post4031

Members
 View profile  See their activity

  • Content count

    101

  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by post4031

  4. Posted

    You are correct.

    Fortunately laws can be changed. If there was enough groundswell, I think the laws could be changed to remove legal conflicts when it comes to fire districts and fire protection districts.

    I don't see it happening anytime soon....especially with the way Albany runs... ;) I would think there would need to be some concessions on the career training requirements that Chief Pells has mentioned. I would think it would need to be more uniform and there would have to be some credit for training already completed such as state courses that would be credited towards the 229 hours.

    Or there would need to be a part time academy that could be completed, kind of like law enforcement.

  5. Posted

    (One thing that was clear during that meeting once you mentioned paid-call or part time staff, the gentlemen representing FASNY were adamantly against it because it would ruin the image of the volunteer fireman.)

    Thats great to hear a person from FASNY is all for enhancing protection of a community, not protecting their kingdom (sarcasm). They're not unlike other fifedom special interest groups defending their turf at all costs (iafc, iaff, nvfc, and a host of others). IMO FASNY does some good things, but is not in touch with the realities of todays volunteer fire service. The year is 2010, not 1965.

    The notion of spending more money on recruitment drives and other "enticements" is laughable in todays society. Our experiences told us they largely dont work. We did all kinds of stuff as "recruitment tools", but in the end it didnt do squat. Yes, we got people in the door, and yes a few of them lasted long enough to get training and experience under their belts. But again, in the end, five years later, they're gone. Most simply dont stay around long enough to get the training and experience to be good, competent interior firefighters. It was nice getting some fire police members and exterior people, but what we need are those who can do firefighting.

    LOSAP for us anyway, did nothing to bolster the numbers of those who can fight fire. What is did was to keep our older fire police guys around. While thats helpful, that doesnt put out fire our disentangle victims from wrecks. The LOSAP is now costing our district big bucks and we still cant rigs off the floor.

    Definitely agree on FASNY and other groups, matter a fact that was my response to them. We has some of the same experience with LOSAP but fortunately a lot us don't care about LOSAP and do what we need to do points or not.

  6. Posted

    (I should be interesting to see how this turns out. It is not legal in NY currently and the way the LOSAP laws are written someone cannot be receiving pay and credit towards LOSAP.)

    I beleive you are correct, you cant be pay per call AND receive credits for losap. That just means you cant get both. that doesnt mean you cant have a pay per call system.

    You are correct, however a paid call system creates other legal conflicts when it comes to fire districts and protection districts. There are no provisions for it in the laws that govern these types of local governments.

  8. Posted

    Illegal for just fire districts or other entities as well?

    As I understood it villages or cities can as they would be considered part time employees of that entity, Fire Districts or Fire Protection Districts can not. Also, villages and cities can pay stipends where as fire districts and protection districts can not according to the interpretation we got. I did hear of a district upstate that was doing paid-call but I couldn't verify it. This system does work well in other states. However, most that I have asked about require some type of actual time put on shifts to cover apparatus. It all depends on how the department sets it up.

    I did attend a legislative investigative committee meeting about issues with volunteer departments with several members of the State Assembly, FASNY, OFPC and Local Officials. These issues were talked about at length along with others. One thing that was clear during that meeting once you mentioned paid-call or part time staff, the gentlemen representing FASNY were adamantly against it because it would ruin the image of the volunteer fireman.

    They would rather obtain funding and have an advertisement campaign to create excitement and attract new members. Let me also say this, I am not anti-volunteer myself being a fourth generation volunteer and being part of the service for 23 years. However, I do feel there needs to be other options for a department because most do not have the resources for a full career staff.

    Most members of a department these days need to have part time jobs in addition to full time jobs to make ends meet. We often lose quality members because of their personal committments and time constraints and their inability to put in the time required. If a member's part time job was with the fire department he/she would not only be taking care of their needs it would also fill the departments needs as well. A win win situation for both in my opinion. It may get the department further down the road per say and be cost effective.

    It is a complicated issue that's for sure!!!

    helicopper likes this

  9. Posted

    I should be interesting to see how this turns out. It is not legal in NY currently and the way the LOSAP laws are written someone cannot be receiving pay and credit towards LOSAP. My department posed this question to the Association of Fire Districts Attorney some time ago and he not only stated the above but also stated it would open up a can of worms because it would conflict with a host of other laws in New York.

    Your either have volunteer or career personnel or both in NYS, no part time or paid call. I do feel that there should be a provision giving a fire district the ability or in between step for paid call or part time staff.

  10. Posted

    What are you guys looking to buy? I am not on Stamford, but I have heard HME's stuff is....well. What are you looking for?

    I am comparing manufacturers of Quints and gathering information for future purchase. Our requirements are a 75' ladder, 500 gallon tank, 1500gpm preferably on a short wheelbase. It seems HME and Seagrave have the shortest 192", I even saw a spec on one with 186" wheelbase. Most of our department has Spartan chassis and we do like them. I am just looking into other options as well.

  11. Posted

    Hello,

    I am interested in learning what Stamford Fire & Rescue Firefighters like or dislike about Engine #6 2007 HME Quint. Has there been any major issues? Any pros or cons about the engine? How has the manufacturer been to do business with? How is their service and have they dealt with warranty issues promptly?

    Any information would be GREATLY appreciated!

    Thanks!!!!

  17. Posted

    New York should take a few lessons from this guy!! Our current Commissioner of Corrections refers to jails as CAMPUSES :huh: not jails, not prisons but CAMPUSES.

    Campus

    1 : the grounds and buildings of a university, college, or school

    2 : a university, college, or school viewed as an academic, social, or spiritual entity

    3 : grounds that resemble a campus <a hospital campus> <a landscaped corporate campus>

    New York the LIBERAL STATE! :(

    helicopper likes this

  20. Posted

    First and foremost I'm not criticizing anyone (except perhaps the Thruway Authority).

    My question is specifically about the command of the incident as it relates to the stranding of dozens (?) of people overnight on an interstate highway. The TA and SP should have been much more proactive in establishing a proper command post and coordinating the goings on within their area - the interstate highway.

    Friday afternoon I heard conflicting information about the status of the highway including from the State itself. This is absurd.

    I find it absolutely ridiculous that the State failed so miserably to communicate effectively and coordinate the response to this moderate storm (what if it was worse?) in it's area of responsibility.

    Again, this is no reflection to the local agencies who had their own share of problems going on.

    No criticism taken...I agree 100% with you. It could have been managed better by the State especially since this snow fell in a localized area. More resources could have been brought in to assist with that specific area and the local departments that were getting slammed already could take care of their own problems.

    Scott

    effd3918 likes this

  21. Posted

    While this may creat a vehicle removal problem, if people freeze in their cars how do you remover thier vechile to open up in the morning???

    While this may have been the right move, what happens to 684? 87? TSP? NY17 etc.? what do you do with those roads and that will back up other major roads. At what point do you stop?

    Anytime there is a backup the town becomes jammed with traffic thanks to the GPS. This was another problem during the snowstorm as people were getting off and creating another incident on local roads because they got stuck, ran off the road, etc.

    effd3918 likes this

  22. Posted

    Can anyone address my earlier questions (above)?

    Chris,

    We got hit pretty hard here and during the height of the storm there were very few plows on the road. We have two vehicles outfitted with plows that were busy responding to alarms so apparatus and ambulances could get to the incident locations.

    From the onset of the storm to now we have recieved approx. 75-80 alarms. Also, we were extremely busy getting the elderly and invalids to shelter. We sustained heavy tree damage and most of the town was out of power and still is.

    Our Town E.O.C. was open however it was basically a center for fire department operations and we did have communications with the PD.

    We recieved a request from the Dutchess EOC for the snowmobile to transport water and blankets to stranded motorists and check the welfare of the occupants, also to transport them to a shelter. We responded within 15 minutes to the request along other neighboring departments.

    There was no Unified Command to my knowledge with the exception of the communications between the fire departments. The Thruway Authority and NYS Police requested our assistance and were the authority over the incident. We did have contact with some units on scene but no command structure to my knowledge.

    By the time we received the request the Thruway Authority had already started to redirect motorists through turn arounds to the eastbound side and off the highway. We were prepared to transport stranded motorists to a warming center at our HQ's until shelter was established. Most refused to leave their vehicles and the Troopers were not forcing the issue.

    The storm severly taxed our resources and the resources of our area. We had members in stations from Thursday afternoon until Saturday evening when we sent as many as we could home and returned to stations Sunday morning.

    Given the scope of the storm and the damage it caused I do believe we did as much as we possibly could and if there was a true medical emergency we would have made every attempt to get access to the patient. Just an example we had to remove one resident in a rowboat with a few guys acting as reindeer because nothing could get to where he was located. I am thankful for the dedication of our department members and their willingness to rise above the obstacles they face.

    If you have further questions feel free to PM me

    Scott Post

    chris, SRS131EMTFF, PEMO3 and 2 others like this