RescueKujo

I wonder how much of this staffing issue is due to the crew chief from a fire in Washington State being charged with manslaughter in the deaths of his crew in 2001. I'm betting a lot of managers decided to take their retirement rather than face "armchair quarterbacking" by people who weren't involved in the incident or with their crew at the time of a safety incident. And to tell the truth, I don't blame them. Too many people here out west won't accept the fact that you know what happens and structures will be lost in some wildland fires. They expect firefighters to protect every piece of property, and if they die doing it state "well, that's their job".

Years ago, when I was still an active Firefighter (Volunteer), I listened to a frank discussion of tactics after Houston FD lost 3 firefighters. The Houston incident was a unoccupied McDonald's at 3 a.m. The discussion was at a conference, and was between Tom Brennan and Chief Brunacini. The question asked that started the discussion was "Why are we (The Fire Service) doing interior attack on buildings that are non occupied and a bulldozer will tear down in 24-48 hours away? My question is, is the Fire Service still doing this and if so, why? Firefighter's lives are not worth an insured buildings. Am I wrong? Thanks for your replies in advance.

To echo somewhat things that have been posted, anything and anyone can be a threat anymore. No matter how much investigating is done, as long as someone hides their ideologies and beliefs, you cannot identify them as a threat until they do or say something that brings them to the forefront. We as first responders are part of the first line of defense and must remain vigilant at all times.

May their memories never fade. Remember the Fallen.

After using the site for a few days, it appears to me the upgardes are working well. Once again, thanks go out to the EMTBravo team for a job well done, and to keeping the site updated and working well. Duane

Happy Independence Day everyone. For those like me who are on duty, stay safe in all you do.

Isn't that the truth??? We lose too many people over there to these things.

I've seen a video of the tests on one of those, not sure if it was the Cougar or Buffalo. If the vehicle is over the IED, it deflects the blast to the sides of the vehicle, rather than the blast going straight up into the passenger compartment.

I hear ya, Doc. Sometimes Discretion is the better part of Valor.

Thank you for sharing, Chris. Many fire points for people to follow.

I have never understood why the politicos don't understand that emergency fire and medical services are basic things the government must provide for their citizens. And in doing so, they must provide the proper equipment to do so. So why is this and any department having to do fundraisers to pay for this equipment?

Seth, I remember posting photos of a few west coast ALFs on another board early this year, and was thanked by a moderator for posting photos of a "near future" release. It's now the 3rd quarter, and no ALF TDAs so far. And C3 wonders why their sales are down. I truly wonder how much longer Funrise will fund this venture. The dealer I order through told me they were having trouble scheduling their pickup (only 1 hour away from C3) of Boston FD's E30 from the warehouse, as due to lack of sales the warehouse is only open 2-3 days a week. How much longer before we play Taps for Code 3??

Seth, I would like to thank you and your administrators for being inovative and willing to to try new ideas in while attempting to make the forum better. At least the board isn't stagnant and boring!! Duane

And when did we get "PC" on this board??

I understand using older molds to raise capital, but come on. The reason you're not selling much is most of your clients are waiting for molds talked about but not followed through on.

Unfortunately, I feel this act is like many others these days, that people don't understand or care about the ramifications of their actions. While I understand the thought, let the professionals rebuild these monuments, but restitution should include: 1) Watching the entire video of 9/11, from the impact of plane #1 to the collapse of the 2nd tower. If there is explict video of the pile including body recovery, make the idiots watch that, too. 2) On Christmas and each victim's birthday, the idiots must visit with the victim's families to see how they are remembered. 3) And of course, payment for the repair. A fine, in the form of a donation, should also be made to any remaining victim's fund. 4) And jail time, if possible.

As I said, it'll be interesting to check out. When I first started in 1989, my company had 2 widebody Dodge vans (we called them the Guppies) that were backup units for our Children's Hospital Transport contract. Very unstable, top heavy SOBs. You really had to be careful driving them.

Makes me wonder if large bulk purchases of any of the above or fertilizer is analized. Mix the right ingredients and you get what Timothy McVeigh and the like had.

Skittlebrau, is that like the idea of Slim Jim straws?? Drill a hole down the center of a Slim Jim and drink your beer through it?? Brillant! (Courtesy of Bill Engvall, professional comedian, as opposed to me, a hopeless amateur)

How come when I heard about this the phrase "would you like a slurpee with your beef jerky" popped into my head??

If you're talking fuel lines, as in gasoline, diesel or aviation fuel, it may or may not happen. It all depends on safety checks in the pipeline. As for gas pipelines, fire can travel readily down the flume of gas. However, that distance is once again determined by the valves and safety devices on the lines. As for multi casualties, it depends where the pipeline is. I remember a pipeline explosion years ago back east that wiped out an apartment complex.

I wonder if the possibility of those fines will cut into the tourist business in Virginia.

Looks good, Seth. Thank you for obliging us. Duane

AMR's company wide policy is to stop at all red lights, then proceed. It has saved my bacon more than a few times, because as I was stopped, another vehicle zipped through the intersection (once was one of our Medic units going to a different response, another time it was a Code 3 police vehicle). In my opinion this is a very good policy. Remember your EVOC and defensive driving skills. I don't know about back east, but our lights and sirens are only a request for the right of way.

Make it 3!!