GAW6

Sounds about right for today. Make an effort to save someone of their loved ones, human or otherwise, get an unhappy result, get sued. Glad I'm 'retired'.

Really? You need a bill now for the obvious I can recall at least four specific incidents over the years where we rescued and/or treated dogs at the scene. At the time there wasn't any hesitation to do so or concern that it wasn't 'legal' to do so.

I also believe that this would have to go to a public referendum.

Is that a full-time salary or part-time salary plus benefits?
Not saying it's a bad idea but what's the plan? Sounds like a smart way to add 125K to their reserve funds while seeming very proactive. And they probably have 125K in their reserve funds already so they didn't need to do this to have the funds available in 2016 (or 17) or whenever this is going to happen.
I am not at all opposed to the idea, I just think it may ultimately be the death of the volunteer department Somers.

Why become an officer if you can't become chief?
Why go to training if you can't become an officer? (not firematic training but higher level, officer type training)
Why should I volunteer if the chief is getting paid?
Will the first paid chief be one of the commissioners or family member of a commissioner?

See? Lots of unanswered questions.

I really don't think this statement was necessary.

i only want to ask does anyone remember what happened on dec 7th 1941 of course we remember but also life goes on and those who died so we could live would want us to go on and enjoy life enough saddness already they want to be remembered for the good not the bad things

NYS will pay for your EMT course if you are affiliated with a NYS volunteer EMS agency. It always make sense to have someone else pay for your certification. However before you take the class, ensure this work is for you. I have seen WAY TOO MANY people take the EMT course only to realize that they do not want to do EMS.
To choose an agency:
1. Go local, you will last longer if you volunteer in your home town than if you volunteer 3 towns over. I.E. Community Involvement/Ownship
2. Inquire about the culture. Being the volunteer on a truck of paid medics gets old quick, doubly so if your stuck at the station for 12+ hours while everyone else runs from home. Is their a paid vs. volunteer divide? What about new kids vs. old timers? In-town folks vs. out of town folks? Any overly strong personalities that you wont like/wont like you? All important to consider. You will be place in very difficult and stressful potential life and death situations with these people. You want to be around people you can trust, can trust you and you get along with. These people will turn into your family or worst enemies. I.E. Organization Culture
3. Call volume and response area. Depending on whether you are home or at the station and your personal preferences will be the judge of this aspect but no one really wants to volunteer to run calls for 12 hours straight if they run from home and no one wants to volunteer to sit at the station for 12 hours just to sit on your hands for the entire time. I.E. How Busy
4. Room for advancement. It gets boring doing the same thing over and over again. You want to drive I see, how long will it be until you take the EMT course will be important. Will you still be driving 2 years later or will they let you take an EMT class by then? Will they let you alternate positions once you are cross-trained? Drive one call and tech the other? I.E. Cross-training

I have a confederate flag, and oddly enough it looks only a little like the battle flag that was on top of the General Lee. That is because the Southern Cross was never the flag of the confederacy. I also have a Gadsden among other various flags.
Mass killings, especially in a church, are something that most normal people can not even conceptualize. Thus in order to make sense out of the senseless, we blame inanimate objects. We see this often with guns, but in this case it is a flag. While I think that the governor of SC caved in to liberal pressure, I can honestly say that as a state governor it is her right to be that cowardly and Lilly-livered. I could not defend states rights as a concept and take any other stance.
As for all the corporate shunning and banning, well we have the chance to fight that with a good old fashioned pocketbook protest. TV Land has announced they will no longer carry the Dukes of Hazard, I suggest we let them know that we will no longer be watching Emergency! or CHiP's on that channel either.
As for enforcing the law about flags, well I hope to see you all at Old Navy this week when they unveil this years illegal American Flag T-Shirt. The US Code about flags specifically prohibits the flag from being used as an article of clothing or for advertising purposes. I refused to eat in a restaurant that was flying a tattered flag.
The flag of treason brings up an interesting point. I had a friend years ago who insisted that it was illegal to fly the confederate flag because it was the flag of a vanquished enemy. He could not explain why then it was not similarly illegal to fly the flags of Japan, Germany or even Great Brittan. He did try and claim that those countries were now under different governments, although that simply is not true in the case of Great Brittan. I argued that the Confederacy was no longer the government of any of the southern states.

I'll soap box a little further....the confederate flag is a flag of treason. Today, we'd probably have branded them terrorists.
Today, the founding fathers of this country would be branded terrorists.

While slavery was the driving issue of the civil war, the greater issue was that of states rights to govern themselves vs an overbearing central government. The Confederate flag is a symbol of a war lost. I don't believe that slavery as it existed in the 1860's was morally correct. Unfortunately, the greater issue was also lost as we have seen in the 150 years since, especially in the last 7 years as the central government has taken or attempts to take over nearly every aspect of our lives. Not through the legislative branch as designed, but through the judicial and executive branches and the regulatory agencies that have no oversight.
I have a Confederate flag. I am not a racist. I think there are those that want to make it a symbol, a cause if you will, of an unjust time in our history. The leftist, socialist elites that permeate our society are intentionally sowing strife and discord between the races. That flag has a place in our history. I, and others, may not agree with your reason(s) for displaying it, but I support your right to it.
Will the government next try to abolish use of the Gadsden flag as a symbol of those that do not agree with their overreach?
And after that?
This country needs to wake up and people need to open their eyes to what is going on and what's going to happen.

Thugs gone wild!
http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/NYC-Summer-Jam-Concert-Police-Riot-Gear-306432101.html

Nice photo's; thanks for posting them!

Agreed and sadly its more likely that fire depts. will consolidate (if ever) before schools and that's because: "I don't want my kid going to the same school as _______"

Can we talk about the actual incident, and re-open the METU thread for those who want to continue that discussion?

Based on some of these posts, I can't help but wonder if some of you were dropped on your heads as babies. What is even more concerning is how little some people know, armchair quarterback and jump to conclusions.
I have a fairly good amount of training regarding trains and train emergencies. I have - what I believe - is a wealth of knowledge of the fire service, including resources in this county and around us. I also have responded to and run a handful of incidents involving mass-casualties.
I have never - nor has 99.5% of you - had an incident like this. The people running it did a TOP NOTCH JOB, and the fact that some of you are sitting back, typing away and criticizing any decisions of the Incident Commander or any others at this incident just fortifies why I have little faith that we can ever become better as a county. Some of you posting here are officers, past officers or - God help us - aspiring officers in your respective agencies. As the Maitre D' in Ferris Bueller's Day off said, "I weep for the future."
/rant
And for the record, this is me, as a person, voicing my opinion which has no reflection of any affiliation I have or have had in the past.

It is not always bashing. I agree that asking questions is a good way to learn things.
The specific bashing I was talking about was not even bothering to masquerade as a question. On that other forums there was open criticism in the incident thread about how many rigs got on the road and how soon they got there. Mostly valid points, but not really for an IA type of thread.
There are the remarks that don't help like I see you had six Engines on scene, I guess that means you had six members there, good job!
On a positive note, we have the beginnings of an educational thread going about the recent train crash, although that could go south at any moment.

Glad to see there will be a Westchester County Convention again. Unfortunately, be prepared for all the negative comments about parades and social events.......

Glad to see there will be a Westchester County Convention again. Unfortunately, be prepared for all the negative comments about parades and social events.......

sir i assure you that we at buchanan engine have not forgotten in any way shape or form

well i got married on sept 11th and my family was glad that after all the years of saddness and negative things that surround a sept1 11th observance that now finally we have something to celebrate on that day some people were upset about it but life goes on

Maybe it's time that we also start to celebrate the joy that our fallen brothers gave to us. We tend to remember the sadness, but we quickly forget the happy memories. They would want us to enjoy ourselves, no matter what the circumstance may be. We can still remember them for everything they gave, but you have to remember they gave so we could live. A golf outing seems pretty harmless. Understandably, many will be attending ceremonies throughout the region, but I'm sure people will attend the ceremonies before teeing off.

Glad to see there will be a Westchester County Convention again. Unfortunately, be prepared for all the negative comments about parades and social events.......

Glad to see there will be a Westchester County Convention again. Unfortunately, be prepared for all the negative comments about parades and social events.......

Glad to see there will be a Westchester County Convention again. Unfortunately, be prepared for all the negative comments about parades and social events.......

Glad to see there will be a Westchester County Convention again. Unfortunately, be prepared for all the negative comments about parades and social events.......