FirNaTine

Someone should tell the State the exact definitions of these different words. They consider lock-ins and occupants stuck in stalled elevators Rescues, as far as the NYS Fire Reporting System is concerned.

Absolutely right Izzy, a Rescue is too easy a term to pin on anything, especially over a badge on a dress uniform!

Do you really think by Depts. requiring Chauffers to have their CDL, the number of accidents would decline. I've never had one, and was never involved in an mva w/ a piece of apparatus in all my years of driving. However, I can't say the same for those members that do have their CDL. They've been in more accidents than anyone. Many of them think because they have it there's nobody else that can handle these rigs. I beg to differ. I mean come on already, everytime you turn around there's another tractor trailer involved in an mva, getting stuck under another bridge, or the driver being issued a number of summonses, ranging from his truck being overweight to poor maintenance of his vehicle. All I'm saying is don't necessarily blame the size of the vehicle and question the operator's certification, blame the jackass for his actions that led up to the accident, if in fact it was the fault of the truck's chauffer anyway.

One of my favorite tools is the Trash Hook. This tool pulls, pushes and breaks, more material than any halligan or hook, whether working inside or outside doing Overhaul or Ventilation, especially Roof Ops. The wider and heavier base allows you to pull, push and break more material than any halligan, axe, hook, etc... Just take a look at any LAFD or some other California FD videos and pics. and you'll see alot of their truck co. members carrying these Trash Hooks, especially on the roof for ventilating purposes. Sometimes I think because the tool is labeled for overhaul purpose only with regards to dumpster fires, hence "Trash Hook", many members think they can only use such tool for these purposes only. No way! This is one of the most versatile tools around, so if your Dept has it, use it, and not just for dumpster fires. I think you'll be quite impressed. If your Job doesn't have them, think about purchasing them, especially before your next Boston Hook.

Two of the most important things I feel to remember is, don't be a hypocrite and earn the respect of your subordinates, not demand it. This is easily accomplished and should begin as soon as your sworn onto the job, not 5,10 or 15yrs. later after you get the promotion. Always remember your first impression is a lasting one and the guys will always remember how you carried yourself as ff. and won't hesitate to remind you of it as an Officer, especially if you were a bag of $hit! Nothing worse than an Officer that was lazy, showed no interest in the job, took no pride in his appearance and last but not least was a constant thorn in an Officer's side, but now that he's been promoted, thinks the job and all the guys should be on the level. Yeah right! Remember payback can be a b****, and you really don't need the additional headaches that come with the position, because even if you were a standup guy as a ff. there will always be one or two bad apples in the bunch. GOOD LUCK! PS. Also, don't wait till you become an Officer to start learning the JOB, especially the Basics. Costantly show an interest in learning from the Day your Sworn in, until the Day you Retire, whether your a Line Officer or Chief Officer. Many guys seem to get just a little to comfortable and fall into a rut, after they get their bars or stars.

How long ago did this happen? Are we talking recently, a yr. ago, or 10yrs. ago. Not that it should make a difference, but I can't see this happening in today's fire service. No friggin way! Not with all the Depts. now having to be in compliance with the ever so important NIMS curriculum. I'll tell you one thing, you better hope FEMA doesn't get wind of this occurring in Depts., otherwise they may take your Dept. off the eligibility list for its free Govt. handout. Can you say please pass the cheese.

Depends on the circumstances: life hazard, access to control valves, ability to control sources of ignition, etc. etc.

Check out the 2nd paragraph down on page 405 in FDNY DC John Norman's book, "Fire Officer's Handbook of Tactics" with regards to jobs in F/P, M/Ds. that may occassionaly need to be faught using unusual tactics, due to unusual circumstances. On that note, GOOD BUY and GOOD LUCK.

Fellows, check out Firehouse Magazine, March 1992's article by John Norman on Jobs in F/P M/Ds. Not only does he make reference to using a 2 1/2" line w/ a fog tip as a backup line he mentions placing a fan in the F/S on poss.pressure to further push the products of combustion away from the hose team and out the windows. This may have to be done on rare occassions, and is not the norm which I thought I also clarified. As far as the other example I gave, I still haven't found it in the Firehouse Magazine archives yet but I promise I will for all the non-believers. P.S I don't recall myself saying you must use a fog nozzle at all times, whether the job is a standpipe job or not. What I said was you should have the capability of using either at your side and not be looking for the necessary equipment when the $hit is hitting the fan, especially if your 20 stories up Anyway, I better get going to my kids soccer game. Stay Safe!

Where did I say in my post you should stay in an atmosohere that's 80%-100%? What I said was if the guys don't know how to accurately read the meter they're using, they might think it's O.K to be in such an atmosphere because it's well above the explosive range(too rich), not knowing they are actually within the gas' explosive range because that % is a % of the LEL. I think you may have misunderstood my post.

Who's responsible for bringing in the Hydro Ram or Rabbit Tool on your job?

Well said brother! It's like the guys who can't use a halligan correctly and want to blame the type and design, not the jackass using it incorrectly! Oh, I know the answer, let's go buy the new titanium halligans, they'll get the door open quicker. Yeah Right! Wake up boyz!

Guys no need to get your bowels in an uproar. Whatever works for you use it . I'm just telling you what I've been told by FDNY members(retired LT. James Curran to be exact) at their seminars at the Rock and by reading and talking to guys that operated at some pretty good highrise jobs. One job for example, was back I believe in the late 80's early 90's I believe in Harlem, where it took FDNY members operating 3- 2/12 handlines w/fog nozzles to get down the hallway into the fire apt.. This I read with my own 2 $uckin eyes in an issue of Fire House Magazine, but unfortunately have absolutely no clue what issue it was. As far as pressure on the 20th fl Antiqueff, that's why FDNY has high pressure eng.cos to supply enough water to the upper floors of these high rises, whether your using a straight tip or fog nozzle. I know one thing for sure, in my 23yrs. in the Vern I haven't had to many problems using a fog nozzle no matter what type it was. Generally if there was a problem, it usually was attributed to the nucklehead MPO having no clue what he was doing or like I mentioned in another post the clueless wonder stretching too much hose too close to the fire and giving the order to charge it. Other than that, I have to say adjustable nozzles have proven themselves time and time again. On a side note we placed a smooth bore on one of our Eng. Co's. 1 3/4" attack lines which the guys got to use at a good job 2 weeks ago and they honestly weren't too happy with it. They said it had great reach and penetration but had to work the room alot more with it to cover every nook and cranny because of the tremendous amount of heat. The fire was vented too and before anyone blames the members themselves, including the MPO, we were flowing plenty of water, approximately 180gpm. Anyway go with what you feel is best for your Dept. and as far as me sitting on the bench Antiqueff., I can guarantee you I've seen more work in my years in MT.Vernon than alot of those Glory Boys from FDNY, especially those from Riverdale, Staten Island, Queens and Midtown. $hit Midtown has mostly Automatic Alrms and Relocations. Give me a friggin break please! Remember they're taught how to ride one or two positions and that's it for 20yrs. unless they get promoted. Ex. I was out the other night with a LT. from Harlem who told me in his 18yrs on the job he never even drove a rig, because he never went to Chauffer School at the ROCK! Let's not forget the one bottle and out rule either. Anyway brothers, no matter what your fancy is remember to stay safe.

That's what happens when you leave the Piper's Kilt at 4:00 am.

Probably one of the most important things with regards to this topic is knowing your meter(s) and how they operate, and that includes knowing how to convert ppm to percentages and vice versa, like Capt.402 mentioned. How many individuals actually even know that the percentage recorded on the meter is the percentage of the LEL of the gas and not the percentage of the gas itself? For instance, if your meter reads 5% of Natural Gas, it's not actually 5% NG, it's 5% of NG's LEL of 5% which means the actual concentration of NG is .25% well below the explosive range of NG which is 5% -15%. Therefore you only have to be concerned of an explosive concentration in this instance when your meter reads 100%, or to play it safe 80%. Tell me this $hit isn't important to know! You'll have guys walking into an explosive atmosphere thinking it's too rich to burn because they have no idea how to interpret their meter. Let's not even get into converting readings into ppm.

There's both pros and cons with regards to both nozzles. I think like with any other tool it depends on the operator's knowledge on how to use it correctly. A nozzle is no different than any other ff. tool. I know one thing for a fact and that is there have been numerous occassions in FDNY where they had to switch over to fog nozzles in Standpipe Jobs because of the amount of fire blowing down the hallway at them. Just like there's no one size hoseline to be used at all jobs, I believe the same holds true for nozzle selection. And guys let's face it, you don't have to be a friggin rocket scientist to switch an adjustable nozzle from fog to straight and back again. Even if you do use a fog pattern, it should be a narrow fog(30degree), and no more, and to go back to a straight stream only requires about a 1/4 to 1/2 turn clockwise(that means to the right ). $hit, if guys can't figure this out once inside with lights out, the fire service is no place for them. I just hope guys aren't jumping on the FDNY band wagon with regards to smooth bores because that's what the Varsity uses, like some have done with the 10-75 code! Never mind I won't even go there. Personally, I like having the option of switching to a narrow fog or even a wider fog pattern if need be. You don't have that option with a straight tip, and maybe that's why so many FDNY guys get burned especially on their lower extremities. You can cool alot more of the floor area with a tight, narrow fog pattern, than you can with a 15/16"or 1 1/8" diameter solid stream. Think about it. Don't get me wrong, I think straight tips have their place, especially in standpipe jobs on an upper floor where pressures are generally low, but you should at least remain flexible in your attack and have the necessary equipment in your arsenal, to switch over to a fog pattern if need be. Don't wait until a strong wind is creating blast like furnace conditions in the hallway on the 20th fl. to call for a fog nozzle or tip to attach to the smooth bore. It's too late my BROTHERS. Anyway stay SAFE out there BOYZ!

Good Job Buff. However, your best action shots were those in the "VERN".

Good Job Buff. However, your best action shots were those in the "VERN". Those boyz in Ner Ro. better start catching some WORK!

1) Costantly hit the floor especially if your using a straight tip to cool it to prevent leg burns. This was a constant injury yrs. back to FDNY members. They had alot of guys getting burns to their kneecaps. In addition to cooling the floor constantly, they told their members to rest their back leg at the knee on the hoseline, keeping their front leg also bent up at the knee. 2) Stay in a squat position with you front leg outstretched to check for holes and your body weight on your back leg. 3) Always have your hand on the bale so if there's any backpressure, your hand will automatically shut the nozzle down. 4) Also, if your nozzle has a flush position on it like all of the TFT adjustable nozzles, dont forget to use it after use to flush out any debris which can cause a defective stream. This will be evident next time you use it. I've had guys tell me a nozzle is defective, until I tell them to adjust it to the flush position for a few seconds, and then switch back, after which to their surprise they have a perfect stream. It's there for a reason, use it! 5) Closing a smooth bore half way will provide a coarse enough stream to perform hydraulic ventilation out a window. 6) When using a fog steam to vent the stream should be @ a 60 degree angle covering 85%-90% of the window, and 2ft back from the window. 7) Use your head when stretching a line with regards to fire location. Don't stretch 100'-200' of hose thru the front door and to the top of the basement stairs for a basement job or to the 2nd fl landing for a 2nd fl. or 3rd fl. job and then call for water. I can't tell you how many times I see this done with the end result being no water, and no line advancement due to the numerous kinks and one big pile of $hit in the hallway. Again, use your head (common sense) when stretching the line with regards to how many lenghts, where to stretch and how to stretch the line. You don't want to stretch too short, but you also don't want to stretch too much line which will have the same negative effects.

I've seen them last 30yrs! That's even after baking them occassionally in a conventional oven @ 500 degrees.

Seth get rid of those pictures now, before the Commissioner of Public Safety for WP sees them!

You're absolutely right, they are very aggressive. I honestly can't remember which Asian Country FD the documentery on cable tv was about, maybe Japan, but the requirements and standards you must meet and maintain to be a ff. within this particular Dept. were almost beyond comprehension. Everybody on the job had to be in remarkable shape, maintaining a certain body weight also, otherwise you were out. The reason being was because, this particular Dept. required all of its members to be able to run up to at least the 20th fl. I believe, if not higher, in full turnout gear, within a certain time frame. I also remember them having very long aerial ladders on which the attached baskets rode up the side rails in a matter of seconds. It really was astonishing to watch. They looked like the Ninjas of the fire service. Maybe we all should start eating more Sushi.

It usually depends though Bob on what squad or group is working, whether or not the job gets done. Some guys feel they got the job done as they're standing there looking at another urban renewal parking lot.

Why don't we invite him to the BRAVO Party where we could ROAST him? Friggin Literally!!!!!!

How about a roadtrip to SCORES in Manhattan? We'll rent a bus, providing beer and wedges, and with whatever money is left over, have a lap dance raffle(s) for Verified Members only. What da ya say?