velcroMedic1987

Wow....lotsa conclusions being made here. It seems that there was confusion about where the patient was going to be brought, not trouble with an underway transfer. The captain stated that he had to get underway an FD/PD made way for that to happen. They settled on a place to meet outside of the Narrows. Done and done....

Not just for promotions. Most civil service positions now require college credits at the ENTRY LEVEL. Getting a good job with nothing more than a HS diploma is fast becoming a thing of the past.

Yeah, you hit the nail on the head!
PARENTS! Not the school, not the FD, not the government.
Good for you!!!

Yeah, you hit the nail on the head!
PARENTS! Not the school, not the FD, not the government.
Good for you!!!

Not just for promotions. Most civil service positions now require college credits at the ENTRY LEVEL. Getting a good job with nothing more than a HS diploma is fast becoming a thing of the past.

Yeah, you hit the nail on the head!
PARENTS! Not the school, not the FD, not the government.
Good for you!!!

My name is Vincent Antonecchia, I am a Sergeant with the Westchester County Police and the Commanding Officer of The Westchester County Police Aviation Unit. After being alerted to the content of this forum, I am compelled to respond professionally, clear up any false information or misconceptions and provide accurate details about our capabilities and the mechanism for requesting our services.
We are still very much assisting regional jurisdictions and municipalities. The Unit consists of six police officers, including myself and we are all trained as Tactical Flight Officers. One officer is our Unit mechanic. He is A&P/IA licensed through the FAA and has extensive experience and training in the commercial aviation industry. We currently have two Bell 407 helicopters and there are four commercially rated helicopter pilots with varying backgrounds, training and experience. Safety is our number one priority and we strive to be available and provide whatever resources we can to Police, Fire and OEM's. Recently, at the request of the Westchester County DPW, we used our infrared FLIR technology to locate a large underground steam leak at the Westchester Medical Center and prevented the need to dig multiple and costly search holes.
We are available 24/7/365, but obviously limited during inclement weather, high winds, crew availability and concurrent operations. Due to manpower limitations, calls for service and budget constraints, we staff the Unit five days a week from 0900/2400 hours. Our services are FREE as we are a regional asset and regularly operate outside of Westchester County. Any municipality requesting air support should contact the WCPD Desk Officer at (914) 864-7890. Any specific questions concerning the Unit and our capabilities can contact me directly at (914) 995-5019.
The following is a list of our most commonly requested services and capabilities in no particular order:
Bambi-Bucket (fire fighting) operations. We do not require Forest Ranger of SEMO authorization to be called, but requests should be based on common sense, severity and requesting agency protocols FLIR (Infrared) searches (day & night) - Great for locating suspects, lost hikers or "Hot-spots" at fire scenes Ice/water rescue Scene Illumination Aerial photography (Video and/or stills) Surveillance and/or reconnaissance Live video microwave downlinking Project Lifesaver Special Response Team and/or equipment insertion or extraction Scene Illumination Locating and identifying fuel spills/contamination of waterways Force multiplier We are currently conducting hoist training with the WCPD Emergency Services Unit and Marine Unit and will have this completed in mid-May.
Thank you to all who have supported our cause and utilized our services. We look forward to providing whatever regional air support is necessary to increase safety and enhance or further your mission success.

Please don't compare serving in the military with being a volunteer FF. There is no comparison at all.

Please don't compare serving in the military with being a volunteer FF. There is no comparison at all.

Please don't compare serving in the military with being a volunteer FF. There is no comparison at all.

That is true, but 18 year olds in the military have to finish high school before they can serve. Also being in the military is a career, volunteer FD is not. While they are making a great sacrifice, it also helps them put their lives in order. Trying to balance finishing high school with a VFD can be very distracting, and I don't see how anyone these days cannot agree education should come first. I can't speak for all volunteer departments, but I'd have to say from what I've seen more departments suffer from their older members saying "well I have work in the morning, can't go." rather than their high schoolers not showing up.

Regardless of who dictated the policy I agree with it...school is first.

Our department has had such a policy for many years. In addition to the hours junior members are allowed at the firehouse, they are also prohibited from responding to calls outside the district, have to meet academic requirements, and their membership is subject to parental consent until they graduate or are otherwise considered to be emancipated.
Although I am not positive, the hours on school nights may be due to child labor laws.

If there is a New York State law regarding this, please provide verifiable section, etc. I am not familiar with any law like this and I'm sure that others may be wondering, too.

If a department cannot "mess" with a persons service award points, how do you explain disciplinary suspension?

Did you ask them why?
The FD instituted the policy, not the school.
Why are you assuming the school is behind it?

I think that before you take to the keyboard you should get the facts. You make quite a serious allegation of your department being influenced by an outside source, do you know this to be true? Question these types of things in house before going to the all mighty internet.
Now as far as the policy, good job! They are kids in school. Schooling is required for a job, a job is required to feed a family. I don't think my volunteer department had ever bought dinner for my kids.

I think you should check the FCC rules and other laws as the pertain to the interception of radio transmissions and the "divulgence of information intercepted". The information we transmit in in reality "public" due to technology, but has been regulated as if it were private. In years passed we'd quote the FCC laws to reporters that would publish information that was only heard on the scanner, they'd usually stop pretty quick. See here: www.fcc.gov/guides/interception-and-divulgence-radio-communications
And you can give names over the radio, though it is discouraged almost specifically due to scanners. In our area some PD's respond to most EMS calls, you'll hear the sanitized "name free" version on the fire/EMS frequencies, and the full disclosure version when the PD units is sent. Basically the police have been operating under the assumption that HIPAA does not apply to them. Any information needed to enure proper care to a request for medical service is allowed under HIPAA. Using names is debatable as to the actual necessity, but some places seem to know the residents better than the addresses, thus they ask for the callers name (common in rural areas). In 2014 this means your EMS service maybe a little behind the times, but alas, no one's being cited.

Satire website. Like duffelblog.com

So like I said before, Its up to the municipality. If they do not understand how a large portion of their public safety is set up, operates and costs, then shame on them.

It's a matter of want vs. need. If there aren't any buildings in your district over 2 stories you may not need a 110 foot tower ladder, but you want it! Practicality is the answer. Seth originally asked if a department who pieced together a $1 beater should replace it with a new one for $400,000. I ask why? Can you justify a $400,000 purchase? Ask yourself if the equipment on this rig can be moved to another. Can we downsize the rig? Can we go pre-owned? Do we even need it? All things that need to be considered when replacing any vehicle.

1) That's up to the village/town to determine, just like any other purchase.
2) Your 1st due engine ( in a dept. with only 2 engines) blows a motor. You only run 50 calls a year and only 1 working fire every other year. Have you set a precedent that it needs to be repaired/replaced? (answer in #1 above).

The judges are reviewing the quotes to see just what was said...the air is thick with anticipation of their decision, there's alot riding on the outcome. This could finally put the debate of paid vs volunteer to rest....
OK looks like they've reached a decision......let's get back to the ring for the English Professor's call....
"After reviewing the quotes, we have reached a decision...
Actually what was said is "people who work (or volunteer)"...people being the noun (i.e. who) and work or volunteer being the verb (i.e what they are doing), so this round goes to dave0820"!!
So there you have it folks, in an unexpected 3 to 2 call, the judges have confirmed that volunteers ARE people. Wow what drama.............

Why does drinking have to be a part of the tradition - for funerals or parades? If you want to get drunk, don't go to an event with lots of cameras, critics and big heavy trucks that need to be driven around.
Funerals have become social events and it's sad. It is supposed to be a somber showing of respect to the fallen and appreciation to the family but now its become a party event. Go back to your firehouse if you want to have a party. It doesn't need to be on the streets and in public view of those thinking there's a funeral going on.
We are our own worst enemies and the proliferation of cameras and internet distribution of photos/video makes it much easier for stupid behavior to be spread like wildfire.
There's no excuse for drinking in uniform or urinating in public places.

Why does drinking have to be a part of the tradition - for funerals or parades? If you want to get drunk, don't go to an event with lots of cameras, critics and big heavy trucks that need to be driven around.
Funerals have become social events and it's sad. It is supposed to be a somber showing of respect to the fallen and appreciation to the family but now its become a party event. Go back to your firehouse if you want to have a party. It doesn't need to be on the streets and in public view of those thinking there's a funeral going on.
We are our own worst enemies and the proliferation of cameras and internet distribution of photos/video makes it much easier for stupid behavior to be spread like wildfire.
There's no excuse for drinking in uniform or urinating in public places.