redtruck75

Well, as someone who has been a part of the first response in the YFD for the past 22 years, I couldn't care less about what you Bull might find overdramatic, or what you Jack might find unnecessary and unprofessional. I've spent the majority of my career in SW yonkers and have seen good and i have seen bad when it comes to Empress. I, like JFlynn believe the 2 entities work well together (give or take a nut in a safari hat). But I believe the first salvo fired in this episode came from the bosses at Empress when they stated blatantly false response times in an effort to seize sole control over EMS in Yonkers, knowing full well it would cost jobs in the yfd, and worse yet, put the lives of the citzens at risk. So what would the main benefit be ? Greater profit maybe ? I don't know what was uglier , the false numbers being produced by Empress, or the roll the dice attitude exhibited by the city for the sole purpose of breaking contracts. It seems to me the Bosses at Empress were well aware of what the repercussions were to be had the first responder program ended . For the most part , the buses arrive in a timely manner, but I have witnessed 10 minute plus response way too often, and for Empress to tell the city that there would be no difference in service without the YFD is misleading at best. That to me is unprofessional. This, coming from someone who has delivered 2 chlidren , shocked and initiated cpr on too many to count, all because Empress wasn't on scene in a timely manner. Capt. Geo. Smith YFD

Same ole story......don't get me started........when plan-A thru E don't work......ummmmm, lets go back to Plan-A again.

I mean this with all sincerity, and it is intended not only for you, but for many others on this site...how many Firefighting TEXTBOOKS (not magazine articles or websites, which have their own value), but TEXTBOOKS on firefighting- how many of them do you own, how many have you read from cover to cover, over and over, with numerous highlights and notes in the margins, maybe thousands of pages of notes taken from these TEXTBOOKS, as well as flash cards made, and accompanying study guides completed?
How many? I would be willing to place a wager...
This is not to discredit you or others or to be mean, but there are so many on here who simply don't know what they don't know.
If you had such strong, yet uneducated opinions, and expressed them in the kitchen of a career Fire Station (particularly any department which has some occasional fire duty), it would very quickly be "explained" to you why it would be best for you to educate yourself and gain some experience before so emphatically disagreeing with your seniors.
It's very hard to learn much when your lips are moving or, in this case, when your fingers are typing.

What a shame these two 3rd Pct officers were seriously injured. I hope they recover quickly and my thoughts go out to their families. I know guys on the job and they always say going home safely after the tour is completed is the number one priority. Sadly these two officers didn't get to do that.
http://www.lohud.com...dyssey=nav|head
Anyone who is "on the street" on South Broadway at 2 AM, I wouldn't give anything they say too much credibility.
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From last Wednesday's Bear Mt car show:

Yes I know how the H.A are and what 1%er bikers gangs are. I was just saying dont always jump the gun and automatically say it was the H.A. because there were a bunch of bikers breaking the law...and it just so happens it wasnt the H.A. It was the 300 mc

Why do the hells angels have to be automatically brought into this ? Because they were bikers disobeying the law? Did you see what colors they were wearing ? I happen to know a bunch of H.A. members who are probably the most charitable people I know , they joined the club because thats what they believe in. I'm pretty certain that they wouldn't bring about bad press to their club considering all the heat they have been under latley.

Good observations and questions. The EOC was opened early in this incident and a Unified Command was established. Internally, our 5,000 gallon tanker was deployed, members were recalled to man reserve LDH Engines, and to serve as a Water Supply Chief, man our fireboat, as well as other critical functions. WCDES, NYSHHS / OEM, and FDNY were all contacted early on and resources were put in place. Tankers were provided by MTA, Con Ed, Yonkers Contracting, and portable tanks were provided by I believe, Banksville, and another department in Westchester. Other than pre-planning, and providing the portable tanks, no outside Fire Departments were needed to operate within the city. The FDNY Fireboats were identified as a potential resource, and we were told they would be available if needed. Pre-staging FDNY boat or boats in Yonkers was discussed but decided against. Practical distances that water could be pumped from the river were calculated. Relay operations were preplanned, and a YFD Task Water Supply Task Force has been standing by since yestaerday afternoon. FDNY Division 7 as well as FDNY Dispatchers were very helpful in pre-planning Satelitte Task Forces which would be able to quickly deploy into Yonkers if needed.
It is interesting to remember that Chief Bill Fitz, who had the foresight to secure a surplus tanker several years ago and to cheaply have it painted and modified for just such an event as this, was mocked and belittled for his efforts. Once again, his and other YFD members foresight and pre-planning proved to be accurate.
Lots of other deails I am not mentioning here. Kudos to our members for coming in quickly when recalled and doing whatever was asked, as well as to the many cooperating individuals and agencies who offered help and advice.
YFD, as is the case for many other departments and agencies, has many dedicated and knowledgeable people "behind the scenes", who are constantly planning for not only routine incidents, but also those that may only happen once in a lifetime, if at all. It is a tough thing to do these days, as those who hold the purse strings rarely recognize the necessity of dedicating adequate resources to planning for events which may never happen. It is also always interesting to be involved in these type incidents, and to recognize the surprise on people's faces, including at times our own members, to fiind out that we have anticipated such events and we have resources available and plans ready to implement. The response to this event could have been much better, for sure, but all things considered, I was happy with what I saw.
This is just a quick note to give some perspective, leaving out lots of details and probably with some mistakes. I probably will not have time to posta again for a few days or so, so sorry if I don't respond to questions or commens about this.

Yonkers FD's Water Tender ready to roll during the water emergency 8-27-12. Yonkers FD was very well prepared to tackle this major water supply issue which affects the part of the city with an extremly high fire load and very dense population.

Anyone who thinks this woman is actually living in Yonkers needs to make a doctors appointment most ricky tick. She's simply establishing the paper trail she needs in order to "legally" live here, meanwhile she'll stay in her nice brick home in South Salem with her adopted children and husband, close to an hour away from the city. Its funny to me how its a requirement to be a legal resident of this city for a period of 3 months prior to taking the test, in order to even be considered to get a job as Yonkers cop, firefighter and even DPW I believe. The detective squad will even do an extensive background check to ensure they arent simply making a paper trail to fake the residency. They will knock on doors, talk to neighbors, check your credit, voting registrations, taxes, pay stubs, family history, YOU NAME IT! MEANWHILE, our own DEPUTY MAYOR can set policies and cite new rules and regulations, without ever having even eaten at a Yonkers Mcdonalds, let alone live here. I hope the Police Department does their job in this matter and begins investigating her now as well and conduct frequent sweeps of her residence to ensure she walks in and out of that door everyday. Lets check her mail, car registrations, insurance address, tax info, etc. Otherwise, she should be rejected just as quick as any other recruit/candidate/probie would if they were caught doing the same scam. Typical Yonkers....hasnt changed a bit. Good luck to the men and women of the Yonkers Fire Department! You will win this battle no doubt, cause good eventually always conquers over evil
Btw, I'm sorry for your recent loss men...its never easy to lose a brother...

Seems like wpix is the only news media that is willing to uncover and report the truth. Unlike lohud and snooze12.

How come every time a career department is in danger of layoffs somebody has to open their mouths spouting ridiculous nonsense about volunteers taking over? We just went through this in CT with the New London layoffs. Some jackwagon decided it would be good to write a letter to the editor of the local newspaper suggesting that volunteers be brought in to help alleviate some of the financial strain. A lot of people took him seriously because they assumed this idiot knew what he was talking about because he identified himself as a firefighter in the article.
This stuff pisses me off. For everybody out there trying to improve career-volunteer relations, all it takes is a couple guys with their craniums inserted into their 4th point of contact to ruin it and brand all volunteers as scabs. When my district was threatening to layoff some of our career personnel, we as the volunteers banded together to help our Brothers. If your sandbox isn't big enough for you, go find another one, or advocate consolidation with another volunteer department, but don't suggest laying off hardworking career firefighters and replacing them with volunteers. That's just ridiculous. People don't forget that kind of statement.
Anyone with an attitude like the one illustrated in the above comment give credence to the TINY minority of career firefighters who believe all volunteers are out to steal their jobs. YFD guys, please note this asinine comment does not represent all of us. Most of us stand behind you and hope all this layoff BS gets fixed and you can go back to full staffing.

Another great loss to the fire service. Arod was a friend, classmate and a brother. He was always there to lend a hand and donate his time. On top of that he was a great firefighter. Like you said Mike, the worst part about this job is that you will bury friends before their time. One thing is for sure though, he is definitely in great company where he is now. Rest in peace Ant, you will never be forgotten.

Going to miss you A-ROD! And so are the citizens of yonkers. You were a true professional at your job and most of all a gentleman in life.

This guy was a class act...much involvement with Ronald McDonald House, etc....We'll miss you Tony....

Good luck to the new Commissioner. I hope he comes in and sees how completely understaffed we are. I hope he does his due diligence before he takes the job and will be allowed to get the proper resources he will need. Comm. Kielb stepped down rather then put firefighter and civilian safety second to politics. Good luck in the position.

Went to many a jobs in that rig,lots of good memories from back then. Easy to set up in a hurry, no bells or whistles to stop you from doing what you were doing. In picture #3 on ebay is the Mack Dog. You guys need to get before it is sold and put it on the fire place mantle.

Here's a shot of TL-75's 1990 rig brand new:

I was driving this rig one sunny day, when a "sudden flash flood" on Palmer rd. blew both windshields in on us...Funny how these things can happen.....

Went to many a jobs in that rig,lots of good memories from back then. Easy to set up in a hurry, no bells or whistles to stop you from doing what you were doing. In picture #3 on ebay is the Mack Dog. You guys need to get before it is sold and put it on the fire place mantle.

holy cow.....I rode this rig for a long time...(till it came off the line and became a spare) Open back jumpseat..Had a green tarp for a while, but that went missing.,..
Remember riding the Charlie side in a heavy snow storm and looking over to the Bravo side and we both looked at each other and laughed like hell...we had about 6" of snow on our helmets..
Hey Redtruck75.....I know you loved this rig..."The Convertabile" remember? Good times....good times...

For all you old style folks...

Thats not why i said it... I said who cares cause someone said "re-kindle" shouldnt be used. Its a word..... use it if you want.

Worked with Commissioner George Kielb as a firefighter,Lt., Capt., and Chief. He was a great firefighter and officer,always gave 100 percent never a slacker. Good luck in your retirement George.