BFD1054

Thanks TRUCK6018, until reading your post, i was unaware that we(Buchanan) had recieved a grant. Until i went to our monthly meeting that is. Yes, we did recieve $22,160. To add to your post, the grant is for fire prevention and we intend to purchase a fire prevention trailer, not quite as big as Mohegans though. We will also use the money to update our multi-media for fire prevention. For more info on our grant and the intended uses of it, check out our web site: www.buchananfd.org and go to the current news section. BFD1054

In my district, Buchanan, the highway department uses large maltese cross stencils with arrows to point to the location of a hydrant. They use the stencils with highly reflective blue road paint and paint them in the middle of the street. These are nice, however when the roads are snow covered, they are close to useless. Even after the roads are plowed, it is very hard to make out the markings. In the past we have tried to get those "flags" that come off the top of the hydrant, but i believe that it came down to the never-ending money issue. I believe these "flags" that are used in many districts are probably the best way of marking a hydrant to be visible during any conditions.

I don't believe it was on the actually Truck itself, but Mohegan had tee-shirts made up when they got L-10 and the shirts read: "We get it up, we keep it up" i thought that was absolutely perfect!

Thanks LFD171,

Yeah, it was about time lol. We were all banking on a worker in Peekskill to be its first run! Guys from all over the county came out for the "dry-down" and i think they liked what they saw. That could be the reason Ossining called us, plus the fire was on the north side of thier district, closer to us. Thanks Chief Farrell (OFD Car 2331), hope our services were able to help your guys. I believe we filled about 60 bottles that night, the new rig can fill soo much quicker, its real nice. BFD1054

Date: 1-20-04

Time: 2109HRS(dispatch)

Location: 7-4 Nicole Circle (Hudson-View Condo's) c/s Ogden Rd.

Units: Cars 2331(Command), 2332, 2334, E96, E97, E98, L41, Croton 208FAST w/E118, Yorktown FAST, Buchanan U12(Cascade), Sleepy Hollow L36 in Holla Hose quarters, C&O.

Frequency: 46.26 (Dispatch)

Description: Ossining Police dispatched Ossining FD to 7-4 Nicole Circle in the Hudson-View condo's for a reported house fire @ 2109HRS. 2110HRS-Cars 2332 & 2334, E97, E-98 & E-96 10-17. 2112HRS-Confirmed smoke showing, 2118HRS-Croton FASTeam requested. thats all the times i was able to get as i was at my FD

Writer: BFD1054

thanks John.....although you wouldn't know about the "dry-down" cause you never showed up!!!!! Just kiddin....we did have a hell of a night though! =D>

Date: 01-13-04

Times: 1630HRS(dispatched), 1634HRS(confirmed by 2371)

Location: Saratoga Ave./Meadow Ln.

Frequency: 46.26

Units: E-259, R-47 & Car 2371

Description: 1630HRS E-259, E-260 & R-47(Pleasantville FD) dispatched to Saratoga Ave. and Meadow Ln. for a reported car fire. Car 2371(command) on location confirming working car fire, 1634HRS. 1635HRS E-259 10-17, 1637HRS R-47 10-17. 1654HRS, signal 10-30, all Pleasantville units going 10-8.

Writer: BFD1054

Date: 12-05-04

Times: 1748HRS(T.O.D.) - 1755HRS(Units 10-8)

Location: IFO 2727 Crompond Rd. (Yorktown Middle School)

Frequency: 46.26, 453.875

Units: R-16, E-273, E-270(10-8 upon arrival), Cars 2532 & 2533

Description: Yorktown Fire dispatched IFO Yorktown Middle School on Crompond Rd. for a reported MVA/Roll-Over w/injuries. 1749HRS-R-16, Car 2532 & 2533 10-17. 1750HRS-E-273 10-17. 1753HRS-R-16, E-273, Cars 2532 & 2533 10-19. 1755HRS-Car 2532 advising occupants out of the vehicle, no need for FD, all Yorktown Fire units going 10-8.

Writer: BFD1054

AS I HAVE PREVIOUSLY POSTED, BUCHANAN'S NEW UTILITY-12(2003 E-ONE CASCADE/LIGHT SUPPORT UNIT) IS NOW IN FULL SERVICE!!! ALSO, THE OFFICIAL DRY-DOWN DATE HAS BEEN ANNOUNCED.....SATURDAY, JANUARY 17, 3:00PM-7:00PM AT BUCHANAN FIREHOUSE, 3159 ALBANY POST RD.

THE NEW RIG LOOKS GOOD AND HAS A HELL OF A LOT TO OFFER, NOT ONLY TO US, BUT ANY OTHER DEPT. REQUESTING ITS SERVICES. I HOPE SOME OF YOU WILL STOP BY AND CHECK IT OUT, SHOULD BE A FUN DAY! HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!

BFD1054

Amen Remember585....when i dispatched for County PD, that was the most frustrating thing. People never knew where the hell they were, some people reported incidents on the wrong parkways and some people were even in the wrong state!!! So, although many people feel that the whole Greenville, Fairview, Yonkers and whoever else thing for reponses on the Sprain and other roadways is a bit over-board, i feel its a good idea. Think about it this way, if you or one of your loved ones was in an accident, wouldn't you want Fire/EMS/PD to get there as quick as possible??? You'd be kinda upset if the accident was Northbound and the pretty red firetrucks were going Southbound, right? So, having apparatus respond both North and Southbound from different ramps isn't such a bad idea, it cuts down response time and in the end helps the victims. Unfortunately, many good samaritans who actually care enough to stop and help and call 911, have no clue where they are.

John, glad to hear Croton jumped on the band-wagon, excellent idea to run 1 ENG NB and 1 ENG SB for Route 9. I'm guessing E-119 runs north or south from Senasqua? Whos the 2nd ENG, 118 or 120? Anyway, nice points made!!!

BFD1054

Great points by all!!! I have to agree with many of you and say that FASTeams should be on automatic dispatch for 10-75's. My department (Buchanan), like many depts. have thier 3 choice FASTeams listed in order for 60-Control. Our primary is Croton, followed by Peekskill and then Mohegan. Mohegan used to be our primary back when they were like the sole FASTeam in the area. Our Chief had the choice of haveing a FASTeam automatically dispatched or upon his request and we went with the latter. Therefore, an officer must get on scene, confirm a 10-75 and then request Croton. Then 60 has to dispatch Croton, then thier members must assemble and then finally respond. Take into account the time it may take for an officer to get on scene and request the FAST, then get them dispatched, assembled and on the road. Croton has an excellent team and they get out real quick, but even if they assemble in like 5 minutes, it still may take them 5-10 minutes to get on-scene. Thats why i feel SOP's should be changed. A good idea may be when a Dept. gets dispatched to a poss. structure fire, the the FASTeam assembles in thier quarters. If a Dept. gets dispatched to a confirmed fire, than the FASTeam should be automatically dispatched, just my opinion though. As CG206 said, you can always cancel a FASTeam en-route. I'd rather be safe than sorry, but thats just me. I think it'd be great to know in the back of your mind that you have a FASTeam responding, even if you end up cancelling them. While on the subject of FASTeams....i have one small problem. I have seen way too many times where a FASTeam gets put to work for firefighting operations due to lack of manpower or whatever, and nobody thinks to call a 2nd FASTeam. My feelings are if you need the manpower and you gotta use the FASTeam, go ahead, but request your 2nd due FASTeam A.S.A.P. cause the FASTeam is no longer the FASTeam once they get out to work as far as i'm concerned. I can remember a fire within the last year where Croton E-119 was responding to a structure fire with the FASTeam and to thier surprise became the 2nd due Engine. In this situation, everything worked out ok because they layed in from the hydrant, the driver stayed with the rig as the pump-op and they had ample members of the Team to grap thier equipment and stage. But if those guys went to firefighting operations, then a 2nd team (Mohegan in this incident) should have been called. As many of you have said, FASTeams are essential in fire operations, and they need to get there as fast as possible. Dispatching them automatically wouldn't hurt anyone, and actually may save someone!!! FASTeams are there to protect us, the firefighters, so i'd be much happier knowing thier en-route or standing by for a possible or confirmed fire. Just my thoughts/opinions. Stay safe everyone and happy new year!!! BFD1054

Buchanan family needs the communities help:

Darlene Harbolic is a well known, well liked woman from Buchanan. Darlene is a loving and caring mother of three great children as well as a wonderful wife. Unfortunately, Darlene has been battling cancer for over six years. With medical bills climbing out of control, Darlene and her family could use some help.

Darlene’s two sons are firefighters, her husband an ex-Lieutenant and her father-in-law an ex-Chief with the Buchanan Engine Company. Darlene works at the Hendrick Hudson High school in Montrose as a teachers-aide, where she is very much appreciated not only by staff members, but by the students as well. Everyone who knows Mrs. Harbolic loves her because she is just a truly beautiful person. Just recently, Darlene’s children put together an all day fund-raiser held at the Hendrick Hudson High school. The local firefighters and State Troopers came out for a friendly game of basketball and there was an air-castle, food and arts & crafts and all proceeds went to Darlene. There were a lot of people and many families coming in and out of the festivities all day and thanks to them, the Harbolic family was able to raise $16,500. That just goes to show how truly loved Darlene is in the community. However, there are still more bills to be paid and the Harbolic’s could use any help that anyone is willing to give.

If anyone is interested in making a personal donation or perhaps a donation in the name of their department, any amount would be greatly appreciated.

If you or your department would like to make a donation, please send check or money order to:

Darlene Harbolic

P.O. Box 784

Verplanck, NY 10596

Date: 12-25-03

Time: approx. 1230HRS

Anyone know anything about Mohegans job today. Heard them between 1230 & 0100HRS. Manpower requesting L-35 charge the line, L-35 requesting the hydrant to be opened. Problem ensued with pressure, 2nd ENG requested to respond and hit a hydrant, then request was cancelled. Car 2261 had command requesting Con Ed gas and electric as well as Westchester County C&O to the scene.

Units: L-35, ENG-250 (ex-TS-3)

I'm sure someone will have a post on this, hopefully CG206 or at least 1 of Mohegans Bravest. I was just curious, i heard some radio talk, but never got an address or exact disposition.

Writer: BFD1054

Date: 12-24-03

Time: 1247HRS - Ongoing

Location: Main St. (Rt. 6)/Dayton Ln. (IFO Beach Shopping Center)

Frequency: 453.225, 46.26

Units: ENG-134, Car 2342, 39M1(FD Medic), 75B1 & numerous other Peekskill VAC units.

Description: Peekskill FD ENG-134, Peekskill VAC & 39MEDIC1 dispatched to Main St. and Dayton Ln. for an MVA w/injuries. 60 Cont. advising 75B1 in on scene requesting 2nd ambulance. Car 2342 10-19 advising ENG-134 to approach in the westbound lane and come directly in for confirmed entrapment. Units still operating at ATW.

Writer: BFD1054

Amen Seth...at first, i had heard this was an officer shot. As the incident was ongoing, i got the full story. I was a County PD dispatcher at one time, and i too am very happy to hear that all PO's involved are doing well. Anti-Crime did a hell of a job as i hear, and my prayers go out to the families of the officers injured. Just goes to show, no matter police, fire or EMS, training is everything! These officers were plain-clothes on a stake-out when this incident occured. These skells were in a stolen vehicle, in the process of stealing a 2nd vehicle. YO-officers approached them, and all hell broke loose. Now, 2 perps were left shot (got what they deserved) and 2 Yonkers PO's were injured doing thier job! I give them a lot of credit to have thier heads on stright enough to know how to react to such an incident. Officers o/s shot off rounds and were able to blast the 2 suspects as they attempted to flee, without injuring any innocent by-standers!!! Way to go Yonkers PD, Anti-Crime was obviously alert and on the job! My regards go out to the PO's families and i hope for a fast, pain-less recovery! As for the perps....may they get more of what they deserve and rot in jail for a long time to come!!! BFD1054

Thanks Chris....i had all the info in front of me as far as times and units and everything. I was on my way out the door (late for class at Mercy lol) when the 2nd run came in. I had wrote down ENG-252 for the call, but must have been looking at the info from the 1st run when i was typing! Thanks for the update/corrections.

BFD1054

Date: 12-16-03

Time: 1915HRS

Location: Lexington Ave./Lakeland Ave.

Frequency: 46.26

Units: ENG-258, U-40 & CAR2262

Description: KEI-603 Mohegan dispatched ENG-258, U-40 to a reported car fire, Lakeland Ave., at the end of Lexington Ave. 2262 10-19, followed by ENG-258 & U-40. 1919HRS-ENG-258 charging a line. 1941HRS-As per the authority of CAR2262, Signal 10-30, Lakeland Ave.

Writer: BFD1054

P.S. It was a busy night for Mohegans Bravest. As units were picking up from this job, a second reported car fire came in at 1950HRS-Navajo St. c/s Rt. 6, (Town of Yorktown), ENG-258 & CAR2264 took the job, nothing further at TOW.

HFD211, I must say that i totally agree with everything you have said. There has been silly little fights over stupid stuff in the past that has lead to bad feelings between departments, and that is definatelty a bad thing. I am a member of Buchanan FD, and we too have had these problems in the past, but for whatever reason, things have gotten much better, thank god! As you may be aware, we work together with both Montrose and Verplanck FD's as part of the tri-village response plan. This plan is set up so that if any of the 3 depts. get a poss. 10-75 or confirmed, or any structural related fire, the other 2 depts. automatically are put on s/b. The plan has worked great since it was put in place, and maybe one of the reasons that the 3 depts. are getting along better. When the plan was first officially put into place, we trained together more often; we would try and do a tri-village drill like once a month, which was great, then that slowed and eventually stopped. But within this past year, the tri-village plan had been used many times due to 10-75's and other alarms such as haz-mat calls. So recently, we have been trying the tri-village drills again and it seems to be working. I think it is a great idea for any neighboring depts. to get together and train, wheather you have a plan similar to ours or not. You never know when you're going to need one-another, and for the vollie depts., we all know how hard it can be to get out for alarms, especially day-time runs. Therefore, its always a good idea to keep a good working and firendly relationaship with your neighboring depts. Training is definately a big part of it, so that you all know what equipment the other depts. have, in case you need to call upon them. Training together is also a good way for guys to get to know one-another in the different depts. Hopefully, we keep up the tri-village drills to ensure a good relationship and know we can rely on each other. Sometimes i wish we could do trainings with Croton as well because they are our FASTeam and it would be nice to get to know all those guys and maybe they could help us train and teach us some FASTeam techniques. But anyway, i definately agree with you and feel that neighboring depts. should always keep a good relationship and trin together more often. Just my feelings/opions BFD1054

I'd have to agree with the majority here....the Federal Q is the way to go!!! All of our apparatus were outfitted with them until the purchase of E-160(1991 Pierce-Lance). Our last apparatus to have one was E-162(1969 GMC-Young) and we sold that to Peekskill. I wanted to rip it out before we sold it, but nobody would help me or go along with the idea, can't figure out why lol. E-162 had no electric siren, so it was the Q and the air-horn, what a sweet combo...that really moved traffic! I feel that the Q should definately be on any and every fire apparatus, hands down!

As DG795 said....everyone knows that a fire apparatus is coming when they hear that distinctive sound and they know they need to get their a** outta the way! Now we have really cheap electric sirens on our 2 Engines and it annoys the hell outta me, i've heard police cars with better sirens than our Engines!!! My departments argument is that they are too expensive and they are, even the electric one runs for around $1,200. But i figure if it moves traffic safely, then it is worth it. We were pulling off our apron not to long ago red lights activated and siren(electric) on, and a car continued to travel past our firehouse and we had to jam on the brakes....how dangerous is that???

The Federal Q is real expensive....Does anyone out there know of any cheaper alternatives, or where to get decent second-hand/referbished Q's? BFD1054

Hey, no problem John! Just pass the info about U-12 on so that we can assist other departments, anytime anyone needs us, we'll be there! And again, as soon as i get more info on the rig, i'll pass it on! BFD1054

Buchanan has placed into full service (as of last night 12/11), our 2003 E-One on International chassis Cascade/utility truck. It is available to any department that may need its services. Unlike many other departments, we have an unlimited supply of air. As soon as i can get a decent inventory on the rig, i'll share it with everyone.

Also, we are looking at a mid-January date for the "dry-down" for it, so keep your ears and eyes posted!

BFD1054

To answer your questions....As far as going M/A, we usually try and send a full crew to the scene and keep members back at our HQ to cover the village. That particular job (Montrose Francis Dr.), we were fortunate enough to have ample manpower. We actually sent E-161 w/full crew and Car2553 w/manpower, so the crew of E-161 was able to go to work and the remaining guys helped with other jobs like stretching lines and whatever else was needed. Then when U-12 was requested, our chief knew that we had sufficient manpower in Montrose, so he sent U-12 w/driver only, and the other guys helped run the compressor. In doing this, we were still able to keep a few guys back to cover the village and cover Montrose w/Verplanck (they had an Eng. on s/b at MFD HQ), if needed.

As far as the new U-12 (2003 International/E-One), the capacities as far as crew members kinda stink. We oredered the unit with the 2-door, 3 man cab for storage reasons. So, when we get called M/A, other members will respond with the chief that goes. You really don't need a whole hell of a lot of guys to run the Cascade. We responded to 141 Fremont St. w/driver, 2 FF's and 1 chief and did fine. One guy usually runs the compressor cause thats all thats needed to run it, plus with one guy running it, it becomes that 1 guys responsibility and then there isn't a bunch of hands getting in the way where something can get screwed up. The remaining guys are used to run back and forth retrieving bottles and returning them when they are full. With 141 Fremont, we were spoiled because Peekskills guys were coming to us and running the bottles back and forth. Oh yeah, the new cascade.....the new U-12 is in full service as of last nights meeting (12/11), and the chief will be sending out the proper notifications. Yes, it is a great looking rig, not to mention carries alot of great equipment. As always, we will be able to fill as many bottles as needed, unlimited air supply (good thing to keep in mind). The unit will also carry various equipment for minor alarms such as brush and lighting. It is in full service as i said and we are continuing to add some minor things such as water-cans. As soon as i can get a good equipment inventory and all its capabilities, i will let you all know. Also, we are looking at a date in mid-January for the "dry-down," so keep your ears and eyes open for that!

As far as deciding who goes M/A with the Eng. or cascade...it pretty much works on a first-come basis, as in, you show up quick enough and you're going lol. Obviously, a driver, a Chief and an officer, Captain or Lieutenant and crew goes. We usually only let our "Active" (interior-qualified) guys go for M/A Eng. calls, but the probies can go on air calls so that they can learn how to run the system. But deciding on who goes is always at the chiefs discretion. For example, a guy shows up first, but maybe hes not that active and hasn't made alot of alarms or drills, the chief will assign a more active guy to the crew. The chief will also take into consideration how much training and classes a guy has and how well they know the rig thats going M/A. Hope i provided all the answers/info you were lookin for, if not, feel free to ask away! BFD1054

I definately agree, there is plenty of cluster on the air when there shouldn't be. Especially with the tri-village. When a full stand by crew is established, a chief or whoever is supposed to call 60 Cont and advise them, but instead chiefs and apparatus sometimes sign on and ramble on. This would be a huge problem if the IC is trying to transmit an update or anything else. I also agree that the 3 tone thing is a bit outta hand, somehow there should be a better way of dispatching it. 60 Cont. is usually real good at handling tri-village calls and i must give them credit cause that has to be a huge cluster to deal with not only on the air, but with the CAD as well. But yeah, the 3 depts have worked together for a long time and its proved to be a success. BFD1054

Unfortunately we will not be replacing E-162, or at least nowhere in the near future . When we placed the order for our new U-12, it was clear that we had no room at our firehouse, so something had to go, unfortunately, it was E-162 that went. E-162 was a great Engine and also kept up or ISO rating, but if we had kept it, it would have sat outside and went to hell. It was sold to the Columbian Engine Company (our sister company) of Peekskill to use for their Muster team. BFD1054

I must say that it is great to know that M/A companies are there to back you when you need it. However, like many of said, we must stick to some basic rules and follow directions. We are a small dept. and with that said, we do not have a truck company, so we rely on other depts. We work very well with our surrounding depts. and usually do not run into a problem. If the officer or driver (of the M/A unit) has any clue, than they usually know the right time to get on the air and request info on staging and such. We do not usually run into problems as far as apparatus blocking up the road, but personal vehicles become a problem. We also have our 1st due FASTeam which is set up in the CAD at 60 so that when our IC requests a team, they know who we want. I must say, from my experience with our choice FASTeam, i have not seen any problems. And the same FASTeam that we use, the entire tri-village uses, so i have seen first hand how they operate. They assemble their crew and at the proper time while en-route request directions/stagging info and they follow those exactly how we want. When they show up, we can be confident that they have a full Team who are well trained and experienced, but also that they are smart enough to know that if their Eng. isn't being utilized for firefighting op's, they stage it at a proper location. I do have to add though, sometimes the un-expected can happen in the world of firefighting, as we all know. As you guys have said, the problem is when the "3rd" or "4th" due actually becomes the 1st or 2nd due and so forth. I actually saw a case not to long ago, where this same FASTeam resonded to a 10-75 and to their surprise became the 2nd due Engine. They were able to assemble a crew quickly and the call was actually not far from the district line, so as they arrived they were informed that they were the 2nd Eng on arrival and were told to hit a hydrant and lay in. It worked out great because they layed in and their driver pumped the Engine, while the Team grabbed their gear and did their thing. But i have also seen plenty of times where fire scenes look more like a fire apparatus showroom, with Engines, Trucks, Rescues and everything else just everywhere with no particular purpose. Thats why communication is everything, without it, a scene can become chaos in no-time. If the 1st due Eng. goes directly to the scene, followed by the 1st due truck, now the 2nd due Eng. has to hook up and lay in and manuver around everything and it can be a pain. Thats why the IC needs to not only know what hes got, but needs to also think of what may be coming in (M/A, FAST, etc.) and properly place apparatus. BFD1054