AFS1970

Yeah, Europe has its compartment organization on point.  Granted their line deployment and pump set ups are entirely different, but I'd like to think that at some point Rosenbauer would find a way to fuse the ideas of Europe and US together into one impressive rig.

My department requires that you complete your probationary year before you are allowed to display a blue light.  Once you have the permit (signed by the chief) the rest is up to you to obey the VTL.
 
 
This is definitely a great proposal.  First, with all of the apparatus on scene with flashing lights, the last thing we need is more flashing lights.  Turning off the blue lights on POVs reduces unnecessary distractions.  It's also safer for any local motorists that may be traversing the neighborhood by reducing distractions to them.  Also, there's no need to leave blue lights on when you're no where near your car.
 
 
My department requires everyone to respond to the fire house, but POVs can go to the scene if there is no apparatus left AND the incident requires additional personnel (like a working fire).  However, I do see where coming across an incident could necessitate some extra visibility.  I've used my lights in a few situations where I've come across car accidents, especially at night.  It provides a beacon of sorts to other motorists to slow down a bit and to help guide in that first emergency vehicle.

Actually that is a good idea if you have several members responding direct with units already on-scene... park out of the way and turn the lights off.  The few cases where I go direct I typically am the first emergency responder on-scene.

Rest in Peace.

But this one will hopefully be a productive one. 
 
I am looking for any departments that have internal rules separate from the relevant statutes about display / use of blue lights (or any color for that matter). Looking up the actual laws is a relatively easy matter to deal with, but I am trying to help with a project where some internal rules are being proposed in a department. Never having dealt with this, I am hoping I can find if other departments have thought this was important enough to make a rule about and make sure proposals are reasonable based on whatever consensus I can come up with.
 
Not looking to have a debate on if lights should be allowed, just looking to see how others may have regulated their use.

 
Funny thing about that, one of the proposals I am dealing with is that lights be turned off once you arrive at the scene.

 
Funny thing about that, one of the proposals I am dealing with is that lights be turned off once you arrive at the scene.

But this one will hopefully be a productive one. 
 
I am looking for any departments that have internal rules separate from the relevant statutes about display / use of blue lights (or any color for that matter). Looking up the actual laws is a relatively easy matter to deal with, but I am trying to help with a project where some internal rules are being proposed in a department. Never having dealt with this, I am hoping I can find if other departments have thought this was important enough to make a rule about and make sure proposals are reasonable based on whatever consensus I can come up with.
 
Not looking to have a debate on if lights should be allowed, just looking to see how others may have regulated their use.

OK, this is NOT directly AMR related, but goes with SageVigiles post:
I JUST came home from DC, having ridden a bicycle 320 miles there from Poughkeepsie with the Muddy Angels EMS memorial bike ride. My brother lives there and is a huge scanner buff.
Here is what is driving me crazy: DC arrives and updates the job as minor/BLS/no life threat and has AMR sent. AMR then drives full-on lights and sirens to a call where it has been determined that there is nothing major going on.  Why are EMT's of any service driving lights/sirens to rush to the scene of a confirmed NON-EMERGENCY?  I can guess that DC doesn't want to hang around and wait, or that AMR wants to have good looking response times. But to endanger themselves and the public for that is BS.  Of the 50 EMS folks that the Muddy Angels rode for this year, 12, or about 24% died in MVA's.
   This is NOT against AMR, but against the shot-callers who set this up. Probably NOT an AMR decision, but a dead EMT is a dead EMT. More lights and sirens  driving= more dead EMT's.

NEW HEMPSTEAD - Brothers Yosef and David Silber are among the younger crop of volunteers ensuring Spring Hill Ambulance continues its mission for another 50 years. 
 
Link to the Journal News article;
 
http://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/rockland/2017/05/20/spring-hill-ambulance-50-years/322759001/
 
Congrats Spring Hill EMS and here's to another 50 years!
 
Side note;
 
I was involved in an accident on the Palisades Parkway many years ago. Thankfully I had minor injuries, but was transported as a precaution. Spring Hill EMS was dispatched and couldn't be more professional and courteous. 
Ironically, I'm 95% sure that the current president, Brandon Smith (from the article), was the EMT who treated me.
 
 

Deputy Thanks DC Firefighters for Saving His Life After Suffering Heart Attack During Hockey Game
By: Fox DC Staff
May 23, 2017
 
 
 
 
Nice job by the DCFD Hockey Team.
       

If the Port Chester firefighters committed these offenses they are WRONG. Calling in a false alarm, spitting on an individual should not be tolerated. As frustrated as those Port Chester Firefighters might have been, this kind of activity just can't be done. If these charges are correct, "it is an embarrassment to all career firefighters, no matter where they are from". When a firefighter commits a wrong doing, it is a reflection on all other firefighters.
 
Have the individual firefighters who committed such offense been named and singled out ? Are there witnesses willing to come forward with facts ? Are there photos or videos of such action ? On the contrary, I think there is an audio of Chief Quinn suggesting members break windows at the home of a career firefighter union official.  Two Wrongs don't make a Right.
 
 The Fire Service is probably the only place were there has been more hatred among those who are expected to help each other than perhaps a victim towards a their criminal. Really very sad when you think about it. As a volunteer firefighter in one town serving with career firefighters, we got along great. Then as a career firefighter serving in another town with volunteer firefighters it has been decades of hating each other. Two totally different worlds only about 75 miles apart.

Educating the public on how and why we do what we do is always a good thing, but the reality is most people don't really care, nor should we expect them to. By a huge majority all the public knows and cares about when it comes to us is that there's a building with big red trucks with sirens and flashing lights down the street and that we show up with those trucks when we're called. Beyond that there is very little time in their busy and hectic lives to give us even a passing thought..and that should come as no surprise since, by that same large majority we don't spend our time thinking about how and why they do what they do. I mean how many of us give any thought to why an accountant does their job as they do or why that cashier at the grocery store checks and bags our items the way they do....unless the way they're doing it inconveniences us.
 
Where all of this comes to prominence is when we're dealing with the bean counters, who to be fair, also have a job to do...even if we don't like that we're the target of that job. Educating them becomes a primary concern when funds for staffing or equipment or training come under scrutiny. We have to be able to justify the expense of the services we are providing and why we provide them the way we do. I think this article does a good job of explaining some of that, although I think we're all aware that there are a number of other reasons why members "stand around" outside beyond simply FAST/RIT.
 
I know most of you who "know" me here will find this hard to believe, but sometimes I over think things, look at things a little deeper than what's on the surface. After reading this I find myself doing so again. I asked myself why would we have to explain ourselves to a public that for the most part really doesn't care why we do what we do....well I think in some way this has more to do with us than it does with "them"...here's what I mean:
 
After 9/11 there was a huge upsurge in respect and support for firefighters and fire dept.s everywhere and an equally large up tick in the level of interest of what we do. And we all benefited from that to one extent or another. But (there's always a but) in the 15+ years since, those levels have naturally waned, as these things often do.  But from our end, I think some became accustomed to that public attitude and the accolades that came with it and thought it would last forever. But alas nothing does...life goes on after all and people outside the fire service fell back into their routines and worrying about their own lives. To take it a bit further (and anger some I'm sure) there are some FFs and dept.s who one could argue tried to use the tragedy of those 343 lost brothers to further their own agendas, even though they had no direct connection to the events of that dreadful day. Now the point of all this pontification may seem like it has nothing whatsoever to do with the topic at hand, but in fact it does because the event of 9/11 and it's aftermath have shaped our collective perception of how we think the public sees...or should see...us. Many firefighters, being "insiders," have a hard time understanding why anyone would question our actions, on the fireground and off, and some may even become angered by thought of having to explain ourselves. But that is on us, not them. They are why we are here and they pay our way, so they have every right to ask "why are so many FFs standing around"....even if they really don't care about the answer.
 
But back to the beginning, most people might question why so many FFs are standing around, but in the end they really don't care...they only want to get the service they need when they need it and it's up to us as professionals to give it to them. If we can educate a few along the way that's great, but if we can't that's ok too, as long as we do our jobs the best we can and remain humble in doing so. 

 
 
From: https://www.facebook.com/PutnamNYEmergencyServices/posts/1541654022573810
 

I worked the midnight shift for much of my time volunteering. I actually found it made taking some classes easier. Granted there was a big commitment involved, but I am not sure my working 11-7 then going to class at 8 is any better or worse than a guy who works 9-5 and goes to class at 6. I am also lucky enough to have a very good vacation policy at work where I could take a day at a time or even a half day, as opposed to taking two weeks at a time. This allowed me to attend a lot of good training classes. However it was rough doing a night drill then going into work at 11 tired from drill.

I worked the midnight shift for much of my time volunteering. I actually found it made taking some classes easier. Granted there was a big commitment involved, but I am not sure my working 11-7 then going to class at 8 is any better or worse than a guy who works 9-5 and goes to class at 6. I am also lucky enough to have a very good vacation policy at work where I could take a day at a time or even a half day, as opposed to taking two weeks at a time. This allowed me to attend a lot of good training classes. However it was rough doing a night drill then going into work at 11 tired from drill.

Just came back from Suffolk County...saw many NYSP vehicles...also NYSP at the Whitestone bridge...heard from people that they are writing tickets....not to be out done Nassau and Suffolk have their police out in force,also writing.....guess who pays for this little pis--ng war?

They got him because of some awesome detective work. Glad his family will have justice, although never closure.
 
 
FULL STORY: http://www.lohud.com/story/news/crime/2017/05/04/i-95-tow-driver-death-arrest/101287164/
 
ANOTHER FULL STORY:   http://harrison.dailyvoice.com/police-fire/police-nab-suspect-in-hit-run-harrison-crash-that-killed-tow-truck-operator/709606/

As someone who has a full time job on the nightshift  and every weekend this has always been a problem for me. My department's drills are in the evening with no immediate plans to change that. They'd just rather b**** about the guys that don't make it. Best quote I ever read was from this forum. "For a service that requires 24/7 availability it sucks you have to work Monday through Friday 9-5 to be able to attend any trainings". Even state sponsored trainings in my area follow that schedule.

Their is a science to fleet management and many departments have no idea about this.
What is the best time to replace a rig? Much depends on its condition, wear and tear etc. A small department that runs 300 calls a year vs. a busy one doing 10,000. etc.
But their are a number of factors to consider:
1) NFPA standards list 25 years max life, but only if the vehicle has a safety upgrade at 15 years. How many safety updates has the industry seen in the last 25 years? seatbelts, antilock breaks, automatic traction control, tilt testing, etc.? What is the liability on keeping rigs longer than this?
2) Resale value. At 10 years and 1 day the resale value of apparatus dramatically drops. Their are some large depts. that have a very progressive program to remove all rigs from primary service at 8 years and place them into the spare fleet. They are sold before their 10th year. The maintenance costs avoided, plus the resale value mean these departments actually spend less (over a 30-40 comparison) than those depts. that keep the rig until its only value is for scrap metal.
3) Maintenance Costs. Most apparatus components are covered under warranties, almost all run out by 8-10 years. The cost of maintaining older apparatus is dramatic compared to new (particularly when many costs are covered by warranties). Experience shows that in a fleet of 20 vehicles, the 2 oldest may take up to 80% of the maintenance budget. And it is not uncommon for depts. to spend 5-10%/yr. of the cost of a replacement on older apparatus. This does not take into account the down time which is hard to measure financially. As many major manufacturers have gone out of business these costs and time goes up.
4) Budget Cycle - Most depts. never set a long term replacement cycle. This creates major financial stress and causes delays in purchasing which will increase costs (particularly interest costs for bonding). If you have 100 apparatus in your fleet and you determine that the average life you want is 10 years, then every year you need to buy 10 new rigs. If you have 4 rigs and you want 20 years than every 5 years you need to buy a rig. This pattern must continue forever. If the rig ages get to close together, your costs get piled on in a very short period. If you have a steady pattern it is easier to budget and maybe even save for.
Replacement cost (average):
2 engines $500,000 each
1 ladder $1,000,000
1 Rescue $250,000
Your average is $562,500. If you buy one new rig each year you need to budget $112,500 every year (plus inflation) and you will maintain your fleet at no rig over 20. and a new rig every 5 years.

Finally is an interesting way to put replacing a 2001 ladder truck. Look around New England, a 13 or 14 year old truck ain't old. Ours is a 1995 with NO plans of replacement.
Sometimes I wonder about how some people on this board miss reality a bit. They seem to think that money for equipment grows on trees and how we deserve certain kinds of equipment. I deserve a safe working environment. It's up to the taxpayers and the elected officials to decide what to provide me as far as equipment goes. It's the leaderships job to educate them as to how to best spend their money.
As far as saying a dept is finally replacing something that many other departments would be thrilled to have...doesn't quite jive for me with most jurisdiction's financial realities.

Fairfield Fire Department New Engine 2
Spartan/Marion
Should be delivered in about 2 weeks time.

A bunch of us from the airport went up to Boston for our annual FAA certifications.  Here's a few pics for you guys!
 
 

Two things jumped out at me in this article. First it seems to be that these two departments have been functioning as one for some time so this may be a matter of formality to combine. I can see good and bad to this, as it seems to include stretching the career staff pretty thin. However if they are responding into that area already, it might reduce response time depending on their deployment. I think it is a good thing that these departments are starting the talks themselves instead of having them forced upon them by the municipalities and having to start from behind the 8 ball.
 
Second was the idea that this would create 3 organizations. Two VFD's and 1 Career staff (article did not call it an FD) that would all essentially work for the same district. So I am not sure this is really all that much of a consolidation, at least not more of one than they already have. Other than management of the career staff (which might become more complicated) I don't see a big change here. Although much depends on who will be responsible for what, such as apparatus, equipment and stations.

We never had much in the way of formal daytime drills, but in my old station if there were a bunch of members around during the day it was not unusual to hold a drill. We got a lot of pushback on that from members who worked during the day and felt that they were being denied the "right" to drill so those of us around in the day should not do drill reports or get any kind of credit for doing that drill. This was also briefly a problem when we were a combination department and there were occasional drills during the day for the career staff and any available volunteers. There was a certain volunteer element that felt these were somehow being used to avoid our weekly nighttime drills.
 
I am a fan of drilling in any way possible and favor a combination of day and night drills, whenever possible. I applaud that department for figuring out a way around the problems their membership was having.