AFS1970

Yes but Newsday needs to find some way to be critical of Trump, and this is just as good a story as any.

If I remember correctly SWAT (another show with a horrible remake) featured a couple of characters who were vets.

That being said, I fail to understand why when remakes are made the original is seen as a problem that needs fixing. I also fail to see why so many shows are remade as comedies when they were not comedies to begin with.

Then again, I don't understand remakes at all, I am not a writer but I don't get why nobody seems to be able to write their own story anymore.

My old department had an activity requirement not a time requirement. It seems to have worked well for quite some time, although I am not sure if it is still in place. You got 1 point for each call, drill or meeting. You needed 50 points to stay an active member. The bulk of the department was between 75-100 every year. There were a few heavy hitters with over 200 and a few who struggled to make 50, but all in all it worked.

As for recruiting, I have said it before and will say it again. Too many Chiefs give what I call the Psych Out speech. They bemoan the lack of members and then go on to list all the reasons people don't join. I strongly believe this has the effect of making anyone who is trying to decide if they want to volunteer and psyching them out to the point where they just don't bother. How about listing all the reasons people do volunteer, instead.

One of the department's in Stamford did a nice piece several years ago, a small card with profiles of 3 members. They picked a local business owner, an electrician working for a construction contractor & a corporate VP of a local company. I don't know how successful it was but it showed a diverse group of volunteers.

Then all we have to work out is how to stop chasing new members away, which seems to be the biggest problem.

Nepotism rules like this were put in to prevent conflicts of interest. However too many people run frightened from the potential for lawsuits and often end up making choices based on misconceptions. 

I don't know the legal structure in Peekskil, but it would seem to me that the issue would be what input the chief has in hiring decisions and then what role he has in supervision and possible discipline with the career staff. 

Stamford put a fairly restrictive policy in, largely due to one family, but it was mostly political. The odd thing was nobody seemed to care until a supervisor who was about to hire someone realized that his bosses son was next up on a list he had already hired people from. He asked for an opinion from our ethics board on how to make sure he did his interview and hiring correctly. Sadly he never should have asked, as that brought lots of politicians into the mix and we now have a policy.

I had a similar situation once, although I was in the jump seat and not an officer. We were coming back from a run in another district. Just as we were about to cross back into ours someone saw a column of smoke in the distance. It looked like it was in the district we were in and their first due engine was still committed. From the back we pointed it out to our Captain, who said we were not going to respond.

When we got back to the station he told us that the fire we saw was in the next town, he was aware of it and they had sufficiant units on scene. While we were all a bit bummed out that we missed a job, I understand the captain and his restraint. We could have called in that we were checking for the location of a fire and as it was not that far over the line we could have made it there and then possibly been put to work. Now one difference with the Scarsdale incident is that we were not even on that town's run cards.

1 hour ago, FireMedic049 said:

4) The media is notorious for misreporting, misrepresenting or misquoting things.  As such, their statement of what happened may not fully represent what actually happened.

Point well taken.

I get that the run cards are a mess. I have seen better and worse. Mutual aid is far too dependant on local rule and especially in this case there should ahve been a provision due to the clsoed station. However when I read this:

On 2/21/2017 at 9:26 AM, NorthEndExpress said:

Richard Dempsey, the captain on duty at the time of the fire, responded on his own volition, sending two of the department’s trucks to the scene, according to Eastchester fire officials.

I have to wonder why there are not more people concerned with the freelancing. We can call it self dispatching or responding of ones own volition but none the less it is freelancing. In many other threads there would be calls for this Captain's head on a stick.

In this case it seems that he did the wrong thing for the right reason and it worked out. However self dispatching goes against everything we have worked for with accountability over the years.

Date: 02/17/2017
Time: 17:12
Location: 78 Halloween Blvd
District: SFD 4Co

Channel: Ground 1

Weather: 38 & Sunny
Units: SFD: E4,E2,E1,T1,R1,E3 (RIT), U4 (IC), U8 (Safety), U1 (Chief), FM111 (C&O)

          SEMS: M3

          SPD: 3D47, 3D48, 3A55, 3C43, K9-1 (Sergeant), 8S4 (Sergeant), TE4
Writer:  AFS1970

Description: Multiple calls for fire on front of house. E4 arrived and reported smoke condition. U4 arrived and confirmed working fire. Eversource (Power Company) requested to scene. Some police units cleared up quickly once traffic control needs were met.

I think we will see those days again. For a variety of reasons society is much more dependent on EMS than other healthcare options. This has been going on for many years, I remember hearing an insurance agent speak at a union meeting once about what he called questionable E/R visits. This has extended to EMS calls. Which leads to a thinning of resources and thus response delays.

Just thinking about how often we and neighboring towns call on each other for EMS resources compared to the relative rarity of exchanging police or fire resources from those same towns paints a picture of what is going on. Although I don't think who manages the department has much effect on it in the long term, I am not in favor of mergers that cross different services. I think EMS would work far better as a separate service but it will still face the same battle that police and fire face when competing for tax dollars.

17 hours ago, dwcfireman said:

 

...Would paying firefighters overtime to fill a few extra seats during peak hours be effective enough to help mitigate incidents and prevent injuries?  Or do you think it may result in more injuries because firefighters will end up working more hours?  I know it's hard to say one way or the other because every department is different, but I'm just looking to pick peoples' brains to see what you and other may think of adding overtime shifts to help cover the busier hours of the day.

Peak hours is always going to be a disputed factor. Most of us used some kind of reporting software that can run a report for this. Way back when I was in a VFD one of the career guys did this, figured out what our busiest days were and posted it. He was trying to encourage more volunteers to be in the station on days they were more likely to get calls. Not sure why but we stopped posting the list after a while. At work in Dispatch we used to have a potential drop in manpower at 3AM but that was until they lowered it all the time. This would be the biggest fear of any right thinking union, that management would put more guys on during peaks but at the cost of less guys on during lulls. Then there is the fact of minimum pay. Most city employees in my city get a 4 hour minimum call back. Would the city want to pay this if the peak was less than 4 hours?

I think it is an interesting concept to look at staffing this way, but I would be afraid that the same data could be used to cut positions. I have seen two factions in a debate use the same data to make conflicting suggestions before and it never works out well for the rank and file.

This brings up a good question though. At what point does medicine as an intervention trump a chronic condition? Also what happens when doctor's don't agree? From what I read the candidate's doctor says he is OK but the city doctor says he is not. I myself would want a 3rd neutral opinion before risking my life in an inherently dangerous job like firefighting.

Date: 02/13/2017
Time: 14:28
Location: 51 Toms Rd
District: BFD

Channel: Ground 2

Weather: 35 & partly cloudy
Units: BFD: E41,E42,C411 (IC),

         SFD: E6,E7,E1,T1,R1,U4 (DC)

         SPD: 8S4 (Sgt.), 8S2 (Sgt.) 1D30, 3D48, 3B33
Writer:  AFS1970

Description: Initially reported as a tree and wires down in the driveway of middle school just about to release students for the day. E41 arrived to smoke showing from roof, and primaries down in the driveway. Box filled out for smoke condition in school. SPD shutting street down and staging parents in nearby shopping center to wait until clear to pick up students. Eversource (power company) responding priority 2.

52 minutes ago, BFD389RET said:

wait   it also  states  i cannot wear  My beard , which is a  Direct attack to my  religious  beliefs  Allah ahkgrum  phezies!!!

Yet Hazzola does not need to follow this "safety" rule.

I tried finding this on the parade judges site but could not. Is there a standardized list of parade categories or is it up to each department? If it is a local thing, how far in advance do the lists get published?

Prior to the Career Chief did they run with a Volunteer Chief and 2 Assistants? Was this just to give a Chief Officer coverage that is now taken on by the career chief?

Date: 02/04/2017
Time: 14:52
Location: 90 Morgan St
District: SFD-5 (Woodside)

Channel: Ground 2, SPD Main

Weather: 33 / Mostly sunny
Units: SFD: E5, E1, T1, R1, E2 (Haz Mat), U4 (IC), U6 (Safety)

          SPD: 44 (South Hold), 28 (West Hold), 10 (Hold Sergeant), 4B46
Writer:  AFS1970

Description: Car rolled into side of building, shearing off the gas main to medical office building. E5 reported a major gas leak, Special Call for Safety Officer. Eversource (Gas Company) requested Priority 1. SFD activated fire alarm to evacuate building. Gas main shut off & companies checking for further leaks on interior & exterior. SPD cars designated as hold units are in service during shift change for emergency calls but do not use normal beat designations only car numbers.

Congrats Brother!

I don't know much about this incident only what I read here. However it seems to me that this was not a bad call by the IC.

If I were on scene, and needed a specific piece of equipment, and I call the closest one (VA) but they are unable to deploy. I now have to find a suitable replacement. As all emergency scenes are time sensitive, the choice is start looking in case there is one closer or call for the one further away that I know exists (HFD), is in service and can deploy rapidly. Oddly enough what nobody is commenting on is that this resource was known because the VFD IC was an off duty career FF in HFD. This is something that is frowned upon my many here but it may have been a big factor in getting the appropriate response in a timely manner.

As for leaving a district diminished, that can happen at any time for any call. That is why there are plans in place for mutual and/or automatic aid. That is why there are contract provisions for OT callbacks. That is why there are run cards, no matter how they were devised.

As for letting departments pick who they want, I am generally against that. We just put considerable effort into redoing our tanker run card in Stamford. Up until a few years ago this was handled by the IC calling for individual departments. Now we have a list that includes ETA's and goes up to 20th due. As a dispatcher I should have the list of resources. An IC should be able to tell me he wants 5 tankers and know that I will get him the closest 5 available tankers. However the IC should not care what name is on the door.

Date: 01/21/2017
Time: 19:32
Location: 15 Deepwood Dr
District: Long Ridge

Channel: Ground 4, Tac 3 (Water Supply)

Weather: 47 degrees & foggy
Units: Long Ridge: E71, E74, K78, R77, 714 (Lt), 715 (Lt), FM710 (C&O), C711 (Chief)

          Turn of River: K68       

          Stamford: E9, E8, E5 (Tanker Fill), E7 (RIT), T2, R1, U4 (Deputy Chief/IC), U1 (Chief), U2 (Asst. Chief), U11 (Asst. Chief), U121 (Mechanic), U8 (Safety), FM101 (C&O)

          Belltown: E41 (Special Called)

          Banksville: K7, 2581 (Water Supply)

          Pound Ridge: K3, 2402

          SEMS: M1

          SPD: 4A29, 4C10, 8S3 (Sergeant)
Writer:  AFS1970

Description: Neighbor reported house fire. Long Ridge Lt. arrived on scene and confirmed working fire. Tanker from TRFD en route shortly thereafter. Additional Tanker from Banksville called also. 1 Firefighter fell through a floor. All crews pulled out of building. Additional engine special called for relief. 

*** Stamford uses K as unit designation for tankers. For consistency I also used it for Banksville & Pound Ridge despite Westchester not using that designation. ***

The telesquirts in Stamford were assigned to E4 & E5. At one point these were also 5 man companies, due to being the only rigs at the time alone in a station. E4 had a Mack CF and E5 had a Hamerly. Later on E1 in Stamford briefly used a Pierce telesquirt that had been in service in Long Ridge as E71. The 5th men on E4 & E5 I believe became part of the additional manpower on T2 & T3 when they finally became 4 man companies. There are no longer any telesquirts in service in Stamford.

The mini pumper at Stamford HQ was the predecessor to R1, at least manpower wise. From what I understand it was bought because it could fit into parking garages. That crew became the original R1,Riding Turn of River's old R66 that went to Stamford in the early 1980's.

Thanks for the info. Only having been up in one (Springdale T56) once, and that was at a muster, I know next to nothing about Snorkels. I have heard of the advantages being that they can go up and over fences and power lines. I am not so sure how much I would want to be in a metal box that was attached to a boom with power lines running through the middle. What are some of the disadvantages? I know Chicago is using 55 ft units, so I assume height/reach to be a limiting factor. 

As an aside, on that LA roll over incident, was the rig driving or operating the boom? It looked like the snorkel boom was not a major factor if it rolled while driving. As cool as open cabs are, I can see the lack of a roof being more of a factor in an LODD. 

Also what is HU3? Saw it in one of the LA pics, just curious.

Looking for some information on Snorkels. I am only somewhat familiar with them and have never used one. I know that Stamford's now disbanded Truck 4 used one but that was before my time. Springdale had one and it was old and rarely used when they got rid of it. I remember Noroton Heights having one until they replaced it with a quint.

I have read that ALF bought Snorkel then shut down that division and stopped making them.

I know Chicago still uses them but I am not sure who makes them. I had heard possibly Pierce or Rosenbauer.

Any major cities / counties other than Chicago use them? I remember seeing historical pictures of LA using them, but nothing current.

I know Springdale's was 85 ft & Chicago uses 55 ft. Anyone know if other sizes were made or are available?

Are there any still in service in NY or CT?

Oh good a study. Why waste the money and just have the city write the answer they want on a single sheet of paper. Consultants are paid to say way you pay them to say, and it rarely works out well for the fire service.

Rest in Peace.

May God grant him eternal rest.

Especially now that departments are much more certification / classroom dependent, I think giving easy tests are actually not doing the recruits any favors in that the test does nothing to prepare them for the academy. Like it or not there will be a final exam and that one (at least in theory) is going to be based on knowledge that is learned and applied.

While I agree that entry level tests do not require knowledge that will be taught in training. I would be cautious because tests like this are generally only changed when someone has an agenda.