billy98988

wow.
nice shots.

wow.
nice shots.

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, too, have sat back long enough reading these posts and feel the need to finally comment:
1. As far as the "said" department, they need to work on a schedule system so that they don't have to keep relying on their mutual aid departments.
2. As for the "facility" that the "said" department keeps going to, they HAVE spoken with the "head honchos" and they HAVE given them fines. I happen to work at the "facility", so I know this for a fact! The "facility" does NOTHING to correct the problems.
3. LOSAP - how can you compare that to a regular pension? I certainly hope your "real job" pension is more than $300/month!
4. A paid department in the Town of Mt. Pleasant? Are you kidding??? As a life-long resident of the Town, I for one would get on a bandwagon to vote down such a proposal. To increase our already high taxes to cover false alarms - which, yes, that is the majority of calls, would be totally ridiculous and would run every "old timer" out of the Town. My suggestion - grow a set of "balls" and start cracking down on members who are refusing to drive and/or respond. Or go back to the automatic dual response.
5. I think most departments have "frequent flyers" or facilities that call on a regular basis. Unfortunately, you are required to respond no matter what. The standpoint I take is when the call comes in, just think if YOU were that person or your family member waiting for that fire truck or ambulance, how would you feel if they didn't show up???
By the way, I sympathize with the "said" department because I believe most departments have been there at one time or another. They just need to address the issues head on and come up with a solution, so that people like problEMS don't get on here strictly to "stir the pot".

Yesterday, on May 29th, Playland had its annual Veterans and Service Members Appreciation Day. Festivities included a performance by the West Point Concert Band, a Memorial Day Ceremony and a Helicopter demo by the United States Marine Corps. The demo included 4 different helicopters which were opened to the public. The USMC Soldiers were answering questions and going tours of the aircraft. Playland and The USMC did a great job with this event.

The second trip is complete and everbody is safely back on shore.....

A job well done...... Arlington Chief of Department Gallente speaks with a tired FF Ortiz.

Arlington Career Captain Palcher who directed AFD's SWRT smiles with the rest of his crew as they begin the task of breaking the safety lines down......

Firefighters carry the raft back up from the shore of the creek....

Back up at the street.....

Chief Gallente, Career Captain Mihans, and Asst Chief Philips share a little down time back up on the street....

Arlington Firefighters push the raft back up into the top of their new Rescue 32-52......

Firefighter Joe Moore was the Chauffeur of 32-52 on this run.....

And lastly, a shot of 32-52 from the front.....

With darkness quickly approaching, firefighters discuss the plan......

The "swimmer" for the operation, Arlington Firefighter John Ortiz, gets suited up.....

Firefighters check their web of ropes and pulleys that will be used to carry out the operation

Laughter and boredom..... The five await their trip back to the shore......

FF Ortiz prepares to make his way out to the stranded five....

Once FF Ortiz reached them, each was fitted with a safety flotation vest in preparation for the trip back into shore.........

With three girls on board, they listen intensely as FF Ortiz gives them some instructions.

A TransCare Medic uses his flashlight to illuminate the raft from the Town of Poughkeepsie side of the creek as everybody shares a little laughter.....

The first three girls are safely returned to shore w/o any additional injuries.....

A TransCare Medic with the help of the girls father, and the steadying hand of a DCSO Sheriffs Deputy, carry the girl back to the bus for evaluation and treatment of her injury.....

I apologize for the long post....... The photos tell the whole story that's why I'm posting so many...........
The New Hackensack Fire Department, Town of Wappinger/TransCare Medics, and the Dutchess County Sheriffs Office were dispatched for a "16yr old female that had fallen with a knee injury and is hemorrhaging on the bank of the Wappingers creek in the rear of 37 Helen Dr". Personnel arrived to find the injured female along with two others, one of which had a foot laceration, perched on a group of rocks in the middle of the creek. They were unable to make it back to shore due to their injuries, the strong currents, and the sharp and slippery rocks that lined their path back to shore.....As crews arrived and assessed the situation, the father of one of the girls as well as another friend of the girls, swam out to be with the original three now leaving firefighters with 5 people stranded in the middle of the creek. Due to the injuries to the two females and their location in the middle of the creek, the decision was made to abandon a simpler rescue and to request the assistance of the Arlington FD and their Swift Water Rescue Team (SWRT) in bringing everybody safely back to shore......

Initial personnel make their way down to the creek.....

The initial three girls in the middle of the creek.....

Suprise..... Without the knowledge or approval of the rescuers, the father of one of the three girls goes into the water......

and with difficulty, makes it to their location.... A short time later, another female would do the same thing leaving 5 individuals that needed to be brought back to shore....

A DCSO Deputy and TransCare Medic discuss the situation.....

With one safety line in place, crews wait for the arrival of AFD's Swift Water Rescue Team.....

AFD's SWRT makes the scene......

Did you order ten pepperoni pizzas? NKFD Fire Police father and son team Bernie and Doug Roe carry in the SWRT's inflatable raft.

AFD's SWRT members inflate the raft......

Time to move the raft down the narrow and rocky path to the shore...

Date: 05-29-11
Time: 0702hrs
Location: Little Britain Rd. & Toleman Rd.
Frequency: OC911
Units Operating: VGFD E479, E481, R480, New Windsor EMS, Medevac (down due to weather).
Weather Conditions: Warm/Hazy
Description Of Incident: 2-Car MVA w/(1) Person Pinned
Reporters:
Writer: BFD1054

Does it really matter who posts RIP on of these threads? Its not like there's any unique info coming from this thread. The story is all over the media. So yes, on EMTBravo a thread about lights and consolidation os going to get a lot more attention than this tragedy. But that is only because there are better places to focus your concern than a thread here that just posts links to other sites.

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?

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.

I found this down in Harrisburg Fire Expo this weekend and it was transported to Poughkeepsie tonight (Sunday 5/22/11) The salesman said it will be delivered Monday.

This story makes me very happy about one point - I don't live anywhere near Chicago. This is absurd and totally demoralizing to all the men and women who took and passed the exam to become firefighters.
I wonder how the judge would feel if she was passed over for law school with a score of 89 so that a person with a score of 64 could take her seat.
I guess this means they better start passing out diplomas to those who failed out of HS also because apparently grades don't matter.

Buchanan FD's Utility-12 (Cascade Unit)
2003 E-One on International chassis.

Probably the same reason you see IAFF union stickers on the windows/bumpers on some fire apparatus. Its recognition of who you are.

bin Ladens last Facebook post:

I, for one, want to see pictures only because the cynic inside of me finds it rather interesting that it took 10 years to find him and only a day to kill him and dispose of his body in a rather convenient place where it can never be found.

Photo by Mark Vergari, who captured a GREAT shot here.
From the Yonkers high rise fire.
Excellent shot mark.

here is the fox news link...
FOX NEWS
sickening.

Due to that post, New York State will now be offering a fire service class on PUNCUATION. These classes will start becoming available soon. Heavy attendance is expected, so students are urged to contact your Chief's immediatly to be put on the waiting list. Batty12, your spot is reserved by orders of the NYS Car 1.

THAT MAKES 2 OF US...

I would just like to reconize the outgoing Chief of the Yorktown Heights Fire Department, Martin Mcgannon, for his many years of service as Chief to the department. During his tenure, he made numerous accomplishments and improvements to the Yorktown Heights FD, including switching back to the color red, spec'ing and purchasing a new Ladder, Rescue, FAST Engine, and first due Engine, building the dive team from one trailer into a full water rescue team, giving strong support to the Explorer post, and many other accomplishments too numerous to list.
I've known Martin both personally and professionally for over 10 years, and he is one of the nicest and most genuine people I know. I hope that he enjoys his "retirement" as Chief.
Congrats to all the new officers, and I hope all will lead by the example set by Chief Mcgannon.

Lo Hud
Congratulations.

Police Officer Aaron Hess is a hero and saved lives the night that Criminal Danroy Henry attempted to run over Police Officers and may have killed civilians in the process. Its very simple:
1) PO Hess = good guy.
2) Criminal Henry = bad guy.
Any questions?