Jason762

After any fire, is a written report required? If so,  what member of the fire dept writes them???

Thanks and Happy Memorial Day.

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In CT, an NFIRS report is filled out for every run a dept. goes on regardless of incident type. We have the first due officer complete the report. If you catch a busy day this can tack on an extra hour to you shift. An actual building fire report takes a considerably longer amount of time to complete as compared to your AFA report.

In-Station Strippers Draw Ire Of Maryland County

Updated: 05-17-2006 11:50:55 AM

STACEY COHAN

Things apparently got a little heated inside a Prince George’s County fire station. And now the county is taking action against some volunteer firefighters that are accused of using a public building for some very private activity.

All's quiet at the Boulevard Heights station for now. It's a pretty busy spot, with volunteers and career firefighters running over 3,000 calls a year we're told. But some might think what's been happening inside the station is a little more interesting.

Sources say some volunteers were caught at firehouse parties with strippers, more than once. Anyone can rent the room at the station; in fact the department makes money doing just that. But paying someone to take off their clothes inside a pubic building is definitely not an approved use.

One volunteer firefighter we talked to says he knows nothing about stripper parties. But the fire department management obviously does. Although the department refused to talk about Boulevard Heights on camera, they sent a statement.

It says they are "aware of social events being conducted" at the station. And that the events "potentially violate departmental EEO policies." And one volunteer "has been removed pending the outcome."

It's actually the volunteer chief whose gear will remain untouched until the stripper story is completely uncovered. No word on how long the investigation will take, or if more volunteers could may be taken off the job.

The fire department in Prince Georges County relies on the use of volunteers. The stations are usually staffed with somewhere between two and four career firefighters, and the rest of the workers are all volunteers.

Maybe its me, but why would anyone want to ride the rear step? Its not safe, its not climate controlled, and with all the history of injuries and fatalities it seems ridiculous. Why don't we go back to not wearing SCBA's and full turnouts.

The Chief dosent really like when we drive in Turnout gear. He does allow us to wear just our bunkerpants if we have the leatherboots not the rubber boots. But I think it is bulky either way. I usually throw my gear in a compartment that way I have it if i need it.

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Most of the time if you're driving an engine, won't you be outside pumping the rig/standing by, not inside investigating the cause of the alarm? Therefore why would you need to have on bunker pants, coat, helmet, etc.?? Unless the weather is inclement or you are going to leave the rig unattended for some reason (but be in the immediate vicinity) the driver/operator should be close to the rig at all times, especially if there are guys on a line inside a building. If you are a later arriving rig (i.e.second alarm company) then I can see getting dressed early, but for the most part aren't your drivers standing by outside?

I've had good luck with the Scantenna by Antennacraft. Its mounted in my attic and can pick up low band as far as 100 miles away. It all depends on what you monitor, if most of your frequencies are in the same range you can get an antenna to receive just those, that typically works better than a wide-frequency range type antenna.

Mutual aid coverage is worked out ahead of time, and if a "serious" incident erupts, then the thing gets shut down.  I've heard of that happening once.

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Thats a good idea, drunk FF's only respond to "serious" incidents, seems safe. Shouldn't the dept. be OOS regardless of incident type until the next morning?

Now if they hit something with or without a spotter (spotter gets the same penalty)...the career guy gets 1 week suspension w/o pay and put up for review, and the volly gets 30 days suspension and put up for review.

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1 week suspension w/o pay??? That seems a little harsh. What does the union have to say about that? I don't know what type of community you're in, but up here there are so many tight streets (sometimes on dead ends) with parking on both sides and traffic everywhere, that the occasional accident is a way of life. I agree the driver should be under review, and disciplinary action is needed for chronic offenders, but the 1 week suspension w/o pay seems extreme.

however, i know that this is bad driving on my part considering that whenever you do back up, you should always have a spotter, however, it's like everything, when you do it so many times, you become lazy about it and i guess even if you are backing up just 10 feet, you always need a spotter.

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That is correct that is bad driving on your part. Just because you claim you do it a lot (I'm not sure what your definition of a lot is), is no excuse not to have a spotter everytime. It only takes a few seconds and minimal energy, but it will save you hours of paperwork and headaches. We require a spotter everytime the rig backs up, whether it be 10 feet or a mile.

You can't gp wrong with the Uniden BC-780XLT. They actually don't make it anymore, its been replaced by the digital capable scanners, but I don't monitor any digital agencies so this one works great. Like was said earlier the antenna and coax you ise are just as important as the scanner itself. I use the Scantenna by Antennacraft and RG-6 coax. I am pretty far up in CT and am able to monitor most NYC boroughs, 60 control, Putnam 911, some NJ dept.'s, and most of Fairfield county and Litchfield county CT. Whatever scanner you buy make sure it has enough channels to suit your needs. 500 channels may sound like alot but they get eaten up pretty quickly, especially when you use different banks for different times (ex. one bank for local FD only, one bank for FD and PD, one bank for long range listening, etc.) I bought my antenna and coax from http://www.grove-ent.com/ They had a great price and were helpful with questions. Also check e-bay they have a ot of scanner stuff for good prices if you shop around. You should be able to find one for under $200.

Date: 05/07/06

Time: 22:35 Hrs

Location: I-95 N/B Exit 8

Frequency: 800 TRS

Units Operating: E-3, R-1, Medic 1, Medic 3, Medic Super. 901

Description Of Incident: Two car accident with pin

Writer: Jason 762

22:35-M1, E3, R1 dispatched to I-95 N/B between Exits 8 and 9 for an MVA w/ injuries, possible extrication

22:41-E3 and R1 o/s

22:43-M1 o/s

22:45-M1 request 2nd ambulance to scene, confirmed pin job

22:46-M3 dispatched and enroute

I-95 North is completely closed to all traffic at Exit 8, major traffic delays in the area.

23:51-R1 reports extrication complete, members assisting medics with patient care, enroute to hospital.

00:01-E3 and R1 report they will be OOS for major decon/restocking procedures.

00:49-All units back in service

The days of the NFPA standards being "suggested guidelines" are long gone. They are so widely accepted these days, that they are for all intents and purposes, all but accepted as THE standard and law. Agencies that don't meet or exceed all applicable NFPA standards are asking for big trouble, especially if they find themselves on the receiving end of a lawsuit for something related to noncompliance.

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Find me an agency that meets all applicable NFPA standards, start on the east coast and work your way west, you won't find one...There is no dept. around that can meet them all, wheteher the reason be money, manpower, equipment, etc. We can all do our best to try and meet the most important ones, but in the real world it is just not a possibility. Obviously there are some standards (ex. 1403) that must be adheared to at all times, but others (ex. 1500) are so extensive that they can never be fully met.

Considering tha i am not very well educated on this matter this is just my opinion, I would think since NY is an OSHA State and not an NFPA State (if I remeber correctly) I would think you could pick and choose as long as it meets or exceeds OSHA regs. But like I said i may be blowing smoke on this.

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No state is an NFPA state, although NFPA standards typically do exceed OSHA regulations. NFPA puts out consensus standards that jurisdictions can chose to adopt or not to adopt. They can pick and choose what standards they will follow and which they will not, BUT if they chose to not meet a standard and a person gets hurt and the court finds that the NFPA standard is what a reasonable person would do, then there will be liability issues. For instance NFPA 1403 is the live fire training standard. If a dept. chooses to ignore this stanard and conduct live fire training and a FF gets hurt during the evolution, in court the standard will be brought up and the parts the dept. did not follow will be brought up. Then if the court finds that the NFPA standard is what a reasonable person would have done, the dept/IC can be found negligent.

Also an NFPA standard can be adopted into a local ordinance if a municipality chooses to do so. This then takes the standard and makes it law. We as "the fire service" should do as much as possible the meet or exceed as many NFPA standards as possible, they are there for our protection whether it be manpower issues, health and safety, basic FF standards, and the list goes on and on.

One more point, just because your dept. doesn't use "Jaws"is no excuse not to have a basic understanding of how they work (i.e. they are powered by hydraulics, not pneumatics). I think these tools are covered in FFI and in the IFSTA Essentials book, thus making them a piece of equipment that all FF's meeting the 1001 standard should have a basic idea of how they work. Maybe it's me, but I though we were all supposed to be on a level playing field...

correct me if i'm wrong but didn't he need something to run the tool? i mean if he got to the scene how many air compresses could there be? they only work one at a time. maybe he also grabbed the generator and threw that in the back also. just food for thought

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ECLEMENTE,

You're kidding me right???? This has to be a joke, no person with 300+ posts and as many quotes, sayings, and pictures on their emtbravo profile would think that hydraulic rescue tools were run by air compressors!!! Before we all dress up to play fireman, and talk a big game, shouldn't we all know our equipment and our job. This is the type of attitude that really aggitates me of so many volunteers. They like to play the game and act like firemen, but when it comes down to doing the job, what do they know!?!? Now before everyone jumps on me I know, most of you are not like this, but it only takes one ridiculous comment like that to make us all look bad. Do your homework, learn your equipment, and think before you speak! And by the way, there are also plenty of systems where you can run more than one tool of the same power plant...LEARN YOUR JOB!!!

Anyone have any information about taking an Emergency Medical Dispatcher course?

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Go to the following websites to find info/training dates and locations (I'm not sure which agencies are recognized in NY state, I know Powerphone and Priority Dispatch are accepted in CT):

http://www.apcointl.org/

www.powerphone.com

http://www.prioritydispatch.net/

it has the nothing to do with being police officers, no police officer is going to drive a fire engine at high speeds and be ok... Fire engines are big and very heavy they have a lot of water that often moves around and bottom line is they like to roll and most of all they take a lot of room to stop and the faster your going the more space it will be necessary to stop a rig.... also keep in mind most of us need better driver training how many departments actually let you go out and drive a rig and slam on the breaks to see how long it takes to stop.... how many of you know the breaking differences between ABS and Non ABS equipped apparatus? these are all important factors....

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I agree with you 100%. Maybe I wasn't getting my point across clearly. The PD reference was meant for vols. who drive their personal vehicles at high speeds, not apparatus operators.

The whole point of my posts being, if you agree with the tactics these people in MD are doing you should re-evaluate your belonging in the fire service. They are unsafe and unprofesional and should be called out for the irresponsible idiots that they are.

I wasn't going to post again because I'm not looking to get into a tit for tat argument but when the report of a fire comes in and the adrenaline starts rushing, and the tunnel vision starts setting in, and all you want to do is get to that fire, THAT is the time when you need to stop, take a deep breath, and relax. It is not the time to put the pedal to the metal and start driving more aggressively. This is the reason and the mentality that is the leading cause of why so many firefighters are killed every year in MVA's involving fire apparatus and vol's responding in their personal vehicles. Most of us are not police officers who have training in operating vehicles at high speeds. Slow down and take your time, the fire will still be there when you arrive.

From what I have seen and read about Kentland, I think their a great Dep.

Most Dept.'s I consider "great" dept.'s are not accused of sabotaging other FD's gear and equipment. They may be aggressive on the fireground but if you participate in unsafe and unproffesional acts such as those that were named, the term "great dept." goes right out the window.

They run a crazy amount of calls and all of them are Vols. There website shows they run alot of jobs and I know when I driving to a job, I drive just alittle more aggressive. (Im sure Im not the only one)

Who cares how many calls they run. Thats no excuse for acting like a-holes, in fact it is a reason to act MORE safely and profesionally. Also I hope its not my family that gets in your way when you're responding to "the big one" since you said you drive more aggresively to calls. Be careful, the first injury you cause because of your aggressive driving may be the last time you act that way.

As for the allegations against some of there members fighting and turning off air bottles at fires and ripping off facepeices inside fires, I find some of that hard to believe. I saw the video of the Kentland Saergent pushing and screaming at another Dep. member at a fire and that was wrong. Kentlands leadership handled the problem right away and the Saergent was let go from the Department.  However I find it hard to believe that anyone can turn off an SCBA bottle on someones back(in a fire).  Also I cant see a fellow firefighter ripping off anothers facepiece in a fire. Again this is just my opinion, I was not there!!    

Well I guess everyone is innocent until proven guilty, but when emotions run high and common sense takes a back seat to pride these things can definetely happen. Don't live in a dream world where we all live and work together happily. These things DO happen and will continue to until we change our mentallity.

I am all for competition and company pride, but there comes a time when you have to step back and know that safety is our first priority. I enjoy beating other companies into fires, saying my company is better than yours, etc, but fist fights at fires???, sabotaging other FF's equipment??? What are these guys thinking? Those types of actions are completely unprofeesional and uncalled for. Now I know these are all just allegations and no one can prove it did or did not happen, but we all know what takes place in the firehouse, and how little things can spiral out of control at times. Someone needs to get control of the bad apples down there and tone down the over aggressive nature that has become the way of life before someone gets seriously hurt or killed. I blame the leadership of the dept. for not getting a handle on this earlier. Whether they didn't know what was going on (which I doubt) or were even encouraging these attitudes, they should be held accountable. You are supposed to lead by example and obviously they were not.

Date: April 22, 2006

Time: 01:50 Hrs

Location: Atlantic St/ Bank St

Frequency: 800 TRS

Units Operating: All available PD units, State Police Major Crme Squad, State police Helicopter, Medic1, Enigne 6

Description Of Incident: Stamford PD involved in shooting

Writer: Jason762

01:50 Hrs-Calls received for shots fired in area of Atlantic St and Bank St in Downtown Stamford

PD involved in shootout with one person. Person who was shooting at PD was shot by the PD and transported to Stamford Hospital by Medic 1 and Engine 6. State Police Helicopter used to clear all rooftops in area. FD remained on scene with light trailer to assist in investigation and blood removal.

I'm not sure but OSHA may have a standard saying that every Fire Department must have a Incident Safety Officer for on  calls, drills, etc. and a Health and Safety Officer for the fire house.  I will check and if there is let you know what the standard is.

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Just a point of reference: NFPA makes standards, OSHA makes regulations, they are two seperate and distinct things. many people interchange the words regulations and standards, but until an NFPA standard is adopted by an AHJ it is just that, a standard that can be adheared to or not. Unless of course a case goes to court and then it can be sold to a jury that the NFPA standard is what reasonable person would do and that person in violation of the standard can be held liable, but anyway I digress.

What I did a few years back was run an in-house class for about 15 of our members so we have a good group to draw from at an incident. I covered building const also allthough not to the degree listed in 1521.

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Does NY State run an NFPA 1521 certification class? We have one in CT and I would think if there were an investigation OSHA would want to see a certified safety officer, not just some guys that took an in-house class.

Pretty much all the methods to gaining access to car fires have already been named so I won't waste time re-naming them. Instead I will offer a piece of advice from something I have personally seen happen. At a routine car fire a probie was told to open the hood to a car. He attempted to do so using a halligan bar and attempted to pry open the hood near the locking mechanism. He was met with a lot of resistance but continued to pry. Now this was a young, in shape, strong, former military man. Not some fat slob, or weak little guy. Well long story short, 9 months later and he is still out of work with back problems and the doctors (yes doctors as in multiple) can't seem to figure out how to fix him up. Not a good way to start you career, this guy had only a few months on the job.

Now my point in all this is, it is only a CAR FIRE. Who cares how we get into it, how much damage we cause, as long as WE stay safe. The car is done, insurance will take care of it. We have to stay safe, this kids career may be over, because of a stupid car fire. We carry lots of tools on our rigs, lets use them, why not use your partner saw??? There is no need to bust your a@$ to open a hood or trunk. Most of these car fires are arson jobs anyway, so take care of yourself and your partners.

Does everybody out there have Safety Officers in their dept?  Are they elected or appointed?  What requirements do you have in order to be one?  Just curious to find out, Im begining to believe our dept appoints anyone to this spot just to cover its a#@. 

Id like any input at all about this, its a sensitive subject with me.  Thanks in advance!

Jonesy

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Does your dept. require them to be certified to NFPA 1521 level? We require a safety officer at every working fire, haz-mat incident, and technical rescue and under normal circumstances they will be 1521 certified.

It was good protection and it let tanker 5 drive the wrong way down the parkway.

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What is everyone's feelings on driving the wrong way down a divided highway? There are plenty of cases where the FD or EMS was told a highway was closed down and proceeded down the road the wrong way only to be met by traffic coming right at them. I personally feel it is a dangerous manouver that should only be taken under extreme cases (i.e. not for a car fire), and only when it is CONFIRMED that all traffic has ceased movement. Also do all your FD's close down the lane of the incident and an additional lane of traffic? Some PO's get very upset about this procedure, but it is for our safety.