GAW6

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

I may regret ever bringing this up. And before I do let me start by saying I believe we need to stress conditioning and prepare our members for the worst and hopefor the best. That said this station test seems a bit over the top. I mean what firefighter has ever gotten off a rig then dragged hose, carried hose, forced a door, pulled a ceiling, carried and set up a ground ladder then saved someone all on 1 bottle ? I get we need to stress fitness but department medicals should weed out those who should not be going interior. This is just my opinion. I yhink this agility is a bit over the top.

Armonk FD reliably has drivers, so the EMT will not be waiting for other personnel. The fire district chose WEMS due to the existing relationship with the medics. An RFP for 2015 will be forthcoming, the current contract is short term. This is a step in the right direction for providing consistent EMS to the district residents.

I was the bookkeeper at the Thornwood Friendly's for 12 years. For me, it was a great job while I was raising kids because I was able to make my own hours for the most part. It closed a few years after I stopped working there. Like the New Rochelle store, it also was one of the highest grossing locations. Yes, Friendly's was always famous for their slow service. Unfortunately, as they say in life, you get what you pay for. The pay sucked there. The only ones making decent money were the waitresses. Corporate put a lot of pressure on the Managers to "make money", therefore they were always cutting staff and were unable to pay good people what they deserved.
It really is a shame to see them all close. I can tell you first-hand, the food was always fresh, and their ice cream was always one of the best. Sad....

From a non medical standpoint that location is 15 to 20 minutes from the Medical Center at most..maybe a little less if a police escort helps out at the lights in Ossining and Briarcliff which is not as difficult as it sounds. Because there was "no extrication" required from the time patient contact was made to delivery at the Med Center it should have required no more than 30 minutes total. No question ground could have gotten the patient there much quicker than waiting for a bird. The medics could have "worked" the patient enroute to save time. The roadway is level and smooth for the most part with only one curve to negotiate. I've driven that route many times in the past with TRAUMA patients being worked and never had a problem getting them there without incident and safely.

From that area it's only about 20 min to WMC normal driving. The incident occurred less than 1 mile from the highway on ramp that would be used to travel to WMC. When you take in the time for the bird to land, the crew to do their assessment and time to load and take off, you haven't saved any real time as opposed to code 3 ground transport. Just my opinion.

You missed the planning meeting when this response protocol was put into play for all emergencies in the park. The parking lot is HFD's jurisdiction. TFD has the emergency access point at the SMP/Marble Ave and PFD has the access point off Foshay Ave.

Had this article been titled Two Recent Fires Highlight Career Firefighter Role, the only replies here would have been a chorus of "Nice Job Brothers". If by chance someone did try to critique the fire they would have been blasted for armchair quarterbacking.
The residents might have escaped the fire, all that really means is they were not rescued. They could have walked out the front door or jumped from a bedroom window. As with most recent new articles the style is more dramatic than it should be with adjectives selected that call the reporting into question. However this article does seem to be about a fire where nothing much went wrong.
There is a big pot of something brown and stinky and people here need to stop stirring it up so much.

So its a no no when vollys take pictures at a fire but its ok when paid guy do it???????? Heck there are websites that show the almighys fdny grandstanding and taking company photos at a fire. But thats ok. I have more respect for people who do the job for FREE then somone who does it for the $$$ and 3/4.

Same here. Sometimes they don't understand. Most of the time they just don't care. As long as SOMEONE shows up when they call 911.
Not a heated battle. I personally don't care. Some people have made firefighting a career choice, some haven't. Everyone for different reasons. I learned long ago that just because you do something for a living, doesn't really mean you can do the job. I'm just tired of those that think that because they get paid to do it, they are the only ones that can do it right.
Completely agree. I have been an advocate of more selective "hiring" for years.

Let's be honest here and admit that there are people, both career and volunteer who have no business in the fire service. To deny that is being blatantly dishonest with yourself. In fact, almost every job, whether public or private sector have the same situation that is found in the fire service. Not all, but most firefighters, whether career or volunteer are professionals who do the best they can given the tools and training.

Positive publicity for the fire service and this turns into a heated battle?!!!! What the Funck!!!
And who cares if you're volley or paid. You're either a fireman or you're not! You either get it or you don't!

To echo thebreeze above.....he IS different. He served this country in battle and deserves to be treated with special regard. Your response is cold, callus and devoid of reasonable consideration. This is a man who is as qualified as all and more so than most, it would appear. If the board has a reason, beyond cold-calculated political retribution, let them voice it.There will certainly be a legal battle here, which the village will lose. They'll suffer shame and a waste of tax payer dollars to boot.
My score on future promotional exams will certainly be eclipsed by those with Vet. credits and they'll be promoted before me. This is good and right, they are more deserving than I because they gave in a way I never have.

First, I work on the greatest job on earth, I'm blessed more than I could possibly imagine, my career is not the issue but thanks for talking out of your behind again. I will reiterate, yes he is more important than them, because while they, and you, and I, were home here enjoying freedom, he was overseas fighting for it. I worked my balls off to get my job, but I never begrudged a single person who went before me because they sacrificed their time and safety to fight for mine, and as I go forward I will applaud those who jump over me on promotion lists because of their veterans points. They DESERVE it, in fact they deserve more than this country currently gives them. The veterans points is a mere drop in a bucket for what they actually deserve. I'm over myself, I appreciate the value of others service above myself, whereas apparently you lack the ability to understand that you might not be the most deserving of something, guess you got jumped by a few vets at some point. Maybe you should have studied harder, been smarter, or served in the military and you wouldn't be so bitter.
Matt

I always felt it was a permanent solution to a temporary problem. However, for those in that dark place, the problems don't seem so temporary.
I don't condone it but I can understand it.

Granted, Robin Williams death was tragic. He was a great man. However, there are numerous Soldiers, Firefighters, Law Enforcement Officers, Paramedics, EMT's, Dispatchers and just regular people that also are great people from all walks of life that commit suicide everyday and it goes unnoticed that there is an epidemic that has been going on for a long time. Many of us know people who ended their own life and only realized the signs and the fact that they should have done something after it was too late.
And because a celebrity takes his own life, it gets noticed and all of a sudden, it's a big deal and everyone is talking about how people should help people contemplating suicide and their should be more attention given to the issue. But the fact of the matter is, once the Robin Williams media circus calms down, people will again forget about this silent killer and the stigma that prevents many from seeking help will return. People don't understand that suicide prevention is not something simple or easy to do.
It's disgusting the way some EMS workers and Police Officers treat and label "EDP's"....even that term is wrong and hurtful, and I feel that contributes to many people in emergency services not seeking help. I also believe they fear being shunned for the rest of their careers should it make it to the gossip circuit or the kitchen table. There are some cruel people in our business who enjoy seeing their peers suffer.
On a lager scale, our mental health and wellness care system is understaffed, underfunded, and unable to give people true tools to succeed in many cases. This is not something that's going to be or can be solved by giving people antidepressants.

Contemplating suicide is a deep and dark place to be, and, in most situations, all it takes is one friend who truly cares to save a life. Sadly, there will always be people who lose all hope for their lives, feel very alone and uncared about in that moment, and don't see another way out or a path towards a happy future, and nobody will or can intervene at that point. In most cases, suicide is not an impulsive act.

It is Yonkers we are talking about, so nothing can be ruled out.

About getting paid...? I can't tell you how many times people (general public civilian type) didn't know our local department was volunteer.
Bullshit and creative writing maybe. But unless I missed something, I didn't see anything about the building being unoccupied. Just that the 2 named residents escaped.
Of course, if they had been been a paid "Professional" department, their x-ray vision powers would have confirmed this.

This station would improve their ISO rating in that portion of the fire district, possibly paying for the station through lower insurance costs to each homeowner. Manning could be built up once a station and apparatus are made available nearby. We all belong or have belonged to FD's and should show support when our neighboring brothers & sisters need something passed like facilities and apparatus. Armonk has future bunk rooms built in. There are others that have plans or want to build bunk rooms, but it is hard to spend for future possibilities in this tough economic climate and get it approved by voters. I would suggest you look at the the large increase in a budget before stating to hire career staff. A station costs you once for 10 or 20 years, staffing costs never go down or away. Career versus Volunteer staffing is determined by the number and frequency of calls, obviously YHFD is doing fine with staffing as is.

All fire districts are REQUIRED to have a purchasing policy in place. The Auditors look for it every year, and to make sure your adhering to it. For example, if it says all purchases between $1000-$5000 must have 3 written quotes, and you buy a widget for $3,500, you better have the 3 written quotes at the ready to prove you adhered to it.

To withdraw monies in a Capital Reserve account, it needs to be put out to a permissive referendum. Basically the district must ask public permission to spend the $ the district already has.

+1
And it still needs to go to bid.
In our town, any purchase of $3,000 or greater has to go to bid. Purchases between $1,000 and $2,999 require several quotes. Purchases under $1,000 require a quote. Those limits are set by local government vote, and might vary from place to place. The State Comptroller will tell you that your town, village, FD, whatever, has to have rules in place like this.
Even the private non-profit that funds part of our ambulance service has similar rules in the by-laws.

Do any Career Depts participate in that anymore? I know they use to and have just as good time in the "Bullpen" as the Volunteer members! Wooohoo!

The missing youth was found at about 1745 hrs 30 June.
He lost his clogs in a swamp and was barefoot, and suffered numerous insect bites as well as probable poison ivy exposure. He did not appear to be the victim of any suspicious or criminal activity. He stated that for part of the time he was gone he was not trying to be found and did lay down and sleep. Admitted to a hospital for dehydration and skin symptom management (it is not always wise to give steroids to a diabetic.)
The response to the request for assistance was tremendous, with at least 10 agencies involved as well as numerous civiliian volunteers, with input on social media and from at least one church..
The family is aware of help from the Town of New Castle Police, the Westchester County Police (patrol, aviation, K9 bloodhounds), the MIllwood Fire company, the Ossining Fire Department, Ossining E.M.S.. Croton E.M.S., PleasantvilleE.M.S., Yorktown Fire, Croton Fire, Chappaqua Fire, Briarcliff manor Fire, and Westchester DES. The family is deeply grateful for the efforts that everybody put in, and the care and coordination that made the response work out so well.

Got that right Brother! Too many of them are Political Puppets and got their position because of nepotism, writing a nice big campaign donation or just plain kissing ass their whole career!