AFS1970

Great color choice for a team of employees who work on highways where vehicles travel at high rates of speed...

I was a victim of Affirmative Action in Bridgeport, Ct. That was back in the mid 70s. Boston was also going through a similar case at the time.
 
Apparently according to these cities, some people just didn't look the way they wanted them to in order to do the job as a firefighter. So in order to do the job that I grew up wanting to do, "just like my father", I had to pack my bags and leave. Leaving my family, my friends, and the only city and home I ever knew.
 
 I had ended up in some city about 75 miles away. In a place I had never been before. As it turned out, it was my gain and Bridgeport's loss. Within a few months I was able to buy a beautiful home that I never would have found in that Bridgeport area.
 
 There were old buildings there just like Bridgeport and they even had a ladder truck with a driver on the back too, just like Bridgeport. With a little extra work, I was able to get promoted and today I enjoy my retirement after 30 years with that fire department.
 
 My father was a firefighter in Bridgeport too. And one of his captains was a guy who looked much different than the rest of the guys. But it didn't matter because he was very well respected by the members throughout the department. and unlike so many others who came later, he earned his promotion and it wasn't just given to him.
 
 I am totally AGAINST any type of Affirmative Action or job offerings based solely on the way a person looks. Although I am NOT any kind of racist and I have facts to prove that.

The last Westchester firefighter exam was ridiculously easy, resulting in over 300 candidates achieving 100%.  The test was 50 questions, and most of the test was reading comprehension. When I took the test that got me on the job in the early 00's, there was a variety of question, including math that correlated to pump operations, mechanical aptitude, and following orders.  There were well over 100 questions on that exam.
 
It seem like exams are designed nowadays to allow people to pass, for a probable multitude of reasons. It used to be the exam was designed to get the best candidates for the job, now it's designed to give everybody passing scores. With more and more college educated people that are taking these basic grade school exams, it's making it even harder for people to have an edge on getting the job. A lot of people taking these exams don't even know how to use a screwdriver yet are getting 100's, and I'm serious about that.
 
I have no problem with departments trying to increase their diversity, but with the way they do it. It should be done with recruiting efforts, public education, and prep courses, not by dumbing down tests.
 
 

Oh, there's absolutely an agenda in play with the FDNY testing.  It's blatantly apparent to anyone who's been following the litigation referenced in the article and other recent actions, like the female that was allowed to graduate despite not passing a required physical test.

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.

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.

Date: 01/05/2017
Time: 16:15
Location: 69 Cove Rd
District: SFD-4
Channel: TAC 2
Weather: 30 & Mostly Sunny
Units: SFD: E4, E2 (HazMat), T2 (HazMat), HM1, U4 (IC), U7 (Safety)
           SEMS: M3
           SPD: 3A12, 3B33
Writer:  AFS1970

Description: Real estate agent arrived to fins sweet smelling odor throughout building and residents self evacuating. E4 arrived and requested Haz Mat team. Haz Mat team arrived and requested Safety Officer. PD requested to shut down street.

Vails Gate FD
Orange County, NY
 
Total runs: 595 (no EMS)
 
Gave mutual aid: 34 times 

Avg response time: 7:53

Overlapping incidents: 35

Avg turnout: 20

Busiest day: Sunday

Slowest day: Wednesday

Busiest time of day 1500-1600

Slowest time of day 0700-0800
 

Considering their recruit training program and probationary process, prior firefighting knowledge while likely beneficial, isn't specifically necessary for a recruit to succeed in that system.  To some extent, entry level civil service exams aren't specifically for testing job specific knowledge, but rather to evaluate a person's general knowledge, reading comprehension, ability to follow directions, ability to solve problems, etc.
 
Personally, I don't see a problem with this as long as the test is adequately assessing a candidate's mental aptitude for what is needed to complete recruit school and perform the job vs dumbing down the exam in order to achieve diversity at the expense of quality.

 
Those poor guys haven't had a consistent livery in a long time. They have the white with blue stripes which is most common, but a few years ago they had silver with blue & yellow stripes. There are still a few silver cars around in CT.
 
As an aside, does anyone know why TBTA did not merge into MTA PD when all the others did, I know they picked up a highway unit due to the merger.

 
Those poor guys haven't had a consistent livery in a long time. They have the white with blue stripes which is most common, but a few years ago they had silver with blue & yellow stripes. There are still a few silver cars around in CT.
 
As an aside, does anyone know why TBTA did not merge into MTA PD when all the others did, I know they picked up a highway unit due to the merger.

 
Those poor guys haven't had a consistent livery in a long time. They have the white with blue stripes which is most common, but a few years ago they had silver with blue & yellow stripes. There are still a few silver cars around in CT.
 
As an aside, does anyone know why TBTA did not merge into MTA PD when all the others did, I know they picked up a highway unit due to the merger.

Maybe the state is planning on using theses trucks the same way NYC DOT uses their trucks as road blocks. Fill one of those up with sand or gravel and you have a roadblock that can go anywhere under it's own power. Prevent car bombs from getting out onto a bridge such as the Whitestone, or you might see these preventing vehicles from entering pedestrian areas of major events to avoid a repeat of last months attack in Berlin. 

In NYC it seems that private ambulances may take advantage of their status and proceed lights and siren when just on transports in order to get thru traffic, could this be possible ???

Civilian exposure to the audible warning devices of emergency vehicles is of very limited duration. These devices are only in use while the vehicle is en-route to an emergency, meaning the vehicle is moving. So, unless the complainers are keeping pace with and driving alongside the emergency vehicle with their window down rather than pulling to the right side of the road and stopping to allow the emergency vehicle to have the right of way, they are not being injured by the noise, just briefly inconvenienced by it.

interesting article
 
the lawyers for both sides will end up laughing all the way to the bank

I guess I wasn't sarcastic enough.  

Merry Christmas to all my fellow EMTBravo members!

I hope this message finds you and your family having a happy, healthy, and safe holiday! I hope Santa brought you everything you asked for!

Seth G. AKA EMTBravo AKA x635, my warmest regards!

Some lessons can be learned from the remembrance of this tragedy. Especially now since the frequency of gas calls is on the rise.
 
From "The Secret List":

I was looking at that ambulance, wondering to myself what was missing. 
 
Then it hit me...  Lights, it needs MORE lights. 

Sounds like another insurance company finding any way to not pay out to me.  Scum of the earth.

Here in CT they laid off the anchors, one of which had been there since 1982 when the station opened.
 
I agree that the 30 minute news cast was less than they could have done. I also know of at least one time when they would not cover a story that they deemed too controversial despite other local news covering it. All was not bad however, I got interviewed as a "Hurricane Expert" once, mostly I think because our fire station was first alphabetically, good thing I had time to Google storm preparedness.

The Fill station on full. I was taught to crack the "Fill" knock and slowly fill the bottle. The valve on the bottle is either full open or full close.
 
Well this is where checking your gear comes into play. when you get to work and go over your rig, you check air pressure. If you are filling bottles on scene you are most likely using them. Most departments don't have refill rigs so they refill back at firehouse. Either way the 700psi drop in a hour is not good. Also the bottle could have been the last one to fill so heat has been building from filling station.

 
Based on the radio feeds I monitored on Broadcastify and friends who monitor the scanner in some areas, it's only about a 20-30 minute delay in order for the producers and department staff to review the feed and remove any sensitive info, like the identity of undercover officers, victim privacy issues, or anything that may compromise a case. If you look at the trunks of units they are following, they have special modems that look like white boxes mounted on them that allow for the live feed. SOME footage is filmed during the week preceding the episode for the slow times.
 
 
She was considered an exemplary officer before it. Everybody has their personal life and has nothing to do with the show..

It doesn't take long to have it look that nice.  When I was Captain in Millwood our beds looked like that and for all I know they still do.  The key is to leave about 2 feet open at the front of the hose bed as a coffin for the couplings to lay in.  Each time you come to a coupling while packing the hose, you pull it all the way forward to the coffin at the front.  This creates a twofold benefit.  The folds at the back of the hose bed are nice and neat (especially if you use a rubber mallet to set the fold each time, but who's doing that at 3am on the side of the road?) but also, the hose lays out better when you're in a hurry.  No couplings to grab each other on the hosebed.
 
I'm not saying my way is the right way, but it worked for us and kept things looking tidy.