bil14ga

Correction... you must be 18 by the last day of the month that the state exam takes place.

I second that!!! What did he say????

What I find amazing is how we as firefighters continue to believe that the system is not broken. There has to be a better way than how we are responding to our costumers emergencies. Throughout the history of man we have fixed and reinvented countless consumer products and ways to do things. The mentality of some individuals just floors me. Everything here on this board and inside our firehouses seem to be distorted into a career vs volunteer attitude. As a career firefighter/lieutenant, I have always maintained a pro volunteer attitude. A well trained volunteer makes my job easier. There can be a working system that reduces the duplication of services at a cost effective rate. We need to put our minds together on this. We need to stop worrying about the patch on the side of the rig and start worrying about the fire service we will all eventually leave for the people behind us. I am all for tradition in the fire service, but there is a time and place for tradition. I am all for pride and esprit de corps, but at some time we are going to have to swallow it. A narcissitic attitude tends to be pervasive in the fire service. We need to get it through our thick skulls that the fire service is not about the individual. It is about the people we serve.

Wow!!! Are we a little cynical?????

I posted the MCI response as I sat at the watch desk the other night and typed the response for the MCI as I looked right at it. I believe when the MCI level 1 was called the other day, the dispatcher understood that the IC needed the next level and therfore dispatched it. It could be different for the other departments in the county, but the assignment i put up earlier is Fairviews. Hope this answers the questions. Chris

In Dutchess County the MCI levels are a little different from Weschester. A Level one in most of the local departments will get you an ambulance. Additional levels of MCI will get you 5 ambulances to the scene, two ambulances relocating to different stations for backfill, and two more ambulances on standyby in their quarters. The county CAD is set up for five levels of MCI. After that I am not sure what happens.

About time that the state is talking about pushing services together. This needs to happen at all levels of government, especially the local level. Too much duplication of services... which is nothing more than government waste. Why do we need all of this apparatus when the town next door has a similar piece sitting on the floor not being used to its full potential. Look at town government... Why is there duplicate tax records at both the town I live in and at the county office building? For that matter why is there individual tax records at every town hall that duplicates the records at the county. Do you know that in Dutchess county, the town often pays the county to have tax bills made up and then the town mails them out? Why add the extra step? Have one universal tax collector at the county level. Almost makes sense! All in all it is about the little kingdoms we build. Always trying to have something we percieve (SPELLING) as better often at the expense of the poor taxpayer. As Ronald Reagan once said.... "Bigger government is not the solution to the problem... It is the problem." Lets have a thoughtful and sincere discussion on how to relieve our tax burden.

We have not been on the floor yet as it (the floor) opens tomorrow. Rest of the FDIC has been great. The presentations have exceeded my expectations.

I have never used it when operating at a call. I also do not have it on my phone.

Justin, NO CME FOR YOU!!! Tradition hater!!!!! As far as the case goes... ALS work up for R/O MI. Females with MI can present atypically. With a Hx of DM and hyperlipidemia it is a good idea to look at this first. This is not to say to not look at other possible causes. Work up should include blood sugar, full round of tubes (bloods), and a 12 lead. Regarding the ALS crew, paramedics are obligated to complete a full history and physical whenever they arrive at the scene. If there are strong BLS providers on the scene that assessed the patient, the paramedic may take that providers assessment and turf the patient BLS if it is clinically indicated. Putting the patient on a monitor in my mind is working a patient up and once that happens the patient should not be turned over BLS. Unfortunately, I see alot (not all) paramedics take the easy way out and tend to turf patient that need to be worked up. When I was working full time as a paramedic, ALS patients always got my full undivided attention. A complete history and physical was completed. I always erred on the side of working up patients as opposed to sending BLS. This was not because I did not trust the BLS crews, but instead it was my a$$ on the line if something went bad. Patients who were truely BLS were sent with the BLS crew.

It is nice, but what is up with the color??? Maybe if they put it in a bag it will ripen up a little like the apparatus in Dutchess Fairview!!! LOL

Best SuperBowl Ever. Way to go Giants!!!!

Having been a medic for a long time and ridden in numerous different ambulances, it has been my experience that they are not what they are cracked up to be. While they do have more than ample room in them, that can be a hinderance when you are working solo in the back. Items are sometimes difficult to reach. Additionally, the units I have ridden give a poor ride. This in my opinion can effect patient care. Hope this helps.

It was not a surprise that the bond was voted down. My question is do they really need that much of a firehouse. There are multiple firehouses in a very small area right around HFD. Maybe we need to look at how we provide fire service in Dutchess County. Stop wasting our hard earned tax dollars on buildings and apparatus and start spending the money on what we really need when and emergency occurs.... people!!! Just my opinion. Take it for what it is worth.

Bought and read the book. They have it at B&N. Begining of the book was tough... Lots of information that ties into the end of the book. Dry reading at first. Finished it in 2 days. Wife is reading it now. I would recommend it.

A county wide fire/EMS department is way too progressive for us up here in Dutchess County. Why would we want to improve response times, save money, and possibly save lives/property? Really now… It would be a great idea to create a county department. We could reduce the duplication of equipment (i.e. more rescue trucks than NYC), put people where we need them, and reduce response times. A career combination county wide fire/EMS department is well past due. Let’s face it we have more apparatus than we really need and it is not always where it really needs to be. Staff is at best lacking both on the career and volunteer sides. Fire apparatus and ambulances do not take care of people in their time of need. It is people taking care of people. I would like to see a system of strategically placed career rigs that would respond to alarms all alarms. Volunteers would be able to respond to alarms as well but there would be a reduction of respond on the nuisance alarms. Local fire companies would be allowed to keep their individual identities intact. There would be a true command structure. We would be able to address special operations, which is currently being neglected in my opinion. This is about resource management in a day and age where the tax dollar needs to be stretched to get the most bang for it. People and equipment are our resources. Why waste the taxpayers’ dollars on the needless duplication. A county wide system should be embraced by everyone involved. This includes career, volunteer, elected officials, and most importantly the tax payer/customer.

Funny how this job has changed so much in just the short time that I have been doing it. Why do we get into the fire service and why do we get in to the EMS business? I and a lot of the prople that I know got into this business for what I believe the right reasons... This job is about people. Taking care of people. If you are truely on the job for the right reasons you would want to have every available tool required to help people when they are in need. I notice more and more each day that members seem to forget what this job is really about. The people that pay your salary are entitled to the best possible service. This includes providing EMS in a timely manner. You are in a service business. Take care of your customers and do it with a smile.

Sorry Roofopen, it was a private joke at my local FD. Had to get my shot in with FFD941 when I had a chance. Be well and be safe. Happy holidays to all.

Do they come in black???????

When HRPC closed down its fire house, all of the apparatus and hose was given to the Fairview Fire District. The apparatus was kept in the back of the firehouse and was eventually auctioned off to the highest bidder. The highest bidder happens to be in Pleasant Valley which is where the apparatus still sits to this day. I am told that the ladder is still in fair condition, although I have also been told it sits outside. The two pieces of apparatus were sold together. The buyer was more of a Mack fan but took the LaFrance when he won the bid. The old cab over ford which was nicknamed "Yellow Bird" sat behind Nichol's for a while. I do not know it it is still there. Hope this helps Chris

I do not believe there is a law that requires career firefighters to pass FF1 or FF2. There is a law that requires firefighters to complete 229 hours of training within the fire year of employment. I got the following from the Westchester Career Academy's site. It reads as dollows: "The work and instruction that is provided in this program is mandated by the New York state general municipal law §209-w which requires all newly appointed firefighters receive a minimum of 229 hours of training in specific subject areas. Included in the framework is the C-Pat (Candidate-Physical Agility Test) which each candidate must pass within 18 months of their hiring date." the web site is as follows: http://www.westchestergov.com/emergserv/Academy/academy.htm Hope this helps.

Volunteers are considered employees of the department. This is why PESH can come asnd inspect your departments just like any career (paid) department.

One can only think that if the county gets rid of the ALS program, that the private ambulance companies will again show up. Instead of a having a planned out EMS system, Putnam County can go back to the "Mother, Juggs, and Speed" days of EMS. Only the more populated sections of the county will get coverage. The sections of the county that really need the coverage will be ingnored or get less than adequate coverage. Sorry to see this happen. It really looked like Putnam was headed in the right direction and could be a program that other counties (especially Dutchess) could look at.

The DOS is trying to get away from the use of Social Security Numbers when you sign up for classes. If you remember, when you filled out the orange card in the begining of a class the first thing you put in the boxes was your SSN. In todays day and age of idenity theft it is a prudent move.

In a word..... YES.