JackEMT

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Posts posted by JackEMT

  6. Posted

    When I was living up there in the 90's they were doing 911 in the cities of Albany, Schenetady, Watervliet and Troy (Troy operates their own ambulances now). They also provided 911 and transport to many of the nursing homes in the three counties (Albany, Schdy & Troy). They also had contracts for the Saratoga Race Track and the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC). (I don't know if they still cover SPAC). MAS also provided transport for the Albany Childrens Hospital with a specialized transport ambulance (for NICU/PICU emergency transports) which they supplied a driver and the hospital provided the staff. They have expanded recently to have fly cars, my guess to cover the rising requests for ALS intercepts from the rural volunteer services in upstate NY. (Some who had transport times of 45+ to the closest ED).

    They went union several years back, I do not know if they still are. Prior to that, pay was lower than average (especially compared to downstate), but was comparable to what the other area agencies were paying (Empire, Capital District, etc). I have not talked to anyone there recently, so I can't say if pay has improved or if the union is still there.

  8. Posted

    Is there any statistics on how many subscribers they have and what the call volume is to these subscribers?

    It is a known plan, home owners know they have to pay for the coverage and they make that choice.

    Do any department charge for services versus doing a subscription plan? Instead of charging $75 for the year, charge $50 for all calls and $150 for a full alarm response. Would home insurance cover this?

  12. Posted

    I think at a certain point, people expect "value" for what they pay. When I lived in the city, I was paying less than $2,000 in property taxes, did I expect less in services? Not at all. Now that I live in the 'burbs and pay 4x times that in taxes, do I expect 4 times the services, not really. But I should be holding the public/elected officials to spending the tax renenue wisely.

    I am not sure if the responsibility should be on the FD/EMS agencies to "educate" the public on how the budget is spent, but they should be able to answer to the inquiry.

    helicopper likes this

  14. Posted

    I think this is huge. I would like to see more hands-on reviews but I really like what I see. The idea of Amazon Silk is really interesting and I wonder how seamless it works. I think this is going to make a huge impact for tablets. iPad broke open the door, but the Fire will make tablets a primary device for many households. Not only will iPad sale be affected, but I believe laptop sale will take a hit too.

    Who had pre-ordered?

  16. Posted

    Back in the day with carbs and points/distributors, diesels were probably a lot more reliable and less expensive per/mile to run. Now days with ECU's and electronic ignition, it would be interesting to see those numbers again.

    But diesels have always been know for higher torque at lower RPM's. Now with turbos, there is high HP with the diesels. Putting a turbo on a gasoline engine probably requires higher pressure gas lines and a higher volume gas pump.

    I was also told idle time can be a factor, diesels do better with heat than gasoline engines. I don't know but it sounds reasonable.

    Depending on the department, if the dept has easy access to diesels (DPW, FD, local stations, etc) diesels is a good way to go. In some rural areas gasoline maybe more readily available and might be a factor in switching to a gasoline chassis, especially since modern day gasoline engines can put out quite a bit of HP and torque.

  18. Posted

    The Vermont Foodbank set one up right after Hurricane Irene devastated VT. Text FOODNOW to 52000 to donate $10 to Vermont Foodbank. ( www.vtfoodbank.org for more info on the organization )

    I think the events in Haiti, Indonesia and Japan were much larger (look at the number of people displaced) and countries like Haiti and Indonesia don't have the resources to help their own (don't get me started on Haiti). Hurricane Irene left a path of destruction, but to areas that have better access to resources (material and financial).

    I am not saying people affected by Hurricane Irene shouldn't be helped, they should, and I for one have already donated. But I think domestically there are more choices to get donations to the people affected. Very few relief organizations have a global reach like ARC, Oxfam, etc.

  20. Posted

    I watched the documentary yesterday too. This case fasinates me because it is so tragic and the truth died in that van along with the victims.

    As an outsider who gets his information from the various news outlets, the show provided little new data. I found it interesting that they paid for additional experts to look at the case. Also they got the PI that the family hired, Tom R, to talk to the family. (Even the lawyer was saying the PI cut off contact.)

    The evidence looks conclusive that the lab samples are that of the driver (Diane) and that she was under the influence.

    I understand the husband's desire to clear his wife's name, but there has to be a point where he accepts the scientific data, she was under the influence.

    The show hints that many people did not know Diane extremely well (or refused to be interviewed). They interviewed school friends that lost touch 10 years ago. They interviewed co-workers (how well do your co-workers know your personal life?)that talked about what they observed, but didn't seem to spend time with her outside of work. Look at the sister (or was that the sister in-law) when they left the meeting with the ME, she said her family didn't know she was a smoker and there she was smoking on camera saying "this will be shock to my family"

    Was Diane an alcoholic, was she a "functioning" alcoholic? Maybe. Did she have a smoke the night before or even as she was packing that car that morning? Maybe. Did her husband live in denial of her problems as he is now? Maybe. They did work opposite shifts, so she might have been a differnt person at home while he was working and the kids were sleeping. We will never know what happened in that van that morning.

    The lawsuit that Daniel files against NYS and his family members IMHO are frivolous and without merit. It seems to be a last desperate act after the state investigation, and the investigation of their PI and the experts hired by HBO conclude the same thing, she was under the influence.

    They mention it at the end that the son is going to therapy which is probably long over due. I hope that he can grow up a "normal" life. I can only assume the latest round of lawsuits will rip this family apart if that hasn't happened already.

  25. Posted

    This is personal opinion, but I don't know if I want to be seated under 900,000 gallons of water. I understand it might be structurally sound, but just the idea of 900,00 gallons of water over you, yikes!

    Yes, the idea of driving the Battery, Lincoln and worse yet the Boston Big Dig Tunnels worries me too.

    This unique fire station is located in Washington Township, Dublin, Ohio. Due to economics and property availibility, this dual purpose structure has a fire station on the bottom two floors and a 900,000 gallon water storage tank above. It houses an engine company and ambulance. Photo by Howard Peiffer