NJMedic

I like how the article quotes a DC Fire Department spokesman. Niether airport is in DC (both are in Virginia, Arlinton Cty and Fairfax County respectfully) nor covered by the DC Fire Department (ARFF ia provided by the Metro Washington Airports Authority).

There are at least two fundamental requirements for emergency services, get there fast and be competent. If you can't do either one I have no problem calling them on it but you better make sure your own house is in order.

I've been to six church fires in my career in once it gets into the main body of the building its time to break out the hot dog winies because that is pretty much all you can do, plus some exposure protection. All of them ended looking like that You Tube video.

EGO

http://www.dhs.gov/files/programs/ntas.shtm
DHS website on the new system

I know several guys who work in Camden and basically Camden should just fold its door. The City can barely provide essential services, half the PD was laid off along with 30% of the firefighting resources. The closed two libraries and gave the third to the County. Not even the Battle Ship New Jersey could say the City. The Garden Staten Acquarium nor a concert venue can bring enough people in. The lost the distinction as the most dengerous city in the US to St Louis last year, I guess they will win back that distinction this year. Many of elected position have been jailed on official misconduct or corruption over the last several years. The PD layoffs effected guys with 13 years on the job.

Plantiffs lawyer: Mr Firefighter/EMT please show me in there SOPs from your department what is meant by the term expediate and how you should drive?
Mr Firefigher/EMT: I can't
Plantiffs lawyer: Why?
Mr Firefighter/EMT: Its not an official term
Plantiffs Lawyer: If I called the 28 other firefighters/EMTs from your department what would they say?
Mr Firefighter/EMT: They would say its a serious incident and your arrival on the scene is needed fast
Plantiffs lawyer: But isn't that why you have lights and sirens
Mr Firefighter/EMT: True but we need to drive even faster
Plantiffs Lawyer: Thank you for your testimony today
..... Three days later: The jury finds in the case of estate of Jane Doe vs your town that your town and department was negligent and the estate of Jane Doe will be awarded the amount of $5,000,000. Thank you.

Riding on the outside of a fire apparatus. Booster lines. Riding in a Cadillac/Oldsmobile ambulance. 3/4 boots. Most of the things I can think of fall into the catagory of having now vs what we didn't have before.....each memeber with a portable radio, PCs on vehicles, blood borne pathogen protection, nomex hoods, ightweight anything, everyone wearing SCBAs on the fireground, CPAP, LED lights, incident command (although some places still don't use it), rope rescue gear, Computer Aided Dispatch, seatbelt use, push bottom pumps.

I'm not with FDNY but I have no problem with a EMT overseeing ALS personnel. The EMT is not going to put him in a position to contermand a paramedics medical decisions but I know alot of EMTs that are operational superiour to our medics.

Just what the World needs......more clueless drunks critiquing fire department operations.

Four BLS Strike Teams were staging at the Holland Tunnel entrance for further deployment to Brooklyn ans Queens. One NJ EMT will split off from the NJ ambulance and ride with an FDNY EMT in a FDNY bus while the NJ Bus will be staffed with a NJ EMT and a FDNY EMT. First operational period ends at 0900 tomorrow when another 12 hours period will start. Latest intell sts FDNY is backlogged 20000 EMS jobs. Pervious records was 600 js delayed during the 2003 blackout also that last time NJ responded across the river.

WHat a waste of time and energy. I do think it looks unprofessional. On the other hand I guess Florida has no other problems if the spent time and effort to make it a law you can't have them. Don't tell New "The Nanie State" Jersey about this.

No, for the 786 time, for one week back in 2004 is was.

Anyone come across a new delivery to WCDES called the Scene Support Unit? See photo.

I believe it is important to consider that the response to Haiti is not a "bread-and-butter" EM/USAR operation. Consider the following:
(1) Though many states and localities have developed robust response capacities, this is not true in many nations. Typically, it is accepted that if the government is dysfunctional before an event, it is not likely to grow functional during a disaster, or in the immediate aftermath of one. Haiti has been viewed politically as a failed, or near-failed, state for years, suggesting it had inadequate governance structures prior to the event. Other nations are responding to assist, but one of the challenges will be how to work within the power vacuum they encounter. In most instances in the US, EM deals with badly impacted areas or regions, but there is still a city, county, tribal, state or federal government to work with, though, admittedly, it may take some time to get them engaged. In Haiti, with the entire nation affected, there is no overarching government to work with in rebuilding. The government that does exist has minimal resources.
(2) In the US, the NRF and NIMS provide a model for activation, response, oversight and communications. Training, planning and exercises have been focused on working within that model. How will this work in a foreign operation, where much of NIMS and virtually all of the NRF are not applicable? In this instance, is DHS the lead agency, or is it the Department of State, with agencies working through USAID, as has been the case with USAR deployments and some military-based humanitarian assistance in the past? If the DHS, how will they interact with foreign governments? If the DoS, how well will they coordinate the response activities of highly specialized teams?
(3) Over five years since Katrina, recovery efforts in the New Orleans area are still not where many wish them to be. What will the recovery to this earthquake be like, where the devastation impacted the majority of the nation, where the majority of the nation lived in dire poverty prior to the event, and where hunger and unsanitary conditions are endemic? What will be the legal, ethical, political, social implications of removing foreign assets when people are largely unable to sustain themselves at acceptable levels, though, in truth, many were in that state prior to the event? There is often a debate at the local level when a storm shelter is shut down and the homeless are left to shift for themselves. That debate is often localized, but this time the event may involve an entire nation, or the world. Will other nations feel compelled to remain and assist for a lengthy period?
We all hope that the response and recovery to Haiti will be effective and efficient. My point is simply that we may need to explore this response through a lens different than the traditional EM model used in the US. We need to start considering how to assist in recovery in Haiti, with the nations providing aid working harder and longer to rebuild the area than they might have done after a disaster in a more developed nation. We also need to start exploring how to adapt our EM operational models to meet the demands of foreign operations, perhaps focusing more on the concepts of contingent coordination or intergovernmental management, than on more rigid models of command and control. Ultimately, the point is not to be critical, but to learn from this event, which is much larger in scope than the foreign disaster aid previously provided, to see how we can make the process more effective in the future.

From this morning's FEMA National Situation Report
FEMA Actions
FEMA NRCC is activated to Level II, 24/7 operations
Region IV is at Level III Partial Activation due to Haiti evacuees possibly being evacuated to Florida.
National IMAT West activated and awaiting transportation; scheduled to depart Sacramento at 10:00 a.m. PST in USCG C-130
Thomasville, GA MERS activated and moving rolling stock to Homestead; currently in Orlando
Frederick, MD MERS activated in support of US&R operations and is awaiting airlift transportation
Maynard, MA MERS activated and awaiting airlift transportation
US&R VA-1 team (Fairfax County) in Haiti: base camp established, initial survey conducted, and priority targets identified
US&R CA-2 team (Los Angeles County) to arrive at 4:30 a.m. EST, January 14, in Haiti
US&R FL-1 and FL-2 (Miami-Dade) teams deploying from Homestead, FL on January 14
US&R VA-2, OH-1, CA-5, CA-7, NY-1, and TX-1 task forces have been activated and are awaiting transportation to Port-au-Prince; tentatively scheduled to arrive at Port-au-Prince today
A US&R Incident Support Team is preparing to deploy to support US&R operations in Haiti
Additional US&R teams on stand-by
Logistics provided Frederick MERS with meals and water for delivery to Haiti; additional meals and water, along with tarps, blankets, cots, and comfort kits have been ordered and will be delivered to Homestead AFB for pre-staging
Four External Affairs staff to depart today to Haiti to support USAID; one External Affairs staff to deploy to Washington, D.C.
Department of Health and Human Services
Four DMAT (NJ-1 is one of them) and four DMORT teams have been activated and are awaiting transportation to Haiti
Four additional DMAT and four additional DMORT teams are on stand-by
U.S. Coast Guard
Two cutters already in Haiti; two additional cutters are en route
Two fixed wing C-130 aircraft are performing over-flight assessments
Two C-130s with 140 passenger capacity to arrive January 14; first evacuation flight of UN personnel scheduled to depart for Santa Domingo at 10:00 a.m. EST; two additional evacuations may be possible later that day
U.S. Navy
Hospital ship USNS Comfort scheduled to arrive by January 22 to provide mobile hospital
Red Cross
Five person team being deployed to manage distribution
All relief supplies stored in Panama have been made available
$1 million in funds available for immediate response

I believe it is important to consider that the response to Haiti is not a "bread-and-butter" EM/USAR operation. Consider the following:
(1) Though many states and localities have developed robust response capacities, this is not true in many nations. Typically, it is accepted that if the government is dysfunctional before an event, it is not likely to grow functional during a disaster, or in the immediate aftermath of one. Haiti has been viewed politically as a failed, or near-failed, state for years, suggesting it had inadequate governance structures prior to the event. Other nations are responding to assist, but one of the challenges will be how to work within the power vacuum they encounter. In most instances in the US, EM deals with badly impacted areas or regions, but there is still a city, county, tribal, state or federal government to work with, though, admittedly, it may take some time to get them engaged. In Haiti, with the entire nation affected, there is no overarching government to work with in rebuilding. The government that does exist has minimal resources.
(2) In the US, the NRF and NIMS provide a model for activation, response, oversight and communications. Training, planning and exercises have been focused on working within that model. How will this work in a foreign operation, where much of NIMS and virtually all of the NRF are not applicable? In this instance, is DHS the lead agency, or is it the Department of State, with agencies working through USAID, as has been the case with USAR deployments and some military-based humanitarian assistance in the past? If the DHS, how will they interact with foreign governments? If the DoS, how well will they coordinate the response activities of highly specialized teams?
(3) Over five years since Katrina, recovery efforts in the New Orleans area are still not where many wish them to be. What will the recovery to this earthquake be like, where the devastation impacted the majority of the nation, where the majority of the nation lived in dire poverty prior to the event, and where hunger and unsanitary conditions are endemic? What will be the legal, ethical, political, social implications of removing foreign assets when people are largely unable to sustain themselves at acceptable levels, though, in truth, many were in that state prior to the event? There is often a debate at the local level when a storm shelter is shut down and the homeless are left to shift for themselves. That debate is often localized, but this time the event may involve an entire nation, or the world. Will other nations feel compelled to remain and assist for a lengthy period?
We all hope that the response and recovery to Haiti will be effective and efficient. My point is simply that we may need to explore this response through a lens different than the traditional EM model used in the US. We need to start considering how to assist in recovery in Haiti, with the nations providing aid working harder and longer to rebuild the area than they might have done after a disaster in a more developed nation. We also need to start exploring how to adapt our EM operational models to meet the demands of foreign operations, perhaps focusing more on the concepts of contingent coordination or intergovernmental management, than on more rigid models of command and control. Ultimately, the point is not to be critical, but to learn from this event, which is much larger in scope than the foreign disaster aid previously provided, to see how we can make the process more effective in the future.

From this morning's FEMA National Situation Report
FEMA Actions
FEMA NRCC is activated to Level II, 24/7 operations
Region IV is at Level III Partial Activation due to Haiti evacuees possibly being evacuated to Florida.
National IMAT West activated and awaiting transportation; scheduled to depart Sacramento at 10:00 a.m. PST in USCG C-130
Thomasville, GA MERS activated and moving rolling stock to Homestead; currently in Orlando
Frederick, MD MERS activated in support of US&R operations and is awaiting airlift transportation
Maynard, MA MERS activated and awaiting airlift transportation
US&R VA-1 team (Fairfax County) in Haiti: base camp established, initial survey conducted, and priority targets identified
US&R CA-2 team (Los Angeles County) to arrive at 4:30 a.m. EST, January 14, in Haiti
US&R FL-1 and FL-2 (Miami-Dade) teams deploying from Homestead, FL on January 14
US&R VA-2, OH-1, CA-5, CA-7, NY-1, and TX-1 task forces have been activated and are awaiting transportation to Port-au-Prince; tentatively scheduled to arrive at Port-au-Prince today
A US&R Incident Support Team is preparing to deploy to support US&R operations in Haiti
Additional US&R teams on stand-by
Logistics provided Frederick MERS with meals and water for delivery to Haiti; additional meals and water, along with tarps, blankets, cots, and comfort kits have been ordered and will be delivered to Homestead AFB for pre-staging
Four External Affairs staff to depart today to Haiti to support USAID; one External Affairs staff to deploy to Washington, D.C.
Department of Health and Human Services
Four DMAT (NJ-1 is one of them) and four DMORT teams have been activated and are awaiting transportation to Haiti
Four additional DMAT and four additional DMORT teams are on stand-by
U.S. Coast Guard
Two cutters already in Haiti; two additional cutters are en route
Two fixed wing C-130 aircraft are performing over-flight assessments
Two C-130s with 140 passenger capacity to arrive January 14; first evacuation flight of UN personnel scheduled to depart for Santa Domingo at 10:00 a.m. EST; two additional evacuations may be possible later that day
U.S. Navy
Hospital ship USNS Comfort scheduled to arrive by January 22 to provide mobile hospital
Red Cross
Five person team being deployed to manage distribution
All relief supplies stored in Panama have been made available
$1 million in funds available for immediate response