FirNaTine

How about guys lay off the Cigars/Cigarettes too? Now there's a start! I believe there's some Depts out there that have a "No Smoking Policy" in order to become and stay a FF, like Boston and some other New England Depts.. There's also plenty of guys that wont even mask up for a car fire so can we please stop blaming our Dirty Turnout Equipment for every ailment we get!

How about guys lay off the Cigars/Cigarettes too? Now there's a start! I believe there's some Depts out there that have a "No Smoking Policy" in order to become and stay a FF, like Boston and some other New England Depts.. There's also plenty of guys that wont even mask up for a car fire so can we please stop blaming our Dirty Turnout Equipment for every ailment we get!

They should have all gone to the Hospital! Where's the Union on this one?

Is this seriously an article about a car fire ?

The new MVFD Commissioner will be the greatest guy, till the first time he has to say no.

It doesn't work in FDNY and didn't work in YFD! Gotta get an outsider to turn that Circus around! Enough with the Nepotism and Political favors! Start promoting individuals based on merit to these Positions!

It never works! Look what happened in YFD yrs ago!

They should start by raising the Standards! Stop hiring so many knuckleheads! Now there's a brilliant idea!

They should start by raising the Standards! Stop hiring so many knuckleheads! Now there's a brilliant idea!

Most of them don't care trust me!

Well, the new Commissioner will be more in touch with the guys....he's got 12 years on the job and went straight from Firefighterto Commissioner.

I was being sarcastic about the going from firefighter to Commissioner part.

They should start by raising the Standards! Stop hiring so many knuckleheads! Now there's a brilliant idea!

They need to revamp that whole department. It definitely starts from the top down. The way things have been run are what has put the department in the position it sees itself today. I hope that with the new mayor and his hope to put the city on the right track, that that starts with a reboot of the fire department. It's not fair to neighboring communities that their fire service is put out of their jurisdiction for long periods of time to fight a fire in a city, where if they had the right number of manpower and equipment, they could probably handle most of those calls on their own.

Ridiculous! I've heard him talk before and he really doesn't seem all that put together. Maybe I'm just used to seeing how the FDNY has been doing things lately but shouldn't they put somebody in that role who has more command experience, not just some union guy because he's good with the guys. That role is about leadership and bringing a department to the next level.

I don't see Mount Vernon as ever being properly staffed or equipped.
A large portion of the city is rented, and the property owners don't live in the city. When a structure burns down, it's considered "urban renewal" to the City. Fire Protection has not been a priority for the city for decades. The same problems come up over and over again. When I Google'd articles about Mount Vernon Fire Department in the Journal News/Reporter Dispatch/Daily Argus and NY Times, the same problems just repeat year after year.
It's sad, because there are a lot of guys in Mount Vernon who are passionate about firefighting, and are excellent firefighters. With the right leadership (on the City level), they have enormous potential. But it seems whenever they start getting traction on an issue, something comes up. The negative publicity seems to be endless. The morale is terrible. The stations, equipment, and apparatus are in disrepair. The hiring practices don't ensure the best possible candidate, and a lot of the good ones try to transfer out, or wait patiently for retirement as soon as possible. Guys lose hope that they'll ever be promoted due to politics. With this, they lose talented guys, and the heritage of knowledge and experience that goes with it. The new generation is set up for failure from the moment they walk in the door.
The city doesn't truly care about economic development and the potential the city has, and has failed at every effort to attract real sustainable development , so they'll never have a solid tax base to pay for the aforementioned.
Even with proper funding, excellent leadership, and productive collaboration, these are issues that will take years, if not decades, to repair.

These guys elected him President knowing full well the criminal charges? Shows who's in the majority in that Union I guess.

Was something wrong with that hydrant I/f/o of exposure 2 on corner?

That section of Palmer Avenue from Chatsworth Avenue to the Movie Theater was probably one of the most burnt down blocks in America beginning in the sixties and into the early eighties.

Empress Ambulance has sponsored a pipes and drums band.The name of the band is Empress pipes and drums

So one department couldn't respond because their rig was broken, another department sends 3 career guys on a truck leaving their department understaffed because the vols can only drive the rescue, what a joke

How many career staff were on the assignment. 3? 4? If that's all that's on duty at the station on any given shift, isn't Larchmont playing a shell game to begin with?

Larchmont TL-7 was sent to cover a Yonkers station during last night's 4th alarm.
They sent all their career staff, and put the Town Of Mamaroneck FD on standby to cover Larchmont for 9 hours.
Larchmont strips down it's department by sending 1 truck M/A, and by doing so to the point they need another department to cover for the most basic of alarms, taking from that department's coverage as well. What's wrong with this picture?

Why not just use automatic mutual aid from Millwood?? Their substation is 1500 feet away with an engine, tanker, brush rig AND 4500 gallons of water.

The article doesn't mention what happens when the grant money expires. Are the new hires kept on? If so by higher tax revenue? or money available through attrition of existing firefighters that are not replaced by new firefighters and you just end up short staffed again.
Allow me to be naive for a moment. I need a break from work. Can we all agree on a National minimum staffing for an engine and a truck. Then lets look at whether or not a department truly has the financial ability to meet that minimum staffing standard. If not, they deserve grant money themselves until their economies can sustain the expense. To be clear, not 'ideal' staffing but agreed upon 'minimum' staffing.
Maybe the money could be redirected from supporting organizations like Planned Parenthood who focus on the 'not quite living' and given to the organizations that truly focus on the living.
Just a thought.

Nobody cares! The residents reelected Davis as mayor despite all the shady dealings in his past and his utter disregard of emergency services. Davis doesn't care about the firefighters because they're not voters in his little fiefdom. He will continue to destroy what was once a vibrant department and then cry to the state or feds for funds to fix it after a tragedy occurs.

He's a scam artist and playing his best game!