Morningjoe

Yeah, put it all in your bag.

Due to the Federal Shut Down. FEMA has cancelled all storms.

Yeah, put it all in your bag.

10 replies......6 about lights......ugh. Guess what lights do? NOTHING! Blue. Green, pink.....2 of them14 of them, makes no difference.
Now, to respond to the very good question that matters:
Laautze gave a good answer. I'll just expand a bit. All standard FDNY engines have a 2 stage pump with a transfer valve. We operate in volume as standard practice. This means that the impellers operate in parallel and produce 50psi at idle. When the valve is switched to pressure, the impellers operate in series, one after the other. At idle, the pump generates 100psi(about). All engines are capable of pumping at high pressure (excess of 250psi) however with each additional stage the upper limit is raised and the engine doesn't have to work as hard. Additionally, engines assigned as high pressure units are outfitted with the discharges painted in white. They are a heavier build. They are meant to be mated to high pressure hose, red in color with white fittings. This hose also allows for a tether to be attached. The tethered line must be tied off to the engine and the standpipe Siamese. A 50' safety zone must be established. This is why there are no HP discharges on the pump panel side. Only a chief officer can order high pressure operations.

usually the FD will park behind the fly car once they get on scene so now the car is protected

It was a tough old 3 story building and one FAST was "activated" when a pass alarm malfunctioned on the third floor area (would not shut off until batteries were removed) thankfully the FF was okay..the truck work was unbelievable due to the masonry construction inside and outside of the building...fire was in the walls and ceilings on all three floors and up to 5 layers of plaster, old tough wire lath, masonite sheets and plywood over plaster on walls "renovated" over time..ate saw blades/chains...many doors were difficult to open with irons with heavy inside smoke banked down to lower levels but no visible fire until roof was vented ..making a lot of truckie work...and some reported smelling smoke for hours prior to dispatch...tough job...but good job by all on scene... so multiple FAST teams are "angels on our shoulders" with so much going on..good call if you ask me...

Yeah, put it all in your bag.

Yeah, put it all in your bag.

Yeah, put it all in your bag.

Yeah, put it all in your bag.

Yeah, put it all in your bag.

Yeah, put it all in your bag.

$2 raise is some incentive for going to school for almost 2 years

It is clearly different from one dept to another and even when the depts have the "same" i.e. 2 engines + 1 ladder = 1st alarm the staffing can be 3 or 13 for that same alarm. It really should not be that.
30 years ago we would send 2 engines + 1 ladder + 1 chief to a fire and that would get you 13-15 ff's.
Now we send 2 engines + 2 ladder + 1 chief and you get 14ff's. Plus once its a worker, you get 2 more engines (1 for water & 1 FAST).
The ISO standards require a minimum of 2 engines + 1 ladder (or rescue) + 1 chief and a minimum of 13 on duty members or 37 on call members
NFPA 1710 require a minimum of 2 engines + 1 ladder (or rescue) + 1 chief but a minimum of 16 or 17 (the extra 2 over ISO are for 2 out and for a search team), if its a worker they require you add 2 more to the 2 out to make it a FAST and add a safety officer.
Historically each alarm duplicated whatever the 1st alarm sent and as far as I am concerned that how it sould be. Just because your dept does not have enough rigs to make the next alarm level with what you have should not mean you run short.
Now whats really interesting is why:
Before phones and radios we had street boxes and everyone knew if there was a fire you ran to the closest box and pulled the lever AND waited for the FD to arrive so you could direct them to the call. When you pulled the lever the # on the box would be transmitted via telegraph to all the fire stations in the dept and either a bell would sound the number (VFD's had the horns sound the #) &/or a tape would be cut with the number of holes.
So if the box was #236 the tape would look like this: << <<< <<<<<<. The man on watch would look up on a big wall chart and find out what intersection #236 was at (VFD's had a little pocket manual) and what the pattern was. Then if the pattern included that rig they went. The standard was a minimum of 2 engines (an engine was a steamer and hose wagon) and a ladder or city service unit).
If they got there and the chief want more help, he would have someone run to the next pull box (say #237) and "Pull or strike the 2nd Alarm" or if they had a telegraph key in the box he could go back to the original box and "tap out or strike a 2nd alarm"
When that # came in the house watch would look at the chart, see that the 1st alarm units were not available and additional units would go to the new box (not knowing if they were going to the same job or a different one nearby).
If this was still not enough, go to the third box and "Pull or strike the 3rd Alarm"

Yeah it would have made a huge difference. You would have had someone who didn't win a popularity contest actually in the position and who was trained to an exact level.

And therein lies the key to just about any tactic. Transitional attack is just another play in our playbook, and it's one that has been around for a very long time. In fact most departments have probably employed it at fires in the past, as the incident has dictated a need for it. This tactic is neither good nor bad in and of itself, as firegrounds are dynamic and flexible situations where tactics may need to change as the incident progresses. But it isn't a one stop shopping cure all either. What is of vital import is knowing when, where, how and why to apply it to achieve the best results.

Meh, we got it, we dont need anyone else....

Meh, we got it, we dont need anyone else....

The opposite of an unemployed one?

I support Duracell, and will not buy anything else....they have always supported the fire service thru donations, so we should support them.
Couple years ago Duracell donated a couple cases of batteries (9volt, A ,AAA) to us to give out to anybody in the district that needed them for smoke alarms.
They are also a American company located in CT.

In my opinion NO! There is also no need to have a ladder and tower ladder designation either, a Good Chief will know what resources they have available to them from their mutual aid departments. This is of course MY OERSONAL OPINION.

Coming soon to a Kindle near you: "Hurt Feelings on the Fire Floor" a novel co-authored by folks who have gotten on the job via court order rather than merit ... So sad.

Has anyone ever heard of this place, or trained there? Realistic building collapses, buildings underwater, subway systems... Seems like one heck of a facility!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Walbkvwhvso

Agreed
Also if there was not a very strong lobbying group that claims to represent the intrests of the volunteer fire service

Personally i think part of the problem is with the terminology commonly used Such as "mutual aid" which I feel is used to mask the problem that plagues our area.
From what I was originally taught and understood was that "mutual aid" meant 1) you needed additional resources such as manpower, or additional apparatus to assist you at the scene. 2) you need a specific reasource that you or another agency/department don't not have 3) you are already committed to a incident or whatever and need "mutual aid" to handle an additional call while you operate at your initial incident.
But, what I see "mutual aid" used for around here is a loophole to cover up the all but true actuality of what many have pointed out here that calls are going unanswered. I would like to see is the term (FTR) "Failure To Respond" used which would keep agency's/ departments more accountable for their inability to perform their primarily function and respond to emergencies within the acceptable standard. If that were actually used the facts would be presented front and center to the public and state that there is a problem and it needs to be addressed. Otherwise it just seems like this problem will continue to fly under the radar and put the public and first responders In danger.
Just my 2 cents.