Capejake72

In some rural areas, the major apparatus can be 15 or more minutes behind a chief officer responding directly to the scene. It may not put out a barn fire, but it may prevent a small fire from getting out of control or it may provide cover to effect a rescue.
It's not an answer to all things but a useful tool for some things.

*Spy Shot*
Just delivered
Stilokis Automotive
Tarrytown, NY
New 2016 Kenworth T880/Jerr-Dan JFB 60 Ton Rotating Boom Heavy Duty Wrecker
Some of the many features include:
-Kenworth T880 Chassis with Diamond Series Interior
-Cummins ISX 600 HP engine
- 18 speed manual transmission
-Non corrosive, weather tight, high impact JFB Polypropylene body
-Aluminum roll up compartment doors
-60 ton remote control rotating 41' 3 stage boom
-Extended reach remote control underlift
-5 winches
-"Scissor" style outriggers,
-Third "pusher" axle
-Custom tool, chain, and recovery equipment mounts
-Spreader bar mountings
-Scene and warning lighting
-Speedy dry hopper
More photos to come.

FDNY
New Brush Fire Unit 7
2015 International Workstar 4x4/KME
Shop # IM16002
Assigned with Engine Company 266 in the Rockaways

Let's get to the bottom line. An individual who did not meet the physical standards of the FDNY was nonetheless graduated and placed into service. That individual, ten days into their career, has suffered a significant and no doubt career ending injury. This individual will now be on medical leave which will eventually become permanent disability leave and the taxpayer will support this individual for the the rest of their life. This was a line of duty injury to a person who could not meet the physical requirements of the job but was, for the sake of diversity, allowed to advance.

Why does this just have to be an "unfortunate coincedence" and not the predictible result that comes from lowering (or ignoring) performance standards in order to achieve a diverse workforce regardless of fitness/ability to actually do the job?

While this may have its applications; circumstances dictate procedures. If you have limited manpower on scene or a fully involved basement with limited access this tactic may be a good move. BUT, at the same time, you are writing off any viable victims. These new procedures were written because scientists working in a laboratory think you can no longer push fire (my experience tells me otherwise) with a handline and it's ok to knock a fire from an exterior window to take some energy out of the equation. Does it work, in some circumstances yes, but if you cannot access the seat of the fire, you're severely delaying water and now you'd better have another team ready to advance a handline inside after you transition to an interior attack. And not the one that's stretched and charged in the backyard, from the outside. Like an earlier post said, we won't hone our skills on interior attack and search if we are fighting fires from outside. When it's time to go inside, everyone will get lost.

I think it makes a lot of sense when used appropriately but the question becomes, what is appropriate. For example, if the fire is a room and contents fire on the 2nd floor rear side of a house, would lobbing in water from the front side of the 1st floor, yards away from the fire really make that much of a difference? Same thing with set back houses and any time you have a long stretch. By the time you pull all that hose how "immediate" is the "immediate water"? (although a transitional attack might still be indicated, which I believe is a different thing, because this seems more about speed of water to fire, transitional to me is more about making a situation too dangerous for interior more safe) The other issue would be of possible overkill. If the fire is so small a can could handle, but you decide to shoot a 2.5 inch line through a window without checking, I can imagine the homeowner might get upset when the water damage bill comes in.
On the other hand, I see plenty of times where this would be a great strategy. For example, pretty much anything other than those few times above. In fact I believe FDNY does something similar regularly, using a deck gun immediately on arrival of storefront type fires

Westchester County (NY) Police SOD-ESU Truck 9219
2014 Dodge 5500 4x4/Proliner
Photo by me. Don't forget to visit my photo site x635Photos.com for more apparatus photos!

Stiloski's Automotive recently completely rebuilt Goldens Bridge former Rescue 24, a 2001 Spartan/Rescue 1. It was destroyed along with their firehouse in a fire in February of 2014.
Rescue 24 was totaled. Stiloski's purchased Rescue 24 as salvage, and completely rebuilt it in house. The roof and interior needed complete replacement, the body needed complete repainting and structural repair, in additional to numerous mechanical items that were destroyed by the heat and smoke. .
This truck operates now as an Incident Support unit, supporting Stiloski's two heavy duty 85 ton rotating boom wreckers, as well as other recovery equipment. It carries, amongst other things, chains, cribbing, jacks, high lift air bags, generators, scene lighting, cutting torches, fuel spill containment and cleanup supplies, traffic cones, and other specialized tools.
Also to note, Stiloski's loaned the former Tarrytown Engine 80 to GBFD until they can obtain a new rescue.
BEFORE:


AFTER:

A few vehicles the US Army Garrison Military Police Company. What I saw they have 3 marked Utilities(1 in ghost graphics), 1 unmarked utility, 1 unmarked Impala, and 1 F-150 with ghost graphics.

Yesterday, I attending the NYC DSNY (Department Of Sanitation NY) open house at their Central Maintenance Garage in Woodside, Queens. DSNY is responsible for all residential garbage and recycling collection, street cleaning, derelict vehicle removal, vacant lot cleanup, and snow removal citywide. The facility, over 900,000 square feet, is MASSIVE. It employs over 1,000 people in 76 different trade unions. It is the largest municipal repair facility in the United States. The over 80 local DSNY District bases do the preventative maintenance and low level repairs. The Central Maintenance Garage does all the heavy and specialty repair and upgrades of all types of equipment, which includes 2,230 collection trucks, 275 specialized collection trucks, 450 street sweepers, 365 salt and sand spreaders, 300 front end loaders, and over 2000 support vehicles. The facility also repairs and maintains heavy vehicles for other city departments, including DEP. They have the capability of fabricating just about anything needed for a vehicle in house. They rebuild engines and transmissions, build and repair hydraulic systems and components, and refurbish seats, to name some of the work. A full machine shop and iron shop allows them to build any type of part out of metal. Numerous other specialty shops fabricate, rebuild, repair, and refurbish all the components of the various vehicles in the fleet. This allows them to repair vehicles quickly and properly and minimize downtime. The facility also is responsible for developing specifications and procurement of new vehicles. The facility includes a state of the art Class 8 Vehicle Lab, which does research and development for DSNY vehicles, primarily developing and testing technology that makes the fleet greener and more fuel efficient, including lowering emissions. It is one of only 3 facilities in the US of it's type. A very large dynometer lab allows them to evaluate, simulate, and develop truck technologies while the wheels are turning. Also included in this facility is the Bureau Of Building Maintenance, which is responsible for maintenance and repair of over 160 DSNY facilities citywide, as well as refurbishment of facilities. Numerous shops include a carpentry shop, which makes furniture, desks, work benches, platforms, and other items for DSNY facilities. Other shops support the plumbers, electricians, steam fitters, sheet metal workers, carpenters, welders, masons, and other skilled trades that work on the various different facilities and infrastructure, including garages and transfer stations. In the last photo, you'll notice a big box mounted on the front of the vehicle, attached to the snowplow hook. This is a generator run off the hydraulic system of the garbage truck. It was developed in house, and it is designed for situations like Hurricane Sandy, and can generate enough electricity to power DSNY District Garages. I've only scratched the surface on what goes on under the roof of this facility. It is amazing to see all that goes on "behind the scenes" to make sure DSNY can perform its missions each and every day. Special thanks to the DSNY staff for a tour of this awesome place.

Greenburgh Police-EMS Division
Car 75
2015 Chevrolet Tahoe
Featuring new Greenburgh EMS graphics. All outfitting with graphics, cabinets, lights, radios, etc done in house by the Greenburgh Town Garage and Town Of Greenburgh Radio shop.
Car 75 provides ALS Paramedic flycar services for the Villages of Ardsley, Elmsford, Dobbs Ferry, Hastings, Irvington, and Tarrytown which are all located within the Town Of Greenburgh.
Special thanks to Paramedic Izzo for his help in getting these shots.

Stewart is:
Owned by the Port Authority.
Operated by AFCO/Avports (same company as Westchester).
Utilizes NY State Police for law enforcement.
Utilizes Air National Guard for ARFF services.
Utilizes USDA Wildlife Services for airfield wildlife management.

I couldn't help but notice how POV response changed over the years. When I first joined in the 70's, the general public was more attentive and accommodating to a POV with a colored light. Over the years that accommodation became less and less to the point where employing lights to respond almost became counterproductive. You might get someone to yield to you, but usually not.
I imagine the benefit of using lights has a lot to do with your response area, roads traveled, urban or rural, distance to travel, etc. If lights work for you, fine, but in any case, when you deploy your lights you are identifying yourself as a firefighter and your driving with reflect on your department. Drive like a maniac and you diminish your department's reputation along with your own. Drive responsibly and you will be acknowledged positively as a volunteer responding to assist their community.

I'm no fan of this liberal gov't or the agenda that it's pushing. I also don't think the confederate flag has anything to do with that tragic mass-murder a couple of weeks ago. However, lets not get crazy....no one is saying you can't fly or display a confederate flag. Each person is free to do so under the constitution. What is at issue is whether a gov't institution should be flying that flag. My personal opinion is no.
I'll soap box a little further....the confederate flag is a flag of treason. Today, we'd probably have branded them terrorists. Lastly, The flag that is currently flying over the Carolina State House was only raised in the 1960's as a symbol of defiance in the face voting rights and school integration. So, it's not some historic battle flag that'd been flying there for a century, it's simply a symbol of division.

While slavery was the driving issue of the civil war, the greater issue was that of states rights to govern themselves vs an overbearing central government. The Confederate flag is a symbol of a war lost. I don't believe that slavery as it existed in the 1860's was morally correct. Unfortunately, the greater issue was also lost as we have seen in the 150 years since, especially in the last 7 years as the central government has taken or attempts to take over nearly every aspect of our lives. Not through the legislative branch as designed, but through the judicial and executive branches and the regulatory agencies that have no oversight.
I have a Confederate flag. I am not a racist. I think there are those that want to make it a symbol, a cause if you will, of an unjust time in our history. The leftist, socialist elites that permeate our society are intentionally sowing strife and discord between the races. That flag has a place in our history. I, and others, may not agree with your reason(s) for displaying it, but I support your right to it.
Will the government next try to abolish use of the Gadsden flag as a symbol of those that do not agree with their overreach?
And after that?
This country needs to wake up and people need to open their eyes to what is going on and what's going to happen.

tongue firmly in cheek....

The cool part about this, I forgot to mention, is that Volvo doesn't build fire trucks. This is one of a kind. The employees, many of which are volunteer firefighters, imagined, designed and built this truck using the skills of the employees and resources at the plant to build a truck, again completely in house, to meet the very specific needs of the in house brigade, yet still be able to serve the surrounding community. This plant, which builds Volvo's Class 8 Heavy Duty Vocational Truck chassis line, is located in a rural area in the mountains of Southwest Virginia (Dublin, VA - New River Valley). They have over 2,850 truck builders at the plant.
Among some of the specs: Volvo D13 500 horsepower engine, Volvo I-Shift transmission, 43 feet long, 7 man cab, 2000GPM pump, 2500 gallon tank, 360 degree high flow deck gun, fully foam capable, 4000 watt generator, 1000 feet hose
"Volvo Trucks NRV Plant Fire Brigade, registered as Volvo Technical Rescue Team, is certified in the Commonwealth of VA for high angle rescue, confined space rescue, and industrial firefighting. Tanker 33 is registered under a regional mutual aid agreement and meets all state mandated requirements"
They are on Zico hydraulic racks, so they lower down to ground level at the flip of a switch.
There is a chute behind the rear compartment roll up door. It's more designed to carry a lot of water for industrial firefighting/self sufficiency but can respond mutual aid as a tanker.
Here's a photo of the crew cab:

It's a great job that I've done now for 26 years with a 25 year retirement, my department has moved away from the police patrols of our 400 acre campus to a community based fire safety job, I am a certified code enforcement officer and we cover 9 counties, with the closure of most of the facilities it's a transition from being a police job to an emergency service dept. Where we can be deployed throughout the state to assist as needed in the event of disaster such as Sandy and the heavy snow fall this past winter in Buffalo. I have no complaints and I enjoy my job as a Sgt. with the agency

This is definitely one of the largest fires in our area and things happening for the first time are worth noting.
Fire is almost 5 miles long, burning almost 2500 acres or about 5 square miles, and is only about 75% contained. The NYS Incident Management Team (IMT) is managing the fire with NYS DEC and for the first time in NYS history, fixed-wing air tankers from Canada are being used to drop water with the NYS Police helicopters that have been operating already. Homes have been evacuated and roads closed.
Crews from around the region are being called in to help fight it on the ground and, depending on weather, it may be fully contained this week.
http://www.recordonline.com/article/20150505/NEWS/150509715
http://www.recordonline.com/photogallery/TH/20150505/NEWS/505009998/PH/73_169_629_2320_2330_1004088
http://www.recordonline.com/article/20150503/NEWS/150509814

Photos from today's NYPD REMA (Retired Emergency Man's Association) Day of Remembrance at the NYPD SOD Facilites at Floyd Bennet Field in Brooklyn.
All photos by me.

LAFD's terminology is vastly different then east coast lingo.
A Light Force gives you 6 firefighters, and a Task Force gives you 10.
A "Light Force" is a truck company (1 Officer, 1 Apparatus Engineer, 1 Firefighter/Tillerman, 2 Firefighters) plus an Engine (200-series numbers) staffed solely by 1 Apparatus Engineer. The primary role of the engine know as a "Pump" in this scenario is so that the truck can be self sufficient if they need to deploy a master stream, stretch a line, or need specialty equipment carried on that piece. Although the Engine generally never splits up from the truck and runs everywhere with the truck, it can be fully staffed on it's own as an independent engine company with recall or held-over duty personnel during large scale crisis-type emergencies.
A "Task Force" is the Light Force above, plus the Engine Company from the same station (1 Officer, 1 Apparatus Engineer, 2 Firefighters).
The firefighters in these stations are rotated through positions to maintain familiarity with each spot.
This gives an incident a cohesive team of firefighters and manpower under the command of the truck captain that are flexible with tools and skills on how they can be deployed at any type of incident.
Here's an awesome website post that goes into full detail about LAFD, as well as extensive explanation of how Light Forces/Task Forces work: http://forum.emergency-planet.com/topic/7398-a-guide-to-the-lafd-and-assisting-agencies/

Nearly 30 years ago, I built a log home. I specified full 3/4" plywood for the main subfloor with 2x12's for floor joists. Being a log home, we used double thickness 2x12's for the rim to support the extra weight of the exterior log walls. I also spec'd the joists to be 18" on center instead of the usual 24" that most builders will do unless told otherwise. That also contributed to more load bearing capacity on the rim.
I did consider the OSB "I" beams as they were just gaining acceptance in the manufactured housing industry at the time but rejected them as being too susceptible to water damage and possibly fire damage.
Guess I made a good call.

macaulay culkin job ? Heard a lot of stories about this job from the brothers in my house. Would love to hear more stories from retired guys

Your entire post was Spot on, with one exception, the sentence above.
Paid chauffeurs also hide the problem. Wow look how fast the FD got on scene but still no one to take care of the problem. And as you said full time staffing is not financially viable based on the call volume. And many of these VFD's are doing no better at night.
When their are 2, 3 , 4 departments in town.....consolidate. then not everyone is trying to staff 2 engines and a truck and rescue. Then if needed add a paid company to handle all the BS that is a problem. Then and only then if you need to go fully paid, you can do it with fewer rigs covering a larger area and it becomes cost effective.