Jason762
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Posts posted by Jason762
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Without knowing the entire story and being a spectator from the outside it appears that they are targeting this fire company. Suspending a capt. for using a 10 code...seems a little extreme, right? Having meetings about disbanding a company without any of the company in question members present?!?!?! But then again the article seems to only show one side of the story. Whatever the case may be it seems the public's safety is taking a back seat to personal agendas. Hopefully someone with a little more knowledge can shed some light on this.
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Today I officially lost all faith in my fellow motorists.I had multiple PD units baby-sitting intersections for the entire 8-hour shift, due to a power outage in the West Side/Woodside area of town.
"Why weren't there temporary stop signs?", you ask.
Oh, they were there! I saw them myself at 0630 and at 1515 as I went to and from work. What wasn't there was anyone's common sense! If you are approaching a traffic signal that is OUT, don't you think you should stop to see who is coming in the other 2 or 3 directions?
Steve,
It took you this long to lose faith in people??? It's Stamford, what do you expect. Everyones in a rush to go nowhere. At least no one's gotten shot in a couple of days...
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ok in my towm we dont have a "fast team" i dont even know what it is. can someone from a dept that has one tell me what it is and its purpose please?and ive never heard of a fast team in farfield county.
FAST (Firefighter Assistance and Search Team) aka RIT (Rapid Intervention Team) is the concept of having additional manpower (the actual # of addtnl FF's varies) above and beyond the initial assignment, standing by at fire scenes, haz-mats, technical rescues, etc., whose sole purpose is to rescue and/or assist any FF who becomes lost, trapped, entangled, or otherwise needs assistance. The two acronyms are interchangeable depending on where you are from. A RIT team should be dispatched anytime there are members working in a potential IDLH (Immediately Dangerous to Life and Health) atmosphere.
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FAST TEAMS- SHOULD NOT BE "TEAMS OF TWO" STANDING THERE WITH THEIR THUMBS STUCK WHERE THE SUN DOESN'T SHINE WITH NO TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT, IN OTHER WORDS A TRUE FAST TEAM SHOULD BE A TEAM OF 6+ WITH ALL THE RECOMMENDED FIRE,SAFETY,SEARCH TOOLS AVAILABLE. SOME DEPTS CALL IT A FAST TEAM JUST TO GET BY, I KNOW THAT THIS COULD BE IN ANOTHER FORUM BUT IT MOST LIKELY WOULD GET THE BOOT BECAUSE WE ALL KNOW WHAT DEPARTMENTS THE FINGERS WILL BE POINTING AT. BE SAFE!You left out one thing...the RIT team in addition to having all their tools ready, should be doing their own size-up of the building, looking for and removing hazards like window bars, blocked egresses, etc., throwing ladders. Basically being a proactive RIT team...
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When is too much too much?You can expect a new recruit or someong to tak all these calsses at once and expect to remember them, on the volunteer sense, career you have to to morre I know. But the focus should be more on continuing education.
Maybe I'm missing the point though.
I think you might be missing the point. As I try to work my way through the many misspelled words and gramatical errors in your post, I think you are under the impression that the classes listed should all be taken over a short period of time. Instead I think what they are getting at is that FF1 is not the end of ones training, it is actually the begining. Instead they list many training ideas that should be pursued over ones first few years as a FF and continued on through the rest of a career. And as for needing to know more as a carreer guy vs. a vol., that attitude just re-emphasizes the fact that we are not all on a level playing field. I thought from reading others posts, that vollies and paid guys were all the same??? Of course if that's not what you meant I appologize, it's tough to figure out what you were getting at when the sentence said "You can expect a new recruit or someong to tak all these calsses at once and expect to remember them, on the volunteer sense, career you have to to morre I know."???...??? maybe its me...
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Myth # 5 - Smooth bores = GPM which puts out fire, fog or ajustable = more staying power.Can you clarify what you mean by fog/adjustable nozzles have more "staying power"? Thanks
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Jason762, don't forget, as much as people like to bash the unions, that's another reason unsafe practices don't occur or are fought against in the career departments.....we have unions that stick up for our safety with city adminsitrators and sometimes out of touch department heads.Maybe volunteers need a similar organization to fight for their safety, or maybe as mentioned orginizations like the Parade Judges need to step in andd help out. You take points off for a dirty compartment, but not for engaging in an unsafe practice during a parade?? Where is the sense in that in 2006? Unfortunetly, tropys still talk. EVERYONE needs to play a role in making sure the departments in our area are all up to speed.
I agree 100%...unions can be a wonderful thing. When the city doesn't care about our safety they can make them spend the $$ to make sure we are safe. Obviously all the statistics on safety and injuries and case studies in the world will not ever change the mind of certain individuals. Many Vols. claim to be on the same level as us, and some may be close, but things like this just make me shake my head...
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Whoever rides on the rig doesn't have to it is their choice we can do what we want. It is not as unsafe as you "experts" think it is. We deserved that trophyscrew you guys
ZABT6,
It's hard to put into words how ridiculous you sound. How much of a vollie stemwhacker are you? Now before everyone jumps on how this is not a vol vs career issue, think about it. This is another case of volunteers giving themsleves a bad name. In the career service these things don't happen. If they did the officer would be demoted (or worse), the FF would be seriously disciplined (or worse), and the chief would have a lot of questions to answer. Why don't these things happen in the career service? Hmmm, maybe because we are actually too busy doing things actually related to firefighting and our job. All these parades and other functions are fun, but they seriously take away from what the FD is all about. It turns what should be a job into a social club. The idea that we are sitting here looking at these pictures in 2006, and actually having a discussion about it is unreal. The worst part is, there are actually some people that are defending these actions. What are you thinking? Where did you pick up this mentality? You do not belong in this line of work.
To anyone participating in actions like what we've seen in these pictures, grow up, act responsible, and reevaluate if you truly belong in the fire service at all.
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What is, in everyone's opinion, a proper APPARATUS response for an inside gas leak? Should it be a minor alarm with just 1 & 1 or more?I'm not talking about the number of personnel, that's a whole different subject. I am asking what rig assignments you guys think should handle these.
To take it another step further, what should the jobs be of these rigs?
What's a good action plan for an inside gas leak?
The proper response for an inside gas leak is 3 engines, 1 truck, and 1 rescue. First due engine, truck, and rescue investigate with meters, tools, hose, etc. Second and third due engines stand by at hydrants. If it is a large building (hi-rise or just large in sq. footage) the second due engine may want to come up and stage in the lobby or two floors below with additional tools. You must have at least two meters so that readings can be verified. In addition a basic CGI is not enough, you should also have an LEL meter capable of giving a readout of what percentage of the LEL your at. At 10% of the LEL inside a building we're out.
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Why would anyone take a gas leak lightly? What happened yesterday in NYC happens all the time, maybe not on such a grand scale, but we are talking about a very flammable gas with a flammable range of approx. 4%-14% (depending on what text you are reading). If the correct assignment was not dispatched, then ask for it. The idea that we have FF's still responding to such emergencies w/o their gear on, or without following safety procedure is a scary idea.
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Dive Teams from all over the County have been requested!Not just dive teams from around Westchester County, Stamford Fire also has their dive team operating on the scene.
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We received a memo from the administration advising us to focus on apparatus safety (ex. wearing seatbelts, safe handling of apparatus, safe driving during emergency responses, etc.). Basically we went over the Driver Safety and Apparatus maintenance SOG's and had a group discussion about apparatus safety. What did other area dept.'s do?
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I also took the County test but couldn't afford to take any of the jobs on the money they were offering.Guess I'll just stick to volleying
It's no secret what career FF's make, didn't you do any research before you took the test? Anyway if its the salary that makes your decision on whether to become a career guy or not maybe you should just stick to being a vollie. It's not about the money!
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Tennessee Town Struggles Without Full-Time Firefighters
A busy day care center in unincorporated DeSoto County catches fire during the middle of a workday.
The alarm is sounded. The volunteer fire department serving the area rolls into action. Trouble is, most of the firefighters are at work, some pretty far from the station house. So the lone volunteer available drives the pumper to the blaze, where he awaits the arrival of one or all of the county's four fire and emergency services administrators. Valuable minutes are lost in fighting the blaze. What if a child was trapped inside?
The day care example is just that, an example. But the shortage of volunteers available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays is real. So real, in fact, that DeSoto County officials are studying whether paid firefighters are needed to offset the shortage.
The answer is yes.
Volunteer firefighters are legendary heroes in movies, novels and television. The county's eight volunteer fire departments have about 300 highly trained and motivated volunteers. Bobby Storey, county fire coordinator and fire marshal, said the state requires volunteers to receive 40 hours of training to be certified. DeSoto County requires 185 to 200 hours of training. These men and women put their lives on the line to serve the public. All the county's residents should recognize and appreciate what they do.
The undeniable fact, though, is that the volunteer concept was fine through the 1970s and 1980s, when much of the county's growth was occurring inside city boundaries.
But it's not fine in 2006 in a county that has mushroomed to more than 138,000 residents and continues to grow by 7.5 families daily. More and more land in unincorporated areas of the county is being developed. The completion of the countywide sewer system will accelerate that growth.
As Storey rightly points out, more schools and day care centers are also opening in areas served by volunteers. Residents need the assurance that their lives and their children's lives are fully protected 24 hours a day.
The current situation during daytime hours also puts the volunteers under a greater risk of injury. Storey said firefighters have a "two-in, two-out" rule that calls for two firefighters to go into a building when necessary and two to remain outside as backup. Obviously, this is not possible with only one or two volunteers at a scene. That means there is only so much they can do at a fire.
The county study would compare staffing costs with savings on homeowners insurance premiums in unincorporated areas. One option under consideration is to have two paid firefighters at each volunteer station during the day shift. County Supervisor Bill Russell said any paid staffing plan would require a tax increase for residents outside the cities. He would like voters to have a say in a referendum.
Having paid staff on duty will raise the county's fire rating, which will mean big savings on residents' homeowners insurance. Residents should be willing to use those savings to improve a vital service for their lives and property.
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Stamford Fire Rescue FFs are allowed to wear them in station only.Not completely true mstrng1. Shorts can be worn under turnout pants anytime, also some company officers allow their guys to wear them anywhere.
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San Antonio Firefighter Jumped Out Of Window After Breathing Mask Failed
A San Antonio firefighter jumped out of a window while battling a house fire Monday after his breathing apparatus failed, fire officials said.
Firefighter Mike Hernandez was among a team of firefighters who were battling flames and thick smoke in the attic of a home at 602 Burnet when his lifeline malfunctioned.
"It just stopped working on him and he couldn't get any more air," said Capt. Stephen Ersch, of the San Antonio Fire Department. "And he tried making it out, but the house had quite a bit of furniture in it and he couldn't make his way out, so he ended up diving out the window."
Hernandez was not seriously injured and was treated at the scene.
Hernandez's breathing apparatus was not the only one to malfunction at the fire. Ersch's lifeline fell apart as he was about to enter the burning home.
The pair of mechanical failures are the latest to plague the department in nearly a year.
Due to several malfunctions, the City of San Antonio decided to replace the current apparatuses made by Interspiro with those made by Scott.
"We've got our new BA's on the way," Ersch said. "And hopefully things will turn out a lot better for us. So, we make do with what we got."
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Jason, I don't think it's even worth engaging him over his ridiculous and ignorant statement.Also, not every vollie is a wannabe or jealous of career guys, yet all too often I hear comments like yours from career guys. You should really heed your own advice and get your own facts straight before being so quick to jump to the conclusion that we all are career dept rejects. I assure you it's just not true.
I'm not saying that all vols are. I was one once, and I still am friends with plenty. It's just ridiculous statements like his show the caliber of certain individuals. I suppose its easy though when you're hiding behind a screen name and aren't man enough to show who you are. I was in no way incinuating all vols are wannabes, just this one character, his post did reak of sour grapes.
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the cost of the foam is a pittance compared to the salaries of career guys who work 2 days a weekSounds to me like the ranting of another jealous wannabe. Let's explore the 2 day a week comment. OK, we work 24 hours on and 72 hours off. That works out to 42 hours a week over the course of a year. That means being away from family for 24 hours at a clip, sometimes on holidays, birthdays, etc. And I am by no means complaining, I love my job and I wouldn't have it any other way. As for our salaries, I'm not sure where Mr. sutphenrider is talking about but I don't see any FF's getting rich off of this job. So before you open your mouth, get your facts straight, get your head out of your rear end, and stop being jealous of those that could get on a job that apparantely you never could.
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We specifically are replacing our straight stick with a tower for this reason (among many). The prevelance of trusses and lightweight construction have basically got us thinking that in the next 20 years roof ventilation will become much more dangerous as the number of liller roofs are built. Venting from a tower bucket is the safest way thus far. I like the shape charges the ESU guys have for doors, but they won't let us try it!It's all well and good to make your cuts from a TL when possible, but there are so many times when it isn't possible. Overhead wires, recessed buildings, narrow streets, double parked cars, all these things make our job very difficult. For these reasons, we must pre-plan our response areas and try to know what buildings are truss construction. We also have to train to become proficient in operating off a roof ladder on a steep incline.
Many dept.'s are moving towards a no vertical ventilations stance and I have to say its not a bad idea. Its not possible in most jurisdictions to know every buildings construction features and unless you have a pre-plan on every building readily available in the rig, we don't know what we are walking into (or on top of) in most cases.
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Fewer paramedics means more lives saved By Robert Davis, USA TODAY
Mon May 22, 7:12 AM ET
Cities that deploy fewer paramedics - who in turn treat more victims of sudden cardiac arrest - save more lives, according to a new study.
Cardiac-arrest survival rates, considered a key measure of an emergency medical service's performance, vary from city to city. The study of five unidentified cities sought to find factors that have an impact on survival.
"Our data seem to show that cities with the fewest number of paramedics for a given population are more likely to have higher survival rates," says Michael Sayre of the emergency-medicine department at Ohio State University in Columbus. "Having a smaller number of paramedics who are very highly trained is probably a better strategy for delivering good patient outcomes."
Cities use survival from sudden cardiac arrest - an abrupt loss of heart function often caused by misfiring electrical impulses in the heart - as a performance indicator because victims either live or die based on critical care delivered in the first minutes after collapse.
The report, presented Friday at the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine in San Francisco, supports the similar findings of a USA TODAY study last year that called into question the national trend of putting paramedics on fire engines, often the first to reach the scene of an emergency.
"The major reason to have paramedics on first-response vehicles is because of the possible impact on cardiac arrest," Sayre says. "If that is not there, it would suggest to me that there isn't a good reason to have paramedics on first-response vehicles. It would be better to put a much smaller group of paramedics on a second-tier response."
In fact, new study found that more lives are saved in the cities with fewer paramedics even when those responders arrive as much as five minutes later than less-trained rescuers.
Among the 50 largest cities in America, those that save the highest percentage of cardiac-arrest victims - Seattle, Boston, Oklahoma City and Tulsa - use such a tiered response, USA TODAY found in an investigation published in 2003.
Researchers believe the individual paramedics in such cities deal with a higher volume of critical cases, keeping sharp such tricky skills as intubation, the insertion of a tube into the trachea to open an airway.
"There are a number of procedures required regularly to stay expert," says Corey Slovis, Nashville's EMS medical director. The study's lesson is "we've got to demand expertise from our experts," he says.
EMS physicians say the study is timely because of perceived paramedic shortages.
"Nobody knows what is the right number of paramedics per 100,000 population, and what is the best way to deploy the paramedics you already have in order to save the most lives," says Marc Eckstein, medical director for the Los Angeles Fire Department. "The need for research to answer these questions has never been greater."
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In response to the initial post, I think that Pressure had no right to tell us younger folks to "know our place." If we have received the same training and certifications as older folks, we have a right to express our opinion. We may be al ittle more excited or heady, but that's all part of being a young emergency service member!!!It's all well and good to have certifications and training, but what about experience? When you come on as a probie you're job is to shut your mouth and open your ears. Yes, you have already been through FFI and FFII. Yes you have Haz-mat op's, EVOC, and EMT, but what you don't have is any experience in the field. That is the reason why all new probies are told to keep their mouths shut, listen to the senior members and officers, and do as your told. When you come on this job, it is no time to be throwing around your opinions and ideas. It IS the time to "know your place" as was stated earlierand learn. We have had some recent additions to our dept. that had 20+ years experience in other dept.'s and it was like night and day seeing them next to some of our newer "unexperienced" members. They know what is expected of new members (even if they are only new to the dept. not the job). It comes down to the way kids are raised now. So many kids now do not have respect for authority, rank, or their elders. So, if you learn your job and keep your mouth shut and earn the respect of the senior members, then someday you can pass down your experiences to the younger members of the future.
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Morning Pride also has the same option. not sure of cost for the item. We just received some with tthe option but have not drilled with it yet.We were the first dept. in the area to try the Morning Pride built-in harness system back in 2002. It's main use was for self rescue, not FF down. Its shoulder straps ran between the liner and the shell, the leg straps were kept tucked in the "tails" of the coat which would have to be released and connected en-route to the call, and the attatchment points were kept in each coat pocket, where a "T" for lack of a better term would have to be attached (again while enroute to the call). The carabiner or whatever you use would then be attached to this "T" and away you go. Sound simple??? Well it absolutely is/was not. And by the way, it adds a lot of weight to the coat, all the extra weight rested on your shoulders so working overhead was a joy, and when you got wet (which we do at most fires), you could really feel the extra weight. If you can't tell, I hated this harness. My company was the guinea pigs for the dept and we all quickly came to the conclusion this harness was not the way to go. After working a few fires with the harness and then soon after a few without, we all decided to take the harnesses out. Since then most of us have gone with the Gemtor and a bail out kit, much simpler and lighter. In addition to the added weight, the need to remember to make all the connections was a pain since we all have enough to think about. I'm not sure if they've made improvements/changes since then, so I can only speak of this system.
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We task our 1st Lt with this responsibility. We have an in-house form that is filled out after every alarm, and then a few times a month he enters them in NFIRS.For all the dept's that have a specific person that writes the reports, how does he write the narrative section and determine incident type if he wasn't on the call. It seems to me the person who actually conducted the investigation or administered the patient care should be the one writing the report. If years down the road the case goes to court and the report is called into question the member making the report will not actually know what happened.
in Operations (Fire-EMS-Police-911)
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Fonz,
Please tell me you are kidding...That could be one of the most ignorant statements I've read in a long time. That mentality is one of the reasons why 100+ FF's die every year. If you're joining a FD to attend parades then you should just stay home. Its pretty sad when there are people who call themselves firefighters, but they've been to more parades than fires. If your dept. is slow then that is even more of a reason to train. Some day, maybe not today or tomorrow, you will have a fire, and if you're not properly trained, you're going to get hurt or killed. This whole mentality that people like Fonz and ZABT6 are protraying is wrong and those who buy into it should do us all a favor and get out of the fire service right now. The fire service has no use for people like you!