velcroMedic1987

When you're 8 and weigh 75 pounds soaking wet and have the energy of a gazelle, it's possible. Not many 8 year old girls in the FDNY though so his point is, well, moot.

Andrew, if your EMS shift causes you to cry - in pain or anything else - maybe you should also consider other possible professions. It's not going to get better when you're older and if you try to "suck it up" you'll wind up injured or just one of those nasty bastids in EMS we all shake our head about. You're young! Explore other options before you find yourself a 45 year old with a bad back dreading every day at work.

That's your opinion. If there is no other emergency vehicle on scene you're giving yourself absolutely no protection by parking in front of the crash. If you leave all your lights flashing from the front, you're very likely making the scene harder to see too. I'll say this about your points, there are more ways than one to control traffic than a fire truck (25 tons or not). A properly positioned police car or EMS vehicle will provide you with more protection than you think. It takes a tremendous amount of force to move a stopped vehicle; it takes even more force to move it a substantial distance. If you're parking close enough for the engine heat to keep you warm while you work you're too damn close. If you're parked 50-60 feet away (depending on the speed of the road, you're giving yourself a bigger cushion. Finally, the positioning of the vehicle is only one part of the control of traffic. Flares, cones, momentarily stopping traffic to create a back-up that will slow traffic, fire police, real police, DOT/Highway crews, are all resources that haven't been mentioned in this thread.

Of course he did. That's the problem, they're being OVERTRAINED. They're not UNDERQUALIFIED!

When I first started in the field, I carried all that crap on me but all it really did was give me a back ache. As I got older and wiser, I trimmed it to a pair of shears, flashlight and stethescope. Do you really need to carry a BP cuff on your person? Don't you bring a bag with you when you contact a patient? Keep it light, keep it functional. If you don't use it on every call, you can probably leave it on the ambulance until you do.

I agree except when you're first on scene. You gotta block it even if only temporarily until other vehicles arrive. To pull past the accident and leave all the lights flashing past the scene creates a great environment for a mishap.

Your department "assisted" in the searches. Searches for missing, especially endangered missing, are generally a law enforcement matter and we (fire, EMS, etc.) support their operations.

Exactly my point.

Empress is not a UASI partner nor did they contribute any funding for the project. Why should their patch be on it? No disrespect to Empress but they're a contractor. The contract could change and it could be somebody else providing Yonkers with 911 EMS. It used to change often, hence the term velcro patches.

Sometimes having people that are not FF is better than having a guy with preconceived ideas or who thinks they know better than the chief. In cases where the commish is not an FF, they should be advised by the chief of department who should be the subject matter expert on the fire service. The board should consider the needs of the department and the demands of the taxpayers and choose the best course of action with both in mind.

Fully interoperable? Really? Are you referring to Westchester County?

Doesn't matter what times you use/record and it doesn't matter how many different data points are used if it doesn't have any impact on the system and your future operations. If you don't change your system based on your data, why bother collecting it? Of course we have agencies that operate based on the way we've been doing it since ambulances were cadillacs and the crew chief had advanced first aid. To them statistics is just another word.

And you're missing my point. Like respect, professionalism is something that must be earned/displayed/projected. It is not something you just "get" because you're in EMS. There are plenty of bozos in EMS (paid and volunteer). There are also plenty of professionals (again, both paid and volunteer). This is NOT related to your pay status. If you don't conduct yourself properly and you're not competent, you're not professional! It's not totally different, that's the point. Your conduct and skills directly relate to whether or not you're professional. Clean, groomed, properly attired (preferably in uniform), respectful, able to communicate with the patient, family/bystanders, other responders, and the hospital is a good start toward being professional. It's all part of the package. I've been in the Emergency Department and heard the staff talking about how someone looked unprofessional so appearance does carry a lot of weight. You can say all you want but first impressions are lasting impressions and the public may never get to see anything more than your appearance so what do they base their opinion on?

And you should also consider "volunteer" agencies who employ personnel - Eastchester VAC, Ossining VAC, Peekskill VAC (or are they under contract with a commercial now), Larchmont/Mamaroneck VAC, Scarsdale VAC, etc.....

You have to operate professionally to be considered professional. I hardly consider all the sloppy EMT's and paramedics I see professional and it doesn't matter whether they collect a paycheck or not.

Both correct. A buddy says that the State Police aren't participating in Project Impact this year so the County is providing extra officers on weekend nights as a show of greater force and presence. Last year the troopers did it and they called it gray and blue or something like that.

NYPD is a NYC agency. The vehicel and traffic law is a State Law. If they were going to follow anyone, they'd follow the State Police, not the NYPD (no offense). Is your point that you want front facing blue lights or what?

There were a lot of downtown/financial district locations as well. Most serviced by TransCare but a few other companies played in that sandbox as well.

The Federal Government doesn't pay for anything. WE pay for anything that the government provides. You can put a dollar sign on human life, it happens all the time with insurance companies, actuarials, the courts, and more. Rather a chilling thing to observe in action! If you really think Mexico has better healthcare than the United States, there are daily flights from JFK and LGA! That's absurd!

Explain how this program is "FREE". Nothing is FREE! I don't care if you're talking about a kid's lemonade stand on the corner, a volunteer fire department, or Obamacare they all have a cost that is borne by someone. How many people are losing their jobs and/or their current insurance because of Obamacare? I have friends who lost their full-time jobs because their employees can't afford to pay insurance costs.

Who cares? Nobody pays any attention to lights anyway. We have effectively dulled the publics sensitivity to them by adding them to every vehicle on the planet. Tow trucks, HELP trucks, funeral vehicles, service trucks, utility trucks, school buses, jolly vollies, and authorized emergency vehicles. You go blind driving through a scene at night these days. Go back to the Smokey and the bandit bubble light for all I care!

We can't work together because of egos and attitudes. Budgets, call volume, and everything else notwithstanding, it all boils down to the fact that big egos won't let consolidation happen and lousy attitudes exist on both sides of the equation, including yours! Insulting Barry, one of the few people who has consistently lobbied for improvements in both fire and EMS in Westchester County is not only uncalled for (and a forum no-no), it's flat-out WRONG. For as long as I've been involved in Westchester, Barry has been more involved, teaching, consulting, mentoring, training, and stating the facts. He states the facts even when it wasn't in his department's best interest. Barry is a great source of accurate information and has been used by many departments in the county to make improvements. He doesn't deserve your stupid snipe and his contributions to the emergency services in Westchester prove you wrong.

The wattage of the portables may make a difference too. Check that out.

They may not be competitors. It may be fine if the areas of operatoin on the CON's don't overlap. There have been subsidaries of other EMS providers operating in different territories before and I'm sure there will continue to be in the future. If EMStar took over HVP's operating certificate, they have the hudson valley territory. If they're owned by the same people who own senior care (Manhattan/Bronx) and Richmond (Staten Island), there is no monopoly and no price fixing. No different than Transcare having a certificate for all those areas under a single company. All the price fixing happens at Medicare and Medicaid anyway.

A moment of silence is generally a better way to show your respect and pray. Sirens are for parades.