weaselff

Shocker!

I had a friend who worked down in "DCFEMS" and that dept has many similar issues.

Some decent NYC*EMS photos can be seen at http://stevespak.com/spak/ems.html

Wow awsome photos from back in the day. While I never worked "pre merger" those photos still brought back memories. The uniforms may have changed but the game remains the same. I almost missed working for EMS for about 30 seconds.

Got rid of it 2 years ago after most every one I knew switched to Verizon. The service sucked and hardly any friends and family members had DC anymore. Was useful back when i worked construction. As for casual conversation it was nothing more than a fad back in 2003 for me...and I think pretty much everyone else in America. It was so annoying you could never get away from that f'N chirp, the movies, resteraunts, family gatherings it didn't matter. The other day I was riding the LIRR and the kid behind me was having a DC conversation. For the first 2 minutes it was kind of nostalgic since it was the first time i'd heard it in a while, but after that I wanted to strangle him!!!

Years from now when we look back on the early 2000's we'll smile and cringe when we think of nextel, similar to the way we look back on disco and bell bottoms

Ive been thinking for the last few years that maybe MV should just be annexed by NYC and become part of the Bronx. For my 28 years on this planet it has been the joke of Westchester County. The people of the 'Vern have continued to vote corrupt nitwits into public office year after year. The city is a mess, crime is rampant and the tax base is non-existant. I think we should just call it a wrap and give it a 718 area code, maybe the nice part by the cross county can become part of Eastchester.

The Mets should get rid of Omar Minaya, who has been more concerned with turning the Mets into "Team DR" instead of a winning ball club. At the risk of sounding controversial I think they need more American born English speaking players who can communicate with each other and have a better understanding of the fundamentals of the game. Id also like to see someone turn into a clutch player and a locker room leader, for now we're stuck with Wright who is just AROD Jr.

Is it just me but does anyone else think they should have had their ceremonies before the game? For the Yankees this seemed to psyche up both the fans and players, and they played a great final game at the stadium.

Probies at "The Rock" will work day tours for a week straight in a 10-14 engine (4 FF, so one open seat on the back step). They will not do see any fire duty and only be allowed into a structure once the incident is declared under control. They will learn A.F.I.D. and house related chores as well.

Interesting plan.

I think they are running out of things for them to do over 6 months. I was there today and the probies were out landscaping, I sh-t you not!

23 CFR Part 634 - Worker Visibility

Full text of law here:

http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2008/apr.../23cfr634.1.pdf

Is anyone aware of this law? Have any departments outfitted thier personel with the required ANSI approved equiptment? I'm just looking for input/insight on this. At my company we have a ANSI class 3 vest for every riding position on the apparatus.

In Virginia, I think Fairfax county my friend tells me it is not only required but enforced that each member wears a traffic vest whenever they leave the apparatus.

Weasel, I was thinking the same thing about E-88, which is why I took a triple take when I saw it.

Yeah CPAGE cleared it up. E-88 was brought to the convention by Seagrave, not by the job.

PDBuff I see you are in the 14-17 age group so i'll let you slide. FDNY doesn't buy equipment because its the best, FDNY buys equipment from the lowest bidder.

but they cant be that bad if the FDNY has over 60 units in sevice right?

F.D.N.Y

Engine Co. 88

2008 Seagrave Marauder II

1500/500

Photo at Wildwood NJ 2008

Photo by: Rescue29Engine23

This is not the first time a FDNY unit has been at wildwood prior to the delivery of the unit to the city. Most of the time the dealer / builder has been granted the ok to show the apparatus at trade shows.

As well when Yonkers got the older ALF rescue it was showed at wildwood.

ok that makes sense, i just couldn't imagine the city authorizing that kind of other OT, unless it was the Vulcans for recruitment. Then again I dont think they have white boys from Jersey in mind for that

Anyone know what was going on in Central Jersey last Saturday? I was on the Garden State Parkway and saw several trucks cruising northbound, maybe a show or parade or something...and I'm talking about 20+ including New FDNY Engine 88 with the new cab style...very sharp in person. Just wondering.

Can anyone confirm that FDNY 88 Engine was in Wildwood? I'd find it hard to believe the city would send a rig 100+ miles to a volly convention in Jersey. I think maybe it was a vol. dept. that "coincidentally" has a similar paint scheme to FDNY, and also runs an 88 engine.

Are you making a BARB related comment? LOL

No actually I was just busting chops on some other over-zealous companies. That was the day of that whole disastorous Kentland 33 discussion. Barb would also make sense though, good pick up!

"The state launched a volunteerism Web site this week, and Gov. David Paterson added a position to his Cabinet in an effort to spur volunteers in New York.

By visiting www.newyorkersvolunteer.org, people can find volunteer opportunities by county, ZIP code and subject category, such as human services, public safety, animals and environment..........New York is the second state in the nation to have a Cabinet position to address community service, a Paterson spokeswoman said. California was the first, she said....................New York has one of the lowest rates of volunteerism in the country at 20.1 percent of the population, according to a 2007 report by the Corporation for National & Community Service. The only state with a lower rate over a three-year period was Nevada (17.5 percent). The highest was Utah (45.9 percent). The national average was 27 percent of adults............The initiative to increase volunteerism and post opportunities on the Web is fantastic, said John Ravitz, chief executive officer of the American Red Cross, Westchester County Chapter. Volunteers make up 96 percent of the group's work force, and the chapter wants to increase its volunteers from 500 to 1,000 in three years, he said........"

From http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article...EWS05/809130356

Interesting article. I wonder if they count volunteer ff's & EMS into there numbers? Also I went to there web site and found no EMS agencies and only 2 Fire Depts in Westchester advertising that they need volunteers. I guess either no one knows the state is trying to push this or agencies don't want "outsiders" joining.

It seems to me most vfd's and vac's are bending over backwards to allow anyone with a pulse to join if they are somewhat interested. I have heard of a few local departments that are still turning people away, like it was the old days when local youth were beating down the door to ride the backstep.

Personaly, I dont think that EDP's have any business being transported in an ambulance. There is nothing that EMS can do for these people to correct their condition (and i dont want to hear any crap about possible underlying medical problems). Not to mention that the vast majority of them that 911 are called for have a tendancy towards violance. In suffolk co. cpep admision are handled by pd. Thats how it should be done in nyc and everywhere else as well. In NYC EDP's a listed as a segment 7 response which means no lights or sirens to the scene, because the persons medical necesity for ambulance transport is likely non existant, but because someone requested an ambulance we are legaly obliged to respond. Its just part of the continued abuse and over use of the EMS system.

Just one of many reasons why working for FDNY EMS sucks. However, I always found EDP jobs an entertaining way to break up an otherwise boring day of "domino pains" "siezas" and "Ive fallen and I cant getup".

I remember being 15 years old when Load came out and being so dissapointed. Me and my friend Tommy waited for weeks for the "Until it Sleeps" single to be premiered on the old Q104.3 when it was a hard rock/metal station. We were speechless, couldn't belive how bad it sucked. I was expecting at least the Black Album and got some crappy "lite-alternative" band instead. The logo change, the eye makeup, bad haircuts, new soft sound, no gutar solos, it was definitely the most dissapointing moment of June 1996.

I haven't heard the new album yet, but I have heard there new song "Cyanide", and it does sound closer to their early work. It is at least Black Album worthy material.

I was in my junior year of college at Oneonta in a lecture hall class, I think it was Intro to Anthropolgy. I was sitting there and I remember this girl behind me started talking to her friend about a plane hitting the trade center. I wasnt really listnening and I assumed it was just a horrible accident, like a cessna or something hitting the building. I remembered reading about a B25 bomber on a training mission during WW2 hitting the Empire State Building in a fog and I assumed it was similar situation. It was an overcast day in Oneonta(big suprise) and that explanation seemed entirely plausible. After class I was walking through campus and I was hearing bits and pieces of conversations between students. I kept overhearing words like "terrorists", "collapse", "bomb", "trade center", etc. I decided I needed to find out what was going on so I went to the campus library to use the internet. I went to CNN.com which took forever to load, and when the screen finally came up, it took my breath away. I got up from the computer and went to the bathroom and paced back and forth muttering "holy s***" to myself under my breath like a crazy person. When I got back to my apartment I remember like 10 kids I didn't know in my living room that my roomate had invited in. It was a bunch of my neighbors in my apartment complex. I think it was one of those moments, excuse the cliche, where no one wanted to be alone. I remember spending the rest of the day trying to contact my parents and sisters which I remember being difficult since everyone else in the freeworld was trying to do the same thing. I didn't talk to my Father until the next day. He had went with the vollys to the mobilization on Bailey Ave. and then Yonkers Raceway.

I was a volunteer firemen at the time when I was home from school, and had always considered taking the city firefighter test. In the days and weeks following however, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. The way the men of FDNY stood together in spite of this horrible tragedy really touched me, they proved to me "it was still the Greatest job on earth!" I continued on with school and graduated but my heart wasn't really in it. I spent the next few years with the ultimated goal of becoming a NYC fireman getting my chance as and FDNY EMT in 2005 and as a Firefighter in 2007. Today I proudly serve the people of New York and the legacy of those 343 heroes.

I think the real problem is alot of so called Careeer Guys on this Board don't like hearing a Volunteer Dept. is showing them up when it comes down to JOBS and the dedication and professsionalism that goes into suppressing them.

Ok like I didn't praise numerous local volunteer and combo FD's in previous pages including Central Islip, Brentwood, Spring Valley, Peekskill and Lake Mohegan that are all extremely busy and get the job done? The members of these departments show up alot of career departments when it comes down to JOBS and the dedication and professionalism that goes into supressing them. They also are "doin it" with actual community residents and not a dorm full of buffs(not the cool kind). They also dont need ride alongs, a cheesy internet documentary, and clownish T-shirts for sale on their web site, all in an effort to stroke their egos.

Now I'm really putting this thread to rest, good night and safe tours gentlemen.

HAHAHALOL...You nailed it brother...it's not really even about Kentland is it? Rather, how out of touch with reality some of our other brothers are, hero worship of places like Kentland AND OF COURSE, OH MY, FDNY!!!(which for the record is a great department and one on which I have many friends, active and retired)...these guys (the out of touch with reality buffs, not necessarily all buffs) will, apparently never get past that immature stage of the young kid who dresses up like a firefighter and goes to visit his heroes in the local firehouse and has no concept of what the job is all about other than flashing lights and sirens, and fireman "costumes" i.e. all the FDNY and other buff paraphenilia that they can't seem to leave home without...it will never change and, to me, it's the most annoying thing about being a member of the fire service...

Hey, how many times has one of you guys been somewhere, a restaurant or whatever, having a nice time, and one of these aforementioned brothers walks in, all decked out in FDNY garb, big beer belly hanging out over his multiple pagers, and you just cringe?

Can't you see yourselves brothers???????

I really liked all the guys name dropping FDNY in their defense of Kentland like it means something to someone who is already on the job. Don't get me wrong, Im as a big a buff as anybody. There will always be a little kid inside me that likes to see big red trucks racing down the street, but I got over the hero worship of FDNY and places like Kentland about the time I was old enough to get a drivers liscence. I would never go down there and stroke these guys egos when I am justifiably proud of my own achievements in both the civilian world and in the fire service. I am living my dream in a "middle of the road" FDNY engine company that racks up 3000+ runs a year. Maybe those aren't Kentland numbers...but those guys are never carrying roll ups and a standpipe kit 11 flights in the PJ's and then going to work. They also didnt go through hell at the rock, or get their balls busted by psychotic maniacs for their entire probationary period, or have to worry about jobs in hi-rises undergoing various phases of construction, demolition and renovation. This isn't even getting into terrorist threats.

I rest my case, and I am putting this slow motion car wreck of a thread to bed.

By the way Yonkers FD is top notch, my Dad's cousin was a Yonkers Firemen for 30 years. I also have a few family friends that are or were on the job. All great guys and really into the job.

I like Statistics, they help show what trends are. Granted often there are minor errors, but they help to give a general overview.

According to the PGFD 2007 Annual Report (from PGFD website)

Kentland 33 had 5,287 EMS calls and 1,901 FIRE calls in 2007.

Total 7,188

74% EMS

26% Fire (plus all other calls)

Interesting that Kentland 33's site brages about how busy they are (claiming 7,200 runs) but there is no mention that 74% is EMS. I guess they would not be that impressive to the buffs if that was there.

Also interesting that the Fire to EMS call ratio is the same for 33 as for the rest of PG county.

The Rescue Engine responded 1,815

Engine 4,439

Mini 3,255

Tower 947

Thats funny since according to the Brentwood LI FD website they average 1600 runs a year, with no EMS. I know because the EMS in that neighborhood is handled by Brentwood Legion Ambulace. Wow a dept as busy as Kentland in our own backyard that doesn't need a dormful full of out of state workers to get the job done.

We don't have to "ride" with them to have an opinion. The very fact that they "would be more than glad to accomodate" anyone who just shows up for a "ride along" is just one more reason for my opinion that they are an embarrasment to the fire service, are dangerous to other fire companies they operate alongside of, and are more interested in showing off and playing fireman than serving their community.

Hey JFLYNN I used to think like you until I did a ridealong with Kentland and let me tell you they are the most neato fire department around! When I first got there I met the proby "Maine Matt" he was so cool! In the first hour we went on a car fire and then to a cigarette smoldering in a garbage can, the flames were INTENSE! I saw real fire! When we got back to the fire station me and "Maine Matt" ate a whole box of pop tarts cause we need the energy to fight fires all night. "Maine Matt" then showed me the proper temperature to set the oven to make my leather helmet more salty looking. It was so cool I cant wait to show all my friends! After that I talked to this other guy. He wore a scally cap like old time firefighters in New York City! He said on his off days he likes to go to clubs and dance with other guys, I thought that was weird, but he was such an awesome firefighter I didn't care. He even asked me to go with him when my 24 hour ridealong was finished!!! Later that night we went to 3 automatic fire alarms and then the topper was a roaring chimney fire! Before we put it out "Maine Matt" put his helmet upside down on top of the chimney. He said thats what all the toughest firefighters do! In the morning I met the fire chief, and let me tell you he was just as cool as everybody else! He gave me an application and said as soon as my peach fuzz could grow into a real handlebar mustache I could join too!!! My trip to Kentland was so totally cool!!!

It should have said, I think 75 and 33 were first due there!

no 75/33 is 2nd due over there, and 290 is 3rd due

Did they laugh Pete Lund out of the kitchen? Was he a tool? No he wasn't he was probably the best fireman the FDNY will ever see. If you don't know people from Kentland don't bash anyone from Kentland. My best friend ran down there a few years ago and he's the nicest most down to earth person I have ever met. Don't get the wrong impression from videos that have been surfacing from 3 or 4 years ago. Get to know the people before you judge them.

Im not really bashing anyone from Kentland, Im just not all that impressed with them. Is it a requirement for me to bow down to the almighty altar of Kentland? This board is frequented by many FDNY, Yonkers, FDMV, NRFD etc Firemen that have been in and seen some crazy sh*t. Hell in our own backyards we have volly depts like Spring Valley, Brentwood and Central Islip and combo depts like Peekskill and Lake Mohegan that run their balls off day in and day out without the benefit of dorms to house out of state resident buffs. This isn't EMTIowa.com. If you think you are gonna impress guys here with Kentland 33 action you are sadly mistaken. I said it before, Kentland does run and are good at what they do, but they are not gods. Most of the guys I saw in the webisodes would wash out at the Rock on the mile and half run, let alone FST or motivation alley.

From what I heard Pete Lund (RIP) was a hell of a fireman, if he was involved with Kentland that was his business.

I thought Kentland 33 was first due over there. j/k

I have read many posts about KVFD over the years and until now, I have kept quiet. I believe, however, that here I must set the record strait.

I don't know what you "hear" but I can tell you what I experienced as a member of KVFD from 1989 through 1991. In my 30 years in the fire service (in 5 states and 6 departments) as a FF, officer, and chief, I encountered fewer primadonnas or clowns in Kentland than anywhere else. The blowhards and BS artists (yes, we all have them, career or volunteer) simply did not hack it or were literally (and physically) thrown out. Yes, KVFD had (and probably still has) its share of eccentrics, but what it had no shortage of was heart, skill, dedication, and true commitment to professionalism on the line. Yes, there were quite a few members on the job with DCFD, as well as Fairfax, Montgomery, and Howard Counties, not to mention a few nut cases from FDNY who would car pool down from Brooklyn a weekend a month. What I loved about KVFD was it allowed me to do two shifts a week (Thursday evening & Sunday day) and still have get ample opportunities to fight fires (not to be confused with running calls). This allowed me and my brothers at 33 to spend the rest of the week on our "real lives,” including chasing girls, etc. Buffy? If going to multiple working jobs every week is buffy, yes I guess so. As to being "whitebread suburban guys," Dude, you are so wrong. KVFD was the most racially and economically diverse firehouse I have EVER seen ANYWHERE. We had quite a few members who grew up nearby in the Hood, and they were crucial in helping us get out of more than a few hairy situations in the projects. We had more African American members than any other firehouse I have ever seen, with the exception of PGFD station 38 (Chapel Oaks), which proudly proclaims itself as "Maryland's first all black fire department." No, there are not a lot of hirise structures in beautiful downtown Landover, but there was non-stop work in the projects, tax payers, commercial structures, and on the Beltway. No it wasn't Report from Engine Co. 82, but it was (and remains) busy and it was one of the hardest working group of dedicated professionals I have ever come across.

How are things at 33 now vs. in my day? I cannot say for certain. From what I hear, they are not too different. Yes, their website probably does attract some clowns and yes, they are (and we were) pretty darn cocky. Nevertheless, I would encourage you to visit and ridealong before passing judgment. If you can hack it, you will likely walk away very impressed by what you experience.

Nuff said.

Wow I must have touched a nerve! All I had to see was a helmet come out of the oven during the promo webisode and one word came to mind "tools". I'm sure these guys are good at what they do, fighting contents fires in private dwellings and pin jobs on the beltway, but to act like this bunch of 22 year olds with salty staches and scally caps are the most professional firemen you've ever seen is ludicrous. What a slap in the face to a lot of career and volly firemen all over the country who are also "doin it" on a regular basis. I also don't need the "BFD" stamp of approval about guys carpooling down there. I don't know how things are over in the 15th division but where I work if you had any association with these guys you would be laughed out of the kitchen.