CFI609D

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Posts posted by CFI609D

  2. Posted

    Still, no one has responded to why the County Department of Emergency Services procured a METU unit, to which is "apparently" never used for what it was intended to be used for ???? Tax Payer Dollars wasted again !

    No local/regional tax dollars were used to purchase the METU. It was acquired via the Federal USAI program (see my earlier post). As to potential use as a MERV, that would be a function it was NOT intended to be used for.

  3. Posted

    The Yonkers PD unit is certified as an ambulance and can transport it if staff is available to take care of the specific patient needs (which is true for most ambulances).

    The YPD METU is the only one of the 18 purchased by the U.S. Government via the grant program that is set-up for treatment and rehab. The remaining 17 (FDNY, WCDES, NJ, Nassau, etc) are only set-up for transport and are essentially identical.

    Disaster_Guy likes this

  4. Posted · Edited by CFI609D

    What is the METU unit?

    METU is the acronym for “Medical Evacuation Transportation Unit”. It was designed specifically “to assist in the evacuation and relocation of stable individuals confined to a hospital, nursing home or assisted living facility during an emergency or catastrophic event.” It has the capacity to safely transport from one medical facility to another. It is not a MERV, MCI unit, or big ambulance as it is not set-up or equipped to treat, only to transfer.

    I believe that 18 METU units were purchased under the New York City Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) and they are assigned to agencies in NJ (several cities/counties), Nassau County, Suffolk County, FDNY, City of Yonkers (YPD), as well as with WCDES here in Westchester.

    Again, they are NOT units designed to treat or transport victims from MCIs…their mission is very specific and it is to transfer and transport people between hospitals and/or other health care facilities.

    I hope this answers your question and clarifies the continued confusion regarding the METU and its mandated function.

    Disaster_Guy and chris498 like this

  8. Posted

    In NYC, the FDNY rarely gets to do this, because the traffic units will have it on the hook and off to the yard, long before the FD gets a call.

    Boston rarely tows illegally parked vehicles: instead they use the boot to immobilize the vehicle until the fines are paid. It is cheaper for the city (no tow trucks, no impound lots, fewer employees, etc.) but still generates lots of cash for Boston. While efficient from a revenue generation standpoint, the Boston approach fails to remedy these situations, which is why the brothers of the BFD tend to get frustrated and take matters into their own hands.

    Bnechis and Capejake72 like this

  9. Posted

    Thanks for the info. But please note I said declined and not refused in my initial post though. Good to know the unit is available for scene response and not just for very rare situations.

    However, what's taking so long to place it into service and when will it be placed into service? And who staffs it?

    Prior to be placed in service people need to be properly trained in its function and operation. This has been taking place. As to when it will be in service I would imagine soon given the number of recent training sessions.

    It will be operated by WCDES staff.

    x635 likes this

  11. Posted

    Most of the responses posted above are sensible, mainly because most of you are looking at this issue in a logical context. Sadly, "Chief" Ellerbe's actions are driven not by logic or even by policy objectives. Unfortunately his agenda while at the helm of DCFD has concentrated on punishing and demotivating the core of the suppression side in favor of a bias towards the EMS side of the department and political alliances within the city's Democratic Party. The two stations mentioned above (E10/T13 "House of Pain" and E30/T17 "House of Blame") have for years been not only among the busiest but the most tightly knit. They also have produced some of DCFD's best firefighters and chiefs, as well as many of IAFF Local 36's leadership, the very people Ellerbe has hated for years. Ellerbe's enmity goes back to when he got on the job and proceeded to advance in the ranks on the back of aligning himself with the right groups on city hall, not by distinguishing himself on the line.

    This is all about payback and intentional demotivation. Ellerbe wants these guys to refuse the crime patrol details so he can suspend or transfer them. This chief has already been chastised in the courts and arbitration for using transfers from elite units as punishments. He is trying to break the spirit of a very proud department by demotivating the most highly motivated elements and driving the more experienced officers and firefighters into retirement as quickly as possible. The good news is he is a lame duck and there is light at the end of the tunnel, when the current Mayor, Vincent Gray leaves at the end of this term, Ellerbe will be moving on with his sponsor. We can only hope and pray that DCFD gets a good chief who can help mend fences and undo the damage done by Ellerbe.

  14. Posted

    Kudos to the HFD for a job well done, especially given their limited resources. The first-due crew and IC made an excellent size-up, and succeeded initiating an effective attack AND rescuing one of the occupants. Once again, the HFD's culture of training aggressively and often paid-off.

    To the Monday-morning quarterbacks who have posted above, I was there and this was a text-book operation. Well-trained and combat-ready FFs & officers went above and beyond, which resulted in a life being saved.

    x635, SageVigiles, wraftery and 1 other like this

  15. Posted

    Washington, DC has to be the worst FD ever. Even when they try to "fix" things, they make it worse. Now, on top of all the other BS, they want to put firefighters on this horrible schedule:

    Seth: I take real issue with your statement that DCFD "has to be the worst FD ever." I spent w lot of time down there with both PGFD and MCFR, and I worked with DCFD fairly regularly. The reality is that they are a a very good, hard working job that is unfortuanately led by one of the most destructive and vicious chiefs of any major metropolitan department in the US. If you had said they have the worst fire chief ever, I would probably agree. But despite terrible working conditions, pay that is a fraction of their surrounding departments, and a very heavy fire and EMS work load, the firefighters, officers, and operations chiefs are doing a very good job. Morale is at an all time low, but they press on regardless. To judge the entire department by its horrible leader, however, is just not fair.

    x635 likes this

  16. Posted

    Required reading, especially for those who do not take the role or importance of FAST/RIT seriously, as well as those who do not regularly drill on FAST/RIT skills. Do not let the sacrifice of our brothers in Boston be in vain...train in their honor!

    http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/03/27/rescue-team-member-recalls-efforts-save-trapped-firefighters-explosion/fpaSuuNZuVVlBPOJ0H7a2O/story.html

    http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/03/27/when-routine-turns-crisis/VciKjCDUWGZbp8saE1jWGM/story.html

    jd783 likes this

  19. Posted

    1) Nobody in NYS believed it, it was claimed by many in the fire service it would not be used against us, but at the same time the judges & lawyers were saying it would.

    2) The volunteer fire service needs to convince FASNY. They have lobbied against it on your behalf for decades.

    Amen, Barry!

    Sadly, FASNY's misguided priorities (blue lights, dumbing-down training standards, etc.) only hold us back. The volunteer fire service needs to understand that FASNY and the attitude they represent do nothing to increasing firefighter safety. And it is unrealistic for the volunteer fire service in NY to get the respect that so many want as long as we have training "apartheid"!

    38ff, BFD1054, Dinosaur and 2 others like this

  20. Posted

    Legally the only requirement is for "2 out" not FAST, but since FAST is in NFPA standards, a dept &/or IC could get sued if something went wrong and they did not have FAST.

    Sadly this state is way behind the times and due to home rule, requires very little. That said, the lesson of Lairdsville is that the NFPA standards are what Chiefs and the AHJ will be held to in a court of law, both for civil and criminal trials.

    IMHO, it is crazy that we do not mandate FF1, FF2, Survival, FAST, TCO, etc. for ALL interior firefighters. And far too few firefighters in our area are being assigned to operate as part of a FAST/RIT unit without training in even the basic FAST skills.

  21. Posted

    I am confused about this. The organization with which I was previously affiliated was looking into donating old equipment / firefighting gear / apparatus to some poor, developing countries through a local charity. The charity would incur all delivery costs, etc. However, the fire district, upon researching the matter, determined that according to the laws that govern fire districts (Side note, one of the fire commissioners was an attorney and they always had their district attorney present at all district meetings...so there were 2 lawyers interpreting these laws not just a an electrician, a school bus driver, and a DOT worker who are laymen and wouldn't know how to interpret the law anyway) they were unable to donate any equipment that still had any value remaining. The way that they read the law was that anything that was purchased with any taxpayer money could not be disposed of until it was completely without value. Therefore, completely regardless of NFPA and their time restrictions for apparatus / fire gear, if the piece of equipment had a reasonable fair market value, then they could not dispose of that item without some type of monetary compensation / attempt to get the most out of the taxpayer's dollar. Their interpretation was as follows...What right do they have to give away something worth $25,000 of the taxpayers money. They should sell it for the $25,000 and they charge the taxpayers $25,000 less the following year. This could be a significant amount of money on a ladder truck even if it is 15 years old.

    The key word you used is "interpret." If you asked 15 attorneys for their respective opinions, you would likely get 15 distinctly different interpretations of the law. This is especially the case in here in NYS where so many of the laws pertaining to fire districts, fire companies, and municipal fire departments are archaic and inconsistent.

  22. Posted

    Heard something about the former New Rochelle Ladder 12 (The 1997 Simon/LTI 75' Quint) being donated to the Westchester Fire Training Center. Bnechis or someone in the know, can you confirm?

    So, someone correct this if it's wrong. The WCFTC is running with for their Grasslands and training fleet

    -Engine 7 (International/E-One)

    -Ladder 7 (HME/Smeal)

    -Former Pound Ridge Rescue 22

    -Former Rye Engine

    -Former New Rochelle Ladder 12

    PRFD's former Rescue 22 is now Rescue 78, and Rye's old engine is now Engine 8.

  25. Posted

    I must agree with Mr. Polet on one point. I, too dislike the term "First Responder." I prefer to be called a Firefighter. Many people draw their picture of our job just like Mr. Polet. To them, we spend our days sitting around the kitchen table playing cards or checkers and expecting a big pension for doing so. As a college professor, he should know that you can't just make a statement like that without research to see if it's true. I suggest he, using the Scientific Method, do a survey of firehouses nationally to see how many fire stations even have a checkerboard or a deck of cards in their quarters.He is also correct when he says that people should learn to save themselves and their families without the aid of firefighters. Every family should have an escape plan to safely get out of their home without the aid of firefighters. It should also have two ways out and a meeting place outside. The man is a genius! Why didn't we think of that?He also says we should be preventing fires or trying to end destructive fires altogether. Right again, Mr. Polet, we should be pushing for laws that require automatic sprinklers, even in one family homes and college dorms. Those are two places where the fire death rate is high.As for the "America's heroes" image? I've only made three rescues in my 34 years on the job. That's not very productive of me, so I never thought of myself as a hero. I am sure the average college professor is more worthy of the title because in the same 34 years he will have passed his "knowledge" on to hundreds of young men and women.I could go on and on, but I think you get the picture. Just call me "Firefighter," I'll be happy with that because I can meet up with any Firefighter in the World and I'll know what he does for a living. Mr. Polet can have the title "First Responder" if he likes, but he'll have to start showing up at emergencies in under 5 minutes to keep the title because that's when we get there, rain or shine, day or night, Christmas included. And even if we don't like you, we'll get on our bellies, go into the fire, and pull your sorry ass out.

    Thanks chief, your words sum it up. I do hope that you will share your thoughts with the professor, who clearly needs to further his own education!