Atv300

Well Said!
Your 100% right about Facebook its just another tool in life its not the website that is the problem its the people that use it that go overboard and do not controll what is put on there.

These are photos of Rombout Fire Departments structure fire that occurred at 226 Windsor Rd just before midnight on Sunday. Firefighters arrived to find fire through the roof of a ~ 4500 sq ft residence with high winds, heavy snow, white-out conditions, and near zero wind chill ...... Perfect weather for firefighting....... Firefighters apparently attempted an interior attack but were forced to retreat due to insufficent water and rapid fire spread due to the high winds...... I arrived as Command advised that they were going defensive....... I had a tough time keeping my lens free of snow and debris due to the high winds and only shot with one of two cameras I normally shoot with as a result...... This was clearly a frustrating fire for all who were there.....

A shot from the front...... Hughsonvilles FAST Team and Village of Fishkill......

It was snowing heavily and very windy.......

Hey, I found a hot spot........

A shot from the rear..... These guys were inside under the fire but had to pull out due to rapidly deteriorating conditions......

Insurmountable odds.....

With the wind fanning the fire and water issues.... Crews were ordered to pull back their lines and were clearly frustrated that they were defeated .....

This is shot of the Central Hudson gas man..... He had just retrieved the power meter but said "I killed the power but It's up to guys to turn off the gas.... It's too damn hot!"

While a tanker shuttle was being initiated, Rombout's Tower gets set up......

Village of Fishkill firefighters watch as 62-45 hits the fire......

The end.....

The Firefighter is at fault!
Why? Because this is 2010. Everything is somehow the Firefighters fault.
The economy? Our fault
Low private sector pensions? Our fault
Gulf war? Our fault...retaliation for our 343
Global warming? Our fault...we go shopping with rigs
Civilian fire death? Our fault...slow response
Vehicle accident? Our fault...driving too fast

I might be way off but how would you justify that to the towns taxpayers that they need to pay taxes for a county team that should be able to be funded by the county taxes they pay.
I Still say pressure the politicians that take the money from where its supposed to be and use it not responsible.

I agree with both of you and looking at some of the POV response videos it is outrageous how these people are driveing. Its my person belief that there should be guidelines set for the people videotape. I also belive that the emergency response community as a hole can learn a lot from other peoples videos. Regrettably some times its from there mistakes, mostly from there triumphs.

Like I said in the other thread, check the egos at the door. I'm taking this from my end of the emergency services spectrum. I don't care how many halls you've crawled down, how many babies you've delivered,or traumatic arrests you've worked, how many high profile collars you've made. I don't care how many big ones you've worked on the radio. I don't care if you're paid, or pride is your paycheck. Be it a rockin truck company in Southern Westchester or a Vollie Trolley doing two runs a week. You're no different than me or anyone else.
We all have a common goal, and that's doing the right thing by our peers, and the people we have a sworn obligation to protect. There's always room to learn, critique, or just show off some pictures from our latest travels. Let's keep that in mind.
Here's my opinion on Facebook. There are some real despicable groups on there, that are much more worthy of the time and effort placed on the anti-Seth G crowd.(F the Troops, anyone??) Like it or not, the people who own these groups have every right to put forth whatever they want to say. We agree, we disagree, we think that person should be taken behind the woodshed, whatever. I have no problem with Facebook, as it has gotten me back in touch with a lot of friends from my childhood, high school years, and my military years. It also got me in touch with my girlfriend, who was a classmate of mine in elementary school nearly 30 years ago.(Although at first she didn't remember me and I had to point to our 4th grade picture to remind her who I was.)
In the little more than two years since I joined, I have been able to see and spend time with people who meant, and mean the world to me. Either in person, or online. I've shared in triumph, tragedy, and flat out silliness. It's not a bad thing, nor at times, is it a good thing. It's what you make it. You can use it like any other website out there, to your advantage. I use it, and this site, and a few other sites to my advantage. Just a little nugget of something to ponder.
Excellent point brought up about how your actions, positive or negative reflect on the department you are a member of. That includes Facebook. I have already seen what complaining about the mess that FDNY Communications has become can do. We had a page which was nothing more than a bitchfest about this that and the other. Things got posted, it got back to downtown, investigations were launched, and people got some stern talking to's and the page disappeared. If any of you have me on your FB Friends list, you know most of my work related posts are just saying I'm off to work, looking for some fun at work(which is in rare supply these days) and, every other Thursday, the famous line from Goodfellas, FU PAY ME!!!! There's a few pictures of me, off duty, and intoxicated, but hey, I'm 36 years old and I am allowed to drink. It all boils down to using common sense. What would you want your family or friends to see?? Secondly, do you want to put something up there that is going to bring discredit upon you, or the Department you serve?? Spin from Elmont makes a great point, people in this job have looooooooong memories. There's crap that I did when I was a probie, and a dispatcher, and a supervisor that has not been forgotten. One Aw poop will wipe out any Atta Boy's you've had.

One important thing which should be added to the list: classroom training for people/social skills. Someone who is well versed in firematics can, at times, be completely useless as a command officer if he/she has no people skills and i'm sure all of us at one time or another have run into officers who were excellent when it came to their firematics, but kept people away from the fire house because they didn't know how to properly deal with people.
Just a thought.

Sounds like a classic you against me! LOL
Volunteer Officers are one of my pet peeves..... elections are a historically and well documented flawed system...a popularity contest. But I digress...
MY OPINION, is that a measley 3 years in a department is not enough to be a good canidate for leadership...5 is better, but still....it needs to be based on experience and training...
Everybody wants to race up through the ranks and be a Chief.....at what costs though? Are you REALLY the right person for the job/position you are in?
What about the Officers that get voted out every other year because the pissed some guys off, while doing their supervisory duties? Been there....more than once..
What these guys coming into a department dont think about - when you put on that Officer helmet...is you are ultimately responsible for the guys on that scene....if you order them into a building that isn't safe, because of your inexperience and FAILURE to recognize dangers...be prepared to deal with a negligence suit...and those guys that DO realize this...pull members out of buildings prematurely and go defensesive way to early!
Guys - forget the shiny white shield - get some real fireground experience first - it can ot be replaced by classroom training! Let yourselves grow into being a true leader, get experience, respect....the rest will come when it is time.
I coud go on all day about this........
EDIT for random thoughts;
"Beware the 21 year old Fire Chief"
I would like to see TWO year terms for elected Officers
I beleive in at LEAST 5 years of junior officer terms before moving up to a Chief; 5 years as a Lieutenant and Captain...
Once you make it to Officer - BE ONE! Supervise.....you should not have a nozzle, hook, saw, Hurst Tool, etc in your hand unless a lack of manpower dictates you must work! Let your FIREMEN do it...and supervise them. A recent picture posted on here shows a vollie Lieutenant on a roof with a saw, with 3 guys backing him up....Hey Loo - give up the saw, and monitor conditions on the roof! Your guys will love ya for letting them "Do Work" and you will gain supervisory experience...actions like that do not go unnoticed by senior guys...

Kenny,
A lot of the guys that became officers in the firehouse back then had military training and experience. They also saw more fires then we all do now. Times have changed. We respond to calls of all types now, not like 40-50 years ago when they went to fires and occassionally had to rescue someone from something. It's the "stupid" calls we go to that sometimes require the most thinking, and making bad decisions can lead to LAWSUITS or even JAIL TIME. In the old days, people actually respected and appreciated what first responders did for them, not like nowadays.
Your Grandpa, my Grandpa and all of those old timers only needed balls to be firemen. They charged into burning buildings without SCBA, with little to no PPE, no radios and no training. Their experiences and recollection of what worked and what didn't work is what guided them. That's just not good enough in today's society.

Time is relative.
What I do in my first two years in the department isn't the same as what you might do. You may spend your time taking classes, while I keep going to hands on drills and respond to 100 calls compared to your 10 calls. On election night, it's usually a popularity contest, and the best candidate doesn't always prevail.
Make it tougher to move up.
- Make it 5 years in the department to move up.
- Require XXX amount of classroom training hours.
- Require XXX amount of hands on training hours.
- Require a higher % of call response then the average member.
- Put them to the test at drills and calls, make them make decisions!
I believe that training lays the foundation, while experience and ability builds the house. I can sit in 100 hours of class on how to throw a ground ladder, but until I do it and master it, it's all just speculation as to what I can do.
Senior members and officers MUST mentor the younger guys to seek out the future leadership. All of us can look around our firehouse and see who is officer material, and who should be left on the apron every call.

Sorry Dan i forgot to add you are right about the popularity contest of elections why put somone in the position who can do it when you can have somone who is horrible at it to do the job . when you running for office lol.

Same deal in my opion wear it right but no problem putting your cap on the (womem in your life or for the night) hahaha. But keep it respectfull to the uniform an the service.