velcroMedic1987

I've never understood the need to staff an ambulance like a clown car. A crew of 5 is just absurd. I've seen a driver, crew chief, EMT, attendant and designated clipboard carrier (all wearing gloves of course but that's another rant). Do you really need someone to just carry the clipboard? What kind of "training" or "experience" are you getting by doing that?

No ambulance is designed for that and it is just plain dangerous and inefficient.

If the crew chief is that uncomfortable with his/her skills, don't be crew chief. Don't fill the ambulance with a pep squad.
Ideal crew size for an EMS call is 2-3. 90% of calls only need one EMT and for the other 10% a second set of hands in the back is nice to have but three sets of hands will just get in the way.
PS - It's not the BLS crews job to drive the ALS fly-car to the hospital so don't say you brought a valet for that reason. And don't drive to the hospital lights and siren with the fly-car but that is also another topic.

Until an inter-municipal agreement is executed and all the procedures established it is just a rumor. They may be negotiating/discussing but until they reach an agreement all this does is get people fired up for nothing.

How many times have we heard rumors like this? County DPS is taking over DES, departments are merging, etc.etc.etc.

Until an inter-municipal agreement is executed and all the procedures established it is just a rumor. They may be negotiating/discussing but until they reach an agreement all this does is get people fired up for nothing.

How many times have we heard rumors like this? County DPS is taking over DES, departments are merging, etc.etc.etc.

In regards to your question about a different Field Comm for Ops, Logs, Plans, etc. I think you're using the idea of Field Comm and an Incident Management team interchangeably, when they are typically two very different resources.

You do not need the lemon law IF you wrote a good spec and have the proper protections in the contract. Its then a case of breech of contract. Our attorneys say it applies, but may and one of our dealers told us of a case that the manufacturer told them to replace a unit. THe problem is it may take another year or 2 to get the replacement.

Why would the Somers BOC vote on dispatch for the International Space Station?

Why worry about it, all you have to consider is which light pattern you want; Red, White, Blue. and the paint job........
Maybe that's why NFPA came out with a standard. There was a thread about that and why EMS should pay attention to it. It will be the document that is used against you in court.

To my knowledge their are no regulations however you need to look at the Max GVW on the vehicle. Then add up the weight of all the equipment you carry (easiest to go to a truck scale). Then add up the weight of your crew (5 members who average 175 lbs. = 875 lbs. and I have seen many a crew member who is bigger than that.) Now add the patient and their family. And remember to consider that some of those family members/patients could be 200-300+ lbs.
Have you gone over you vehicle capacity? If you have then you are breaking the law and run a major risk of crashing because you are overloaded.
Many years I looked at these numbers on a type II ambulance and it worked out that after the equipment we could only care about 750 lbs. Now we only ran a 2 man crew (450 lbs) have a medic student (150 lbs.) and the family member (150 lbs.) and we had no capacity for the patient.

The Chief allowed the Media to talk to him. The media did not force him to do an interview. He could have said no, or later or whatever. He did not do that, he did the interview.
The Department I worked for had rules regarding Media. Basically, only certain members were allowed to do interviews.
Why only certain members?
Because the big bosses were pretty sure these certain members would not make the department look bad.
A professional image is 3/4 of the public relations battle.

Rumors. Rumors. Rumors.

I hear that 60-Control is going to take over dispatching for the International Space Station too.

10 replies......6 about lights......ugh. Guess what lights do? NOTHING! Blue. Green, pink.....2 of them14 of them, makes no difference.
Now, to respond to the very good question that matters:
Laautze gave a good answer. I'll just expand a bit. All standard FDNY engines have a 2 stage pump with a transfer valve. We operate in volume as standard practice. This means that the impellers operate in parallel and produce 50psi at idle. When the valve is switched to pressure, the impellers operate in series, one after the other. At idle, the pump generates 100psi(about). All engines are capable of pumping at high pressure (excess of 250psi) however with each additional stage the upper limit is raised and the engine doesn't have to work as hard. Additionally, engines assigned as high pressure units are outfitted with the discharges painted in white. They are a heavier build. They are meant to be mated to high pressure hose, red in color with white fittings. This hose also allows for a tether to be attached. The tethered line must be tied off to the engine and the standpipe Siamese. A 50' safety zone must be established. This is why there are no HP discharges on the pump panel side. Only a chief officer can order high pressure operations.

This is a pump that allows higher pressure discharges for high rise buildings. There are three impellers in the pump to boost the pressure 3 times allowing operators to overcome the elevation loss when crews are operating on upper floors of buildings that do not have fire pumps (or working fire pumps) on the standpipe system. This requires special high pressure hose to hook from the pumper into the FDC on the building but by the time the water gets to the fire floor you can use standard pressure hose since crews will experience normal pressures due to the elevation pressure loss. Without the ability to pump the proper pressure the crews will not have adequate pressure or flow to fight the fire. Think of how many buildings in Manhattan that are over 30 stories tall...
Most pumpers in the nation have either single or two stage pumps.
Hope this helps and its not too complicated.

the rotators tend to bounce off of buildings making it easier to see a rig before it comes around the corner whereas leds aren't as effective until they are up close

Good luck to the 60 Control dispatchers. As evidenced by some of the above posts this is not something that is unanimous. If this is something that the Board of Fire Commissioners have decided on their own and did not involve the membership to a certain degree it's going to be a bumpy road indeed.
From experience there will be a portion of people not in favor of the move, probably the majority that will be looking for any reason to slam 60 and go back to self dispatch. "The procedures were not followed correctly, half the departments pagers did not go off, the transmissions are very low, we never get answered, etc...."
Maybe not. But I'm sure 60 control dispatchers have experienced this before. The thing that sucks is that the dispatcher is caught in the middle of this BS.

Rumors. Rumors. Rumors.

I hear that 60-Control is going to take over dispatching for the International Space Station too.

Rumors. Rumors. Rumors.

I hear that 60-Control is going to take over dispatching for the International Space Station too.

Oh that's simple it's the big voice that comes out of the radio.

They could offer a test but require as a pre-requisite certain training or certifications. I think the PA has to use civil service procedures like any municipality despite their "authority" status.
Regardless of how they hire, I'm sure they're going to do training for everyone. Isn't that one of the terms of their agreement to split from the PD?

And I'm sure you would be eaten alive by plaintiff's counsel in the wrongful death suit.
If brush/wildfires are one of your hazards, you have to train for it. The budget argument has never held up in court. Quite the contrary.
(none of this is meant as disrespect.)

Short answer.. never.

Umm. Never...
The very first thing I do when walking into the facility, with my partner is go to the Nurses Station, get the paperwork, and have them page the nurse. After seeing the discharge paperwork(if everything looks straightforward and there are no ISO precautions, etc.), the person driving that day goes and makes pt contact, and the tech starts the paperwork while waiting for the nurse. Seeing the paperwork before seeing the nurse allows you to get a report from the nurse, AND ask questions if there is anything you don't understand.
If your answer is "we all do it jobs are backing up ", remember:
-If the transport goes bad, it's your fault
-If the paperwork is messed up, it's your fault
-If you did something you weren't supposed to do(pt movement, etc.), it's your fault
Patient care first, then let dispatch yell at you for being too slow.
And I work for a company that we do 6-7 jobs a tour, and they expect us to be in and out of a facility in 20 minutes from on-scene to en-route. We make it work.

1) that's great, Who do they call when its not coming from an appliance, or the utility does not provide the fuel for that appliance? Who is responsible when its coming from improperly drafting of the oil heater and the gas water heater.....the oil company or the gas company? And who do they call when the owner of the apt building does not answer the phone and their is no Supt. (the apt tenants generally have no access to the basement or even know what appliances are there.
2) Our dispatchers are taught to triage, but more important to tell people to get out of a potentially toxic environment, not to go around turning off things and opening windows, this would be no different than telling them to put out there own fire instead of getting out. We also always advise against opening anything or turning off anything (unless someone can not be moved to fresh air). Once you disturb the air flows and appliance settings its is very very difficult to find and then fix the source. 15 years ago dispatch would tell people this and we would end up getting 2, 3 or 4 call backs when the detector went off again. Particularly problematic during a major pressure inversion which forces flue gas back into the home.
3) Our taxpayers do not think so. They pay for SERVICE and they are glad when we show up in 4 minutes and the gas company does not.
4) See #2. We do not use fans until we isolate the problem. Cost several $1,000...A little inflated...Lets see, the fire truck is paid for and sitting there, the crew is paid, either way...ok so we used 2 gallons of fuel (and we buy it on state contract with no tax).
5) the same risk when they do it to any other type of call that they should not. The problem there is the dept policy not the CO call.
6) 1st home owners insurance generally would only cover it if it were a liability issue. I.e. I got CO in YOUR house, your fault, you or your insurance pay. Generally If EMS responds and does not treat or transport it is illegal to bill.

Here's brotherhood for ya. For a true fireman once it's in the blood it never leaves.



http://www.firerescu...refighters-son/



I won't be able to get to Brooklyn, but I just wanted to pass this along to anyone who can make the trip. Even if you're not a match for Owen, your marrow may help save someone else's life. Hats off and thanks to Mr. Buscemi who has shown time and again his support for his FDNY brothers and fireman in general. The least we can do is return the favor when ever possible. Wish there were more celebrities like him.

And I'm sure you would be eaten alive by plaintiff's counsel in the wrongful death suit.
If brush/wildfires are one of your hazards, you have to train for it. The budget argument has never held up in court. Quite the contrary.
(none of this is meant as disrespect.)

Must have been a slow day in NH yesterday. This thread's a year and a half old. LOL