firefighter36

Cogs, I'll bite. We see how "incentives" aren't helping the recruiting situations, or aren't recruiting the right people (look at the benefits post and problems statewide with LOSAP.) I think that is more controversy than it's worth. I'll give you this one. If someone works in their district, but lives close, why not. This idea sounds like an idea straight out of Rural-Metro, and seeing as though they have lost alot of contract firefighting ventures, I'll take that as it didn't work all too well.If I was working for the highway department or DPW, I'm sure civil service would not be happy to find out that firefighting was part of my allowed work duties. Additionally, people who do this and get injured can end up in a hell of a situation with worker's comp. I also wonder why departments hire "janitors, administrators, & mechanics" If you're doing the work of a firefighter, or being paid for the other job to go on calls, you should be paid as a firefighter, and covered and compensated as such. It's an insult to all parties involved, and again, if civil service knew, I'm sure they'd tell you that it's against the law. I think Capt. Nechis put it best some time ago. Any department who cannot handle their own first alarm fire needs to seriously re-evaluate their situation. While your suggestion to muster up a group of volunteers is noble, is it pheasable, will it work out long term? Or is it just another band aid to cover some bruised pride? I'm all for saving tax money, and it seems ludacris to have a paid department for a 400 call per year department in theory, but remember that we are in the business of what might happen, not what has or will happen. If they can't provide properly trained and certified volunteers to do the job, then they have to look at other avenues.

Is this 4 career firefighters to work 1 at a time 24/7, or 4 firefighters for daytime coverage? We've said it before and we've said it again NO ONE should have to work on their own,or even respond on their own.

Not a bad idea, and with more people enrolled, the cost per person to the municipality may even be reduced. I could imagine needed to set up some pretty stringent ground rules for making this available, (i.e. annual attendance, years of membership, etc.)

Great thought Seth, and a totally fair question. What kind of features does everyone think we would find on such a rig? I'm not familiar with what function these rigs serve (i.e. relay pumper, rescue, engine, etc.) Can anyone from those parts fill us in on what E-58 & 59 currently carry?

From my understanding, the lawyer who went after this firefighter makes her living going to municipalities claiming she can save them money in disability payments. In my humble opinion, that is more despicable than ambulance-chasing personal injury lawyers. I doubt any of us would want our careers ended by an injury, with the possibility of permanent disability. Congrats to our brother, first and foremost. It is nice to know he will be able to provide for his family, even after a career-ending injury.

Unreal. I heard they put those medians in on grand because the locals were mad that trucks started to take that route instead of Raymond. Great that all these NIMBY people win changes in their road, and my commute to work (5 miles) varies from 5 minutes to 30 minutes depending on the time of day and traffic lights! As for the PoJo comments, people will stop at nothing to mouth off at emergency services, and sitting behind a computer makes them awful brave....

I live out that way on the town/city line- Hooker Ave traffic has increased immensely since that traffic circles were put in. Vassar wanted them, and they go them on the state's dime. Criminal.

Bill, awesome shots, and like usual, we couldn't evade your camera lens. Thanks for coming out and capturing these fine shots.

Bike 1 got there pretty quick, but we found out quick that his favorite member of the FAST team wasn't on duty when he asked Chad and I were Mr. Widwey was!

You mean I am not the beneficiary of that deceased prince's fortune that is in the bank in Nairobi?

Anyone know who or where or how people get hired?

I'm not one for being a politician. That being said, we had a State-level politician at my department's board of fire commissioners meeting mast night. What started out with him touting the need for consolidation, studies, etc, turned into a big mess. What struck me the most, was his attitude towards us (the firefighters!) The following statements were made: 1. This politician referred to the Ambulance as a "Meat Wagon." When one of our officers took exception, his response was, "I was in the Air Force, I can call it that, have a little fun with this." 2. This same politician then referred to our Fire Commissioners as "politicians" and stated that "politicians are only out to get elected and re-elected." Interesting, since after all, this man is up for Re-Election in November..... 3. As the board and the public were going back and forth, 6 of us form the job sat in the back of the room with long faces over what was going on as the politician said directly to us "You guys need to learn to smile." Anyways, there was reference made to nearly every aspect of our job and employment. This man makes far more than us, and as I understand it, he only really is accountable to being in Albany when the assembly is in session. Not bad for a part-time job. With the state calling for budget cuts, and the current political climate, does this guy have any clue what impact his statements made on his audience? Was he playing to the masses for votes? Was he even thinking to begin with? I know we can sit here and talk about the rigors of what we do, but its true that only those of us who are in the public safety field truly understand the meat and potatoes of the profession. I intend to respond to this man's words in the best way I know how, with a vote for his opponent this November. My true question for everyone is, though, if these are the people making decisions in Albany, do we really stand a chance?

Well said x134! Having grown up in the New Haven area myself, I can affirm Izzy, that he was not in the best section of town, and while our brother definitely did not deserve to get car-jacked, the best advice is to always be alert, and have a way out. Additionally, a strong offense can sometimes be the best defense. Was the victim in work clothes? or was he in street clothes? Bottom line is that property is replaceable by insurance, and if someone wants it bad enough, they will find a way to get it. No possession is worth your life, but your life is valuable enough to be protected by any legal means. If a legal handgun isn't an acceptable or realistic defense, then why Izzy did the Jewish Community in New Haven have armed neighborhood patrols last year? As long as people aren't going out looking for a fight, a handgun can be someone's best possible last line of defense.

Maybe I stated it wrong, I think he was definitely play-cating to people's angst about the tax situation, but his comments made his ideas (which were pretty good) less credible.

Craig does a lot of great things in the community. Good Job and congrats!

It was Mr. Miller, and while his statements lack intelligence, I was trying to point out that politicians really have no idea what we are facing. That being said, his opponent has my vote in November.

One of the comments on the article reads..... I know we have discussed the 2nd amendment and how it is interpreted, and I doubt that carrying guns as firefighters or EMS would be feasible or for that matter, safe. Not to open a can of worms or take the thread off track, but what does everyone think about this? On another topic, how many members hold CCW permits and exercise that privilege?

I agree 100%

You took the words right out of my mouth! Bottom line- IAFF is big labor, and Democrats support big labor and collective bargaining. They have supported every democrat as long as I have been a member. Democrats however, believe in expanded government, i.e. government handouts. It is hard to swallow that our public safety staffing and budgets, as well as pay/benefits will hang in the balance while our government is perfectly willing to take care of people who refuse to take care of themselves. McCain has my vote, because his platform aligns best with my personal beliefs.

Having grown up in New Haven, CT, I can say I appreciate the white paint job! It is unique, and IMO, adds a touch of class to a rig! Definitely doesn't look bare or cheap! Good luck with the new rig!

He turned up, just 20 minutes later with the police about 5 blocks off the search area!

Chelsea (Dutchess County) has excellent Pierce commercial cab engines, tankers, and I think a rescue as well. Also, Grasslands fire brigade has a well-designed mini-pumper. Jim, can you post a few Chelsea pictures? As for your spec's, are you looking for something along the lines of a big utility or a smaller engine?

A lot of people take the easy route and blame the departments as a whole, or the cities, who then project the problem on the unions. All professions have their bad apples, and since we are public employees, people quickly play the "I pay your salary" card. Ultimately, we all pay the price, and come under some intense scrutiny. Obviously, we get paid for things that may happen, and we are not spending every minute of our shifts working. The public and city manager types seem to take this very personally, mostly for lack of understanding our jobs. Add in a bad employee committing blatant fraud, and well the whole thing blows up in our face. It is proven that internet use in corporate America can account for as much as 20% productivity loss. We don't see private employees' W-2s being foiled, nor do their bosses report their work habits to the news media. With the economy, we are under the microscope, and as crappy as that is, it is something we have to deal with head-on, by educating the public. I think most of the career brothers and sisters make a fair living wage, thanks to their union. The union is able to bargain for terms of work, salary, benefits, etc. It is also there to represent an employee regarding discipline, which may in fact be making sure that they are punished fairly according to the terms of the collective bargaining agreement, not to get them out of trouble without facing consequences. Aside from non-forthcoming politicians who lay blame on us for their (mis)management of public budgets and tax dollars, we can sometimes be our own worst enemies, and our injured-bodybuilder pal from Boston is a fine example of this. I do think, however, that the reporter has little or no clue of what he firefighting business is all about, and it shows in his anti-union rhetoric and his playing of the "I play your salary" and "You sleep at work" cards. Those are two insults that I don't take personally because they show right away that the person playing them clearly lacks understanding of the mission we are tasked with. Just my $.02

Moose, good points. It is inexcusable for departments not to supply their volunteers with the essentials; Pagers, Turnouts, Uniforms, Training, Physicals, and the like. A banquet and a family outing are also acceptable, and I don't view any of those as "compensation" (i.e. salary, benefits, etc.) Volunteers are given proper status as public employees in NY, and if you are injured, you are covered. This is appropriate as well. If your department does not supply you with the tools to do the job, how can they expect you to do your job? I am a career firefighter, and as such, I am compensated for my time, and given medical, retirement, etc. Just as most other employees in other career fields receive. The fire department is my employer, and firefighting is my job. Although I hate to look at being a firefighter as "Just going to work" (it is WAY more than that to all of us) for the purposes of this discussion I have to. A lot of us don't get the incentives FASNY is looking to get passed, nor do we expect them. We all sit here and harp on training, brotherhood, etc. But the simple truth as I see it is that FASNY does everything possible to keep training standards low, and touts "saving tax dollars wasted on career FD salaries." I am convinced that a great deal of the rift between the career/volunteer service come from FASNY. How do I know this? I went to Albany to lobby for firefighter safety and 90% of the politicians I spoke with didn't know that there were Career FDs other than FDNY in New York, and they showed us all of the propaganda that FASNY supplied them with. I have no problem with a few tax breaks to help cover the costs of volunteering. It shows appreciation for the service, and to be honest, with the costs of living increasing like they are, active volunteers deserve it. My problem is that they are made TOO ACCESSIBLE! It is easy to get a LOSAP pension for just making meetings and drills, and going on Minimal Calls. Same goes for the tax credits. I view that as an insult to the volunteer brothers and sisters out their who bust their backsides doing the real work. Does someone who shows up for the social stuff really deserve to ride your coat tails to the same financial benefits? I sure don't think so. Just my .02, but there are few politicians who are not given the tools to do their service to the public. And if we lost 100 politicians or CEOs a year to LODDs, do you think they would get the help they needed? Funny how the same thing doesn't happen to the fire service. Stay safe out there.

I'm willing to bet that FASNY is in some way involved in all of those pieces of legislation. They are a political machine in Albany, and like someone else said, too bad their interest isn't public safety.