E106MKFD

It is a combination fire brigade (Paid & Vol.). All are Metro-North employees and as AFS1970 pointed out, the volunteers come from a variety of different crafts and positions on the railroad.
The paid Fire-EMS Officer position was posted earlier this year http://www.emtbravo.net/index.php/topic/51126-mta-metro-north-fire-ems-officer/

We finally got into our new HQ over the past week. Here is a quick rundown.

Almost a year to the day from the start of construction, the Oak Bluffs fire department moved into the new $8.3 million Fire/EMS building on Wing Rd, on Sunday, December 6. There are still small list items to be fixed, computers to be installed but the new 20,250-square-foot, 12-bay station is up and operational. The are sleeping quarters, a gym, medical treatment area, decon area, two training rooms, a full kitchen etc.....
The department is staffed by a combination of Paid Fire/Paramedics and Volunteers. Providing Fire / EMS Protection to the Town of Oak Bluffs on the Island of Martha's Vineyard. We also assist other local communities with Fire/EMS mutual aid. Oak Bluffs FD/EMS also provides off Island EMS ground transport for patients that need a higher level of medical care than what Martha's Vineyard Hospital can provide after they provide initial medical stabilization. Yes, that's right we take the Ambulance on the ferry and typically transport to Boston Area Hospitals (approx 3hr transport one way).
The station houses: An Aerial Ladder Truck, Rescue, Dive Unit, Rehab Unit, Fire Command vehicle, 4 Engines, 4 Ambulances, and a Paramedic Quick Response Vehicle. In addition they also have have two boats on the water (MetalCraft 39.6 foot Jet Drive Boat and 19 ft skiff), a bicycle unit and separate house for the Antique and Museum.
The house also features custom embroidered duty chairs with department patch
About Martha's Vineyard: Marthas Vineyard is approximately 96 square miles, roughly triangular in shape, 25 miles (42k) at its longest point east to west, and 9 miles (12.8k) at the longest point north to south. The Vineyard is home to 15,000 year-round residents. During the summer months the population increases to 115,000. Sixty-three percent of the homes on the Vineyard belong to seasonal residents. Martha's Vineyard is only accessible by Air and/or boat. A typical ferry ride is about 45 minutes to reach one of the two island ports.
**Oak Bluffs primary response area is about 26 sq miles.

It is a combination fire brigade (Paid & Vol.). All are Metro-North employees and as AFS1970 pointed out, the volunteers come from a variety of different crafts and positions on the railroad.
The paid Fire-EMS Officer position was posted earlier this year http://www.emtbravo.net/index.php/topic/51126-mta-metro-north-fire-ems-officer/

It is a combination fire brigade (Paid & Vol.). All are Metro-North employees and as AFS1970 pointed out, the volunteers come from a variety of different crafts and positions on the railroad.
The paid Fire-EMS Officer position was posted earlier this year http://www.emtbravo.net/index.php/topic/51126-mta-metro-north-fire-ems-officer/

It is a combination fire brigade (Paid & Vol.). All are Metro-North employees and as AFS1970 pointed out, the volunteers come from a variety of different crafts and positions on the railroad.
The paid Fire-EMS Officer position was posted earlier this year http://www.emtbravo.net/index.php/topic/51126-mta-metro-north-fire-ems-officer/

It is a combination fire brigade (Paid & Vol.). All are Metro-North employees and as AFS1970 pointed out, the volunteers come from a variety of different crafts and positions on the railroad.
The paid Fire-EMS Officer position was posted earlier this year http://www.emtbravo.net/index.php/topic/51126-mta-metro-north-fire-ems-officer/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6bhv4i8qso
An interesting bit of local history, neat to know that cadence calling started right here in Westchester on a route march from Ardsley back to Ft. Slocum. Another local connection in the description is Camp Kilmer named for Joyce Kilmer of Larchmont,69th NY Infantry/ 165th US Infantry, KIA in WWI and a great poet.

If you are looking for common sense, forget about it. I recently moved to an area covered by a volunteer department. I stopped by the station, 1/2 mile from my home on the same street, to inquire about membership. I was told that my NY credentials were not recognized in GA. One day an engine came up the street, responding, when it passed my house it was not the local dept, but the neighboring paid department. I have seen them responding into our area several other times.
So, I'm usually available 24/7, have lots of training, 30+ years of experience as an EMT, Officer, Driver, Interior Firefighter, but they can't use me and they also can't get their apparatus on the road 100% of the time either.

Not knowing about the situation, If you wanted to dispatch and not go to 60.....
Wouldn't it be cheaper to hire civilian dispatchers and train them?
Seems to be a waste of a FF position when the departments are constantly runnning short on manpower.
Maybe its time for Greenville, Fairview and Harstdale merge dispatch since you respond together all the time.
My 2 cents

I would rather have the "extra" guy on the floor. All day, everyday. Having a trained firefighter stuck in a room answering a phone and yapping on a radio instead of pulling hose is a waste of resources. Especially considering 60 control is there AND available to do the job FOR you.
Can you really look me in the face and say "I'd rather have firefighter Joe in the radio room and not helping us make the stretch down a smoke filled hallway because he really is more helpful to me on the radio than on the line." If so, you are whacked.

Timothy W. Kensing Obituary

1960 - 2015

Kensing, Timothy W.

Tim died peacefully on Wednesday at Westchester Medical Center surrounded by his family, after a short illness. He leaves his father and mother, "Rub" and Eileen Kensing, his brother Mike, long time college friend Maureen McCullough, and his beloved dachshunds, Gracie and Mickie. Also surviving are his uncle Henry V Kensing and (Eileen), and his aunt Anne M. Kensing. He also leaves behind numerous cousins far and wide who will cherish wonderful memories. His grandparents Mary and Bill Lee, Sue and Howard G. Kensing, and "Aunt Ginny" Lee, all predeceased them. He also leaves behind an army of his beloved volunteer firefighers who have stood by him during his life and especially during his late struggle to live. Tim was born in Mt. Kisco, July 5, 1960 and lived there all his life. He graduated Fox Lane High School in June, 1978, and SUNY at Oneonta May, 1982. During his high school and college years, he worked at the old "Friendly's", making many close friends who now mourn his passing. He had a twenty-six year career with I.B.M. For twenty-eight years, Tim was a member of the Independent Fire company of Mt. Kisco, where he served as captain, and a two year past president. There will be a wake at Oelker-Cox & Sinatra Funeral Home, 262 E Main Street, Mt. Kisco, NY. on Friday, December 11th from 4:00-8:00pm. A funeral mass will be held at St. Francis of Assisi Church at 11:00am on Saturday December 12th. followed by a graveside committal service. In lieu of flowers, all donations can be made to St. Francis of Assisi Church Building Fund, or Independent Fire department. We will dearly miss you, Tim. We love you. Sleep in peace! Published in the The Journal News on Dec. 11, 2015 - See more at: http://m.legacy.com/obituaries/LoHud/obituary.aspx?n=Timothy-W-Kensing&pid=176844009&referrer=2418&preview=True#sthash.GhLdMW6j.dpuf

I see a lot of people talking here and from what i see all are anonymous, Well I am not i am an ex chief past commissioner of the Somers F.D., residents both member and non members of the F.D, felt it was time for a change. Unfortunately the petition time was missed so we had to do a write in which is 100% legal and a voters right. The people who backed the candidate are tired of the way the Somers Fire District is doing things , You can speculate all you want here but unless you are in the department and live it you don't know.To say the upcoming Chief is not qualified is a bunch of crap!!! The person next in line to be chief holds all of the qualifications required by the SFD and then some. He is also a certified fire inspector and holds the qualifications to be a building inspector. He is currently, and no disrespected intended to the other two chiefs, the ONLY qualified INTERIOR firefighter " bailout certified" in the chiefs office. The qualification he lacks is butt kissing 101 as he stands up for the members and what he believes. The fire district has done some very questionable unethical things recently. Which is why it was time to change the board the person elected id the first in a long time non member of the / a fire department. So a different and open minded perspective can be brought in. I wish her the best of luck and will happily support her.

And the other side of the story posted by the Greenburgh Uniformed Firefighters Association

I remember when I was an officer in HFD that no one would show up for these calls. We could get L56 up there with a crew of 3 on average, and it was always awful. The kids never respected us, and we started to refuse a response until PD was on scene. We even worked with the staff to do fire prevention programs, mostly to prevent kids from pulling the alarms, but that had little effect. And the EMS calls are 99% of the time either EDP or assaults. No wonder volunteers stopped showing up for the calls....total BS....but a few of us kept responding because someone had to.
Now I'm seeing the effect with 1606 Old Orchard Street. No one wants to waste their time for another BS commercial alarm, and the County doesn't seem to care enough to fix that alarm.
The frequent flyer calls are a waste of taxpayer money and a waste of time for the volunteers that respond. And there is no way you're going to entice responders to respond if they know it's going to be the same old story. On one side you have this annoyance that you don't want to deal with, and the other there is still a duty to respond to make sure that the building is still not on fire. It's the very definition of crying wolf, and it's going to hurt someone someday.

It seems like Hawthorne goes to 226 Linda Ave (Hawthorne Cedar Knolls Residential Treatment Center) numerous times a day, for commercial alarms and mostly minor EMS calls. This has got to be taxing on their resources, yet not a tax paying property.
How do you prevent volunteer burnout with someplace like this? I would not want to be getting up at 3 in the morning every night for several nights in a row for the same repetitive bull.

Now this is one cool device I never knew existed. See the video below the photo. Some very neat capabilities.


Website: http://www.ringpower.com/division-landing/tactical-home/the-vehicle.aspx

1) The land owned by the Bedford Fire District is actually located on the corner of Old Post Road and Southbrook Rd, directly across from Greenwich Road. Not at Route 172 and Route 22.
2) Bedford is in committee to replace Engine 110, a 1987 Seagrave Engine. The members of the department and district feel that replacing the engine is what they need to better serve the community.
3) As a Chief of a neighboring department that has an excellent social and working relationship with the Bedford Fire Department I can say that the departments in our area (especially the 13th and 16th Battalions) train multiple times a year and we run through as many "Water Supply" and structural firefighting scenarios as we can plus we all run together on a regular basis.
We all know the resources the BFD has to offer. Engine 109 is the scene engine, going directly to the seat of the fire. while Engine 108 lays to or from a water source, while the mutual aid tankers nurse or set up for shuttle operations. The Chief Officers of BFD have done a great job for pre planning all of their box alarms for Greater Alarms. On any reported Structure Fire in their district, they get at a minimum of a mutual aid Ladder Company and Tanker, and as the incident envolves so do the resources called in their predetermined Greater Alarm polices.
4) In this time with all of the talks of how Fire Departments should be consolidating, sharing resources is the most economical and fairest option for the taxpayers of the Bedford Fire District and the Town of Bedford.
5) Lastly, in regards to the Pound Ridge Incident, The Chief called the resources he felt were necessary for THAT incident, and in no way was he trying to "shaft" BFD out of the mutual aid assignment.
Thanks for reading and have a great Thanksgiving!
J.Nickson
Asst. Chief BHFD

The announcement for Metro-North Fire/EMS Officer has been reposted (yesterday) on the MTA Info site. If interested in applying check out http://web.mta.info/mta/employment/ and check under Metro-North Railroad.

General rant not directed at any one municipality:
We had inadequate snow removal, potholes everywhere, understaffed and underfunded emergency services yet we live in the most expensive county in the stratosphere. Where is it all going ?

I think we're all on the same page here about departments abusing mutual aid so I won't even touch that. But this quote is what worried me the most.
Really? I had no ideas fire worked that way. Apparently if a fire occurs in one town that makes it less likely for there to be another fire elsewhere. Amazing.

Gotcha!

Happy April 1st.

We ran the ambulance as well. Our running card for Mia's was ambulance, rescue, engine. We were in the less then 5 years ... Full of vigor. 3 of us were hanging out with the town hall operator/ fire dispatcher which was in the firehouse. The phones went off and the calls started to roll over on the switchboard. The dispatcher repeats the street name and the word motorcycle.. So the four of us ran , got our gear and got in the ambulance . Just as we pulled out of the station, an officer pulled up, looked at us and said WTF you doing! Put that thing away, it's a fire... With that 2 more guys showed up and took the engine to a motorcycle fire. We took a good amount of ribbing for Hanging out in the ambulance.
In the day, we had no tones in the station or pagers, we relied on the fire whistle and our home plectrums, so we never actually heard the dispatcher.

I worked 21 years and 8 months, of which 20 were in a 2 engine house (which had a truck until 1995) and I worked all 3 companies and was actually Assigned to all three.. The station was built in 1982 single story sprawling 3 bays.. From My Bunk in the dorm to My Riding position was corner to corner across the building...over the years, I saw the neighborhood change a lot and just about every Business and residence on the Main road and 5 side streets That all converged there... I'd been to Most and Most had Significant Structural Fires... In the dorm, I latched onto one of the 2 bunks below the windows that could be opened ( 2 x 12 by 12 inches) because a) funk fresh air and c) the seasonal Changes when you LOOSE AC OR heat for 3-8 weeks....
I Always cracked the window an inch... in 2005, we Had a neighbor one the side street who's ride to work at 4:45 Kindly announced Themselves with a couple horn beeps... and seemed like you were just dozing off again when that happened,...
One Particular Night, we'd made about 8 to 10 runs by about 0315 and I was pretty groggy when The horn Beeped ... I sorta Layed there in a daze... and Once the (Very long Beep) quieted, I began to hear something quite differant and began In my head, wonder Why The Rookie was "eating Popcorn" at like 4 am IN the Dorm...... ( I said I was groggy ) after a few seconds My Melon became aware of the stupidity of Everything, that I had just though and having actually Digested it all Became suddenly Alert and Awake, Popped out of the bunk Looking Out seeing The Rear porches and "C" exposure was a 2 1/2 Occupied Frame The Fire building was a 3 story (Old 6 family) taxpayer Private social club on 1 and 4 occupied apartments above... the rear porches and stairways were well involved, Looking Back into the bunkroom I simple said, lets go fellas, ( no Yelling or screaming) The Bunkroom was ORANGE (haha) walked down the Officers Hall and Banged on Both doors, being on the 1st due engine This close can be messy Thankfully we'd Had plenty of experiances... ( Imagine 2 double engines and a tiller 2 doors left of the firehouse.. Our Plug was outside the Officers Hallway door, SO, The LT. grabbed his portable and while walking across the front yard Called It in while 3 of us Rode the engine the 20 feet hooked up and blitzed the exposure, with a deck gun and the officer and 4th guy stretched a 2 1/2 between the buildings Once the blitz was finished we searched the exposure while the other two guys from The Other engine did a primary in the firebuilding we were there a good 6 or 8 minutes it seemed waiting for the rest of the assignment (2 more engines 2 trucks and the rescue) .... and Boss... It became Known as "The Popcorn" because in the telling, I was wondering Why the Kid was eating crunching on Popcorn (crackling ?!) which One would expect any fire fighter with a few fires under his belt would recognize that crackling = Not good.... and How I was the First one to become alert enough to see the flames dancing on the wall of the Dorm...lol
Below is A photo looking out the Dorm WIndow the following Night showing a little of the Damage and Exposure

Senior man on Eng 58 answered the fire phone as I was listening in on the bedroom phone. Where's the fire, caller the fire is in Detroit, Senior man, we don't go to Detroit call Detroit fire dept. Has we hung up I said to him lets go that's our's Detroit night club on the post road with a 10-75 no less