RJB896

I agree with you all the way. I actually favor manual transmission over automatic.I am not sure when you were an officer in the department, but SOP/SOG's are in the process of being rewritten and clarified under the request of a few new members.
And you are correct in saying that MA-10 has its assignments I should have been more careful in what I said. But, that leads to why the SOP/SOG's are being rewritten to show what rigs respond to what type of call. MA-10 is still first due to brush fires, car fires, dumpster fires, etc. However, MA-10 can only seat 2 comfortably, but I have been stuffed in there and responded with one FF on either side of me. If there are enough FF's waiting in the bays to respond, MA-10 would not respond.
New drivers are now being trained on U-44 as the first truck just to get them accustomed to driving an emergency vehicle. They then move onto MA-10, R-36, E-247/248 and then L-52 and T-15.

I agree that an updated version of the rig is needed....
I do however, have a few comments to respond to:
Rigs should not be used based on levels of "interest". Rigs are to respond based on SOP/SOG's set forth by the officers of the department. MA-10 always had its assigned runs and never had a problem getting on the street when I was an officer. Historically a rookie chauffeur had to qualify on MA-10 before they could begin driver training on any of the full sized rigs with the truck and tanker coming last. I'm not sure if that changed in the past 7 years but honestly it shouldn't have.
Finally, the fact that the rig having a manual transmission was a factor to folks not driving it is frustrating to me. In my mind, if you are not capable of mastering the relatively simple task of driving a vehicle with a manual transmission, then how can you possibly master the complex study and execution of fire-ground hydraulics, rural water supply, aerial operations, etc, etc... The old MA-10 has a silky smooth, fully synchronized transmission, a very predictable clutch action, and enough torque that it's nearly impossible to stall.... If anything its a great rig to teach someone how to operate an emergency vehicle AND how to drive stick on simultaneously. I taught more then one member how to drive stick on it....
Just try and drive the Brockway and see what a real manual transmission is like!!!!
I'm not sayin'... I'm just sayin'

I believe that the new MA-10, as well as the old one, is going to be designated as a first due truck along with Ladder 52 just in case L-52 is too big to make it into the drive way. This didn't work with the old MA-10 because there was a lost of interest in this truck. Nowadays MA-10 only makes it out when there are no more trucks in the bays to respond, or as a traffic truck on the oh so busy Taconic State Parkway.You are right in saying that this truck is a very unique addition to the Millwood fleet, but a new MA is very much needed and wanted by the department.

Although not involved in the design of this rig it has been discussed for quite some time. MA-10 has always been a unique rig with much to offer not only to the residents of Millwood but to anyone in need of mutual aid. The current MA-10 with 750gpm pump and 1000+ feet of 4 inch hose could go places that a traditional Class A pumper couldn't and provide nearly as much capacity. With a good water supply I personally have pumped over 1000gpm through it. Unfortunately, not many other departments recognized (despite our efforts to let its capabilities be known) that this was more than a typical 200-400gpm brush truck / mini pumper.
The new rig will undoubtedly take the next step in providing even greater versatility and firepower by doubling the amount of water to 300gal and increasing the pump capacity to 1000gpm. Although the rig will be slightly longer due to it being a crew cab, the addition of 3 more firefighters and air paks will make this rig a fully functioning engine and create a great all terrain all weather suppression unit. It's perfect for operating in gated driveways, narrow alleys, off road behind large residences, static water sources, etc.
Even though I no longer live in Millwood, I would encourage Northern Westchester departments to learn as much about the capabilities of this rig as possible and see where it might be of beneficial use... I believe Goldens Bridge has similar capabilities with E139 also carrying LDH and having a 1000gpm pump on a F550 chassis.

The way the county calls it's 'alert levels" is inconsistent with the way the rest of the flight world. HPN has classified 3 different types of calls, Alert level 1, Alert level II and Alert Level III (have yet to figure out what they mean)... The rest of the world has Alert 1, Alert 2, and Alert 3, with levels 1-5. So you can have an "Alert 2 level 4" incident.
The levels are laid out like so:
Alert 1 Airport (Possible Crash) - minor problems or equipment failures
Alert 2 Airport (Probable Crash) - major problems (mechanical or electrical) or major failures of equipment / systems
Alert 3 Airport (Crash/Aircraft Incident)
Level 1) 1-2 Souls
Level 2) 3-10
Level 3) 11-25
Level 4) 26-50
Level 5) 51+
once again it seams as if the county wants to be completely different then the rest of the world......

The FAA defined the there designations of "Alert". That's the national standard and defined in Federal Aviation Regulations.
From the regs:
Westchester just tried to quantify it since there's no way to know from an "Alert 3" response if there is an Airbus with 155 people coming in or a Cessna with 2.
It may seem complicated but it is designed to give responders more information.

I dont know exactly how they predict the weather that far in advance... but I will predict that I will won the mega millions tonight!!

10-13 Spaghetti Dinner



For Mount Kisco VAC Lifetime Member, Robert Kalisch



Tuesday, August 21 6pm-9pm @ MKVAC HQ



310 Lexington Avenue, Mount Kisco NY



Robert Kalisch, current President and 30-year member of Mount Kisco Volunteer Ambulance Corps, has been stricken with cancer and has been out of work for six months. His many friends are hosting an all-you-can-eat spaghetti dinner and collecting donations to assist Robert’s family in his time of need.



Spaghetti Dinner: Adults (7 years old & up) $12.00 / Children (6 years old & under) $6.00



* Donations are also being accepted. Any checks should be made out to Robert Kalisch. *



Any questions should be directed to:



Roseann Hagen at (914) 330-5769 or Lisa Pauling at (914) 420-3155



* This is not a Mount Kisco Volunteer Ambulance Corps event. Donations are not tax-deductible.

I wish there was more room too, but with the number of trucks stored there it is impossible. Here is a panoramic view of inside the warehouse from a staircase.

Carmel 12-2-2 a 1969 Oren/RD Murray rebuild

City of Beacon, NY American Lafrance

Chief's buggy owned by the Larchmont Historical Society

Ex-Archville Hahn

Pawling, NY old Ladder

Aviation FD old ALF

A couple of Ahrens Fox ladders

This beautiful Willy's jeep from Unionville was outside

old Ladder 31 from Portchester

Ex-Portchester Mack Cf. Verplank's old Hahn is in the background

How tight was it? Here is Pleasantville's old E-91 a 1969 American LaFrance

Had a good time, but it felt like there was too many trucks to look at. Inside the warehouse was extremely tight, making for hard photo taking.
A teaser, and then I am off to bed(busy day today, and again tomorrow) I will post more on Monday.
Larchmont's 1922 American Lafrance

Old White Plains Laddder Photos

Boston had a fire today in the Roslindale section of the city. The fire was in the 3rd floor of a 6 family. The street was very narrow making access for the ladder companies interesting. One of the occupants of the house walked by me and her daughter was asking what she was going to do for toys now! Multiple companies on scene for 2 hours along with BPD and BEMS.

That was quick... im pretty sure it went online like 10 minutes ago lol

Just was told the Somers VFD new website is up & running. It looks very nice & Somers just keeps on improving.. http://www.somersvfd.com/ it is yet to be completed but it's making it's way.
I am sure they would like your feedback, theres always the guestbook.
Great job all of the Somers folks, it looks great!!

Get Well Soon Chief