nydude2473

Not to try and nitpick but 5 ambulances to cover all of the Town of Mt. Pleasant? That's a lot of stretching of resources I think. How could it work if a call drops in Pleasantville and the bus located there is on a call and the only available one is in Sleepy Hollow. Then, a call drops in Sleepy Hollow and their bus is on that job and a bus from Valhalla has to come cover. To me that doesn't make sense. Sleepy Hollow gets a lot of calls and might need two buses while let's say Hawthorne might only need one, just saying. No one knows the right number. I know what you're saying is just an estimate but just because some place else that is comparable in size has those capabilities, doesn't mean it can work in this equation. The communities are different in population size. One solution can't fix that. A solution for Hawthorne and Pleasantville might not work somewhere else. And about the flycars, if they were mentioned as Mt. Pleasant, those are more than likely new Transcare flycars because I know they have the designation as Mt. Pleasant Medics.

http://westchester.news12.com/news/firefighters-union-head-resigns-amid-charges-1.11315179

A lot of places with scary staffing out there.
Newburgh is way understaffed.
Plenty of towns near me who staff with two on an engine. Buddy of mine works in California, no different out there.
I'm lucky to work for a town that staffs at 15. Though 10 years ago we had 20.
Elections matter. Get involved!!!

Stat, I asked the same question. We all bill the same folks: Medicare, medicaid, automobile, workers comp and private insurance. They all pay the same rates per call, no matter who is doing the call or how much they charge. You can bill $2000, but insurance will pay what they pay, "Usual and customary" I believe is the phrase.
So if Emp and TC are both doing a lot of calls (I think they are) and they are both getting paid the same amount per call (again I think they are), then why is one flourishing and the other not? A guy I spoke to who seemed to have banking industry info told me that TC has an bad billing operation. True? Who knows? It would explain things. But if that is the case, why not hire a billing consultant and say "FIX THIS!" Ego? bad management? Good companies fail every day.
My heart goes out to all the folks working for Transcare. They are good people I am sure. Having this kind of instability affects a lot of things- vacations, car purchases, new home purchases and other long term planning. Like EMS folks really need another stressor in their lives!?
Good luck to all of them. I hope for the best for you.
Bill

I am going to add my semi UN-qualified 2 cents. I have been an Empress medic for 28 years, and I am the VP of our Union, IAEP Local 20.
As for stability mentioned by LTNRFD (Mark, shouldn't you add "ret" after that name?):
When Empress lost the NR contract about 20 years or so ago, only ONE medic and ONE EMT changed over to the new vendor. Everyone else stayed, no one got laid off.
When Empress lost the WMC contract about 10 years or so ago, NO ONE left, and no one was laid off. It was a MUCH smaller contract then, only 3 providers 24X7. We got it back 3 years ago. Now it is 6 spots, 24X7 plus a lot of Txp's.
When Empress lost the MV contract a while back, NO ONE went to the new vendor, no one got laid off.
When Empress was displaced from the Harrison EMS flycar when Harrison started to be their own ALS rather than contracting, NO ONE switched over, no one got laid off.
There was a lay off about 20 years ago, which involved about 12 EMT's. ALL of which were re-called in less than 8 weeks, and in line with our contract. This was in relation to a company strategy to avoid serving clients that were far away and time consuming. I guess it worked.
I was speaking with a friend who began as a medic, like me, in 1988. He has been with TC from the beginning. I don't think Transcare existed in Westchester that early, so he may have come over from Abby.
He makes about $7/hr less than I do. I also get a $4000 annual longevity bonus. So about $18,000 annual difference.
What I did NOT ask is: what is his medical plan cost and coverage, how many paid days off does he get, and is there a retirement or 401K. My 401 K is well up in the 6 digits, 99% of which is Empress money from unused sick and vacation time. So it cost me almost nothing to accumulate that.
I guess my point is that there some stability. Never a medic laid off in company Hx. 1 episode of EMT layoffs and all quickly recalled with seniority as contract stipulates. Decent pay and benefits, but ya gotta work hard and put in your time.
One more thing, after age 50 (that's me this year!) and 25 years on the job (that's me already!) you can work 20 hrs a week and keep your benefits.

Based upon the assignment of FDMV units at yesterdays' multiple alarm fire in the City of Mount Vernon, am I correct in reading that the FDMV is currently only running the following units as front line apparatus:
Engine 3
Engine 4
Engine 5
Engine 6
Ladder 1
Ladder 3
And that Rescue 1 is only manned by Engine 5/Ladder 3 staffing out of the Fulton Avenue Fire Station, on an "As Needed Basis" (which would put either Engine 5 or Ladder 3 out of service, should Rescue 1 be needed)?
And that Engine 2 and Ladder 2 are no longer part of the Front Line staffing (only manned by recalled personnel in the case of a major fire in the City of Mount Vernon.
If this is the case, for a city, whose infrastructure is as 'Old' as the City of Mount Vernon's is, and whose population is as large as it is, this is truly INSANE !!!

Just to clarify, this call appears to have occurred after 7:00 p.m., when the career EMT from OVAC had already left, so OVAC isn't really involved in this specific matter.

I never said that departments like the ones in Fla., MD.,Va., etc are failures. Departments like those were establish due to a lack of any fire protection or not enough due to a growing community. Most were due to post WWII development, not to consolidate existing departments. They were able to plan and construct fire stations in ideal locations for timely responses to the entire area. These were areas that had little or no community services to start with so the counties were providing most of these services so the tax rates were equal across the board. In Westchester there are communities that have been around (providing services) for over 100 years. It would be easy to do what those other counties are doing if Westchester was a new developing county. Palm Beach County F.D. (Fla) was organized in the mid 1980's due to massive development in Palm Beach County west of I-95 where there was little or no fire protection. Fairfax County F.D. (Va) was organized in 1949 to assist the existing vol. depts. and didn't really grow until the post WWII development exploded in the late 1950's and it wasn't until the 1970's that they built new stations to handle the growth of the county.
The Pace study on consolidation talks about how to consolidate and how many personal are needed, but they have not done a comprehensive financial study to see who pays what. That question has been asked on these forums many times without any answers.
My point to my previous post was asking 61MACKBR1 why he is so worried about what is going on in Westchester. He seems to have a dog in this fight. And I say the same to you from Derry, N.H., It seems more out of county people on here have a strong opinions how Westchester should be run. When you can tell me that you were part of a new county consolidation program in YOUR state, and it worked, then please jump in and gives us some insight as to how we can make it work. Not just jump on these forums and say CONSOLIDATE IS THE BEST.

Again no one has shown any financials as to the "tremendous savings" a Westchester County run fire department would save the tax payers. All the buzz words and phrases sound good, but the bottom line is MONEY.....What is the cost for this great service to the citizens. Show me where I will at least maintain the same level of fire protection and not cost me any more money. I will even say you can raise my taxes if the savings to my homeowners insurance goes down by the same amount.
The three career fire districts in the Town of Greenburgh have formed 1 union, and they can't get the powers to be to make it 1 fire district because of the inequality of taxables in the district. The areas with a lower tax rate due to more properties that pay their fair share don't want to subsidies the areas that have a greater amount of tax exempt properties.
Again all the great models in the U.S. of consolidated fire or EMS systems have a different property tax situation. You are comparing apples to pineapples, they sound similar, but are two totally different items.
The bottom line is the bottom line.....Show me the money.

Here's what I heard on the radio:
60 Control repeatedly asking 73-B-2, Sleepy Hollow Ambulance their status, 73-B-2 repeatedly advising awaiting an EMT, an obviously and rightfully frustrated 60 Control dispatcher advising them they are at the 30 minute mark, 73-B-2 still not responding or requesting mutual aid. 5 minutes later, 73-B-2 advised 60 Control per Sleepy Hollow PD, they (Sleepy Hollow PD) are going to be requesting mutual aid, they are going back into quarters. 27 minutes later, Irvington 64-B-2 is on scene. So about an hour for an ambulance to arrive.
What happened there? Maybe I missed the call type. Probably just simply a poorly trained or ignorant member? Why did 73-B-2 wait so long that the PD had to directly request mutual aid? Does a 60 Control dispatcher have authority to override a unit? I would guess no because this dispatcher obviously given his tone would have done so. Sleepy Hollow PD got to override them directly thankfully. 35 minutes 73-B-2 waited for an EMT before they were told to stand down.
#mountpleasantemsproblems

Look, I'm not trying to be a Negative Nancy but you got to look at the situations at hand. Different communities, different paid providers, different village administrations. Not everybody is going to be happy happy about consolidation. People aren't happy with each other, let alone bringing four different agencies together. Is it possible to be done? Well, anything is possible with enough positive attitude and willpower. But, I don't see these four very different villages getting together to do this. Transcare just lost their contract in New Rochelle, Empress is gaining more ground in the county, and OVAC has a nice set up going with Sleepy Hollow. If you're truly saying money isn't an issue then God Bless because all I hear about is contracts here and contracts there. EMS is a business and business is always booming. No one is going to miss out on it if they are already in it. And if I'm not mistaken, Briarcliff Manor is technically part of the Town of Mount Pleasant so, are you saying they need to consolidate as well, even though they have a contract with OVAC as well? It can't be a pick and choose who joins or doesn't. It wouldn't make sense to have a "Mount Pleasant EMS" if not all of Mount Pleasant is involved. Just saying!

With things being the way they are these days, I don't know how successful a "Mount Pleasant" EMS would be. You already have three different BLS/ALS providers in some of those communities. There are already contracts with these groups and I highly doubt anybody wants to lose out on money. Sadly, that's what it comes down to these days, it's never about the needs of the community.

It could be done. It may not be easy but it's possible. EMS is even more fragmented and disorganized than the fire service. If agencies are having a hard time getting out the door, working together could be a good option. There are also fewer laws and regulations in the way for merging or consolidating EMS agencies than there are for fire departments.

Look, I'm not trying to be a Negative Nancy but you got to look at the situations at hand. Different communities, different paid providers, different village administrations. Not everybody is going to be happy happy about consolidation. People aren't happy with each other, let alone bringing four different agencies together. Is it possible to be done? Well, anything is possible with enough positive attitude and willpower. But, I don't see these four very different villages getting together to do this. Transcare just lost their contract in New Rochelle, Empress is gaining more ground in the county, and OVAC has a nice set up going with Sleepy Hollow. If you're truly saying money isn't an issue then God Bless because all I hear about is contracts here and contracts there. EMS is a business and business is always booming. No one is going to miss out on it if they are already in it. And if I'm not mistaken, Briarcliff Manor is technically part of the Town of Mount Pleasant so, are you saying they need to consolidate as well, even though they have a contract with OVAC as well? It can't be a pick and choose who joins or doesn't. It wouldn't make sense to have a "Mount Pleasant EMS" if not all of Mount Pleasant is involved. Just saying!

I know for the most part the Squad Company Second Pieces have had the International Cab.

With things being the way they are these days, I don't know how successful a "Mount Pleasant" EMS would be. You already have three different BLS/ALS providers in some of those communities. There are already contracts with these groups and I highly doubt anybody wants to lose out on money. Sadly, that's what it comes down to these days, it's never about the needs of the community.

With things being the way they are these days, I don't know how successful a "Mount Pleasant" EMS would be. You already have three different BLS/ALS providers in some of those communities. There are already contracts with these groups and I highly doubt anybody wants to lose out on money. Sadly, that's what it comes down to these days, it's never about the needs of the community.

With things being the way they are these days, I don't know how successful a "Mount Pleasant" EMS would be. You already have three different BLS/ALS providers in some of those communities. There are already contracts with these groups and I highly doubt anybody wants to lose out on money. Sadly, that's what it comes down to these days, it's never about the needs of the community.

I know they aren't that new anymore, but I forgot to post them when they were. These are the new FDNY Haz Mat Tech units second pieces, produced by Ferrara on 2015 Ultra chassis. They are all paired with Squad or Engine companies, and for the most part, replace Step Vans. The one picture is going to Engine 165 on Staten Island, which has a Squad pumper....but isn't a Squad Company....yet.
Hazardous Material Technician Unit 165
2015 Ferrara Ultra

Before you knock the unions ( who keep pushing for increased training and manpower) about blocking Home Rule why not lobby for one standard for all firefighters in the state, paid or volunteer. That would include new firefighters, in service training for all firefighters, response times, manning on apparatus, promoting officers on qualifications not on election results. Not to mention mandatory retirement age so we don't have a rig responding with 3 or4 70 year old men on it with a 19 year old lieutenant because that was all that was around.

Actually a pretty good and seemingly accurate article about what happened. Strong work guys!
FULL ARTICLE: http://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/westchester/yonkers/2015/12/25/yonkers-firefighters-pull-woman-burning-apartment/77905630/
NBC 4 New York Article: http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Yonkers-Firefighter-Danny-Lee-Rescue-Woman-Burning-Apartment-New-York-Christmas-363524141.html
INCIDENT ALERT: http://www.emtbravo.net/index.php/topic/52145-yonkers-working-fire-12-25-15/

guys, its very simple.
every municipality that needs to give an exam "orders" a test from the state. Usually every March, there are tests given throughout the state.
This past March, Westchester county, New Rochelle, Troy.....etc all gave exams.
This is not an umbrella exam, the original poster is simply advising that whatever municipality that plans on giving an exam in 2016 will be having the exam on March 19th
Check the normal places you would check to find out about exam announcments.

This happened in China, the firefighter had only minor injuries

Gotcha. Thanks. I misread. I thought they were giving the Westchester County test again.

This hits extremely close to home for many reasons. For those who know Port Chester Firefighter Ryan Cantatore (currently stateside but previously served over there), he was in his unit.
RIP. Thoughts and prayers. Thank you for your service.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/22/nyregion/new-york-detective-on-3rd-tour-of-duty-is-among-dead-in-afghanistan.html?_r=0