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X635, This one is for you!

OK Now I will post for the second time in four years.
Recently I was called in from home and paid overtime to stand-by in a White Plains firehouse while they battled a blaze on Lake St. There were other Mutual Aide companies in the city as well, I believe two, all on stand-by all at the expense of their taxpayers NOT the City of White Plains taxpayers.
Now that the City of White Plains has shown that it is unwilling to pay for a minimum level of protection will the surrounding departments continue to subsidize the City of White Plains at their own taxpayers’ expense but sending in Mutual Aide to stand-by? How do you justify this?
Now let’s be very clear I am not, nor would I ever say if a Department needs help you don’t go. If White Plains or anyone else has a fire or other emergency and needs help at the scene they should get all they need from their neighbors. But to expect that other communities should pay for the manpower and apparatus to stand-by in your fire stations when you are not willing to pay for your own employees is ludicrous! Especially for a city like White Plains that enjoys such a broad and lucrative tax base. How come no one is asking where the tax dollars are being spent?

Here we go ! We sold them to by diesel for the rigs !

There was no middle " DONE" !

Not at all, maybe another rig can make it home. Anybody from Tarrytown with some purchasing power from the ladder company P. M. me for the details.

"...and who cares?..." Lots of us do, apparently. In the fire service response times are crucial. That is why they are tracked and recorded. It's simply not good enough to say, "we do the best we can", or "these times aren't exact", "what's the big deal?", etc. It is a big deal. SECONDS COUNT. If we can improve response times, we will save lives and property. What is more important than that, someone's feelings?? QTIP.

600 series Amercan Lafrance engine and a JOX Amercan Lafrance ladder both early 1940's vintige. Both series replaced by the post WW2 production of the 700 series cab forword Engines and ladders in 1947

Nice job brother !

The rigs that are on Hoiwe's web site are only the ones that firefighter's like your self were nice enough to pull out for a photo, it is not complete. He is a great guy and works very hard on updating that site. The rigs you talk about are very rare and some of the best rigs that were made by Maxim.

Your on the right track, Good luck !

The City Council meeting of Nov. 24, 2009, the city manager presented 3 scenarios. 1) a 21 % tax increase and no reduction in any city services. 2) approx. 8 % tax increase and there will be a reduction in ALL services. The F.D. would lose 10 position. 3) a tax increase in relation to the C.P.I. and other factors would increase taxes approximately 3.9 % and the F.D. would lose 11 position. This is on top of the vacant position do to the hiring freeze. With some retiring in 2010, this would reduce the number of lay offs but not the total positions.
This is what I remember from the council meeting. If the numbers ( % ) are not correct, they are close. The city manager has stated that they will not raise taxes by 21%, so there will be some loss of positions. Hopefully it will be positions lost through retirement and not lay offs. Any way you look at it, the F.D. will have to do more with less. This includes reduction in services to maintain the core services of fire supression.
Some of the council members asked about the use of mutual aid to assist in the manpower reduction. The city manager stated that they will not use that as an option. He said mutual aid is a 2 way street and we need to find a way to maintain New Rochelle level of service without the use of mutual aid.