firemoose827

OK, So whos up for an EMS exercise. Lots of comments have been made, none of them very positive. So if you are an EMS agency Capt, Chief, or training officer etc. and your agency would be interested in participating in an EMS led exercise or just taking part in some face to face general joint training events, please let me know.
Capt. Jeffries
Empress EMS
SOD

I agree. He and many others offer invaluable information on a daily basis for free and most people bash them for it. Does that mean these people were proven wrong and cant be mature enough to admit it?
If I could I would hire Bnechis to come to our county and give a lecture or a seminar on firefighting, and pay him all we could afford.
As volunteers, we all too often hide behind the term when we discuss the requirements and time away from family, yet when someone as knowledgeable as Bnechis speeks up about the training standards being less than equal when compared and that people may be entitled to a better service, these same people get defensive, and claim we are the same...Im sorry folks but we are not. Volunteers need to be trained to the same standards, plain and simple.
In regards to covering calls, we seem to have forgotten about the one most important thing here, the people we serve. This isnt about departments ego or reputation, we are talking about getting a trained response to every call for help in a "TIMELY" manner. Anyone worried about response statistics and call volume and numbers of trucks responding as opposed to number of TRAINED providers able to actually help mitigate the incident responding as fast as possible, realy needs to re-evaluate the reason you are in the service. Its all about getting help where needed WHEN needed, and not a minute later. If your house is burning and your wife/husband is inside, the last thing you care about is the whining volunteer firefighter complaining about his family party being ruined or the fact his boss wouldnt let him/her respond right away. You do expect to see trained help arrive in a timely fashion that CAN help you, instead of 20 well intentioned good hearted people who are not trained interior firefighters that cant save your loved one. To see a group of firefighters in full turnouts standing around unable to help due to lack of training is a waste...sort of like going to an ER for help and seeing people dressed in white lab coats but none of them are doctors, kind of makes no sense right? So why are we still letting newer members with no training ride to calls? Why are we letting ANY member with no training respond to calls with an expensive suit of gear that they should not have?
Sorry, end of rant. Thank you for the replies to all who did, and thank you Bnechis for your professional attitude and demeanor in handling some of the insults, your contributions to this site are appreciated by some of us and I look forward to more in the future.
Stay Safe everyone.

I agree. He and many others offer invaluable information on a daily basis for free and most people bash them for it. Does that mean these people were proven wrong and cant be mature enough to admit it?
If I could I would hire Bnechis to come to our county and give a lecture or a seminar on firefighting, and pay him all we could afford.
As volunteers, we all too often hide behind the term when we discuss the requirements and time away from family, yet when someone as knowledgeable as Bnechis speeks up about the training standards being less than equal when compared and that people may be entitled to a better service, these same people get defensive, and claim we are the same...Im sorry folks but we are not. Volunteers need to be trained to the same standards, plain and simple.
In regards to covering calls, we seem to have forgotten about the one most important thing here, the people we serve. This isnt about departments ego or reputation, we are talking about getting a trained response to every call for help in a "TIMELY" manner. Anyone worried about response statistics and call volume and numbers of trucks responding as opposed to number of TRAINED providers able to actually help mitigate the incident responding as fast as possible, realy needs to re-evaluate the reason you are in the service. Its all about getting help where needed WHEN needed, and not a minute later. If your house is burning and your wife/husband is inside, the last thing you care about is the whining volunteer firefighter complaining about his family party being ruined or the fact his boss wouldnt let him/her respond right away. You do expect to see trained help arrive in a timely fashion that CAN help you, instead of 20 well intentioned good hearted people who are not trained interior firefighters that cant save your loved one. To see a group of firefighters in full turnouts standing around unable to help due to lack of training is a waste...sort of like going to an ER for help and seeing people dressed in white lab coats but none of them are doctors, kind of makes no sense right? So why are we still letting newer members with no training ride to calls? Why are we letting ANY member with no training respond to calls with an expensive suit of gear that they should not have?
Sorry, end of rant. Thank you for the replies to all who did, and thank you Bnechis for your professional attitude and demeanor in handling some of the insults, your contributions to this site are appreciated by some of us and I look forward to more in the future.
Stay Safe everyone.

Even if the training was last week are you suggesting that they should defy their orders and do it anyway? As soon as the order was communicated by this policy, that type of operation had to stop.
Then what happens when a rescuer gets killed or injured? The city says, nope, we're not covering him because he was doing something he wasn't supposed to do and the surviving family gets nothing.
Don't tell me that it's unlikely because water rescues have to be one of the most dangerous types of rescues and all to often we hear about even properly trained and equipped responders getting hurt or killed.

I agree. He and many others offer invaluable information on a daily basis for free and most people bash them for it. Does that mean these people were proven wrong and cant be mature enough to admit it?
If I could I would hire Bnechis to come to our county and give a lecture or a seminar on firefighting, and pay him all we could afford.
As volunteers, we all too often hide behind the term when we discuss the requirements and time away from family, yet when someone as knowledgeable as Bnechis speeks up about the training standards being less than equal when compared and that people may be entitled to a better service, these same people get defensive, and claim we are the same...Im sorry folks but we are not. Volunteers need to be trained to the same standards, plain and simple.
In regards to covering calls, we seem to have forgotten about the one most important thing here, the people we serve. This isnt about departments ego or reputation, we are talking about getting a trained response to every call for help in a "TIMELY" manner. Anyone worried about response statistics and call volume and numbers of trucks responding as opposed to number of TRAINED providers able to actually help mitigate the incident responding as fast as possible, realy needs to re-evaluate the reason you are in the service. Its all about getting help where needed WHEN needed, and not a minute later. If your house is burning and your wife/husband is inside, the last thing you care about is the whining volunteer firefighter complaining about his family party being ruined or the fact his boss wouldnt let him/her respond right away. You do expect to see trained help arrive in a timely fashion that CAN help you, instead of 20 well intentioned good hearted people who are not trained interior firefighters that cant save your loved one. To see a group of firefighters in full turnouts standing around unable to help due to lack of training is a waste...sort of like going to an ER for help and seeing people dressed in white lab coats but none of them are doctors, kind of makes no sense right? So why are we still letting newer members with no training ride to calls? Why are we letting ANY member with no training respond to calls with an expensive suit of gear that they should not have?
Sorry, end of rant. Thank you for the replies to all who did, and thank you Bnechis for your professional attitude and demeanor in handling some of the insults, your contributions to this site are appreciated by some of us and I look forward to more in the future.
Stay Safe everyone.

I agree. He and many others offer invaluable information on a daily basis for free and most people bash them for it. Does that mean these people were proven wrong and cant be mature enough to admit it?
If I could I would hire Bnechis to come to our county and give a lecture or a seminar on firefighting, and pay him all we could afford.
As volunteers, we all too often hide behind the term when we discuss the requirements and time away from family, yet when someone as knowledgeable as Bnechis speeks up about the training standards being less than equal when compared and that people may be entitled to a better service, these same people get defensive, and claim we are the same...Im sorry folks but we are not. Volunteers need to be trained to the same standards, plain and simple.
In regards to covering calls, we seem to have forgotten about the one most important thing here, the people we serve. This isnt about departments ego or reputation, we are talking about getting a trained response to every call for help in a "TIMELY" manner. Anyone worried about response statistics and call volume and numbers of trucks responding as opposed to number of TRAINED providers able to actually help mitigate the incident responding as fast as possible, realy needs to re-evaluate the reason you are in the service. Its all about getting help where needed WHEN needed, and not a minute later. If your house is burning and your wife/husband is inside, the last thing you care about is the whining volunteer firefighter complaining about his family party being ruined or the fact his boss wouldnt let him/her respond right away. You do expect to see trained help arrive in a timely fashion that CAN help you, instead of 20 well intentioned good hearted people who are not trained interior firefighters that cant save your loved one. To see a group of firefighters in full turnouts standing around unable to help due to lack of training is a waste...sort of like going to an ER for help and seeing people dressed in white lab coats but none of them are doctors, kind of makes no sense right? So why are we still letting newer members with no training ride to calls? Why are we letting ANY member with no training respond to calls with an expensive suit of gear that they should not have?
Sorry, end of rant. Thank you for the replies to all who did, and thank you Bnechis for your professional attitude and demeanor in handling some of the insults, your contributions to this site are appreciated by some of us and I look forward to more in the future.
Stay Safe everyone.

I agree. He and many others offer invaluable information on a daily basis for free and most people bash them for it. Does that mean these people were proven wrong and cant be mature enough to admit it?
If I could I would hire Bnechis to come to our county and give a lecture or a seminar on firefighting, and pay him all we could afford.
As volunteers, we all too often hide behind the term when we discuss the requirements and time away from family, yet when someone as knowledgeable as Bnechis speeks up about the training standards being less than equal when compared and that people may be entitled to a better service, these same people get defensive, and claim we are the same...Im sorry folks but we are not. Volunteers need to be trained to the same standards, plain and simple.
In regards to covering calls, we seem to have forgotten about the one most important thing here, the people we serve. This isnt about departments ego or reputation, we are talking about getting a trained response to every call for help in a "TIMELY" manner. Anyone worried about response statistics and call volume and numbers of trucks responding as opposed to number of TRAINED providers able to actually help mitigate the incident responding as fast as possible, realy needs to re-evaluate the reason you are in the service. Its all about getting help where needed WHEN needed, and not a minute later. If your house is burning and your wife/husband is inside, the last thing you care about is the whining volunteer firefighter complaining about his family party being ruined or the fact his boss wouldnt let him/her respond right away. You do expect to see trained help arrive in a timely fashion that CAN help you, instead of 20 well intentioned good hearted people who are not trained interior firefighters that cant save your loved one. To see a group of firefighters in full turnouts standing around unable to help due to lack of training is a waste...sort of like going to an ER for help and seeing people dressed in white lab coats but none of them are doctors, kind of makes no sense right? So why are we still letting newer members with no training ride to calls? Why are we letting ANY member with no training respond to calls with an expensive suit of gear that they should not have?
Sorry, end of rant. Thank you for the replies to all who did, and thank you Bnechis for your professional attitude and demeanor in handling some of the insults, your contributions to this site are appreciated by some of us and I look forward to more in the future.
Stay Safe everyone.

I agree. He and many others offer invaluable information on a daily basis for free and most people bash them for it. Does that mean these people were proven wrong and cant be mature enough to admit it?
If I could I would hire Bnechis to come to our county and give a lecture or a seminar on firefighting, and pay him all we could afford.
As volunteers, we all too often hide behind the term when we discuss the requirements and time away from family, yet when someone as knowledgeable as Bnechis speeks up about the training standards being less than equal when compared and that people may be entitled to a better service, these same people get defensive, and claim we are the same...Im sorry folks but we are not. Volunteers need to be trained to the same standards, plain and simple.
In regards to covering calls, we seem to have forgotten about the one most important thing here, the people we serve. This isnt about departments ego or reputation, we are talking about getting a trained response to every call for help in a "TIMELY" manner. Anyone worried about response statistics and call volume and numbers of trucks responding as opposed to number of TRAINED providers able to actually help mitigate the incident responding as fast as possible, realy needs to re-evaluate the reason you are in the service. Its all about getting help where needed WHEN needed, and not a minute later. If your house is burning and your wife/husband is inside, the last thing you care about is the whining volunteer firefighter complaining about his family party being ruined or the fact his boss wouldnt let him/her respond right away. You do expect to see trained help arrive in a timely fashion that CAN help you, instead of 20 well intentioned good hearted people who are not trained interior firefighters that cant save your loved one. To see a group of firefighters in full turnouts standing around unable to help due to lack of training is a waste...sort of like going to an ER for help and seeing people dressed in white lab coats but none of them are doctors, kind of makes no sense right? So why are we still letting newer members with no training ride to calls? Why are we letting ANY member with no training respond to calls with an expensive suit of gear that they should not have?
Sorry, end of rant. Thank you for the replies to all who did, and thank you Bnechis for your professional attitude and demeanor in handling some of the insults, your contributions to this site are appreciated by some of us and I look forward to more in the future.
Stay Safe everyone.

While he requires no defense here I will point out that if you follow these threads Bnechis provides plenty of good information. If a volunteer any depatment was looking at all the ways to make themselves more compliant you could get a lot of good information from his posts. And then there is ISO if you take note of the information he provides and apply it I'm sure a lot of places could improve their ratings. Plenty of good information that your getting here for free.

I just went back thru all the post and found that it took 73 post before it turned into a paid vs. volunteer discussion with this statement: "There is only one difference between a volunteer and paid department. Payroll and pension costs. Otherwise they're exactly the same."
Prior to that I saw no one attacking either side or making false statements about either side.
If I connect the 1st sentence with the 2nd you appear to be implying that I have stated "volunteers /departments suck!". I take great offense as I know many excellent volunteers and many excellent depts and have stated that regularly and work with many vol. depts. This week 3 different depts called me for assistance, which I have always given. I have clearly stated that depts or individuals that hide behind the shield of "volunteer" while providing substandard service are fair game. I have also spoken out against career and combo depts that also do not meet standards.
You $315 is a nice low number, but hard to give a fair comparison since I do not know what the value of your home is or exactly which insurance district it is in. But I can give it a shot.....
I pay $425 for a 100% career FD and all ALS EMS. I know exactly what services will show up at my house in 3 minutes. Do I pay more because of the services or because of the value of my home compared to yours...do not know, but economicly what do I get for my additional $110/year? I get an ISO rate that is lower than every structure in your town, In fact some parts of your town are listed as an ISO 9, that means I save anywhere from $80 - $540 in insurance than a comperable home in your town.
The cost of fire protection is not just the FD Budget, there are many other factors and infact, even with a career FD, the smallest portion of cost for fire protection is the FD.

You know this is what I hate about the fire service. Which way do we want it? Do you want to be dedicated professional firefighters who don't receive a paycheck or do you want to be well intentioned neighbors who may or may not be able to put out the fire or rescue a loved one who don't receive a paycheck.
It can't be both ways. You can't demand equal treatment on the one hand while you're saying don't they understand we're volunteers and don't want to show up at BS calls.
Are they clueless or is your FD clueless about public relations. If people think that the FD is staffed it's your job to tell them otherwise.
I'm so tired of the complaints about being treated differently because you're volunteer and then demanded that you be treated differently because you're volunteer. Do it right, do it professionally, do it promptly and it won't matter whether you're paid or not.

This is a serious concern for many depts. and there are proven methods to attack this problem, including the following:
1) Meet with the facility, try to convince them that this is there problem. The crying wolf could become a real disaster for them and that their failure to address criminal acts by their staff/residents is a big liability for them.
2) Pass a local ordinance that AGGRESSIVLY bills for repeat and or malicious alarms. Fee's should be designed to dramatically escalate so property owners are encouraged to fix the problem.
Fire Districts may not do this, but the town (thru the building dept can) and in Mt Pleasant they have an ordinance that’s at least 10 years old, but it has never been enforced. I spoke at length on this issue with your Board of Fire Commissioners about 10 years ago and they said the town would not enforce it because they wanted to be "nice" to the property owners.
If the town is unwilling to assist, you may have to play hardball. Advise the public that the situation is so bad that only 2 solutions have been determined: 1) the town strongly enforces its own ordinance or 2) your will be forced to hire enough firefighters to handle the problem this will result in 2x- 4x increase in everyone’s property tax to cover solution #2.....If you do not want this to happen, contact the town supervisor at 555-1234 and demand he/she solve this issue.
3)With enforcement efforts, we were able to address the collages and they started fining students who did not evacuate during alarms, at 4am this caused many of them to rat out those who were pulling the alarms and it no longer was a "game". With the funding from the fines they were able to purchase alarm covers, which made it easier to catch those pulling the alarm. They also established an expulsion policy (without reimbursement for tuition & board) for pulling a false alarm.
Our false numbers have gone way down because of these actions.

I have sat and watched this thread for a few days now and feel I the need to step in and comment. Now that everyone knows what department we are talking about there is no "our" side of the story. The simple fact of the matter is yes we missed a call and yes we have staffing issues (just like a majority of the other Westchester County departments) Is this a valid excuse? Absolutely not! It's a MAJOR issue not only to me but my fellow officers as well. We are currently meeting and discussing this matter regularly to try and come up with a fast and effective solution. I do want to thank and apologize to our neighboring department that has bailed us out and that your help hasn't gone unnoticed.
He is a little background on the particular situation; we and another department had a duel response system in place for many years. We would run duel response on almost every call Monday-Friday from 0600-1800hrs. The system worked great up until the last 2 or 3 years. During the last 2 or 3 year we have seen a huge increase in call volume from this one particular facility in our first due area. (the same location that this topic started from) In the 2010 year we and our neighboring department ran approx. 60-70+ calls at this facility. 99% of them being false alarms. (From malfunctions, steam from a shower and the majority of the calls being malicious pulls of the box by students) That high number of runs to this place caused not only our department but our neighbors to be burnt out and not want to run calls there anymore. So it was decided (at a higher level than I am) that we would discontinue our duel response to all calls with the exception of smoke in the building, reported structure fires or anything else the dispatcher feels is something a little more than just an automatic alarm.
Yes we have some major issues we are dealing with right now and I can assure the land of EMTbravo that we are working on a solution. For those of you who say "hire career staff" you know as well as I do that it's not as easy as just waking up one day and hiring career personnel.
Thank you to all the people who have offered up constructive comments and if anyone else has any other questions or comment please feel free to PM me.
And to problEMS thank you for bringing this topic to light, it's clear that you accomplished your goal in stirring the pot and then running away. I have only one question for you, your age says you are 27 but in your age range it says you are 35-44 so what is it? Did you just make up a profile name to cause a problem for my department or are you so confused that you don't know how old you really are?

First, if anyone honestly analyizes this subject they will note that all firehouse are made of glass. There are very few volunteer departments that have not, at one time or another, either not been able to respond or responded inadequately. As has been noted, membership can be cyclical and the demands placed upon the volunteer today are increasing. No one should throw stones. No one should question the ethics or dedication of another department or its members.
So what is the answer? Is there any one right answer? Consolidation seems logical, but would meet with much resistance, at least for the forseeable future. Replacing volunteers with paid is financially impossible under todays economic environment. So how about automatic mutual aid? Duty crews? Or, what about a "fly engine".
I was with Briarcliff before moving to Florida. Years ago we started the "fly car" paramedic for the tri-villages of Briarcliff/Ossining/Croton. How's that working out? Well how about a volunteer duty crew for a "fly engine" on a rotation basis. Get two firefighters from Ossining, two from Briarcliff from 0700 to 1800 to staff the engine. One day or week the fly engine might be 101, then 98, then 94, then 92 etc. The crew, on duty at the appropriate firehouse, automatically responds immediately to any call in either Briarcliff or Ossining. No delay, engine on the road immediately for MVA, AFA, whatever.
If it works out, maybe Croton hooks up with Montrose or Pleasantville with Chappaqua, Thornwood and Hawthorne, etc., etc.
Now, given the size of the OFD and its apparatus I don't ever recall them not getting out and my experience in Briarcliff is that we always get out but I recall a few times when I took the engine alone and hoped I would find some help on the other end. Most of the area Depts do a fine job of handling their calls. But, wouldn't it be reassuring to know that at soon as the call is dispatched, a crew is responding?
Just another opinion.

I'm a member of this particular department as well, and I wasn't going to say anything before, but since the egg's been hatched......
There are many issues going on withing the department. It's nothing new, and it's no different than many other departments across the country. The volunteer fire/ems service is notorious for it's roller-coasting, and we are unfortunately at an extremely low point. It's sad. I know. Thankfully we have a mutual aid system that works, and I personally thank the department that covered us for that particular incident.
Now, before you blast me for not actually giving you our side of the story, I regret to inform you that the interdepartmental issues at hand are not anyone else' business. If you happen to be a taxpayer of the district, I suggest talking with the commissioners. As for everyone else, I thank you for the opinions and your input throughout this thread. It will be taken into consideration to help solve our problems.

And to point out...this thread was started just based on a dept. or departments who aren't getting out. What about those that are getting "out" but with next to no...or realistically no additional personnel on scene?

The fire service is not a democracy. It is a paramilitary structured organization. You volunteered to sign up, you are now employed by the department. If you don't like what your leader is doing because it entices change and pro-activeness, and feel that walking out is the best way to make your point; there is the door, don't let it hit you on the way out. Those who walk out, will no longer be able to hold the department back. The department ran long before you joined, and will continue to run and operate long after you, or anyone for that matter, leaves.

Yes there are indeed many creative options out there, but with all due respect it is not only the Chiefs that must embrace them. This type of cultural change also relies on the the rank and file to enact and carry out those changes, especially in VFDs where members often vote with their feet.
As most are well aware and as CTFF has pointed out, this dilema is not confined to Westchester by any means. And just as that is so, so to is it that those aforementioned creative option do exist for those that are willing to look for them. It has been my experience that when those who have let the problem develop try to "fix" it they often fall back on what they know and refuse to look outside their box. It really is rare for progressive thinking to just pop up in the established order, Stamford (on all "sides") being a case in point (as sixty plus pages of another thread amply attest to). It takes a determined and unrelenting drive by committed members to move things forward from within, but for those with the stomach and perseverance the struggle is usually well worth the effort. If you believe that change is necessary than you must fight for it, but in doing so you must also be prepared for the assault you will most assuredly endure from those who remain stuck in the status quo or those seeking to push their own agendas.
Cogs

Just like in the recent thread on EMS in the county, there is little debate a problem exists. Who will finally play the role of a leader and start to take some action?
Posts like this one, calling out some FD do nothing. Everyone is well aware of the problems. Some may have their heads in the sand, but they are aware.
Instead of calling out this agency, offer some suggestions or solutions. Without offering something productive, this thread offers nothing.

Progress is here:

Tradition is here:

Tradition is wearing your company patch with absolute pride; Progress is not letting that pride get in the way of effective, real service for those who ask for it.
Tradition is doing your job; Progress is doing your job and more.
Tradition is listening to the senior mans stories and learning from them; Progress experiencing your own and passing the lessons down about new dangers.

Tradition in the fire service is how we make firefighters. It is through our senior firefighters that our trade is handed down learned. While we are taught basic and fundamental skills in the fire academy it's the conversations at the backstep after a fire, on the apparatus floor, and in the kitchen where we hand down the tradition. When the rig shows up with a relativly young crew but they perform well at a fire it's because of tradition. So some may see it as a detriment but I see it as fundamental to who we are.

'200 years of tradition unimpeded by progress". Many of us are familiar with this phrase and most I'm sure can apply it to at least one aspect of their FD. Without doubt tradition is a powerful force within the American Fire Service. It can act as a catalyst for progress or in some cases, as an impediment to it. To me there are some traditions, some inviolate cornerstones, born at the inception of organized fire protection in this country, that are in fact the very foundation on which our service rests. Things like putting those we serve above ourselves, courage, honor, dedication and the desire to do our duty in spite of the obstacles. The noblilty of what we do and all that makes it possible is rare indeed in the world today and that is a tradition that thankfully has withstood the passage of time and changes to society. But when tradition impedes progress, when the steadfast refusal to "get with the times" causes a FD to stagnate, it is not only a disservice to those we serve but dangerous. For many "we've always done it that way" suffices because it is comfortable...that is until tradgedy strikes. Change...progress...is always difficult because it takes people out of the known, out of their comfort zone, and beyond that the call for change, for "progress", usually implies that something is wrong...and who among us likes to be told they are wrong.
As with most things in life the trick is to find a balance between what works and what needs to change. Technology will always evolve and that progression will ultimately create changes in tools, tactics and our knowledge of the enemy. For some the ability to get on board with these "new" tangibles is not always easy, or practical, but it is almost universally inevitable. And this is how is should be. But with these new tangibles of tools, tactics and training comes a responsibility to not let them overtake or undermine the traditions that have made us who and what we are. Progress should never eclipse the intangilbles of courage, honor and dedication that make the American fireman what he is at his core. For each of us and our FDs progress should strive to find the balance that best suits our needs and more importantly those of our community. Neither progress or tradition should be allowed to impede the ability of us to effectively do our duty, for it is both when in balance that allows us to do it well.
Cogs

I think of tradition as respecting the senior firefighters, ex-officers, and officers around the firehouse, following orders both at scenes and around firehouse, any local in-house traditions such as hazing new members or new officers, having a "Mascot" like a dog, or family picnics and parties. Tradition is knowing your place in the firehouse and acting accordingly, like when you are new, keeping your mouth shut, always volunteering to do all tasks around firehouse, and not act like you know it all.
As far as the fire service, it is a constantly changing dynamic environment that needs to change with the times and technology, and any tradition that impedes this forward movement should be re-evaluated and new traditions started. Just because it is "Tradition" doesnt necessarily mean it can not be changed, and new traditions started. Some traditions should become history...But others still have their place.

Also keep an eye out for anything else that looks out of the norm. Many "home-grown" terrorists in the past have used secondary devices to injure and kill firefighters and other first responders who have come to mitigate the original hazard (i.e. the abortion clinic bombings of the 90's). At this rate, definitely expand the isolation zone, maybe even evacuate the entire strip mall if you deem it necessary.
And I completely agree with keeping the distant. I like the idea of the unmanned ladder pipe. If there's no one in the truck, why put our lives at risk for a vehicle that's already destroyed.