Atv300

It is not the FD's job to be an appliance tech. I do not agree with the idea of testing people's appliances. Our job is to stop the hazard, and if it does not exist at that time, we can shut the appliances and refer them to a specialist. More and more we are tinkering with peoples alarm systems and doing other things we have no business doing.

Your right we are not techs but their is no reason we can't try and re create the problem to narrow down the area of the problem. For example we went to a mobile home that had propane dryer, oven water heater, and range top plus a kerosene forced air furnace. First co call dead battery per are sog checked the house ran the appliances individually to see if there would be an issue nothing advised home owner to replace batteries re enforced the hazard of co and that she did the right thing by calling and to call if any time the alarm goes off no matter what.

A few weeks later I hear the address to out again for co again so again check the house this time get a low reading as in most of the time we run co calls one member or the officer stays and interviews the owner to see what they were doing prior to the issue. She said she was drying clothes checked all appliances again found the dryer was most likely the culprit shut down the appliance advised homeowner they needed a tech to come and find the problem after ventilation cleared the scene.

A few weeks maybe a month go by call goes out again for same address co again so back through the routine checking appliances including the new dryer this time found the range pumping out co from the pilot shut down the propane again and ventilated. During talking to the resident we learned her gas company came hooked up the dryer and turned on the gas and done with never checking any of the other appliances. I thought this odd practice so I talked to a propane tech from the company I work for about the situation. Interesting enough he said most company's the techs are supposed to check appliances and for leaks any time the propane is shut down since issues can arises with pilots going out of adjusting ect.

The point I am making is complacent behavior is not just localized to the fire service and is dangerous either way. With the good education and re enforcement of good actions the lady new to call instead of chocking it up to a bad detector which she admitted to thinking about before calling the second time.

We have a lot of politicians that think this way. Why send 2 engines and 2 ladders to a fire call, when most of the time its not a "real" fire. Why not just send 1 guy in a car and save the fuel, if it is a real fire he can just call for the rest of the trucks. On the same note, we do not really need a fire dept. just the 1 guy, we can save lots of money, he can handle it and if its bigger than that oh well, they have insurance.

I do know what your saying and I agree its a double edge sword one of those damed if you do damed if you don't.

Respectfully,

Maybe you should re-read the half dozen or so post prior to yours. CO calls ARE NOT service calls. As BNechis stated, they are potentially lethal environments that could require the activation of the 2in-2out OSHA Standard for IDLH environments.

Of course, common sense dictates that multiple repeat alarms to the same activated head, with no readings, might make a supervisor re-think the amount of resources responding, and downgrade the subsequent alarms while awaiting alarm system service.

I am not trying to down play the seriousness but we're smart people usually that If you go to a house that actual has readings you should be able to back out and call the proper resources. Some places we have in the sticks smaller is better. I agree that the utility should have 4 packs on it but that's a cost vs resource they might not have either. So why not be proactive save where you can.

We were are customer based business why not make cuts where you can to allow for improvements in other areas fuel usage is a good area to start. The average engine gets any where from ill say realistically 4 to 6 miles per gallon could be more or less depending on the truck. I would say a utility vehicle could get anywhere from 10 to 16 miles per gallon do the math on savings per call that can be handled by the smaller vehicle unless there is an actual hazard and then call for more.

Interesting. I had a rather "heated" discussion in regards to this recently.

The other half was defending an SOP that dispatches a Utility/Brush Truck equipped with a CO meter and two airpaks to CO calls. Unfortunatly, the gray area is I can not recall, nor did I really ask, if that was for "without symptoms" or all COP calls, which IMO, is irrellevant, that assignment is inadequate.

But sending 2million dollar's of equipment to a service call is ok because it cost the tax payers more money in fuel then they make in a week for something that ninety percent of the time that can be handled by the brush truck two packs and EMS. And when there is an actual presence of co an engine is added to the assignment or truck which ever the department needs or has. Granted every area and department is different so that might not work for everyone.

You know what I learned the form is not what it used to be. But that's the fire service in general anymore kick your neighbor when there down instead of offering a solution. Just saying if a department has over 3 engine's and a truck in a 20 square mile area then the next town has the same if they consolidated cut back on equipment and used the found funds maybe to staff paid if need be supplemented by vollys and MA maybe it could be better. Not saying this will work in this particular case but it bothers me that in 50 square miles of coverage district in a rural situation no hydrants cutting back is the name of the game *sharing resources* use your neighbors without abusing them maybe you could almost work as a county wide department without actually being one. Pride is what everyone needs to get over yet still have enough of it to do your job for the right reason.

Just saying glad everyone can get along here. This forum would better serve for information on fixing staffing issues paid and volly instead of running either into the ground *same team, same agenda at the end of the day*.

Now my department dose not have a tanker but a few departments around us have tankers and some of then have been designed very well. There are a few very important things to keep in mind with a tanker as some one said dump times and fill times so look at doing large size dumps off the sides and rear also should look at going with a larger fill then the standard 3" intakes at the rear, 4" or 5" to bump the standard 1000GPM fill rate which makes for better use of all that water. I saw you were looking into possible using the tanker for fire fighting duties if need be make sure you spec a large 4" or dual 3" tank to pump lines that's a big one. You do not want to have 3000 gals on the truck and only be able to get 500-700 GPMs out of your tank water. A good web site/ company to go to for water ops is http://www.gotbigwater.com here is hope the link to one of the test they did http://www.gotbigwater.com/content/data/file/Tank%20to%20Pump%20Line%20Flow%20Tests%20-Strafford%20NH%20101809.pdf. Great bunch of people bringing some new and tried and true ideas to moving water. Also before I forget make sure the dumps are installed as low in the tank as possible I have seen first hand in a tanker that has that problem and about a quarter of there tank or better becomes trapped water unusable at dump sites. And go with a 4" high flow discharge off the pump so you can get better then what you pay for also if you poke around on gotbigwater they have test data to show getting over 2000 GPMs out of a 1500GPM pump and data on different size high flow discharges so the little details make the best out of your spec even going from 3" to 4" on the high flow discharge makes a huge difference.

As far as the chassis I would say grab the standard on NFPA for fire apparatus to see what the latest compliance features needed on the tanker such as stability control yes I am sure for the right price you can put it on any chassis you want if you find one with it being an option can save lots of money on one end to open up room for other options. So power plant is next I'd say cummins in the 450-500HP range you can govern or gear down the speed after but without the ponies hills will kill you. I will say my neighbors to the north of me Wassaic have a great tanker from what i have seen at training's and fires with its dump time and fill time being extremely good. Here is there web site to look around and see some shots and some info where it was made http://www.wassaicfirerescue.com/apps/photos/album?albumid=1790013.

As far as some extras porta tank wise i'd say look around at the different manufactures to see what you like the best. My advice get one with handles and also go bigger then your tank size ie. 3000 gal tank look closer to 3500 drop tank size. Make sure you have places for hard suction personnely I am all about more then 20ft of suction on everything so that's up to you guys 20 ft minimum i'd say 30ft depending on your mutual-aid just for porta tank ops and setting up jet siphons. Speaking of jet siphons put at least 2 on the tanker I don't know how many times I have been looking for more to expand how many drop tanks are on the ground and its up to you what kind you go with we run kotchek low level strainers with it built in. Other goodies you'll have to determine what is needed.

I don't think the test is for the physical answer maybe it's to test the ability to find the info in the proper place. Getting the right answer ment you went to the right place. Stick with the manual that came with the truck or check with the manufacturer things can change even if it's just the year of the the truck.

Nothing will change over night that's for sure but don't give up. When you and your buddy's become the senior/ old guys remember what you were pushing for and keep it moving forward. It sucks but it takes time just like anything also make sure you guys work on keeping the right leaders in also remember more flies with honey then vinegar.

Those 1200 plus wrist bands were only for the 21 and over crowd it was definitely amazing the turnout.

I thought there would be more interest on this subject a fellow fire fighter in need of at least support and this just went down quickly thanks to the guys who have posted. And thanks to those showing support by going or some other way.

I thought there would be more interest on this subject a fellow fire fighter in need of at least support and this just went down quickly thanks to the guys who have posted. And thanks to those showing support by going or some other way

The event is now open to everyone on Facebook so pass it on to everyone you can. Jason is a great guy and this is going to be a great event for a great cause. Check back to the event page for updates on items that will be auctioned off such as Yankees tickets in a box behind home plate and other items.

I have talked to the people that started the Facebook event hopeful it will be opened up by later today.

86 cj 7 a little rough but in true jeep fashion still running strong. My buddy is actually selling his jeeps now since he's having a kid so any jeep nuts looking for a comanchee or a 98 5.9.

I know the guys in Dover never thought about covering a call on I84 until today. I know I was working and when I heard the engine out if our sta 2 get called to standby in Paterson I thought I was hearing things.

I couldn't disagree more. The only reason to call the FD is if you don't have the manpower, which is a system issue on your end, not a guideline or protocol issue like you seen to want to make it by forcing the inclusion of FD.

I run on a crew of 4 EMT-B's,I's and P's. Between the four of us, we can stabilize, lift and move almost any patient we come across. The only reason why we would consider calling the FD is if we need more hands or more tools, other than that, calling the FD will only bring more bodies to the scene, bodies I might add can cause further embarrassment and stress to an already distressed patient. People, especially if they are elderly or in a residential treatment facility, see ambulances on a daily basis, it is quite the commotion when our huge red truck comes screaming down the road to the facility. That commotion is stressful to the residents and the patients. Sometimes a lighter touch is what is required in these calls...

If I need the FD, they are a radio call away...

I Agree the EMS should be there first and the FD should be called if manpower or special equipment is needed. The lift assist is inherently an EMS call for the simple fact there is a reason or a consequence for the fall.

I was trying to make a statement that the Fire Department in some peoples eyes should back bill the cops if we get stuck doing traffic for a none Firematic call. In reality I agree everyone should help each other out.

Who is doing traffic when the cops need to roll to assist some where else? It's one hand washing the other I still say good job by all, people over think sometimes and forget we're there to get the same job done.

Topics like this and how they play out is why people do not want to post or sick around here. It's simple you use what you have when you have it pictures only show what's in the view finder. What would you say if this picture showed those troopers protecting an exposure? Yes there's rules for everything now a days is there really a reason to beat a dead horse some things are not ideal but that's life deal with it. Great job by the troopers and IC for using what he had. Oh and the troopers had their waist strap on .

The tech has been around since at least the 70's. Great job to all its nice to see some good news.

But on a serious note why not fill pools great PR and can double as training for tanker shuttles or whatever. It's no different then pumping out some basement not the most glamorous job but the people you do it for love it.

You guys worrie to much about the color of the water you should see some of the water we get from using that funny black hose to suck up some of the finest quality bottling water out any water hole you find.

But that's the point there still on the way out you think bunker pants were accepted right away it takes time nothing will change over night.but with the right tatics of training the fallowing generations to come the ideas today will be practice of tomorrow and there will be new ideas that US as oldtimers will be against but will change too.the only way to make change is to keep pushing no matter the obstical may have to tread light but you can still push forward.