CFD320

Yes I know DMA is qualified, my point is what if he didnt want to drive, would that make him an unfit officer? And Im done with this one, its like beating my head against a brick wall.

Im quite sure I "have what it takes". I am not being sensitive or even disagreeing that training is important. All im saying is that training is not the end all be all, there are other things involved with being a sucessful leader as other posts have illuded to. Why must there always be that one Ahole that turns good threads into personal attacks? You must be tight with my man Ed Knowsall. 585: I think it's great that all 119 officers must be drivers, but what if a guy like DMA wasn't comfortable driving? Would that mean he doesn't have the tools to be a good officer? Just playing devils advocate here.

Please don’t misunderstand what I am saying! My point is that attending Training classes can be very useful, but they do not automatically equate into one being a better officer or firefighter. Reading the slides off a PowerPoint is not teaching, and for the most part non-productive. Possibly I have been unlucky, but with all the classes I have taken only three of my instructors were worth a hoot. How many people who took AVET think of using a biel tool before breaking out a Hurst tool?? As for an attorney going after an IC that didn’t have a slew of classes......If the IC had an attorney worth half his salt, he would bring up a state official and have them truthfully admit that simple attendance at most courses is considered "successful completion". As far as the officer/driver issue.....Why are there some drivers at the "Northside Powerhouse" that do not drive T10? Could it be that some people are just not comfortable driving something that size? Does that make them any less instrumental in the success of your company? Less of an officer? I think the candidate that won our last chiefs election (who is doing a great job) had a nice folder full of classes. Does that automatically mean that he is doing a better job than the candidate he defeated would be doing? Education is important but it only takes one so far. I have a great uncle with a master’s degree from MIT; I wouldn’t trust him to borrow my car. He is one of the most intelligent and well educated people I know, but he has no every day common sense. People applying common sense have been putting out fire for thousands of years. In these times a proper blend of education and common sense is key, and that blend is different for every person.

They didn't learn than NL pitchers are inferior after Vanquez.....

I have commented on similar posts to this in the past. I whole heartedly agree that training is a very important part of being a successful firefighter/officer. I do not, however; agree that to be a line officer being a driver/pump operator is essential. Take a look at large career departments, to be promoted to officer completion of Chauffer school is not a requirement. I know a very talented firefighter who happens to be an officer that does not have the conceptual space awareness to handle a vehicle the size of a fire engine. That does not make him any less of an officer or firefighter. If a new driver has a question he can ask the engineer or the asst. engineer. If a new firefighter has a tactics question he should ask his captain and not the engineer. The real problem is we qualify too many drivers who dint really understand what they are doing. "OK, you can draft, pump and drive" should not be enough to be an apparatus operator, conceptual understanding about what is actually happening is more important that being able to charge a line. I recently asked an apparatus operator a simple hydraulics question and that person was completely dumbfounded....That is a problem. Now, the laundry list of classes you think are necessary for the "new era" officer is great! But, they must add up to like 750 hours of classes. That is almost half a year of full time employment, a huge time commitment. Most people with a mortgage or rent living in Westchester have a very difficult time putting that kind of time into the volunteer fire service (not even responding to alarms). On top of all of that you give me a guy with all of that training; I can give you 5 with common sense and years of experience that are better/equal firefighters/officers. Going to a classes where attendance is the sole requirement for credit are not always productive. Plus, in departments like ours where if you are unlucky you might not see a "real" fire for 5-6 years, a guy with a ton of classes might get himself or his team into trouble. He may really believe he knows what he is doing and underestimates a situation, which can be deadly. In all fairness, having a college degree never helped me too much being a firefighter. Common scene has been much more valuable than being able to suffer through Differential Equations at 8am. I think career departments use that requirement to narrow the field of candidates, to people who have the work ethic to complete some level of post secondary education. I'm sure there are equal amounts of top notch firefighters with just high school as there are with college. Please don’t misunderstand me, training classes are great. They are just not the end-all be-all.

My lady friend has been a CCRN there for years; they have religiously deducted money from her pay for her retirement. Only problem is, they have never forwarded a SINGLE cent to NYS Retirement system. Now she is going to have to pay it again (directly to NYS this time) so she doesn’t lose the time. NYSNA is the absolute worst and most useless union in the country, they agree to givebacks every single contract! The union in the A&P I worked at in high school was better than them. That place is on the brink of bankruptcy; a bump in the road is the least of their worries. The days of the medical center will soon come to an end unless the county takes the place back and pumps millions of tax dollars into it. The management recently proposed to the Nurses union that each RN work an extra shift per 6 week work schedule FOR FREE. And when asked what the doctors were going to give back; well the answer to that has been the same for many years, NOTHING. And the worst part of the whole thing is they brought it back to the Nurses for approval ](*,) ](*,) ](*,) ](*,) ](*,) Ok I'm finished sorry.....

We already have, but that route takes years and she is up against a deadline with the retirement system. WMC is millions of dollars in arrears to the pension system, problem is if they pay it all out they will file bankruptcy......It's a no win! Sounds like a simple problem with a simple answer, but it isn't. Yes, thay have in effect solen her money. They will most likely not see that money returned unless the county (or other govenment agency) resumes control of the hospital. The railroad is the only industry that the government will subsidize to perpetually run in the red.

Pm me if you need some help with this

Mr. Bravo himself is a dead sexy SOB if you ask me!!!

We all hate to see Firefighters lose jobs but the city of Detroit is a complete disaster. The auto industry pulling some operations out of there almost 15 years ago now destroyed the local economy. Detroit was never able to recover.......

Just remember that fat people can be more fit than skinny people sometimes. Being thin has nothing to do with a persons level of physical fitness.

I have had M2,3 & 2 4's M2 is far and away the best of the lot....In my opinion

All I know is if I (or any other firefighter) am operating at the scene of a fire, ALS on scene is an absolute necessity. It is owed to us; we are putting our lives at risk. When the inevitable occurs, the highest level of care that is available should be on scene. I think I read some rural FD's in the Midwest request medivac helos to working fires.

The Angels may be the best team in the AL, this coming from a huge Yankee fan. Disappointment: The Red Sox will miss the playoffs unless Schilling wins 25 games. Shocker: Texas Rangers take the wild card. I don't know the NL as well but if Omar can find some relievers the Mets will be a tough out, Pedro has plenty left.

I am not opposed to the idea of the government giving back to 1st responders. My original point here was that we shouldn’t put Schumer up on a pedestal for proposing this. Mainly because Representative Maurice Hinchey actually came up with the idea and just enlisted Schumer because of his name recognition. Now Schumer gets all the credit. I would be a complete idiot if I didn't take the credit because I and the rest of you will be paying for it either way. Well, anyway sorry again for the bad info I spewed.

Mr. Hoss, I wasn’t directing my comments at you......I do stand corrected. I failed to do adequate due diligence on this subject. This bill as proposed is a Tax credit. You are 100% correct, and I apologize to the readers. The last post by FASTLEADER summed up my next point on having to pay out more to fund the program than we will get back. This type of program is a fantastic example of supply side economics (Reaganomics), which was a republican implemented economic system under which the economy boomed. Only problem is; supply side economics ended up creating a fairly severe recession. Prior to its implementation the US was a Creditor nation, by the end of Ronald Reagan’s two terms, we were the largest debtor nation on the planet. Plus, it created a gigantic domestic budget deficit, and guess who paid for that? In turn the cost of a dollar became outrageous. Now 15 years later our currency has been devalued to a point, which the dollar is no longer all mighty. So the democrats are reintroducing supply side idealism and disguising it as a "tax credit". They count on, and say they "know" the monies will be reinvested into the US economy. The previous sentence is almost a dead on definition of supply side economic theory. And, by the way, the economic fabric of this country was unraveling when Clinton left office. The best thing to ever happen to the Democratic Party was "hanging chads". That gave them the opportunity to blame the latest recession on the republicans. Actually, the fact that this is being proposed as a credit and not a deduction is even worse. Especially for those of us in tax brackets above the bottom three, in the long run this will cost us more than we get back. As for you embarrassing me with educational credentials, go right ahead. Intelligence is not derived from educational achievement, so the term "pissing up a rope" comes to mind. Further, I still fail see any braggadocios comments in my previous post. I will hand it to Chuck Schumer, this is a great way to appeal to a large block of voters. Bottom line is he could still give a crap less about firefighters we are nothing more than a voting block.

PLEASE DO NOT COMMENT ON TAX LAW IF YOU HAVE ABSOLUTLY NO IDEA WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT!!!!!! $1000 DEDUCTION FOR MOST PEOPLE WILL TRANSLATE INTO ABOUT $7.73. THE ONE EXCEPTION WOULD BE, IF YOU ARE ON THE CUSP OF A TAX BRACKET AND THE $1000 GOT YOU INTO THE LOWER BRACKET THIS COULD BE WORTH A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF MONEY. I HAVE A BS. IN FINANCE I KNOW OF WHAT I SPEAK. PM ME IF YOU HAVE A SPECIFIC QUESTION. Please think before you post, I'm not sure how many vollys there are statewide, I will guess at about 10,000. No one honestly thinks New York State is in a position to give away ten million dollars in tax revenue, do they????? Please use your noggins, just like at an incident, no tunnel vision.

WOW a $1000 write off........wooooooaaa, I may be able to buy a sandwich with my extra refund. Senator Schumer (left winger) could give a s*** less about firefighters (hates our sitting Governor); he only sees a block of votes. I would be marginally impressed if he hired a volly as a staffer, or introduced legislation that would give vollys some sort of advantage when applying for a civil service job. Please don't fool yourself into thinking Schumer is Pro anything but Schumer. He wants to be Governor; he saw how Volunteer firemen across New York came out in support of the Current x-firefighter republican governor (Pataki). He is counting on firefighters being stereotypically "uninformed"

Trophy hunters beware!!!!! I hear 585 and 26 others from WECO are taking the 2 months prior to the parade off work to clean the engine. Then they are going to vacuum seal it and flat-bed the engine to the parade. And yes, I am also insane (incredibly stupid) enough to do the same thing.

Thanks

I was told this is for dispatcher job not firefighter......Just what I was told PLEASE CORRECT ME IF I HAVE BEEN MISINFORMED BY THAT PESKY DMA GUY

There is a engine on the west side of manhattan in the 40's that has a Q. It sounds bad a** coming down the canyons.

Send em all...........................seconds make a difference between life and death. I wish all of our dispatchers could figure that out.

Hint: Just a few hours into his term

Croton Falls Guys, I have to say I really like the look of your new Engine...... Big fan of the A&B foam systems, the non-raised open style cab, and the fact you didnt go crazy with too many pre-connected hose lays. Although I like the functionality of the roll-up compartment doors, I don’t love the way they look, but they fit on this engine. Also love the fact there is no booster line (sh*t hose) that I can see. I have some questions for anyone who knows about the apparatus. Is the hose bed 5" and 2.5" or is the lesser diameter hose 3"? What is the total amount of attack line on the apparatus (diameter and location other than the obvious). Is there a deck gun hidden above the pump (amidships)? All in all and Sweet looking engine in my opinion! Great job.....