CFI609D

Dave Sanford (DC Westport FD, DC Wilton FD, Danbury FD & WRFD): he taught me the importance of training and that we never stop learning. A true gent, great leader, and mentor to so many of us who were fortunate to learn from him and call him a friend.
Bernie Bodner (Norwalk FD): a true fireman's fireman of the old school, Bernie understood fire behavior like no one else I have ever met. He was completely fearless, both on the job and when he fought his final battle with cancer, no doubt linked to so many years of inhaling toxic byproducts of combustion.
Andy "Father" Clarke (LT FDNY): Lt. Clarke shared much of his knowledge which he amassed throughout the War Years, serving on the South Bronx. He allowed me to ride with his engine company while I was a teen, and was kind enough to explain the principles of size-up and incident command before there were any of today's text books on the subject.
Ed Smith (PGCFD & DCFD): Ed took the time to help me, "the new guy", learn and adapt to the DC way of doing things, and watched my back as I learned the ropes on TL33. He will always be my brother from another mother. Stay safe, Cap, I will always have your back as you had mine!
And finally Ed Sere (FDNY): He took a young kid from the country and exposed him to urban firefighting and truck work in Harlem & the Bronx at L14 & R3. Every night buffing with Ed and his brothers was an education, with the lessons including not only life saving & survival techniques, but also an introduction to the brotherhood of the fire service and the importance of a good culture of esprit de corps in the firehouse.
Thank you to all of the aforementioned who so generously helped me start my fire service career. You are all with me every day on the line and in the kitchen. My feelings are best said by the old Irish blessing:
"May the roof above us never fall in, and may we friends gathered below never fall out."

Dude, this has everything to do with him and his agenda, which is shared by many powerful folks in NYC and NYS. De Blasio's agenda takes PC to an entirely new level, and this is but a taste of what is likely to follow.
Mark my words: law enforcement and emergency services are going to suffer greatly in this new administration, especially given that their agenda is supported by the same judges behind this class at the Rock!

Until we see on a regular basis properly trained and appropriately equipped FAST Teams, this topic will remain relevant. Six guys with hand tools are not a proper FAST Team. Six firefighters properly trained (minimum FF1, FF2, Survival, FAST) and properly drilled (working as a team on an ongoing basis practicing the skill learned in the aforementioned classes) does make a FAST Team.
While for some FDs in Westchester this is the norm, sadly they are a minority. Only when this becomes standard practice at all fires will this topic be a dead horse worthy of dismissal.
Just my $0.02!!

Hudson144's comments were direct and were different than the general threads on FAST that have occured in the past. While some may have tried to stear it back to that dead horse, thats not where this was going.
Based on some of the comments FAST should never be spoken of again because we can no longer gain anything from these threads....Thats B.S.
Hudson had a ligit concern and while others still have the issue of specialty team and who has who has not, we have not solved the problem that hudson brought up.

What is sad, that few are pointing out is passing unqualified probies (in addition to the disservice to the dept & the citizens) is the risk to the probie is increased. If something happens to this person, it maybe because they were handed a job, that they were not qualified for.

Some light reading, before we careen down this side road one more time.
http://www.emtbravo.net/index.php/topic/48915-fas-team-thought/?hl=+rapid%20+intervention
http://www.emtbravo.net/index.php/topic/48756-fast-requirements/?hl=%2Brapid+%2Bintervention#entry278697
http://www.emtbravo.net/index.php/topic/38681-fast-response-times/?hl=+rapid%20+intervention
http://www.emtbravo.net/index.php/topic/29869-what-equipment-does-your-fasteam-carry/?hl=+rapid%20+intervention
http://www.emtbravo.net/index.php/topic/35611-fasteam-member-pre-requisites/?hl=+rapid%20+intervention
http://www.emtbravo.net/index.php/topic/18887-thoughts-on-fast/?hl=+rapid%20+intervention
http://www.emtbravo.net/index.php/topic/49173-the-fast-fad-what-happened/?hl=fast

2 guys meets the OSHA respiratory requirement for 2 out but is not FAST. NFPA 1710 allows it as an initial team that must be brough up to 4 minimum upon declaration of a working fire.
ANd for those that say NFPA standards are optional:
FEMA uses NFPA 1710 as part of the requirement for SAFER grants and this summer NYS authorized ISO to use it in evaluating FD's in NYS for insurance ratings.

Lt. Andy Fredericks, FDNY, Memorial Seminar & Exhibits

Hosted by the Elmsford Fire Department

Saturday, February 1, 2014

Registration, refreshments & exhibits begin at 7:30 AM
Program: 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM

“Intelligent Firefighting”

Presented by
Captain Bill Gustin
Miami-Dade Fire Department

Proceeds donated to
Lt. Andrew Fredericks Scholarship Fund
Lt. Tyler Rush Memorial Scholarship Fund
Burn Care Everywhere www.burncarefoundation.org
Firemen’s Home, Hudson, N.Y. www.fasny.com

Pre-registration: $35, at the door: $40
www.regonline.com/seminar14

Westchester Marriott Hotel
670 White Plains Road (Route 119), Tarrytown, N.Y. 10591

For overnight accommodations, please call Marriott Hotel reservations
@ (800) 882-1042
and ask for the Elmsford Fire Department seminar rate.

For additional information, please contact:
Syd Henry at shenry@elmsfordfd.com or (914) 490-1981
Joe Dorio at jdorio@elmsfordfd.com or (914) 536-2235

Website: www.elmsfordfd.com/seminar


See attached flyer

2014 Seminar flyer.pdf

"I'm from the State and I'm here to help you."

The city owes him this.
Somebody needs to get that entire mess in that city straightened out. The place is a disaster. Tonight as I write this the place is on fire. More guys face the posibility of getting hurt for the people they protect. The City doesn't care about its citizens, the firefighters, police officers or anybody else who is trying to do good for the innocent people that are stuck there.
This is the 21st century. Forty or Fifty years ago we landed on the moon. Yet, nobody knows how to straighten out a city that was once a leader in our economy.
Detroit owes that firefighter, or any other firefighter injuried there, what they rightfully fought for and earned.

It made me sick when I saw this. it just shows it's money over people out there now.

and RUN FAST!!!!!
you only have to be faster then the last guy!

All turnouts purchased by WCDES used to have 60 Control on them, whether for Deputy Coordinators, instructors, etc.
As to the helmet, when I first started as an instructor 10 years ago, most of us used our own helmets. I am assuming that that instructor was from FDNR and assigned to E23.

All turnouts purchased by WCDES used to have 60 Control on them, whether for Deputy Coordinators, instructors, etc.
As to the helmet, when I first started as an instructor 10 years ago, most of us used our own helmets. I am assuming that that instructor was from FDNR and assigned to E23.

The Instruction of Firefighter I is a hot topic throughout NYS. In response to the initial post, AVET is a complete seperate class and is not touched on in Firefighter I. This is because it's considered a Firefighter II skill (yes, I know its not taught in FFII, It's at the Level of FFII). Should an AVET awarness be taught in FFI since the members will be responding to Auto Accidents as soon as they get in the department? Probably should be....BUT...at this time the NYS FFI is already at 87 hours of instruction. This is not nearly enough time to teach the topics that need to be covered. I see above that some are saying we need to match the National Statndard. That would be great...but you are realistically looking at 130 to 160 hours of instruction. Our Chiefs are complaining that 87 hours is to long, I can only immagine what would be said if the course hit that amount of hours. Now, I do think that you will see the NYS FFI be changed to meet the National Standards in the near future but it will not hit the 130/160 hour mark.
CFI609D is right on with the topics that need more time in the FFI course with the addition of Ladders. He is also correct when he says FFI should be looked at as a fundamental class for Firefighters to start their career in the fire service and they should continually strive to take additional training classes throughout their career.
I believe Officers need to play a bigger role in the training of their members. Participate in training with the members, help get new members ready for FFI (if students came ready it could save a good amount of time for other topics in FFI i.e. knowing how to put on PPE and familiarity with SCBA), post the Outreach Training Schedule and any additional training that is being offered regionally. Encourage the members to participate in these training sessions. The more training your members have, the better firefighters they become, a more of an asset to the fire department operation they are and the orginization becomes a better Fire Department.
All members of the fire service, no matter what their rank is should remember to remain a "student of the fire service". It's what will assist in keeping you alive and humble.

Agree, 30 years after Maryland and 25 years after Connecticut. But better late than never!
Another good start would be to get away from Home Rule, which allows municipalities and fire districts to set their own minimum training standards.

Speaking of instructors, Cap, whether it be FDNY, Westchester, or any proby school in the country worth its salt, look at the instructors. They are not assigned to proby school at random. They are there because they have the knowledge, skills, drive, and dedication necessary to mold firefighters out of ordinary people.
After a person graduates from college, chances are that if you ask him a question from HisMajor 101, he won't be able to answer it because he has forgotten the material. Do any of us remember high school algebra?
A firefighter, on the other hand, is required to remember what he has learned for the rest of his life, and to pull out the correct answer in seconds at any time of the day or night, sometimes with people screaming in his ear.
The judges in the FDNY cases assume it's just another job. We know it's not. Maybe the answer is that the judges should put one of their investigators undercover through proby school. No, make that three investigators because one would wash out, the second might tell the judge what it is really like. And the third? He will take the test for firefighter.

Instructors want combat ready, well trained, and psychologically prepared firefighters. Anything less is creating a liability and endangering the brothers and sisters already on the line. Instructors would rather have a high flunk-out rate than unprepared firefighters.

Agree, 30 years after Maryland and 25 years after Connecticut. But better late than never!
Another good start would be to get away from Home Rule, which allows municipalities and fire districts to set their own minimum training standards.

Instructors want combat ready, well trained, and psychologically prepared firefighters. Anything less is creating a liability and endangering the brothers and sisters already on the line. Instructors would rather have a high flunk-out rate than unprepared firefighters.

Agree, 30 years after Maryland and 25 years after Connecticut. But better late than never!
Another good start would be to get away from Home Rule, which allows municipalities and fire districts to set their own minimum training standards.

If anything, time should be added to the programs for more hands-on "bread & butter" firefighting. Unfortunately the curriculum has expanded so much that instructors have barely enough time in FF1 to cover many of the fundamentals. Specifically, more time should be spent on:
1. Advancing lines
2. Stream selection
3. Forcible entry
4. Primary search
5. Principles & techniques of ventilation
As an instructor, I stress to all my FF1 students that they should look at the class as but a beginning of a proces that should continue throughout their fire service career. Also, FF2 IMHO should be mandatory for ALL interior structural firefighters as it reinforces the fundamentals barely covered in FF1. I also believe that any interior firefighter should successfully complete the classes mentioned above (AVET, FAST, Building Construction) as they are all mission critical to being a properly trained and combat ready firefighter. And in some areas not too far from NY this is indeed the case.

A good start would be to switch to the national standard..

Instructors want combat ready, well trained, and psychologically prepared firefighters. Anything less is creating a liability and endangering the brothers and sisters already on the line. Instructors would rather have a high flunk-out rate than unprepared firefighters.

If anything, time should be added to the programs for more hands-on "bread & butter" firefighting. Unfortunately the curriculum has expanded so much that instructors have barely enough time in FF1 to cover many of the fundamentals. Specifically, more time should be spent on:
1. Advancing lines
2. Stream selection
3. Forcible entry
4. Primary search
5. Principles & techniques of ventilation
As an instructor, I stress to all my FF1 students that they should look at the class as but a beginning of a proces that should continue throughout their fire service career. Also, FF2 IMHO should be mandatory for ALL interior structural firefighters as it reinforces the fundamentals barely covered in FF1. I also believe that any interior firefighter should successfully complete the classes mentioned above (AVET, FAST, Building Construction) as they are all mission critical to being a properly trained and combat ready firefighter. And in some areas not too far from NY this is indeed the case.