res6cue

2011 Rockland County Totals from 44-Control's CAD*
Dept 1 - Blauvelt - 162
Dept 2 - Central Nyack - 215
Dept 3 - Congers - 324
Dept 4 - Haverstraw - 260
Dept 5 - Hillburn - 95
Dept 6 - Hillcrest - 939
Dept 7 - Monsey - 817
Dept 8 - Nanuet - 591
Dept 9 - New City - 872
Dept 10 - Nyack - 610
Dept 11 - Orangeburg - 304
Dept 12 - Pearl River - 375
Dept 13 - Piermont - 171 fire, 191 EMS**
Dept 14 - Rockland Lake - 14
Dept 15 - Sloatsburg - 248
Dept 16 - Sparkill - 155
Dept 17 - Spring Valley - 1,076
Dept 18 - Stony Point - 338
Dept 19 - Suffern - 336
Dept 20 - Tallman - 714
Dept 21 - Tappan - 156
Dept 22 - Valley Cottage - 234
Dept 23 - West Haverstraw - 228
Dept 24 - West Nyack - 430
Dept 25 - South Spring Valley - 219
Dept 26 - Thiells - 235
TOTAL - 10,309 (up 1,309 from last year)
* Actual totals are a bit higher, these numbers only reflect calls dispatched by the county and don't take into account "silent alarms" and whatnot
** No FD's in Rockland run EMS except for Piermont FD's "13-EM" BLS ambulance

2011 Rockland County Totals from 44-Control's CAD*
Dept 1 - Blauvelt - 162
Dept 2 - Central Nyack - 215
Dept 3 - Congers - 324
Dept 4 - Haverstraw - 260
Dept 5 - Hillburn - 95
Dept 6 - Hillcrest - 939
Dept 7 - Monsey - 817
Dept 8 - Nanuet - 591
Dept 9 - New City - 872
Dept 10 - Nyack - 610
Dept 11 - Orangeburg - 304
Dept 12 - Pearl River - 375
Dept 13 - Piermont - 171 fire, 191 EMS**
Dept 14 - Rockland Lake - 14
Dept 15 - Sloatsburg - 248
Dept 16 - Sparkill - 155
Dept 17 - Spring Valley - 1,076
Dept 18 - Stony Point - 338
Dept 19 - Suffern - 336
Dept 20 - Tallman - 714
Dept 21 - Tappan - 156
Dept 22 - Valley Cottage - 234
Dept 23 - West Haverstraw - 228
Dept 24 - West Nyack - 430
Dept 25 - South Spring Valley - 219
Dept 26 - Thiells - 235
TOTAL - 10,309 (up 1,309 from last year)
* Actual totals are a bit higher, these numbers only reflect calls dispatched by the county and don't take into account "silent alarms" and whatnot
** No FD's in Rockland run EMS except for Piermont FD's "13-EM" BLS ambulance

Congrats on the progress. It was a surprise to see the application, and best of luck with the system. Yes, it was a no brainer to go 700MHz.

Paging/alerting will indeed be on UHF T-Band, simulcast from all 10 sites as well as over low band. Specific frequency yet to be determined, but it's a fairly safe bet it will fall somewhere in between 470 and 471 MHz, probably closer to the 471 side.

I had a feeling this thread would pop up here when I saw your post on RF.
Anyone following the progress of this system knows it's been a solid decade in the works, with a lot of big potholes and speed bumps along the way. There is finally some real concrete and steel progress being made on the system.
As the FCC applications indicate, the system will now operate in the 700 MHz spectrum instead of the UHF T-Band "470 MHz" spectrum. In a nutshell, the UHF licenses were very restricting as far as location and power output, since UHF frequencies are in such demand in the Metro area. The move to 700 MHz was more or less a no-brainer, given the fact that the 700 MHz spectrum was already divided up by a committee, with each county assigned their own specific frequencies if they wished to license them. The timing was perfect for Rockland to take advantage of those allocated frequencies, given the fact that no UHF trunking equipment had been ordered yet.
The system itself will be Motorola P25 Phase II TDMA. At present, there are no scanners that can track a true Phase II TDMA system, although as these systems become more popular it's almost a given that both Uniden and GRE will come out with models that track them. The final Phase II TDMA standard was only approved at the end of last year, so it's still fairly new.
It's also worth noting that the low band paging on 46.18 will be kept around for the foreseeable future. As long as the low band transmitters continue to operate and replacement parts can be found, 46.18 will be kept on the air. UHF paging was also in the original plans, however I can't confirm at this time whether or not that's still going to happen.
Also 44-Control is getting a new building as part of this whole project. The old room in the basement of the FTC is too small to house all the trunking equipment. In fact, it's really undersized just for the day to day operations, much less when the poop hits the fan.
PS - Take all of this with a grain of salt, as this system has changed so many times over the years, and I'm not an official spokesman for the system or county.

I am currently away at school, but when I was back for break at the end of March, we had received the new E-74 (with the pics posted, thanks firedude) but it was not yet in service, pending some last minute things. It very well could be in service now, but I would have to ask some of the guys in my dept. first before saying any more on that. We have been running Blauvelt's old rig for quite some time now as E-75, and it has served us really well, but needless to say a new engine has been a LONG time coming for us. The E-one that was posted from E-bay was actually sold to a vendor who repairs fire apparatus for use in 3rd world countries. From what I was told, the old 74 was actually repaired and shipped to Vietnam, where it will be used as a first due rig again. This is the most up-to-date information as I know of, I am sure other NWP members who are up on the current stuff unlike me could give you the best info. Hope this helps.

Sounds good to me. They are helping the community and learning skills that will help them get a job on the outside, and not wasting away shanking eachother.

Maybe the man was just a little upset that his property was burning down, maybe we should put ourelves in his shoes for a minute. Perhaps he was upset with the fact that a man with fire department credentials, which he probably assumes makes him a firefighter, was doing nothing to help while his barn burned. People sometimes do things they wouldn't normally do when they are faced with a crisis, lets cut the guy a little slack and wait for the facts before we basically start accusing the guy of arson.

$23,500 on a study that says officers used just over half of their allowable sick time (11.3 of 19.5 days) and should use less. Wow, tha'ts money well spent.
If they get 19.5 days and use less shouldn't they be complimented? I expected the article to say that the sick-time was being abused. Anyone with kids has to take time off when they can't go to school (either because they're sick or the school closed). Must have been a slow news day.

2 things, Rockland is a much smaller County, it's easier to keep a finger on the "pulse" of whats going on, and the demand for classes needed. The other thing it is an all Volunteer County, members see it as ONE fire service.
I have been on this site for years, forgot how or why I stumbled here, but there seems to be a lot of friction between career and Volunteer. Many in Westchester do not see it as one fire service. The posts speak for themselves at times.

I really ought to know better than to keep this thread alive, but I just can't resist chiming in with my semi-annual post.
First of all, Rockland has its fair share of drama and BS, just like everywhere else. The grass is always greener from the outside looking in. Let's get that clear right up front.
Rockland is a small, tight knit county and fire service community, always has been. Part of that is due to the fact that the county's entire fire service is 100% volunteer going back 177 years and counting. Another part of that is due to geography, namely the mountains and Harriman/Bear Mountain parks running the entire western and northern borders, the river running the entire eastern border, and another state running the entire southern border. Of the 9,000 or so annual fire calls, very few of those are interaction with out of county depts (going or coming).
The RCFTC is a nice facility, and has always been very progressive in making sure the latest and greatest techniques and props are available. The flashover simulator that was installed in the early 90s is a good example of that, it was one of the first in the entire US. I remember depts coming from hundreds of miles away to train in it. It also helps to have so many FDNY brothers as volunteers and instructors in the county, and some damn fine men at that. While most people these days only know the name Andy Fredericks, the tradition of FDNY men among Rockland's ranks goes back a hundred years or more. Many of the fire companies in the county have FDNY men listed as charter members. That tradition continues to this day, with many of those volunteering FDNY brothers working in elite squad and rescue companies in the city.
I'm sure there are other factors that contribute to Seth's perception. He mentioned Rockland Paramedic Services, which as someone who started out in Spring Hill EMS 21 years ago, I can attest to how much it meant to have a single ALS provider operating in the county. Back when I started, it was the Good Samaritan Hospital medics, and Nyack Hospital medics. They eventually merged to become what is now RPS. There were various ALS services in Haverstraw/Stony Point throughout the years, such as Mobile Life, Empress, and actually too many for me to even remember. Those two towns are now covered by Rockland Mobile Care, which is RPS for all intents and purposes. They run a Type II up there instead of the usual fly car because one or both of the towns requires the ALS provider to have emergency transport capability.
Well anyways, discussing EMS is getting off topic, since only one fire dept in the county, Piermont, runs EMS calls. That might be another reason the fire service is so tight knit, the fact that it still is a FIRE service, and hasn't been torn apart by outside distractions. 9,000 annual runs, only 179 of them Piermont's ambulance going on BLS runs.
The county Volunteer Firefighters Association is a strong organization that does it's share to keep morale up among the 42 fire companies that make up the 26 depts. I cannot remember a time when the annual county parade didn't have 100% attendance from all 42 companies. It's almost unfathomable to think a company ever would miss that parade.
That's just my 2 cents, from a guy on the inside looking out.

I really ought to know better than to keep this thread alive, but I just can't resist chiming in with my semi-annual post.
First of all, Rockland has its fair share of drama and BS, just like everywhere else. The grass is always greener from the outside looking in. Let's get that clear right up front.
Rockland is a small, tight knit county and fire service community, always has been. Part of that is due to the fact that the county's entire fire service is 100% volunteer going back 177 years and counting. Another part of that is due to geography, namely the mountains and Harriman/Bear Mountain parks running the entire western and northern borders, the river running the entire eastern border, and another state running the entire southern border. Of the 9,000 or so annual fire calls, very few of those are interaction with out of county depts (going or coming).
The RCFTC is a nice facility, and has always been very progressive in making sure the latest and greatest techniques and props are available. The flashover simulator that was installed in the early 90s is a good example of that, it was one of the first in the entire US. I remember depts coming from hundreds of miles away to train in it. It also helps to have so many FDNY brothers as volunteers and instructors in the county, and some damn fine men at that. While most people these days only know the name Andy Fredericks, the tradition of FDNY men among Rockland's ranks goes back a hundred years or more. Many of the fire companies in the county have FDNY men listed as charter members. That tradition continues to this day, with many of those volunteering FDNY brothers working in elite squad and rescue companies in the city.
I'm sure there are other factors that contribute to Seth's perception. He mentioned Rockland Paramedic Services, which as someone who started out in Spring Hill EMS 21 years ago, I can attest to how much it meant to have a single ALS provider operating in the county. Back when I started, it was the Good Samaritan Hospital medics, and Nyack Hospital medics. They eventually merged to become what is now RPS. There were various ALS services in Haverstraw/Stony Point throughout the years, such as Mobile Life, Empress, and actually too many for me to even remember. Those two towns are now covered by Rockland Mobile Care, which is RPS for all intents and purposes. They run a Type II up there instead of the usual fly car because one or both of the towns requires the ALS provider to have emergency transport capability.
Well anyways, discussing EMS is getting off topic, since only one fire dept in the county, Piermont, runs EMS calls. That might be another reason the fire service is so tight knit, the fact that it still is a FIRE service, and hasn't been torn apart by outside distractions. 9,000 annual runs, only 179 of them Piermont's ambulance going on BLS runs.
The county Volunteer Firefighters Association is a strong organization that does it's share to keep morale up among the 42 fire companies that make up the 26 depts. I cannot remember a time when the annual county parade didn't have 100% attendance from all 42 companies. It's almost unfathomable to think a company ever would miss that parade.
That's just my 2 cents, from a guy on the inside looking out.

I've always had a positive view of the Rockland fire service, and this is just my personal viewpoint. Of course they have their drama and issues, but I just think that countywide, their fire service is run better.
My experience in Rockland has always been good. I took my Essentials of Firefighting in 1997 at Westchester Fire Training Center. The training center was falling apart at that time, and most of the training facilites and props were broken. That led me to take Initial Attack I & II, Ladder Company Operations, etc at Rockland's FTC. My experience with Rockland far surpassed Westchester at the time. I had, as one of the instructors, Jerry Knapp, who was excellent. They also had a flashover simulator. They also had trailers to bring fire service training directly to firehouses, a move Westchester put an end to several years ago. They also, at the time, offered far more courses then Westchester. Of course, Westchester Fire Training Center has progressed and gotten better, but at the time there was a vast difference.
Working in Empress EMS's tranport division in Rockland when it existed, I met and made numerous friends in the Rockland fire service. I also got to see it's EMS systems in action. This included a single countywide ALS provider, and many VAC's that were getting busy hiring EMT's- in 1997. Rockland also offered *countywide* ALS FAR before Westchester did.
And Gordon Wren seems to always be very proactive with the county side of the fire service. He seems to get the fire service there good publicity, and works to unite the Rockland Fire service, and not divide them.
The departments over there are very busy, yet don't seem to have the issues Westchester does with getting out with well trained and strong manpower. I have always been impressed.

I'm not familiar with that system, but probably not. IamResponding.com looks like a 3rd party "middle man" solution.
FireWatch is an official project of the Rockland County 911 Center aka 44-Control. What you see on that site is being fed directly from the CAD system at 44-Control in (just about) real-time.

Thanks, Seth, I'll be sure to pass it along to the PTB at 44.
Between the "official" live audio feeds on RadioReference.com that are connected directly to Control's console and stream right out of the radio room, and now this online CAD site, Rockland is really trying to do right by its all-volunteer fire service.

After many months of hard work and planning, the Rockland County Sheriff's Communications Division is very pleased to introduce 44-Control's "FireWatch" Online CAD website. FireWatch is a real-time feed of fire incidents from 44-Control's Computer Aided Dispatch System.
http://www.44-control.net
Please take the time to read the important disclaimer and information regarding FireWatch at the following link:
http://www.44-control.net/disclaimer__information_page.htm
Any questions or comments regarding FireWatch should be emailed to firewatch@44-control.com
Please do NOT call the dispatchers at 44-Control with questions regarding FireWatch.

Many cities down here have Live CAD on their webpages. Some are even linking them to Twitter and Facebook now.
This site looks nicely done, and I hope 60 Control will follow suit. I'm glad to see sites like these.
Nice job by all involved with 44-Control.net!

After many months of hard work and planning, the Rockland County Sheriff's Communications Division is very pleased to introduce 44-Control's "FireWatch" Online CAD website. FireWatch is a real-time feed of fire incidents from 44-Control's Computer Aided Dispatch System.
http://www.44-control.net
Please take the time to read the important disclaimer and information regarding FireWatch at the following link:
http://www.44-control.net/disclaimer__information_page.htm
Any questions or comments regarding FireWatch should be emailed to firewatch@44-control.com
Please do NOT call the dispatchers at 44-Control with questions regarding FireWatch.

2010 Rockland County Totals from 44-Control's CAD*
Dept 1 - Blauvelt - 188
Dept 2 - Central Nyack - 160
Dept 3 - Congers - 322
Dept 4 - Haverstraw - 223
Dept 5 - Hillburn - 107
Dept 6 - Hillcrest - 827
Dept 7 - Monsey - 684
Dept 8 - Nanuet - 517
Dept 9 - New City - 595
Dept 10 - Nyack - 437
Dept 11 - Orangeburg - 271
Dept 12 - Pearl River - 314
Dept 13 - Piermont - 161 fire, 179 EMS**
Dept 14 - Rockland Lake - 15
Dept 15 - Sloatsburg - 173
Dept 16 - Sparkill - 182
Dept 17 - Spring Valley - 957
Dept 18 - Stony Point - 292
Dept 19 - Suffern - 299
Dept 20 - Tallman - 716
Dept 21 - Tappan - 197
Dept 22 - Valley Cottage - 210
Dept 23 - West Haverstraw - 195
Dept 24 - West Nyack - 356
Dept 25 - South Spring Valley - 205
Dept 26 - Thiells - 218
TOTAL - 9000
* Actual totals are a bit higher, these numbers only reflect calls dispatched by the county and don't take into account "silent alarms" and whatnot
** No FD's in Rockland run EMS except for Piermont FD's "13-EM" BLS ambulance

I'll bet you Piermont has a four-wheel drive ambulance....

2010 Rockland County Totals from 44-Control's CAD*
Dept 1 - Blauvelt - 188
Dept 2 - Central Nyack - 160
Dept 3 - Congers - 322
Dept 4 - Haverstraw - 223
Dept 5 - Hillburn - 107
Dept 6 - Hillcrest - 827
Dept 7 - Monsey - 684
Dept 8 - Nanuet - 517
Dept 9 - New City - 595
Dept 10 - Nyack - 437
Dept 11 - Orangeburg - 271
Dept 12 - Pearl River - 314
Dept 13 - Piermont - 161 fire, 179 EMS**
Dept 14 - Rockland Lake - 15
Dept 15 - Sloatsburg - 173
Dept 16 - Sparkill - 182
Dept 17 - Spring Valley - 957
Dept 18 - Stony Point - 292
Dept 19 - Suffern - 299
Dept 20 - Tallman - 716
Dept 21 - Tappan - 197
Dept 22 - Valley Cottage - 210
Dept 23 - West Haverstraw - 195
Dept 24 - West Nyack - 356
Dept 25 - South Spring Valley - 205
Dept 26 - Thiells - 218
TOTAL - 9000
* Actual totals are a bit higher, these numbers only reflect calls dispatched by the county and don't take into account "silent alarms" and whatnot
** No FD's in Rockland run EMS except for Piermont FD's "13-EM" BLS ambulance

Yet another example of how to take what could have been a positive story and having the press morph it into something that it is ridiculous and even worse that management didn't stand behind their personnel and are even entertaining it. This to me is a positive public interaction and that makes us what used to be very respected and highly regarded persons by society. Are we not suppose to try to make something that could be a bad experience into something a little lighter for anyone we deal with? I would have no problem with allowing a kid (if he were to actually be in the rear of the bus with me as I would have put him in the front seat if it was free, but that's another point) to make the transmission if it took the anxiety of the situation off of him/her just a bit. Some of us use to carry stickers that were fire department badges to give to kids and ask them if they'd like to be a firefighter and help us with whatever the call would be and be part of the team. The kids loved it, it helped us on medical calls if it were for them or a family member and often the families loved it and would give compliments for us doing so. Give me a break already with all this BS. If that was bad then lets ban firehouse visits by the public as well.

http://www.brianduddy.com/g/sv031210

http://www.brianduddy.com/g/sv031210
Video -

I'm personally not a big fan of Metz aerials for most places, but from what I know of Spring Valley, it's as close to a perfect fit as any in a non-rural setting. The Metz excels at maneuverability due to it's size and weight. Couple this with an ALF MM tower down the street just a few blocks, some sort of aerial a few more blocks from that and at least another MM Peirce tower on the other end of town, and you have a truck that can get a position where the other can't. Nice to have that ability even if the actual functionality is somewhat limited.

Rescue H&L Haverstraw's 1969 Peter Pirsch TDA "4-99" runs with a roofless cab. It was delivered with roof intact, and was cut off not long afterwards. Sadly, the aerial has failed inspection a few weeks ago, and is now in limited service until it can be replaced with a new rig. Truly the end of an era.