moggie6

The requirements where I work for the volunteers are Firefighter 1, Survival, and the NYS FAST Class as well as taking part in some "in house" Rapid Intervention Work......
I think the formation of actually FAST\RIT teams is a little overrated for the area that I work. WITH THAT BEING SAID I do agree that there should be a Rapid Intervention Team for anyone who is operating in the building. Rapid Intervention Team work is everyone's job. If you are putting an SCBA on your back you should be fluent in rescuing the person you are working along side of.
Also the FAST and RIT (what ever you want to call them) works a lot better when they are dispatched on the initially with the first in units. Very few fire departments have a FAST team on the initial dispatch. It's very frustrating to hear a neighboring fire department get dispatched for a fire and know that we have to wait for the 2nd Alarm, 10-75, IT'S A WORKER!!! or what ever magic words the IC has to say to get us rolling out the door. Add into that turn out times for some of the volunteer departments and you are looking at a 5-15min window where with the exception of your 2 in 2 out crew no one is there. And for the departments out there who read this that have a FAST\RIT on the initial dispatch to a building fire my hats are off to you.

I just want to thank the Roosevelt Fire Company 1 and Croft Corners Fire Company for their donation to ensuring the success of this bus trip.

The requirements where I work for the volunteers are Firefighter 1, Survival, and the NYS FAST Class as well as taking part in some "in house" Rapid Intervention Work......
I think the formation of actually FAST\RIT teams is a little overrated for the area that I work. WITH THAT BEING SAID I do agree that there should be a Rapid Intervention Team for anyone who is operating in the building. Rapid Intervention Team work is everyone's job. If you are putting an SCBA on your back you should be fluent in rescuing the person you are working along side of.
Also the FAST and RIT (what ever you want to call them) works a lot better when they are dispatched on the initially with the first in units. Very few fire departments have a FAST team on the initial dispatch. It's very frustrating to hear a neighboring fire department get dispatched for a fire and know that we have to wait for the 2nd Alarm, 10-75, IT'S A WORKER!!! or what ever magic words the IC has to say to get us rolling out the door. Add into that turn out times for some of the volunteer departments and you are looking at a 5-15min window where with the exception of your 2 in 2 out crew no one is there. And for the departments out there who read this that have a FAST\RIT on the initial dispatch to a building fire my hats are off to you.

I will certainly undergo psychological testing when every law enforcement agency in NYS does the same thing for their officers.

I would like to see more "bail out system used firefighter close call" type stories. To kind of back up this whole bail out system idea. I know why the legislation was passed etc but at the end of the day someone is making money on the deaths of brother firefighters. It would be nice to see and read stories of the systems being used and someones face saying "hey man I thought I was done and then I used the xyz system and got out of there."

the CAD can be better...but it takes the people who run emergency communications to take steps to make it progressive.

the CAD can be better...but it takes the people who run emergency communications to take steps to make it progressive.

Correct sir!

Anyone ever dealt with Braun? What's been your experiences with them? And has anyone seen this ambulance in a crash? Thanks for the info and help.

County wide dept......

Just wondering if anyone here has ever done a trip out to Detroit to take photo's of fires etc. If you did how were you received. Seems to be a common practice out there..and how were the men and women of the Detroit Fire Department? Were they friendly or just didn't want to be bothered?

I'm sure the tax payers in Hartsdales district are up in arms about it all. Oh wait the probably are letting the commissioners and chief do their jobs.

Montgomery County Maryland had purchased a CAFS fleet of fire engines. CAFS was thought to be so effective that they switched their whole fleet of fire trucks over to it. Word on the street is that one of the volunteer fire companies refused the county CAFS engine and people said things like "Oh they are not progressive" or "what are they thinking?" or "they just don't want to get with the times". Currently, there is a general order out to not use the CAFS system on the engines. Seems like when you run some fires on a regular basis the true colors of CAFS come out. The issues they experiences may seem like training issues, but believe me they have one of the best training divisions around. Issues were, but not limited to losing tools at building fires in the bubbles, not being able to see stuff and being covered in the solution, maintance issues on their engines,and a considerable amount of time it took to flush every connection and discharge after each CAFS use.
Technology is great and I'm all for stuff to make my life easier on the line. However it is an expensive tool that may work but at what cost?
The International City/County Management Assocication (ICMA) recently completed a study on the Sandusky, OH Fire Department. The study can be veiwed here: http://www.ci.sandusky.oh.us/documents/ICMAFinalReportSFDOperations2011.pdf
The study refers to CAFS and FIT-5 Fire inturrupters as options to reduce staffing or equipment on the road, and essentially says that this equipment can compensate for inadequate management or failure to properly fund public safety operations by politicians. We know what it takes to battle a fire, and we know what kind of resources we require, however, we have to always look at what the other side is thinking, is this what we would want for OUR Fire Service?

Montgomery County Maryland had purchased a CAFS fleet of fire engines. CAFS was thought to be so effective that they switched their whole fleet of fire trucks over to it. Word on the street is that one of the volunteer fire companies refused the county CAFS engine and people said things like "Oh they are not progressive" or "what are they thinking?" or "they just don't want to get with the times". Currently, there is a general order out to not use the CAFS system on the engines. Seems like when you run some fires on a regular basis the true colors of CAFS come out. The issues they experiences may seem like training issues, but believe me they have one of the best training divisions around. Issues were, but not limited to losing tools at building fires in the bubbles, not being able to see stuff and being covered in the solution, maintance issues on their engines,and a considerable amount of time it took to flush every connection and discharge after each CAFS use.
Technology is great and I'm all for stuff to make my life easier on the line. However it is an expensive tool that may work but at what cost?
The International City/County Management Assocication (ICMA) recently completed a study on the Sandusky, OH Fire Department. The study can be veiwed here: http://www.ci.sandusky.oh.us/documents/ICMAFinalReportSFDOperations2011.pdf
The study refers to CAFS and FIT-5 Fire inturrupters as options to reduce staffing or equipment on the road, and essentially says that this equipment can compensate for inadequate management or failure to properly fund public safety operations by politicians. We know what it takes to battle a fire, and we know what kind of resources we require, however, we have to always look at what the other side is thinking, is this what we would want for OUR Fire Service?

Montgomery County Maryland had purchased a CAFS fleet of fire engines. CAFS was thought to be so effective that they switched their whole fleet of fire trucks over to it. Word on the street is that one of the volunteer fire companies refused the county CAFS engine and people said things like "Oh they are not progressive" or "what are they thinking?" or "they just don't want to get with the times". Currently, there is a general order out to not use the CAFS system on the engines. Seems like when you run some fires on a regular basis the true colors of CAFS come out. The issues they experiences may seem like training issues, but believe me they have one of the best training divisions around. Issues were, but not limited to losing tools at building fires in the bubbles, not being able to see stuff and being covered in the solution, maintance issues on their engines,and a considerable amount of time it took to flush every connection and discharge after each CAFS use.
Technology is great and I'm all for stuff to make my life easier on the line. However it is an expensive tool that may work but at what cost?
The International City/County Management Assocication (ICMA) recently completed a study on the Sandusky, OH Fire Department. The study can be veiwed here: http://www.ci.sandusky.oh.us/documents/ICMAFinalReportSFDOperations2011.pdf
The study refers to CAFS and FIT-5 Fire inturrupters as options to reduce staffing or equipment on the road, and essentially says that this equipment can compensate for inadequate management or failure to properly fund public safety operations by politicians. We know what it takes to battle a fire, and we know what kind of resources we require, however, we have to always look at what the other side is thinking, is this what we would want for OUR Fire Service?

Montgomery County Maryland had purchased a CAFS fleet of fire engines. CAFS was thought to be so effective that they switched their whole fleet of fire trucks over to it. Word on the street is that one of the volunteer fire companies refused the county CAFS engine and people said things like "Oh they are not progressive" or "what are they thinking?" or "they just don't want to get with the times". Currently, there is a general order out to not use the CAFS system on the engines. Seems like when you run some fires on a regular basis the true colors of CAFS come out. The issues they experiences may seem like training issues, but believe me they have one of the best training divisions around. Issues were, but not limited to losing tools at building fires in the bubbles, not being able to see stuff and being covered in the solution, maintance issues on their engines,and a considerable amount of time it took to flush every connection and discharge after each CAFS use.
Technology is great and I'm all for stuff to make my life easier on the line. However it is an expensive tool that may work but at what cost?
The International City/County Management Assocication (ICMA) recently completed a study on the Sandusky, OH Fire Department. The study can be veiwed here: http://www.ci.sandusky.oh.us/documents/ICMAFinalReportSFDOperations2011.pdf
The study refers to CAFS and FIT-5 Fire inturrupters as options to reduce staffing or equipment on the road, and essentially says that this equipment can compensate for inadequate management or failure to properly fund public safety operations by politicians. We know what it takes to battle a fire, and we know what kind of resources we require, however, we have to always look at what the other side is thinking, is this what we would want for OUR Fire Service?

Montgomery County Maryland had purchased a CAFS fleet of fire engines. CAFS was thought to be so effective that they switched their whole fleet of fire trucks over to it. Word on the street is that one of the volunteer fire companies refused the county CAFS engine and people said things like "Oh they are not progressive" or "what are they thinking?" or "they just don't want to get with the times". Currently, there is a general order out to not use the CAFS system on the engines. Seems like when you run some fires on a regular basis the true colors of CAFS come out. The issues they experiences may seem like training issues, but believe me they have one of the best training divisions around. Issues were, but not limited to losing tools at building fires in the bubbles, not being able to see stuff and being covered in the solution, maintance issues on their engines,and a considerable amount of time it took to flush every connection and discharge after each CAFS use.
Technology is great and I'm all for stuff to make my life easier on the line. However it is an expensive tool that may work but at what cost?
The International City/County Management Assocication (ICMA) recently completed a study on the Sandusky, OH Fire Department. The study can be veiwed here: http://www.ci.sandusky.oh.us/documents/ICMAFinalReportSFDOperations2011.pdf
The study refers to CAFS and FIT-5 Fire inturrupters as options to reduce staffing or equipment on the road, and essentially says that this equipment can compensate for inadequate management or failure to properly fund public safety operations by politicians. We know what it takes to battle a fire, and we know what kind of resources we require, however, we have to always look at what the other side is thinking, is this what we would want for OUR Fire Service?

Hopefully the arsonist is found, and justice is swift and blinding. May our brother's soul find peace.

Montgomery County Maryland had purchased a CAFS fleet of fire engines. CAFS was thought to be so effective that they switched their whole fleet of fire trucks over to it. Word on the street is that one of the volunteer fire companies refused the county CAFS engine and people said things like "Oh they are not progressive" or "what are they thinking?" or "they just don't want to get with the times". Currently, there is a general order out to not use the CAFS system on the engines. Seems like when you run some fires on a regular basis the true colors of CAFS come out. The issues they experiences may seem like training issues, but believe me they have one of the best training divisions around. Issues were, but not limited to losing tools at building fires in the bubbles, not being able to see stuff and being covered in the solution, maintance issues on their engines,and a considerable amount of time it took to flush every connection and discharge after each CAFS use.
Technology is great and I'm all for stuff to make my life easier on the line. However it is an expensive tool that may work but at what cost?
The International City/County Management Assocication (ICMA) recently completed a study on the Sandusky, OH Fire Department. The study can be veiwed here: http://www.ci.sandusky.oh.us/documents/ICMAFinalReportSFDOperations2011.pdf
The study refers to CAFS and FIT-5 Fire inturrupters as options to reduce staffing or equipment on the road, and essentially says that this equipment can compensate for inadequate management or failure to properly fund public safety operations by politicians. We know what it takes to battle a fire, and we know what kind of resources we require, however, we have to always look at what the other side is thinking, is this what we would want for OUR Fire Service?

Montgomery County Maryland had purchased a CAFS fleet of fire engines. CAFS was thought to be so effective that they switched their whole fleet of fire trucks over to it. Word on the street is that one of the volunteer fire companies refused the county CAFS engine and people said things like "Oh they are not progressive" or "what are they thinking?" or "they just don't want to get with the times". Currently, there is a general order out to not use the CAFS system on the engines. Seems like when you run some fires on a regular basis the true colors of CAFS come out. The issues they experiences may seem like training issues, but believe me they have one of the best training divisions around. Issues were, but not limited to losing tools at building fires in the bubbles, not being able to see stuff and being covered in the solution, maintance issues on their engines,and a considerable amount of time it took to flush every connection and discharge after each CAFS use.
Technology is great and I'm all for stuff to make my life easier on the line. However it is an expensive tool that may work but at what cost?
The International City/County Management Assocication (ICMA) recently completed a study on the Sandusky, OH Fire Department. The study can be veiwed here: http://www.ci.sandusky.oh.us/documents/ICMAFinalReportSFDOperations2011.pdf
The study refers to CAFS and FIT-5 Fire inturrupters as options to reduce staffing or equipment on the road, and essentially says that this equipment can compensate for inadequate management or failure to properly fund public safety operations by politicians. We know what it takes to battle a fire, and we know what kind of resources we require, however, we have to always look at what the other side is thinking, is this what we would want for OUR Fire Service?

Let us keep the comments down until we hear otherwise with respect to everyone involved.

Let us keep the comments down until we hear otherwise with respect to everyone involved.

I'm curious...why do cops not have this problem? I have never heard of the PBA taking a stance on Full Time Officers working for Part Time Depts. What about part time police officers working at full time jobs? I have a police officer that comes into the fire house every now and then and will say, "Hey man I do your job for free. There is no difference between you and me except you get the pay check." So I tell him that i'm taking the 8 hour security class and the NYS Armed Guard Class and I can do his job for less. There is no difference between him the law enforcement officer and me the "qualified armed guard". He backs up and says no no no no you can't do that.
I agree with Bneichs. the big thing is training standards.....

I'm curious...why do cops not have this problem? I have never heard of the PBA taking a stance on Full Time Officers working for Part Time Depts. What about part time police officers working at full time jobs? I have a police officer that comes into the fire house every now and then and will say, "Hey man I do your job for free. There is no difference between you and me except you get the pay check." So I tell him that i'm taking the 8 hour security class and the NYS Armed Guard Class and I can do his job for less. There is no difference between him the law enforcement officer and me the "qualified armed guard". He backs up and says no no no no you can't do that.
I agree with Bneichs. the big thing is training standards.....

I don't care who is helping with the lifting. Just get it over with and move on. Next call please! If anything maybe the topic should have been turned around to "How Lift Assist help with Public Relations". The first agency through the door wins the PR. (that is not an excuse for a lights and siren response.)
The other lift assist, i.e. helping EMS agencies out with lifting, are other excellent opportunities for public relations.