shelter oversight. 1999: Contemplating a statewide run for U.S. Senate, then-New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani agrees to a host of strict guidelines intended to keep the most dangerous residents out. 2002: Local officials call for new action on the camp after a camp resident attacks a Warwick woman who was riding a bicycle on the Heritage Trail. September 2006: The city agrees to bar all parolees from the camp. November 2006: The city announces that it will close the 1,001-bed shelter by July 2007. Brendan Scott

You might want to contact someone who works at Empress EMS in Yonkers. That patch you are talking about is what they wear on their uniforms. Their supplier might have decals on this patch.

Years ago, the .45 Caliber was common among the Military and many law enforcement agencies. My cousin who was a USMC Firearms Instructor once told me that one (there are several) reason for doing away with the .45 for Military and Law Enforcement was due to the increasing number of females entering the Military and Law Enforcement. He said that the size of the gun coupled with the recoil was too much to handle for many females. This is by no means meant to be a slanderous statement toward women. I am just telling what I was told. I have spoken to many police officers about the topic of calibers. Most cops said they did not like the 9mm. Yeah, it was great when the high capacity Glocks became availble, but they all found that the 9mm was not powerful enough. Many of these officers reluctantly gave up their .38 & .357 revolvers for these new 9mms. A few of them had tested the 10mm. They liked that a little better. When the .40 came out it they said it was a good "in bewteen" caliber. Look, being a firearms fanatic myself I fully understand shot placement. I know you can kill someone with a .22 if you hit them in the right spot. Unfortunately, not every cop is a good or great shot. You also have to factor in the fact of stress and the conditions you are shooting in. The recent shootout in the City of Newburgh between officers and an armed multiple felon proves that you need a good powerful round to defend yourself. The Officer and Sgt that were being fire upon are both highly trained members of the CNPD SWAT Team. One of them is a Sniper on the team. Out of at least 6 rounds that were fired at the officers I believe that two rounds hit armed felon. The fatal shot was the one to the back of the head. This was not an intention head shot. It was a round that was aimed at center mass and ended up striking the head. The officers involved in this incident were using .40 caliber weapons. I know that a 9mm hitting someones head would also kill them, you have to remember that the head shot was basically luck. If the armed felon was not struck in the head and was instead struck "center mass" the outcome may been very different. In a shoot to kill situation I sure as hell would want a powerful large caliber round being fired from my gun. I applaud the decision of the NYSP to increase their firepower. One another note about firepower.........Up until about 3-4 years ago the officers of my department carried their duty weapon (.40) and a backup weapon. The back up weapon was either a .38 or a mini version of their duty weapon. There were a few 12GA shotguns available that some officers carried, but that was it. The formation of a SWAT Team in my department was never going to happen, but the Chief and the Firearms Instructors recognized the fact that our officers needed another form of a high powered weapon. Two AR15's were purchased for the department. All officers who are properly trained and who qualify on the AR may carry this with them during their tour. At least one AR is carried during any shift. Next year at least two more AR's will be purchased. With the firepower being used by criminals these days against the cops, the AR can be a very useful tool in a shootout. I know this is a long post, but I have one more relevant situation to discuss. About 8 years ago on St. Paddy's Day I was dispatching at the Village of Monroe PD (Orange County, NY). Myself and two officers who were working monitored NYSP units responding to a shots fired call in the Village. I then took a 911 call for shots fired in the same area. My officers and NYSP responded to this residence and upon arrival were immediately fired upon by a male who was holding his son hostage inside the residence. The male was firing an unknown type of assault rifle at the officers. A 10-13 was transmitted by my officers. One of these officers being a close personal friend of mine. I contacted multiple agencies for assistance and they responded from all over the County. My friend and an NYSP Sgt were pinned down behind a huge tree in front of the residence. They both knew that their .40 caliber duty weapons would be no match for the assault rifle being fired at them and they were too far away from the perp to even get an effective shot at him. Eventually the perp stopped shooting and negotiations were in progress. When the perp finally surrendered and his house was searched 3 assault rifles and hundreds of rounds of ammo were found. Prior to this incident most of the assisting agencies did not have any type of high powered weapons. 90% of these agencies (exept Monroe PD) went out and at least purchased shotguns for their officers. A few armed their officers with some type of rifle (Mini 14 or AR). The most messed up part of all this was that the Monroe PD had a handful of shotguns in the station, but because the Chief did not want his officers carrying shotguns for some reason these officers has nothing but their duty weapons. A few years ago things finally changed and a Tactical Team was formed at the Monroe PD. Now, these officers finally have the correct firepower in case another incident like this happens again.

I try to scan my PC at least once a week. I use the AOL Spyware progam, Ad-Aware and SpyBot. For virus scan I use Antivir. These are all free and work very well.

Semper Fi! Do or Die! HOORAH!

I was surfing around and I found this list of Nationwide Inter-Ops Frequencies. I contacted a friend of mine who is a US Customs ICE Agent in NJ who provided me with the description of what these frequencies are used for and who monitors them. Here are the freqs: All frequencies use PL 156.7 UHF Interoperability Channels U-CALL 453.2125 U-TAC 1 453.4625 U-TAC 2 453.7125 U-TAC 3 453.8625 VHF Interoperability Channels V-CALL 155.725 V-TAC 1 151.1375 V-TAC 2 154.4525 V-TAC 3 158.7375 V-TAC 4 159.4725 800Mhz Interoperability Channels I-CALL 866.0125 I-TAC 1 866.5125 I-TAC 2 867.0125 I-TAC 3 867.5125 I-TAC 4 868.0125 Yes you can use them. They are covered under Part 90. All the VHF channels are simplex and many agencies here in NJ have them programmed in their radios although they are rarely monitored. They are basically nationwide interops channels so if you go to help out in Florida for a hurricane disaster, they can link your radio to a network via the TAC channels. I have them in my GOV mobile and portable. I believe VCALL is CSQ, all others are PL 156.7 and NAC $293 in P25 digital. In NJ, the UHF channels are monitored and used, especially by those counties falling under the Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI). Those counties include Bergen, Hudson, Passaic, Sussex, Morris, Essex, Union, and NYC. Additionally, the state added NJUTAC4, 5 and 6 for the UASI region. The simpex channels can be used for occassional chit-chat, but don't dare use the repeater unless you get cleared from the UASI on the CALLing channel. They will then switch you to the appropriate TAC repeater. I know the UTAC6 repeater here in Morris County in simulcasted all over the frigin place. I know Suffolk County NY and the Port Authority activately monitor the I-Call channel as well as NJSP, who all operate on 800 mhz. Most of the I channels are on repeaters and NJ has added an additional repeater called NJITAC5 specifically for the UASI region. Look at http://www.eastcoastscanning.com/viewtopic.php?t=120 for further.

I must agree on the statement above. KVI is the place to go up here in OC for all uniform needs. I have been dealing with Bill and Kim for many years now and I must say that they have been nothing but great to deal with. Their goal is to be a "One Stop Shop" for all your needs. I have been to "other" uniform stores in the area and there is nothing more frustrating then having to wait weeks and weeks for your uniforms. 99% of the time you can walk into KVI and walk out within a 1/2 hour with your entire uniform. For those agencies that are a little far from KVI, they will come to you, take all the proper measurments, complete your order and deliver it to you. How many uniform stores would do that for you?

KVI is not selling any of these lights on eBay. They have these lights for sale in the store.