highwaybuff

Interesting question so I did a little research...
A few storms have hit us especially hard including Floyd, Irene, the unnamed storm of 1938, Donna, and the Nor'Easter in 1992. The tracks of Irene and Floyd were very different from Sandy; they both moved up the coast where Sandy appears to be taking a track more like the 1938 storm (which was about category 5) for a direct hit on the DelMarVa Peninsula. Definitely not good news for them but we're still well within the tropical storm wind cone and will also receive heavy rain and wind.

(Irene is the other track along the coast with Floyd and Donna, the tag got cut off.)

Intensity wise, Irene hit the metro area as a hurricane before weakening as it moved inland. See the track here: http://www.nhc.noaa....loop_5NLW.shtml
Irene was a big storm too. The satellite image shows Irene to be almost one third of the size of the U.S. east coast. The distance from Augusta, Maine to Miami, Florida is 1662.55 miles. Hurricane Irene's tropical storm force winds extended 255 miles from the center making Irene 510 miles in diameter, almost one-third the size of the U.S. Hurricane-force winds extend 70 miles from the center, or 140 miles in diameter.

Sandy is also really big, and it’s getting bigger. Tropical storm force winds now reach 450 miles out from the center, so at its forward speed of 9 mph, places could experience tropical storm conditions almost 48 hours prior to the arrival of the center. That's a LOT of rain and wind for 2-3 days.
Floyd hit the Carolinas as a strong type 2 hurricane and eventually reached us as a tropical storm. The issue with Floyd was it's size, it was HUGE - much bigger than Andrew, the hurricane that decimated south Florida. Near its eye, Floyd's winds were 130 miles per hour, earning it a Category 3 rating from meteorologists and it was almost twice the size of typical Atlantic hurricanes, Floyd was some 580 miles across and packed tropical storm-force winds (40 to 73 mph) or greater across that entire span.

The big thing that I picked up from all this research; there are so many variables it is hard to really "compare" storms. Water temperature, wind speed, other frontal activity, location, speed, size, lunar cycle, etc. all make it very hard to say one is more or less devastating than another.
Hurricane Sandy is a very large storm and no matter where exactly it hits we're going to feel its punch.
Stay safe!
More on Floyd for those with nothing else to do today - http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/1999floyd.html

The track is going to change every 6 hours with every update from the forecasters and models. Then every meterologist will add their interpretation to impress their viewers so this thread will be as long as the Stamford merger thread if we post every update.
I figure we will either get rain or we won't. :-)

Date: 10/22/12
Time: 07:17
Location: 340 Illington Rd (Map) (YHFD box alarm assignment map)
Frequency: 46.26, Fire-17, County Ops-1, YPD
FD Units Operating: (Yorktown: E270, E271, E272, E273, R16, T14, 2531), (Pleasantville:T57) , (Pocantico Hills: T12), (Millwood: 2252, 2253, E-247, T-15), (Somers: T16, E181), (WCDES: BAT10, BAT17 C&O-Z4), (Bedford Hills: 2033, T5) (Ossining: 2331, 2334, E-98, U-51, FAST) (Croton; T10) (Katonah: T6) (Mohegan: L35)
FD Units standing by @ YHFD HQ: (Montrose: TL8) (Mount Kisco: E104)
PD Units Operating: (YPD, NYSP, NCPD, WCPD, DEP,)
EMS Units Operating: (YVAC: 86B1)
Weather Conditions: Clear, 48 Degrees-F
Description Of Incident: Reported fully involved structure fire
Reporters: fireboyny, peterose313, Larchmont_Boy
07:16: Time of Dispatch, (Possible structure fire, reported fully involved)
07:17: 2531 Requesting 1st alarm assignment with 2nd alarm tankers
07:23: 2251 On location, 40X80 Wood Frame, Heavy Fire on the 2nd floor and attic
07:25: 3rd engine in is to Reverse lay down the driveway
07:34: E270 approaching the scene
07:35: T10 approaching the scene
07:39: Katonah unable to respond, Millwood's tanker taking their place
07:40: Bat-10: On Location
07:43: Ossining FAST on scene
07:47: Disregard, Katonah T6 responding
07:49: 2081: Acting as water supply officer, taking over County ops 1
07:50: 2531: 2 hand lines in operation, heavy fire, switching to defensive operation
07:50: All tankers to switch to ops-1
07:51: Bat 10: Requesting C&O
07:51: T14 On location
07:51: C&O zone 4 Dispatched for responce
07:56: Con-ed Electric requested
07:58: Millwood's fill site has been established,T14 to set up fill site at IBM)
08:17: C&O Zone 5 dispatched for responce
08:23: Units overhauling at this time
08:40: 2531: Fire under control, knocking down hot spots at this time
09:00: Bat 10:All mutual aid tankers released
09:09: Bat 10: Units standing by at YHFD HQ, report to the scene for manpower
09:11: Mount kisco - 1 engine relocate to YHFD HQ
09:11: Montrose relocate ladder to YHFD HQ
09:20: E181, L10 on location, manpower report directly to fire scene
09:50: Ossining units back in service
11:23: Yorktown and Millwood units back in service
Links: lohud, patch,daily yorktown, mid hudson news, News-Day
anyone with additional info please send PM

Should I have separate drawers for my athletic socks and my dress socks? I can't decide....

I mean this with all sincerity, and it is intended not only for you, but for many others on this site...how many Firefighting TEXTBOOKS (not magazine articles or websites, which have their own value), but TEXTBOOKS on firefighting- how many of them do you own, how many have you read from cover to cover, over and over, with numerous highlights and notes in the margins, maybe thousands of pages of notes taken from these TEXTBOOKS, as well as flash cards made, and accompanying study guides completed?
How many? I would be willing to place a wager...
This is not to discredit you or others or to be mean, but there are so many on here who simply don't know what they don't know.
If you had such strong, yet uneducated opinions, and expressed them in the kitchen of a career Fire Station (particularly any department which has some occasional fire duty), it would very quickly be "explained" to you why it would be best for you to educate yourself and gain some experience before so emphatically disagreeing with your seniors.
It's very hard to learn much when your lips are moving or, in this case, when your fingers are typing.

Dangit- you beat me to it! Mr. ATV is basically pleading for a "qtip", lol.
I haven't even had time to watch the video yet, but after scrolling through this thread I have a pretty good idea of what I would see (based on credible reports from several fire service experts, lol), so, rather than watch this seemingly amusing video, I think I will instead use the 5 minutes of my life to organize my sock drawer- it will be time more well spent...
I did have some pleasant conversation with several nice London Firefighters at the Tunnel to Towers Race on Sunday...I was nice...I didn't tease them about their motorcycle helmets, nor did I engage in a discussion on tactics, which most likely would have ended badly, lol.
I figured for a department that went through what they did during WW 2, they deserve a pass on questioning their questionable tactics from a wise a** U.S Fire Chief.
The rest of you on here do not, however....

A couple of key points:

· There is no such thing as a routine call.
· Complacency kills.
· Train like your fight – fight like you train.

CO can be an intermitting problem; it can be generated each time an improperly functioning or vented furnace, water heater or appliance starts up or runs. Just because your meter is not showing any CO upon your arrival, don’t assume it is another false alarm, especially if it is for a prior alarm location. You either have a CO problem or a faulty detector. Take the time to perform a complete investigation, fire up each and every fuel burning appliance and all sources of CO and check with a properly calibrated meter.

And on a side note, if you are looking to save fuel, stop riding around in the apparatus for hours on end and calling it driver training. NOTE: This is my opinion and is based on my 36+ years in the fire service! Not looking for a debate, if the shoe fits were it.

How is that you think this is a response to my challenge? My challenge was for the other poster to explain with specificity what he meant by "glass houses".
It is such a shame that again, another poster on this site has, from behind the anonymity of his keyboard, made unsubstantiated allegations using such words as "hate" and "despise"...we have so many serious problems in this world, and everyone on this website, career, volunteer, or other has so much more in common than we do differences. There is, unfortunately, so much real hate, violence and unfairness in this world, and to throw these words around so casually is really a damn shame to me. Why can't we just be big boys and respect differences of opinion without being so thin skinned or making personal attacks? I have used sarcasm on this site at times, and generally this was done in response to ludicrous misinformation on a subject near and dear to my heart, and / or a personal attack on my self or my department. However, in all my years interacting with members of the volunteer Fire and EMS service, both on this site, and in person, I have never been rude, disrespectful, or dishonest. In fact, I have been very supportive of any volunteers who have come to me for help or advice on many occasions. On a related note, when valid criticism of my own department or career departments in general is posted, I never take it personally, or try to make excuses or deny the truth.
However, here in Westchester County we have many serious issues with Fire and EMS services, and the majority of these issues (not all) are from the volunteer side. This is not personal, it is business. Very important, life or death business! Duplication of resources, ridiculous selection, training, promotion and retention standards, lack of transparency, horrible inadequate response standards, etc, etc. Many of these issues could be fairly easily solved, and therefore more death, pain and suffering could be avoided, if egos could be put aside, and valid criticisms could be accepted.
,
Adequate minimum training standards, consolidation and regionalization, transparency in regard to finances, resources, levels of training and competency need to happen. It is a complete failure of leadership and selfish egomaniacs who are more worried about their little fiefdoms than the public good who are standing in the way of this. My hope is that if I and others keep pointing out these serious issues, the many good, intelligent, dedicated and caring individuals in the volunteer sector will force this change down the throats of the entrenched "leaders" who have been holding progress back for so long.
My feelings are shared by so many, both career and volunteer- and just FYI, many of the career Firefighters who volunteers hold in such high regard actually feel exactly the same as I do- however they choose not to go public with their feelings because they want to make money by teaching you, selling you t shirts and other paraphanelia, receiving the many benefits of being volunteer Firefighters themselves, writing books and articles, setting themselves up for certain jobs in retirement, etc., etc., and they are not willing to suffer the personal attacks such as I have on here for expressing my feelings on this issue. It's actually hilarious to hear the criticisms of the volunteer fire service which are made in private by many career Firefighters who most volunteers proclaim to be their good friends and supporters
I realize I am making sense to a lot of you and many of you share my feelings. No matter how hard I try, the haters will always be out there. I accept and expect that. Thanks to all of you who have supported me on these issues. Together, over time, we will acccomplish much positive change in the service of those we are sworn to protect.

]
To the many fair minded members of the volunteer fire service, please note that my name is clearly indicated on all of my posts, unlike this poster. Also, I would challenge anyone to show any evidence of me being a "known enemy of us volunteers", or of spreading "volunteer hating rhetoric"...these are really serious allegations, words like "hate" f and "enemy" for Pete's sake, should not be thrown around so casually. Members of the fire service, both career and volunteer have sacrificed much, even their own lives. How cowardly and mean spirited it is to make such slanderous statements from behind the anonymity of your keyboard.
I would also ask this poster, if I thought there was any chance of receiving an honest answer, what he means specifically by "Deal with your own problems before you attack us."
I wonder if he's just having a really bad day and this was an impulsive error in judgement, or if he truly is such a mean spirited, character lacking individual?

Hello Members of the media (I know you read this)....why not do some investigative journalism into the very serious, life threatening issue of fire department and EMS departments in Westchester County vis-a-vis, oftentimes ridiculously long response times, inadequately trained responders, duplication of resources, lack of transparency in regard to finances and frankly many other issues within lots of departments. This is serious stuff!
Disclaimer- , I must very clearly state....this is not an attack on volunteer Firefighters, EMS workers or their departments! There are many dedicated and knowledgeable volunteer members of emergency services in this region. However, the SYSTEM is BROKEN!
Positive change very rarely comes from inside of an organization, but rather through blunt force trauma from the outside. Well media, how about a little blunt force trauma in regard to this issue? Personally, my own department has been going through some blunt force trauma from certain segments of the media lately, and I'm ok with that- there's nothing to hide, no organization is perfect, transparency and acceptance of change are good things....Why are volunteer organizations who equally hold the fate of people's lives and property (and taxes) in their hands getting a pass from the media?
In closing, I will pre-emptively state that I will not be engaging in a back and forth bicker on this topic, and yes, I do anticipate attempts at deflecting from the issue at hand by attacking myself personally as well as my own department. So, please don't take my non-responsiveness as acquiesence, agreement, or defeat. I'm just too busy to bother with responding to all of it. This post is really just for the media- maybe someday someone in the media in this area will wake up and realize how honest reporting in regard to this crisis would save lives, property and dollars. I'm not optimistic though, because I guess it's just easier to attack salaries, benefits, and pensions, and ignore an almost completely broken system right next door.
stay safe and qtip brothers and sisters!

1) I did not claim they were owned or not owned by the municipality....YOU did...and I asked you to site your source...So I am still waiting for you to prove your theory is valid.
2) You nor I said anything about career vs. volunteer...but what about combination depts.? I now many combo's that the station is owned by the municipality and it was owned and built before they hired career and career depts. that the stations were always municipal even back when they were 100% volunteer.. They include Eastchester, Fairview, Harrison, Hartsdale, Greenville, Larchmont, Mamaroneck (town), Mt.Vernon, Mohegan, New Rochelle, Peekskill, Pelham, Pelham Manor, Portchester, Rye, Rye Brook, Scarsdale, White Plains, Yonkers.
Some of the 100% volunteer depts. i believe have municipal owned buildings: Ardsley, Armonk, Briarcliff, Croton, Irvington, Mamaroneck (Village), Millwood, Ossining, Purchase, Somers, Tarrytown and Yorktown.
Now in Westchester that alone is more than 50% of the depts.
In studying 6 depts in Dutchess (1 career, 2 combo and 3 volunteer) all were municipally owned.
3) If it is a fire district that owns the building then it is government owned. If owned by a fire company then in most cases it is not.

Also regardless of the fact that the buildings are owned by the municipality, if you are selling alcohol, regardless of how much your selling it for, you need a liquor license in NYS. The bottom line is alcohol and fighting fires don’t mix, especially driving a rig after consuming any amount.

20 years ago or so this was not an issue.
But it is not 20 years ago, it is 2012. It does not matter who owns the bldg's, rigs, or if you are volunteer or paid, if something happens, someone is being held responsible and is going to get sued.
The only issue here is liability. If something happens, and it does not matter what happens nowadays, and someone involved has been drinking, the overhead agency, municipaity or corporation will find itself in an indefensible position. Any responsible manager, public, private or volunteer, is going to try and protect themselves against an incident before it happens.
Once it happens, you then become the story.

it seems pretty simple to me heres how ihandled it when asked in an Officers class--"if you cant do it in the library or in police headquarters what make you think you can do it in the fire house?"
in most cases the Department/company do not own the buildings--we are coustodians of the buildings--they belong to the public paid for by the public with taxes.
just my thoughts

Great way to implement a weight reduction program lol. I am torn with this. I have to believe that many would be able to exhibit self control at getting behind the wheel while drinking, let alone operating at any operation, but then again, never underestimate the power of stupidity, it keeps us in business! Alcohol was limited where I volunteer for just this reason, and its impacts have not been drastic as many would suggest. Personally I am not a drinker, one or two here or there, but never 10 or 20! Some guys are like Frank the Tank, and once it hits your lips... This is really an issue that should be handled at the State level and not by each individual dept since the differences are so varied. I could care less if your usual members leave cause they can no longer get .25 cent beers, they wouldnt be able to help after having one anyway!

Whiile it wasn't a major issue, the consumption of alcohol was banned from my firehouse years ago due to liability concerns by the Board of Fire Commissioners. In fact under the current rules still in effect, if you consume any alcolhol at all whether at home or anywhere else, your out of service for a miminum of eight hours. Most of us gave up drinking.

Alcohol needs to go. We got rid of it along time ago, and that has prevented many problems from occuring.

Good observations and questions. The EOC was opened early in this incident and a Unified Command was established. Internally, our 5,000 gallon tanker was deployed, members were recalled to man reserve LDH Engines, and to serve as a Water Supply Chief, man our fireboat, as well as other critical functions. WCDES, NYSHHS / OEM, and FDNY were all contacted early on and resources were put in place. Tankers were provided by MTA, Con Ed, Yonkers Contracting, and portable tanks were provided by I believe, Banksville, and another department in Westchester. Other than pre-planning, and providing the portable tanks, no outside Fire Departments were needed to operate within the city. The FDNY Fireboats were identified as a potential resource, and we were told they would be available if needed. Pre-staging FDNY boat or boats in Yonkers was discussed but decided against. Practical distances that water could be pumped from the river were calculated. Relay operations were preplanned, and a YFD Task Water Supply Task Force has been standing by since yestaerday afternoon. FDNY Division 7 as well as FDNY Dispatchers were very helpful in pre-planning Satelitte Task Forces which would be able to quickly deploy into Yonkers if needed.
It is interesting to remember that Chief Bill Fitz, who had the foresight to secure a surplus tanker several years ago and to cheaply have it painted and modified for just such an event as this, was mocked and belittled for his efforts. Once again, his and other YFD members foresight and pre-planning proved to be accurate.
Lots of other deails I am not mentioning here. Kudos to our members for coming in quickly when recalled and doing whatever was asked, as well as to the many cooperating individuals and agencies who offered help and advice.
YFD, as is the case for many other departments and agencies, has many dedicated and knowledgeable people "behind the scenes", who are constantly planning for not only routine incidents, but also those that may only happen once in a lifetime, if at all. It is a tough thing to do these days, as those who hold the purse strings rarely recognize the necessity of dedicating adequate resources to planning for events which may never happen. It is also always interesting to be involved in these type incidents, and to recognize the surprise on people's faces, including at times our own members, to fiind out that we have anticipated such events and we have resources available and plans ready to implement. The response to this event could have been much better, for sure, but all things considered, I was happy with what I saw.
This is just a quick note to give some perspective, leaving out lots of details and probably with some mistakes. I probably will not have time to posta again for a few days or so, so sorry if I don't respond to questions or commens about this.

Guys it's a simple water main break not the apocalypse. Tankers, National Guard, spaceships! Sheesh lol

With Hurricane Issac now over the Keys the Capt may need help . I am willing to drive down in my pick up to check on him.I am looking for donations to fill my truck to take to him.
One D battery
10 cases of Coors Lite [Tall Cans]
5 cases of Captain Morgan
5 cases of Gray Goose
1 pint of fresh water
2 cases of Slim Jims
4 cases of Potatoe chips
2 gallons of Venison chilli
4 gallons of Manhatten clam chowder
4 loafs of Arthur ave bread

If anyone has these supplies and is willing to donate please call. I will only go down by myself as to get the supplies to him as soon as possible

Its a place of business. The particular business is to protect and serve the people of a town and or city. Do these folks drink at their place of paid employment? I'm betting not, so why is this any different? What amazes me about volunteers, (not all of them) is the fact that they will argue to the death that they are of the same quality and held to the same professional standards as Career firemen yet they go around pulling crap like this. Its pathetic and it truly does separate the REAL firemen from the boys.
Drinking is no place for the firehouse.

http://www.northjersey.com/lodi/Lodi_council_introduces_ordinance_to_limit_alcohol_in_firehouses.html?page=all

For those who forgot Accuweathers forcast for 2011-2012 here is a picture from Oct 13, 2011;

Accuweather.com
And we all know how that worked out. So if you want to believe the 2012-2013 forcast, more power to you

It looks like Comm. Kielb was vindicated. I guess the new guy coming in also told the Mayor and Dep Mayor that he could not operate safely with only one Batt. Chief. The second Batt. will be open again 24/7. Safety first

Actually as per Mayors office we will go down to one Battalion city-wide anytime there is a vacant spot in either Battalion Due to vaca, personal, sick or any other leave. In other words, they wLill not pay overtime to man a Battalion unless there are spots open in both Battalions at same time, in which case they will pay to keep one Battalion open.
Safety is closed as per Mayors Office
Also, as per Mayors Office, 312 and 71 are the companies which will be "browned out" when Firefighter manning drops below certain levels, but this is on hold for now. However, no reason to believe that this plan won't go forward in the very near future from what were told.
Confused? Me too...
Of course this is ludicrous but we will do the best we can with what is given us. All the while continuing to point out and document that we are below the minimum levels to provide adequate services.
I won't be commenting further. Just wanted to clear up a bit of misinformation.