Bnechis

Yes the majority of departments are volunteer.
 
5 are career or if they have volunteers, they no longer respond to calls.
9 are combination with the majority of responders being career ( in some cases the volunteers are exterior only and only have a handful left)
4 are combination with the majority of responders being volunteer.
and Port Chester.
 
So their are more volunteer departments. But what do they protect?
 
the population of Westchester County is 972,634
 
434,622 people live in communities with the 5 career depts. (approximately 45%).
 
177,397 people live in communities with the combination depts. with mostly career response (approximately 18%).
 
Thats 612,019 people (63%)
 
The communities with the majority being volunteer are hard to calculate as they include fire districts that do not have census data, but it is totaled at no more than 360,615. (37%).
 
 
 

Yes the majority of departments are volunteer.
 
5 are career or if they have volunteers, they no longer respond to calls.
9 are combination with the majority of responders being career ( in some cases the volunteers are exterior only and only have a handful left)
4 are combination with the majority of responders being volunteer.
and Port Chester.
 
So their are more volunteer departments. But what do they protect?
 
the population of Westchester County is 972,634
 
434,622 people live in communities with the 5 career depts. (approximately 45%).
 
177,397 people live in communities with the combination depts. with mostly career response (approximately 18%).
 
Thats 612,019 people (63%)
 
The communities with the majority being volunteer are hard to calculate as they include fire districts that do not have census data, but it is totaled at no more than 360,615. (37%).
 
 
 

Yes the majority of departments are volunteer.
 
5 are career or if they have volunteers, they no longer respond to calls.
9 are combination with the majority of responders being career ( in some cases the volunteers are exterior only and only have a handful left)
4 are combination with the majority of responders being volunteer.
and Port Chester.
 
So their are more volunteer departments. But what do they protect?
 
the population of Westchester County is 972,634
 
434,622 people live in communities with the 5 career depts. (approximately 45%).
 
177,397 people live in communities with the combination depts. with mostly career response (approximately 18%).
 
Thats 612,019 people (63%)
 
The communities with the majority being volunteer are hard to calculate as they include fire districts that do not have census data, but it is totaled at no more than 360,615. (37%).
 
 
 

Yes the majority of departments are volunteer.
 
5 are career or if they have volunteers, they no longer respond to calls.
9 are combination with the majority of responders being career ( in some cases the volunteers are exterior only and only have a handful left)
4 are combination with the majority of responders being volunteer.
and Port Chester.
 
So their are more volunteer departments. But what do they protect?
 
the population of Westchester County is 972,634
 
434,622 people live in communities with the 5 career depts. (approximately 45%).
 
177,397 people live in communities with the combination depts. with mostly career response (approximately 18%).
 
Thats 612,019 people (63%)
 
The communities with the majority being volunteer are hard to calculate as they include fire districts that do not have census data, but it is totaled at no more than 360,615. (37%).
 
 
 

Their is a science to fleet management and many departments have no idea about this.
What is the best time to replace a rig? Much depends on its condition, wear and tear etc. A small department that runs 300 calls a year vs. a busy one doing 10,000. etc.
But their are a number of factors to consider:
1) NFPA standards list 25 years max life, but only if the vehicle has a safety upgrade at 15 years. How many safety updates has the industry seen in the last 25 years? seatbelts, antilock breaks, automatic traction control, tilt testing, etc.? What is the liability on keeping rigs longer than this?
2) Resale value. At 10 years and 1 day the resale value of apparatus dramatically drops. Their are some large depts. that have a very progressive program to remove all rigs from primary service at 8 years and place them into the spare fleet. They are sold before their 10th year. The maintenance costs avoided, plus the resale value mean these departments actually spend less (over a 30-40 comparison) than those depts. that keep the rig until its only value is for scrap metal.
3) Maintenance Costs. Most apparatus components are covered under warranties, almost all run out by 8-10 years. The cost of maintaining older apparatus is dramatic compared to new (particularly when many costs are covered by warranties). Experience shows that in a fleet of 20 vehicles, the 2 oldest may take up to 80% of the maintenance budget. And it is not uncommon for depts. to spend 5-10%/yr. of the cost of a replacement on older apparatus. This does not take into account the down time which is hard to measure financially. As many major manufacturers have gone out of business these costs and time goes up.
4) Budget Cycle - Most depts. never set a long term replacement cycle. This creates major financial stress and causes delays in purchasing which will increase costs (particularly interest costs for bonding). If you have 100 apparatus in your fleet and you determine that the average life you want is 10 years, then every year you need to buy 10 new rigs. If you have 4 rigs and you want 20 years than every 5 years you need to buy a rig. This pattern must continue forever. If the rig ages get to close together, your costs get piled on in a very short period. If you have a steady pattern it is easier to budget and maybe even save for.
Replacement cost (average):
2 engines $500,000 each
1 ladder $1,000,000
1 Rescue $250,000
Your average is $562,500. If you buy one new rig each year you need to budget $112,500 every year (plus inflation) and you will maintain your fleet at no rig over 20. and a new rig every 5 years.

Yes and still do.
 
Apparently if Isis gets their hands on flow data the region is doomed. National security says no one can know this info.

Correct on who to blame. No one but those THREE CHIEFS.
 
Regardless of how any other members of these departments felt about this subject, it is solely the responsibility of those chiefs. As the leaders of the fire service, it is up to those chiefs to make the right decision based on what is best for its members and the public. "Those THREE CHIEFS Own this - NOBODY else". They had the final say. They made the choice. They are responsible. Not anybody else.
 
 However, it is up to the entire membership to realize just what these individuals did. They put YOU and the CITIZENS at a GREATER RISK in making this decision. It is up to the membership to make that perfectly clear to both the political leaders and the citizens as well. There is no denying it that without these eight career firefighters, EVERYONE could suffer. Any knowledgeable Chief would certainly go AGAINST this kind of decision and then let the cards fall as they may.
 
I hope these chiefs are fully aware of just how this entire matter backfired on them. I also hope if there are other chiefs out there who have considered this kind of action, perhaps they should RECONSIDER.
 
 By making this choice, these THREE CHIEFS have not only let those eight Port Chester Firefighters down, but also its entire volunteer membership and the people who live and work in that town.

It's very common out west and some parts of Fla. 
 

The 3  stooge's in charge have asked the captains for a list of volunteers that will work over night   to cover the Rye Brook station . 5 of the 7 company's so far have turned them down with no answer from the other 2 . 

 
Absent from most of this banter has been the giant elephant that is the Port Chester volunteers.
 
Now I am not suggesting that the rank and file were part of the negotiations prior to the dismissal of the entire career force, but this thread looks to be painted with financial blame with little said about the animus toward the Union.
 
So where is the widespread support from the PCFD volunteers? Yes, there are a handful out there support the laid off members, but with claims of upwards of 300 volunteers to support the village...one would think that more than a handful would show visible support?
 
Why have more volunteers not taken a stand with their "brother" career firefighters?
 
Have we not heard time and time again "that we are all brothers?", "the fire doesn't care if you are paid or volunteer", "I am a professional too" and other countless canned lines of absolute BS for years on this board and others out there.
 
Where is the cry of the volunteers? Where is the Chief pounding the desk?
 
In places like Lawrence (MA) and Providence (RI) were departments were dissimated due to the agenda of a Mayor, Fire Chiefs have resigned in protest (no worries, some boob is always found to sit-in), but the leader took a stand in protest.
 
I'll throw the gauntlet to the PCFD Chief and other "leaders" at his side....you sure have been quiet about this issue. Your silence is deafening. When will you stand?
 
There must be a bunch of hearing impaired individuals that live in "la-la-land" on this board if they still want to pretend that this was solely a financial crisis. This appears to be nothing more than good old fashioned retribution against a small labor union.
 
You want to know why?....Wait for the court documents and depositions...nothing like a nice controlled and sterile legal environment to find truth and oppress political smoke.
 
Who will stand? The Chief? His subordinates? The Volunteers?
 
BMA 
 
 
 
 
 

If that is the plan, it makes sense, but why collect the gear before issuing new stuff? 

If that is the plan, it makes sense, but why collect the gear before issuing new stuff? 

There are NYS laws that require Police and Fire. But they do not define it. So if you have 2 volunteers and an Indian tank you can call it fire protection and you are covered.

 
Rye Brook owns the house on King St.
 
A number of posts have assumed that PCFD was only providing an engine and a career firefighter from 7 pm to 7 am.
 
They were also providing (not getting into quality), the balance of the response to alarms (not mutual aid) 24/7. So even daytime when RBFD was staffed, PCFD automatically responded. Also PCFD Chiefs provided the IC since RBFD has no officers.

You do the possible; the impossible is just going to have to wait.

It is clearly not a financial issue. Watch the village board meeting on their website.
 
1) they state they want to add cops
2) they state they failed to pass the tax cap override 30 days prior (as required by law)
3) they stated they can only add cops if they cut the budget elsewhere (since they can't legally raise taxes)
4) they started with a number of cuts, including the $600,000 in salary/benefits for the career firefighters 
 
now here is is the kicker.......
 
5) they included dropping the Rye Brook "payment" (with no explanation). This payment is approximately $1,000,000 for fire protection.
 
So how many cops can they hire with this math? $600,000 - $1,000,000 = negative $400,000. In other words, the village will have to come up with an additional $400,000 to fund the FD. 

If Rye Brook presently has eight firefighters and they picked up the eight dismissed firefighters from Port Chester and paid their salaries with the million they no longer have to give the PCFD. That would give them . 16 members on the Department, the same number of career firefighters many of the smaller jobs in Westchester have right now give or take a few ===Larchmont, Pelham Harrison, Pelham Manor etc. When appropriate officers could be developed from the group, ie One Captain, three Lieutenants and twelve firefighters on 24. hours a day coverage
A four person or three person shift could take care of the vast majority of smells and bells calls before the need for mutual aid. 
 The benefit for Rye Brook would be a professional Department for about what they are paying now without having to deal with the contract and any future PCFC drama ,additionally, they would get fully trained veteran firefighters well versed in their Department and community. ( they work there now)
 The eight Port Chester firefighters would again be employed and their families protected.
  I think it would be worth a conversation. it could really be a win-win-win all around.

Make no mistake about it, this whole thing was orchestrated by the 3 chiefs.  I quote the Mayor in his attempt to justify this to me "This was all balanced against our volunteer response capabilities and their contingency plan."

Aux officers are not properly trained to be a police officer.  They are a peace officer if I'm right. and in Westchester I believe most Aux while in uniform performing such duties they carry a gun.  For the most part Aux are just a security force at local events, parades, fireworks, sporting event etc...   Usually don't take action and call for regular patrol car if something happens.   In NYC they don't carry guns and usually are at street fair events etc..   They don't have training and or take classes in law which basically will protect you.  And basically don't go through tactics training.   At least a volunteer FF is given some type of training for Interior FF or Haz Mat.  But professional FF and professional cops go through an academy spending months training to do what we do.  We also go through hours of training every year to keep certified and stay sharp on our skills.  And last but not least professional cops and FF can't disappear for years or months and then just come back and go to alarms. 

#RyeBrook Mayor Paul Rosenberg responds regarding elimination of paid #PortChester firefighters. 
"To my Rye Brook Friends and Neighbors:
I want to bring you up as to date with a very important issue which has arisen in in the past 24 hours.  A shared fire services contract with the Village of Port Chester requires them to staff the Rye Brook firehouse with one “career” firefighter from 7:00 PM to 7:00 AM daily.  In the event of a fire, they would respond together with numerous Port Chester volunteer firefighters.  
Last evening, as part of its budget adoption, the Port Chester Board of Trustees voted to remove the “career” firefighters from their budget, moving to an all-volunteer fire department.  When that happened, Port Chester put all “career” firefighters on leave, including the firefighter who was staffing the Rye Brook firehouse.  At that point, we made the decision to staff the Rye Brook firehouse overnight with Rye Brook Fire Department personnel.  
Despite Port Chester’s breach of contract, the Village of Rye Brook will ensure that the Rye Brook firehouse will be staffed around the clock while we consider all of our legal options.  As in the past, the Port Chester volunteers will continue to respond.
Please be assured that the safety of our residents is of paramount concern to us, and we taking every step to protect your safety. 
I will continue to keep you informed as events warrant."

It is clearly not a financial issue. Watch the village board meeting on their website.
 
1) they state they want to add cops
2) they state they failed to pass the tax cap override 30 days prior (as required by law)
3) they stated they can only add cops if they cut the budget elsewhere (since they can't legally raise taxes)
4) they started with a number of cuts, including the $600,000 in salary/benefits for the career firefighters 
 
now here is is the kicker.......
 
5) they included dropping the Rye Brook "payment" (with no explanation). This payment is approximately $1,000,000 for fire protection.
 
So how many cops can they hire with this math? $600,000 - $1,000,000 = negative $400,000. In other words, the village will have to come up with an additional $400,000 to fund the FD. 

It is clearly not a financial issue. Watch the village board meeting on their website.
 
1) they state they want to add cops
2) they state they failed to pass the tax cap override 30 days prior (as required by law)
3) they stated they can only add cops if they cut the budget elsewhere (since they can't legally raise taxes)
4) they started with a number of cuts, including the $600,000 in salary/benefits for the career firefighters 
 
now here is is the kicker.......
 
5) they included dropping the Rye Brook "payment" (with no explanation). This payment is approximately $1,000,000 for fire protection.
 
So how many cops can they hire with this math? $600,000 - $1,000,000 = negative $400,000. In other words, the village will have to come up with an additional $400,000 to fund the FD. 

#RyeBrook Mayor Paul Rosenberg responds regarding elimination of paid #PortChester firefighters. 
"To my Rye Brook Friends and Neighbors:
I want to bring you up as to date with a very important issue which has arisen in in the past 24 hours.  A shared fire services contract with the Village of Port Chester requires them to staff the Rye Brook firehouse with one “career” firefighter from 7:00 PM to 7:00 AM daily.  In the event of a fire, they would respond together with numerous Port Chester volunteer firefighters.  
Last evening, as part of its budget adoption, the Port Chester Board of Trustees voted to remove the “career” firefighters from their budget, moving to an all-volunteer fire department.  When that happened, Port Chester put all “career” firefighters on leave, including the firefighter who was staffing the Rye Brook firehouse.  At that point, we made the decision to staff the Rye Brook firehouse overnight with Rye Brook Fire Department personnel.  
Despite Port Chester’s breach of contract, the Village of Rye Brook will ensure that the Rye Brook firehouse will be staffed around the clock while we consider all of our legal options.  As in the past, the Port Chester volunteers will continue to respond.
Please be assured that the safety of our residents is of paramount concern to us, and we taking every step to protect your safety. 
I will continue to keep you informed as events warrant."

There are NYS laws that require Police and Fire. But they do not define it. So if you have 2 volunteers and an Indian tank you can call it fire protection and you are covered.

#RyeBrook Mayor Paul Rosenberg responds regarding elimination of paid #PortChester firefighters. 
"To my Rye Brook Friends and Neighbors:
I want to bring you up as to date with a very important issue which has arisen in in the past 24 hours.  A shared fire services contract with the Village of Port Chester requires them to staff the Rye Brook firehouse with one “career” firefighter from 7:00 PM to 7:00 AM daily.  In the event of a fire, they would respond together with numerous Port Chester volunteer firefighters.  
Last evening, as part of its budget adoption, the Port Chester Board of Trustees voted to remove the “career” firefighters from their budget, moving to an all-volunteer fire department.  When that happened, Port Chester put all “career” firefighters on leave, including the firefighter who was staffing the Rye Brook firehouse.  At that point, we made the decision to staff the Rye Brook firehouse overnight with Rye Brook Fire Department personnel.  
Despite Port Chester’s breach of contract, the Village of Rye Brook will ensure that the Rye Brook firehouse will be staffed around the clock while we consider all of our legal options.  As in the past, the Port Chester volunteers will continue to respond.
Please be assured that the safety of our residents is of paramount concern to us, and we taking every step to protect your safety. 
I will continue to keep you informed as events warrant."