Remember585

True, true........

For a fee, I will tell you all where DMA lives. And last I heard, weren't you "SCBA Equipped" Dave?! I'm a buff, but I have limits.

Funny you mention this... A hydrant is a decorative item that is well hidden behind bushes, so on the arrival of FD, we have to dig up the nice bush, throw it out of our way, and instruct the local golf course to "transplant" the bush elsewhere.

Make sure its a hard wood. Don't get any kind of press wood or soft woods, like pine. Step cribbing is easy to make. Get a 2"x8"x8' - should give you enough material to make a step crib. Don't limit yourself to 4x4's only - if you can fit it, I suggest getting some 6x6 as well. Personal opinion - the plastic stuff sucks. It slides around too easy, and I have hang-ups about supporting heavy loads with the same stuff my pens are made out of.... Houses are built from wood for a reason - durability and strength. Label all of your wood too - paint the ends to indicate what type/size it is too, so guys don't have to guess when looking for stuff. If you can, drill a hole about 1" in from the "non-working" end, and run a piece of rope in it so you have a way to grab it. You can throw a lot of cribbing on a pike pole for easy carrying, and you can hook them from under the load instead of sticking your hands in harms way.

P/W/H???

In what ways do you think that DFFD? I am from a small Village. Our PD is our dispatchers and the system we have is antiquated. I am not taking anything away from the job the PD does. They are good Police Officers and generally work well with us. However, they are not equipped, trained or manned enough to handle everything expected of them. And you know what - they shouldn't have to be!!! They are not hired to be dispatchers. They are Police Officers. There is no reason at all that they should be stuck with dispatching Fire and EMS as well. We run about 800 EMS calls per year, and I would say that 90% of the time, they follow us on the air and monitor our activities. BUT - that other 10% of the time, things get too busy in HQ to pay attention to us. There's times where they have an arrest going on, or a pursuit or another critical matter that takes priority over listening to EMS. Then what? If we keep calling them they usually turn the radio down so they can worry about their situation. And its understandable. How about from the Fire end? We have set response assignments for different types of calls and different areas of our district. Again, about 80-90% of the time they get the assignment right, but what about the other 10-20% of the time? There's been several incidents where we have had the wrong first due engine sent, no ladder, no rescue, or in a recent case - only an engine for a confirmed fire!!! People argue that we, the FD, should know our own assignments. But why should we have to deal with this? We should be dispatched by a proven, more suitable system then rolodex and memory. We also run into problems where the wrong tones are used, they acknowledge the wrong units, they don't dispatch us when we should be and worse yet - they ignore us! I am positive that others on this board whom are of the progressive and proactive mindset will agree with me that a central dispatching point for fire and EMS is the way to go. The current system is outdated and unreliable. Mutual Aid requests are suppost to go thru 60 Control. Why not get dispatched from one place that has the capabilities to do all of this and beyond? Spend some more time in this field, DFFD, and you will see where we're all coming from.

Recently made SEVERAL updates, including a new look to the whole site. Please stop by and let us know what you think!! (High-Speed connections work the best.)

An EMT-Basic Course is also being offered at CCVAC. It begins this Monday, October 18th at 7 p.m. It is a Monday / Wednesday night course, with some Saturdays. Ends in January 2005. Lead Instructor is John Filangeri, the Cortlandt ALS Supervisor. For more info, go to www.cortlandt-ambulance.org or call the Ambulance Corps. at 739-0881.

IMPORTANT UPDATE! The class has been postponed until November 1, 2004. Contact Cortlandt VAC for further information!

**Update.** Croton's been using the new tones only for 5-6 weeks now, and it has been working without any 'new' problems. If you listen, there are three different tone settings being used. During the day, you'll hear the fire tone followed by the siren tone. During the night, you'll only hear the fire tone. All EMS calls are (supposed) to be toned out with EMS tones only.

It's going into the 5th and 8-1. Guess after tonight I won't be watching baseball until April 2005. Those F---ing Red Sox make me mad!!!

Which rig will this replace? The Mack?

Date: 10/20/04 Time: 00:14 Location: E Boston Post Road and Taylors Lane Description: Reported working fire in abandoned building. Units: VMFD 2241,42,43 E38,39,40,41, L21, U9 Writer: Me 2241 rpts fire is "going" on arrival @00:15 *Update 2242 requests 1&1 from PCFD to Mamaroneck FD to Mamaro HQ *Update C&O Requested @00:34

CROTON FIRE DEPARTMENT ENGINES: Engine 118 (Chemical Engine Co. #1) - 1993 HME/Saulsbury Pumper 1250gpm dual stage/1000 gal. water Function/Special Features: 100 gallon AFFF foam cell, and all discharges capable of flowing foam, jaws, fan, 1500 ft. of 5" hose. Engine 119 (Washington Engine Co. #2) - 1984 Mack Pumper 1250 gpm dual stage/500 gal. water Function/Special Feature: FAST Rig - carries saws, jaws, TIC, ropes, stokes, 1000 ft. of 5" hose. Engine 120 (Harmon Engine Co. #3) - 2003 American LaFrance Rescue Pumper 2000 gpm / 1000 gal. water Fuction/Special Feature: Rescue Pumper carrying Hurst tool, portable pump, fan, 1500 ft. of 5" hose. OTHERS: Tower Ladder 44 (Columbian H&L Co. #1) - 2002 Pierce Dash rear-mount quint. 100 ft tower/2000 gpm pump/300 gal. tank. Function/Special Features: First Department quint. Carries saws, fans, stokes, salvage gear. Tanker 10 (Washington Engine Co. #2) - 1990 International/EEI 3300 gal. tanker w/ 1250 gpm Dual-stage pump. Function/Special Feature: Primarily a tanker for water shuttles, also has been used several times over the years as a pumper. Currently being repaired. Rescue 18 (Croton Fire Patrol) 1993 International/Cayel Craft Heavy Rescue. Function/Special Features: Hurst tools, air-bags, fans, TIC, stokes, ropes, hazmat equipment, gas meters, flood lights, MCI ready, Mobile Command Post, water rescue and ice rescue equipment. Marine 12 - 1993 Boston Whaler Fire Boat. 500 GPM pump and deck gun. Also has EMS equipment and stokes basket. CHIEF'S: 2081 - 2003 Ford F350 Super-Duty (Crew Cab) 2082 - 2000 Ford Explorer 2083- 2000 Ford Explorer AMBULANCES 55B1- 1994 Ford Marque Ambulance with a 1999 Rebuild and new chasis. (Current Chasis is a Ford F-Super Duty) 55B2- 2004 Ford / PL Custom Medallion.

Red, Clear, Blue, Amber.....Its all the same. Everyone states that one color is better then the other when it comes to visibility issues and safety concerns. I disagree all the way. Lighting up your scene, whether a fire, MVA or V&T stop, with FLOOD / SCENE Lights gives you a better chance of being seen. I know PD units don't have the capabilities to really illuminate their vehicle stops, but those of us in FD and EMS DO!!! Warning lights - especially rear facing strobes that are clear - are more dangerous then beneficial. I still think that if you have enough flood/scene lights then you should only use them and turn off the flashing, driver attracting warning lights. And - not to get too far off subject - the new WCPD design is much better - and I for one could care less what color warning lights it has.

The Washington Engine Company No. 2 of Croton FD is holding a Holiday Raffle. Tickets are $10 each. First Prize is $2,500. Second Prize is $1,000. Drawing will be held on Saturday, December 18, 2004. **Winner need not be present.** *Only 1,000 tickets being sold.* Contact me or go to www.engine119croton.org for more info!!!

I've always been a fan of SFFD's style. The old leather helmets, no bunker pants, and riding outside the rig. I love traditional fire service stuff, and watching them and reading about them makes me think back to the good ol' days. I remember riding atop E119 and the old E118 in the split hosebeds. That was the coolest feeling of my life, riding up there and going to a call. Damn safety standards take all the fun out of life. Most memorable fire riding on top... Mutual Aid to Yorktown for a house fire on Echo Hill Path. I actually hitched a ride in someone's car to this fire, but on the way home we got dispatched to a possible fire in our district. It was F---ing freezing up there, but it was the coolest ride ever - literally.

The bids were closed on Wednesday, October 13th. Only one bid was received from Seagrave. =D> Now, the rest of this process is in the hands of our Village Board. [-o< With luck, they will approve the bid and we will begin talking to Seagrave about building our next member of "The Big House Fleet." And no, it will not be green. Sorry, but fire engines are suppose to be red. #-o

He hides behind a 400 pound guy.

Hey Matteo, That neon pink camoflauge you're wearing may not work so well, unless you find yourself near "the man about town's" property.... you can blend in with his trucks... Happy huntin'

The Croton Fire Department will be hosting the FASNY Fall Seminar program "Intersection Safety." When: October 13, 2004 at 7pm Where: Harmon Firehouse (Benedict Blvd. and Wayne Street) Further information is available at the following; www.FASNY.com or 1-800-2FASNY2 or www.engine119croton.org or 914-271-2693. Directions to the Firehouse. From the North: Route 9 south to the Croton Point Avenue exit. Make a left on to Croton Point Avenue. At the light, make a left on to S. Riverside Avenue. Go to the next light and make a left on to Benedict Blvd. The firehouse is on the right. From the South: Route 9 north to the Croton Point Avenue exit. Make a right on to Croton Point Avenue. At the light, make a left on to S. Riverside Avenue. Go to the next light and make a left on to Benedict Blvd. The firehouse is on the right. From the East: Route 129 west into Croton. Follow to end where it meets S. Riverside Avenue and proceed south. Follow to 1st light, make a right on to Benedict Blvd. Firehouse is on the right.

This seminar was held tonight, and all of us in attendance learned a lot from it. I believe there was between 40 - 50 area members in attendance. Many thanks to FASNY, VFIS and CFD Deputy Chief Gerry Munson for coordinating this valuable program. =D>

Closing the lanes of traffic....wish some of those wearing white hats and 8-point hats would see this and understand it. Too many times we'll pull up on an MVA and start to close the road, and those named above get all upset about it and make us move for traffic to get through. I went to 2 MVAs in the last 48 hours, 1 with FD and 1 with the VAC. Both of these incidents traffic was allowed through, and at BOTH incidents we had to watch out back sides!

The C&O "Rigs" 1404 and 1405 respond via radio on 46.26. Team members and the Coordinators generally call in their availability by phone. Car 24 is the coordinator for zones 4 & 5. Car 25 is the coordinator for zones 1 & 2. Zone 3 - as far as I know, is split between them.

My condolences.... What day(s) are the services?