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Turk:

Thanks for sharing the picture with all of us. The "approved" Department attire (camo shorts/ shirt with sleeves cut-off) is an excellent visual example of what kind of state this department must be in.

I am sure the residents of this semi-rural CT town must be proud to see their fire department members dressed at a town function in this manner.

One could only imagine what type of dysfunctional Department would openly prejudice more than 300,000 fire fighters (in particular the female ones) with a slogan demeaning "paid guys".

Would it be possible to share the name of the community where this occured? I would be very interested in attending their next community event.

From the Waterbury Republican American Newspaper (8/9/06) -

Hydraulic ladder rack fails a crushes a fire fighters fingers during daily maintenance-

TORRINGTON (CT) -- A city firefighter underwent surgery at Charlotte Hungerford Hospital Tuesday to repair shattered fingers on his right hand after a hydraulic lift on Engine No. 3 malfunctioned during routine maintenance Monday afternoon.

Eight-year veteran Philip Hearn was rushed to the hospital aboard a second fire truck minutes after fellow firefighter James Valentine lifted the heavy apparatus to free Hearn. The accident, which took place during a check of the lift mechanism, is the first on-the-job injury suffered by a city firefighter in recent memory, Fire Chief John Field said.

Field said the hydraulic lift which failed swings a rack of extension ladders down from the roof of the truck to where they can be reached from the side. When the lift gave way, it dropped the weight of the lift and metal ladders it carries on top of Hearn's right hand, pinning it along with the index finger of his left hand.

Valentine, who was standing next to Hearn, suffered bruises to his forearms from the strain of lifting the heavy equipment off of Hearn by hand, Field said. "He really had to put his whole body into it."

Hearn was resting at home Tuesday afternoon. Field said it's not clear whether he will make a full recovery.

"We are taking this very seriously," Field said. "We can't have this happen again."

Field said the engine, manufactured in 2001 by Florida-based Emergency One, has been taken out of service and impounded in the city police impound lot pending the outcome of an investigation by the fire department's Training and Safety Division. It will remain there until a cause is found.

"We've impounded it just as it was when the accident took place," Field said. "Obviously, any time we take a front line piece off-line there's an effect on operations, but we'll work around it."

The manufacturer has been contacted, Field said, and will assist in the investigation. It was not known Tuesday if there have been similar incidents involving this particular model of fire engine. "That's all part of the investigation," he said.

The incident was also reported to the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Hearn's fellow firefighters are rallying around their injured brother, said Capt. Robert Belancik.

"Everybody's going to rise to the occasion," Belancik said. "The guys on the shift will all work to pick him up, you know? Going over to mow his lawn, or whatever needs to be done. We help each other out, not only in times of tragedy ... that's what's special about the brotherhood."

Just as we head into this HUGE weekend, I had a thought....

GO YANKS!

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Thursday's game (vs. Baltimore) was a good indication of what was to come.................

FYI- As a previous writer suggested....there is more going on in New Britain.

There has been a significant relationship issue since the City hired their new Fire Chief a few years ago. The Chief (who came from out of the country, I believe Bermuda) has no idea how to work with the members of the Department or the union.

The Local recently took a vote of no-confidence in the Chief (you can read more on the NB fire fighter's site at http://nbfire.us/ . Ironically, the Mayor is now against MDA? Hmmm......

Perhaps the Mayor should be more concerned with his Fire Chief, then trying to prevent the fire fighter's efforts to raise money to assist children.

There is no need for any member from MV to have to justify their actions. There should be no doubt that the responding personnel did their jobs (and did it well).

Nor is their any reason to criticize the obvious ignorance of those who lost their home to this fire (traumatic events often cause those affected to speak and behave irrationally).

The responsibility (or lack of) lies with the reporter and the newspaper, who show just how desperate they are for a story.

I know of very few fires where there is not some concern shown by a homeowner or neighbor over the fire department's tactics (sometimes it may be justified). However, this reporter clearly failed to show an ounce of objectivity and seized the emotional response of a family and chose to try and manufacture some sort of problem with the FD.

Although, should any of us be surprised that there is an overzealous and inexperienced reporter out there????

One Minor Correction, the Spartan/General that is assigned to E2 in Stamford is lettered as E12, which it will be when the new E2 comes in. E11 is I think the unnumbered Reserve used at the Training Academy, this is a white over red Mack CF that previously served as E5 and E1.

I was surprized to see the General yesterday in service as E2, as I had heard that it would not return after being damaged in a colision. I guess that rumor was wrong.

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Boog- Thanks for the correction................E11....E12 same thing (220, 221....whatever it takes....) is there even a 10 (this week?)

And yes, the General is back......as usual, Twin Lights did a fine job of making her look new again.....

The old E64 was an early 70s Seagrave that had been refurbished (not sure exactly when) with a

Spartan cab.

PS - Seth, the new rear mount for T2 is now officially done, just awaiting final inspection. Should be in town by late August.

E2 (Spartan/General) is also back in service following accident and body work. However, it is now lettered (in advance) for reserve E11 in preparation for the new HME Silver Fox for E2 due sometime early next year.

Date: 07/22/06

Time: 22:19

Location: IFO 77 Orchard Street (Waterside Section - Selleck and Orchard)

Frequency: 154.130/800 Mhz trunked

Units Operating: SFRD E2, R1, SEMS M1, M3, Supv. 901, multiple SPD units

Description Of Incident: Person trapped under auto

Writer: x152

22:19 - E2, R1, M1, M3 dispatched to the area of 77 Orchard Street. Numerous injuries in area due to disturbance. Report of one person trapped under an auto.

22:24 - E2 on scene advising R1 that they are confirming one person under an auto. R1 and E2 will be going to work.

22:26 - R1 on scene and operating with E2.

FYI-

http://www.svitrucks.com/apparatusdetails.asp?apparatusid=86

There was a similar rescue from Deptford (NJ) at the New England Chief's show last weekend.

I also took the County test but couldn't afford to take any of the jobs on the money they were offering.

Guess I'll just stick to volleying 

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On the employment application, there is usually something called the "salary range". It normally precedes the "general description of duties" and "residency requirements" descriptions on the application.

Ex: City of Hicksville

Position: Fire Fighter

Salary Range: 32,000-55,000 annually

Since salaries are set by the CBA, they are not negotiable for the individual employee (regardless of how much previous experience they claim to have).

What you see is what you get. If what is printed on the application does not interest you, then move on to the next application. There are hundreds of other prospects that will be more than happy to apply.

Thank you.

See? Was that so hard???

PS...I'm not a moderator.

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Your welcome. I am always happy to see one jam their foot so firmly into their mouth.

Sorry, I must have been confused by the words: "EMS Moderator" listed under your screen name.

How ironic that a person (who needs validation over the direction of reflective striping) would have false information clearly listed under their name (I am sure that you are working diligently to have this misrepresentation rectified).

I am glad to have satisfied your need for information. I know it may be hard for you to understand, but it is possible that you do not know everything(??????).

Perhaps in the future, you may try and respect the opinions of other members before starting your inquisition over chevron striping (it is possible that the other forum members might actually have some background with what the issues that they chose to discuss.)

Just a thought................

Once again, have a nice day.

Several years ago, the U.S. Department of Transportation conducted a study regarding rear warning protection for highway vehicles (included in this were recommendations for fire and police vehicles). The results of which appeared as recommendations in several fire service publications (you may or may not read those). One of the recommendations was to install chevron striping at the rear of the vehicle. The information went into a dull and scientific explanation into how the eyes react to the pattern. In the same dull explanation, the scientific "geniuses" found that the inverted "V" or "^" was better. I am not sure as to why (nor do I care), but that was the suggestion.

Apparently, others (including apparatus manufacturers) are also finding this "suggestion" credible because I have rarely seen a piece of fire apparatus recently delivered (with a chevron pattern) that is not in the inverted "V" pattern. Could this just be coincidence or perhaps it is actually based upon something?

You can also reference the following article from Ron Moore regarding rear warning protection for fire apparatus.

http://cms.firehouse.com/content/article/a...19§ionId=19

He (Mr. Moore) also mentions the recommended inverted "v" and refers to section 6E.02 of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD).

I do not have that document in front of me, but I believe they (MUTCD) talk about chevron pattern applications (or perhaps Mr. Moore was also just taking a shot-in-the-dark?)

Gee you learned something...........

Now the world is a better place

I will let you find it on your own

Thanks everyone for your help!

Care to elaborate? It's a design no? Don't THEY determine how it's mounted?

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Check your DOT specs. The recommended chevron application is to invert from the mid-line out. The purpose of this design is to steer the eyes (ultimately, the oncoming vehicle) away from the mid-line of the vehicle.

///////\\\\\\\\ = good

\\\\\\\/////// = not so good

So to answer your question, Yes THEY do have the right to do whatever they want, but the point was that it was not the proper pattern. But do what you want, I don't care.

Interesting..........however, this would be a significant financial increase for AMR's fleet spending in the CT area. In the "for-profit" world, the additions to these buses may price them out of consideration.

Also - not to nit-pick, but the chevron pattern (in the rear) is inverted from the recommended application?

I have noticed on recent deliveries of the American LaFrance Eagle type of chassis' that LaFrance appears to regularly use a white rectangular cornering light on their front bumper extensions. This does not appear to be common with other manufacturers.

I was wondering if anyone has experience with this type of light and whether it is an effective use of light for apparatus when cornering at night (or if there is interference from other warning lamps in the vicinity)?

Thanks-

Not to change the subject, but is Fairfield combo, or all career?

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Fairfield is mostly career, but there are 2 volunteer companies (1 in the Southport area, the other is in Stratfield area). A FFD member could answer this better, but I believe the vol. units are mostly support companies.

Most of the time if you're driving an engine, won't you be outside pumping the rig/standing by, not inside investigating the cause of the alarm?  Therefore why would you need to have on bunker pants, coat, helmet, etc.??  Unless the weather is inclement or you are going to leave the rig unattended for some reason (but be in the immediate vicinity) the driver/operator should be close to the rig at all times, especially if there are guys on a line inside a building.  If you are a later arriving rig (i.e.second alarm company) then I can see getting dressed early, but for the most part aren't your drivers standing by outside?

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J -What if you are at an accident and the stored propane tanks in the car's trunk blows up? The ensuing fireball could level the entire neighborhood and the MPO. Full gear and SCBA (with gloves) a must.

Like clockwork......thanks for the insight.........

I am fairly sure one of the SCBA tanks had 3800 psi and one fire fighter did not shave adequately before his shift that morning (!!! ????)

How much more can you quarterback the incident?????

Perhaps a better way to look at it...........properly staffed (and abundant) fire apparatus arrived within seconds and handled the situation. The fire(s) went out without extension to the densely developed and populated neighborhood. A good example of why resources need to arrive and be deployed on scene as quickly as possible.

Would it have worked better if one FF arrived (with his airpack straps nice and tight) with one fire truck, followed by numerous tone-outs for additional personnel, followed by requests for mutual aid from several other departments, followed by more tone-outs, etc.....?

I do not condone or promote unsafe operations/tunnel vision/etc., but can certainly understand if a few SFFD members left their straps loose and grabbed the hose instead of donning their mask.

There are plenty of SFFD bosses who have probably also watched the tape and will make decisions on whether their personnel need to be reminded of the value of SCBA at every fire incident. I am also sure they are glad that their personnel acted quickly and kept a traffic accident from becoming a major fire incident.

Just a thought ----- Volunteer EMS is missing more calls. Volunteer fire turning out fewer members to calls. New fire apparatus prices are, on average, $500,000 for pumpers, $700,000-1,000,000 for aerials. New firehouses are rediculously big and rediculously expensive.

Is this like someone who is 5' tall buying the biggest truck around because he feels inadequate? Are we really hiding something from the public with smoke screens? Does EVERY fire district need to have rescues, two spare engines, tower ladders, and 5 chiiefs cars??

Maybe some young firefighters should realize that if someone put thier minds to it, sold some of this excess equipment, merged some fire ditricts, and streamlined fire budgets, many areas could have a paid fire service.

This is not the answer for every district. And notice I did not say "professional" fire department because many volunteers are professional. However, this lack of response to everyday calls could be the springboard to a career path for some firefighters in the future.

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Good points and well put. A good example to use for recent spending concerns could be found in the current thread about "wet-downs". There is an example of a nearby department in New Jersey operating at a wet-down. The video speaks for itself.........

That's the "standard" response for anyone from:  1) a career dept., 2) a "big" city, or 3) an area of the country where they don't have wetdowns.  No surprise here. 

I wonder what they'd think of guys like us who actually venture outside of our home county to attend such events?  On second thought, maybe I don't want to know!

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Nothing like a little prejudice to affirm one's ignorance................enjoy your wetdowns this summer.......

i personally think its other drivers.

they dont pay any attention to an oncoming fire truck.

they are not hard to see or hear coming down the road.

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I hope you are kidding with a ridiculous comment like that, right?

If a volunteer is the same as paid, but does not recieve financial compensation, why can't he be allowed to quit/resign?

In some places, the position may be considered a job?