M' Ave

They have a cut-out on the rim. The rim is placed around a car tire so the line doesn't get caught up when you're stretching around a car.

Please review this site and join if you so wish!
http://meritmattersusa.blogspot.com/
This is a very serious issue. The standards that define our job are in serious peril. We're going to see the degradation of our profession in the hands of left leaning politicians who would rather hand this job out to anyone to achieve a racial balance instead of putting in the time to educate and better everyone. STAND-UP!

Please review this site and join if you so wish!
http://meritmattersusa.blogspot.com/
This is a very serious issue. The standards that define our job are in serious peril. We're going to see the degradation of our profession in the hands of left leaning politicians who would rather hand this job out to anyone to achieve a racial balance instead of putting in the time to educate and better everyone. STAND-UP!

Please review this site and join if you so wish!
http://meritmattersusa.blogspot.com/
This is a very serious issue. The standards that define our job are in serious peril. We're going to see the degradation of our profession in the hands of left leaning politicians who would rather hand this job out to anyone to achieve a racial balance instead of putting in the time to educate and better everyone. STAND-UP!

Looks good to me! Equal Rights for all without lowering standards.

EVERY city pays for alcohol. I can't think of a single city or any one of it's agency's that doesn't have some formal function or gathering during that year and booze is included on the bill. Do you think that the New York City Hall annual Holiday Party is dry? Come on now. I remember when I still belonged to a volunteer company. Included in EVERY years budget was money for the annual inspection. This event included a cocktail hour and formal reception at a fairly expensive hall. Booze was served, many invited and the municipality covered the bill.
What's wrong with all of these examples? NOTHING. There is nothing wrong with a government paying for business/social events where alcohol is on the menu and legally served to attendees. Adults can drink, so says the 21th amendment. If the contract states that a collation should be paid for by the city, it's only natural to expect it to include the serving of alcohol. This article is a slanted disgrace.
In the matter of non-contractual functions or (god forbid) LODD functions, I would assume that all municipalities are indeed cutting back on non-essential functions. It would only be prudent in these economic times.

I KNEW this was going to happen here, that members were going to "take the bait" that the City of Buffalo threw out to see where it would stick. Well if you bit into this ALCOHOL arguement, you've been BUFFALOED.
First, it is disgraceful that news organizations do not even do the DUE DLIGENCE to find out what happens after a LODD funeral; it's called a COLLATION, not a "reception", not a "party", nothing other than a collation, which is a religious term meaning "light meal." The term reception is reserved for happy occassions; like a wedding reception.
THOUSANDS of firefighters, career and volunteer alike, some from as far away as Australia attended two LODD funerals. The Union did the right thing in providing those members with a Collation, where brother firefighters, law enforcement, ems, all came together to commiserate, after standing at attention for TWO LODD funerals.
Ever been to a LODD funeral? Ever stand at attention for three or four hours? Then imagine this day, and doing it TWICE. Think you might want a bite and a brew, drink, soda, coffee afterward? Of course you would, so let's stop being ridiculous about this issue.
This is a simple case of a CONTRACT VIOLATION. The union has an ironclad, protected by LAW agreement with the C.O.B. which states, the city will pay the union $12,500 for a LODD funeral for expenses incured. Period. It doesn't say, "well, we'll pay for this line item or that line item", it says will pay for expenses. The City has violated the contract, the union has probably grieved the issue, this will be mediated, arbitrated, wind up in court, and the city will LOSE...and THEN PAY.
There are difficult and protracted contract negotiations between the city and the union right now. The firefighters and cops have marched on city hall, and many believe bringing ALCOHOL into the disscusion was merely an attempt to smear the union.
Let's please not get into who drinks what and where with who's 2% money or fundraising, etc. If you engage in that, you have been Buffaloed in this case.
No on-duty members imbibe at colations, period. The insinuation is thrown out to see where it will stick, and it landed right here on emtbravo, and you guys are missing the issue of a contract violation, and making judgements that you should not be making; whether "taxpayer's money" should be used for alcohol is a bogus disscusion. Corruption in gov't is rampant. Governors spend millions of dollars decorating their offices. Legislators are bought by lobbyists. Our tax money by the billions has been thrown at large corporations, who in turn have handed out RECORD BONUSES to their incompetent CEOs. YOUR money at work fellas. Where is the uproar about that?
Let us remember what we are talking about here, and if some locals like INIT's pay for their own expenses for an LODD funeral, well they obviously don't have a LODD funeral expenses line in THEIR contract, or they'd be getting reimbursed for it.
http://www.wkbw.com/news/local/84990367.html?video=YHI&t=a

I agree 100% here.... was that for a gathering of mourners or a frat party... lets keep it to the matter at hand... I agree about any money being collected through taxes being used for alcohol, regardless if its career or volunteer... Bottom line its wrong... and this time it was from a career department.
The union was wrong...

Why is dinner an acceptable expense, but responsibly consumed alcohol unacceptable? If you're going to fund any social functions, then you might as well fund all of them. I wasn't criticizing volley FD's that pay for booze, just trying to point out the hypocrisy of getting on Buffalo firefighters for trying to do so.

I've always wondered...when I see the apparatus parked out in front of the food store where I live and the volunteer firefighters are collecting donations and selling raffles, does any of that money go toward parties or functions / conventions where alcohol is served? What about the letter I receive in the mail asking for donations? Is any of that money used to purchase alcohol? What about the 2% monies? Is any of that money used to purchase alcohol? Keep in mind now, that if any of that money was used to purchase alcohol I wouldn't necessarily have a problem with it so long as the people who contributed the money were aware of where it was going and they are not led to believe, as most people are, that is going toward firefighting equipment.
At least in Buffalo they were up front about it. Serving and consuming alcohol is perfectly legal, as long as those doing so are of age and do not work or drive while impaired. Most of us would choose to serve alcohol to those people who come to a get together after a funeral for one of our family members. That is what the Buffalo Fire Department did- they offered food and drink to those who came to mourn their brothers. They have apparently interpreted that expense to be part of what should be covered as funeral expenses as per their contract. They obviously feel that they have nothing to be ashamed of and neither do I.

stewart manor FD is within 5 minutes of 4 different fire departments. They're the poster child for the redundancy of the current system.

Thank you for not taking this personally and engaging in honest debate.
First, I would like to ask you not to make this thread out as some sort of battle or comparison between career (what you refer to as "paid") and volunteer firefighters / fire departments. It was not intended as such. To elaborate a bit on my problem with you referring to career firefighters as "paid", I would remind you that it is volunteers who often insist on being referred to as professional and I have always understood the point. You most certainly can be professional regardless of whether or not you are a career member. By the same token, you can be unprofessional even if you are doing something as your career. However, career firefighters are not the only firefighters who are paid as we have discussed in the past...many volunteer firefighters accept pay in the way of pensions, tax breaks and many other financial and other benefits.
Again, I appreciate you providing specific information in regard to how the parade issue affestc your department and the public you are sworn to protect and I will take you at your word. However, from what I can tell, this is still a very serious issue with many, if not most, volunteer departments who choose to participate in parades, as attested to by many volunteer firefighters right here on this website.
Also, in just now rereading your post as welll as KCRD's, I am reminded of the importance of there being an adequate response of trained firefighters in the initial stages of a fire. Counting the number of responders who actually showed up at some point during a fire is not really an accurate indicator of the effectiveness of the response. You mentioned several incidents wherein you gave numbers of Firefighters who responded...do you have numbers for the actual number of fully qualified interior firefighters who showed up in, say, the first eight minutes after the original 911 call was made?
I really do appreciate your post. It was a breath of fresh air. However, sometimes things arre really not as they seem. I really do believe that you truly believe that "what we lack in paid (career) performance is more often than not made up for in brute size", I'm just not convinced.

I used to pass the ticket back to the outside team whenever there was info about roof access or lack of rear fire escapes in the CIDS. I actually forgot it was there today and was announcing the run on the HT when the chauffeur reminded me they have the screen. Just knowing who's 10-84 helps your size up with tool assignments and what line you will have.

Never really got to see what FDNY FF's put up with when responding to a call, usually you just see a video of a batt. car going somewhat easy through traffic or an engine or ladder getting stuck behind a car for a second, but with this kinda view you get to see it all.

The fact that I am on the inside of such a volunteer department, with inside knowledge with respect to this rather beaten issue, should be specific enough.

I like the member rating feature. It helps to highlight who may or may not be a sound source of information.
Couple of guys getting close to 100, who's going to be first?!
However, I was thinking it might be nice if giving someone a rating was not anonymous. Let someone know who you are when you give them an atta-boy and, likewise, when you criticize. I think everyone can take some criticism and this might help avoid vindictive negetives.
Anyone's thoughts?

i always hear about issues with the department, but ill put in my 2 cents the firefighters are a bunch of class acts!! the few times i buffed the vern and a firefighter spotted me taking a picture of a rig always he/she would pass by and greet you. One dept that deserves alot but gets gipped more and more.

When able we encourage our chauffeurs to paralel to the curb and use the 10' flexible lenght of suction hose we carry to make the hydrant connection. This tends to no interfere with ladder company apparatus positioning. And as stated above frequently when chauffeurs use the front suction they tend to leave the a** end of their rig in the street. This is not a hard fast rule in the department many companies and chauffeurs have personal preferences. In most cases our chauffeurs are protected by the street being close by PD, the block is gridlocked by the first alarm assignment and the ladder company usually enters the block after the engine and from the same direction so their positioning will in most cases protect the engine.
Also the points about the cost and inherent flaws with front suctions should make any department purchasing a new rig give it serious consideration. That money could be very well spent elsewhere if you ask me.

Front suctions have a number of disadvantages:
Added cost(in the $40,000 range)
Added maintenance (we had 4 rigs with them, 3 cracked from there own weight, 1 was damaged in an MVA and when we found out the cost to repair, it was removed.
High Friction loss - with all the turns it is generally equal to 100' of hose to travel 15 feet. This reduces the amount of water that can be pumped. When we had a 6" front suction on my engine we maxed at 1,150 gpm. a 6" steamer can do 1,500 - 2,000 gpm.
In some designs it increases the turning radius
The best one is many MPO's tend to nose the engine into the hydrant when they have it. This can push the tail end out into the street. At a MA call about 2 years ago I got a great pic of an engine doing just that and cutting off the tower ladder that was now 500 feet from the fire building.
The way we keep the MPO safe from traffic is to bring the line in on the right (or left if needed) steamer connection.

It's either a Velocity or an Impel cab, the new ones that replaced the Lance and Dash cabs last year or the year before. The only reason it looks "weird" in my opinion is the round style headlights, the small style LED waring lights used above them and the painted grill instead of having it chromed out. It does look plain-wrapper like but hey its a fire truck and not a parade piece, function over form the way it should be.
I know we all like a good looking truck but sometimes you can't spend it all on flashy stuff if you need more important equipment on it instead.

Lucifer- sounds great but the Vulcans would have a lawsuit for biased standards to be a Firefighter. Hey speaking of a biased crime- Imagine if 12 white members of another society protested in writing and in person to the mayor of a certain city the promotion of 2 Black Firefighters, the 12 guys would have been arrested for a biased crime and labeled as Racists! The Vulcans need to be put in their place where they have no say with no outdated Racist decree!

Some words from karen Torre, New Haven20 Attorney:
Spilled Chili And Other Liberal Nonsense
By KAREN LEE TORRE
As if the New York City Fire Department has nothing better to do, U.S. District Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis has ensured that it will be embroiled in court proceedings for years, at enormous public expense, and for unsound reasons.
By judicial fiat, Garaufis invalidated FDNY hiring exams as discriminatory against African Americans. Acting as if racial imbalance in the FDNY was a social anomaly and the handiwork of racists in city government, Garaufis managed to transform nationally common statistical disparities in qualification rates into a ridiculous finding that city officials intentionally discriminated against blacks.
In an intellectually indefensible leapfrog, Garaufis cites the racial gap seen over years of fire department testing and concludes that this amounts to intentional discrimination because city officials were aware of this racial gap for years. This non sequitur is a convenient shield against a constitutional attack on one of the most obnoxious “remedies” in judicial history. Crude, standardless racial quota hiring will now be imposed.
Notably, and for reasons that ring hollow, Garaufis exempted New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg from the politically injurious “intentional discriminator” label. Bloomberg just happens to be the one who will decide how far the city will challenge Garaufis’ rulings. The seemingly irrational drawing of a line at the mayor’s door, while besmirching the reputations of the less powerful on the city’s political ladder, gives rise to the appearance of a judicial move calculated to increase the chances that New York City will acquiesce in this judicial intrusion into its affairs.
Bloomberg should not capitulate. He should fight it tooth and nail or Garaufis will be his new fire chief and take over the FDNY for life. Other like judges have done that and wrecked the agencies of which they took control.
Even before Garaufis, the FDNY, responding to pressure from race mongers, dumbed down its tests to the point they became a joke. Here is one of many outrageous examples: One test actually asked candidates what they should do if they discovered that a co-worker spilled chili on the floor and didn’t wipe it up. Adding to this nonsense, more than one of the moronic multiple choice answers was correct. Firefighters erupted in protest and disgust over this assault on their professional standards, right in the city where hundreds of firefighters lost their lives.
Even the spilled-chili type of questions won’t satisfy liberal activist judges, who know nothing about the jobs of these heroes, show little respect for them or concerns for their safety, and issue these offensive edicts from the safety and comfort of their chambers. That these lunatic rulings come almost entirely from President Bill Clinton appointees (and will no doubt proliferate under President Barack Obama-appointed “judges”) should be laid out for voters in November.
While we’re at it, let’s not stop with spilled chili for firefighters. Let Garaufis extend his logic to fix the racial gap in bar exam pass rates and stop pretending that education and knowledge are important to our jobs. Ditch those unfair questions about property and contracts. Let’s learn from the learned Garaufis. Here’s a suggested question on a judicially reformed multistate exam:
A witness you are cross-examining at trial starts to pick his nose. What should you do?
A. Yell, “Dude, you’re grossing me out” in front of the jury.
B. Offer the witness some Kleenex.
C. Move to strike the snot.
D. Start picking your own nose so the witness does not feel isolated.
Answer key: Both B and C are correct and you get two extra points if you are oppressed.
Maybe Garaufis will compromise and allow New York City to change the spilled chili hypothetical to at least add that the chili is on fire.
Disgusted firefighters from around the nation are, at last, organizing nationally to fight against this elitist judicial assault on their profession – an overdue and welcome development.
Recently, countless thousands of firefighters gathered in New York to bury one of their own killed in the line of duty. The hero left behind a wife and beautiful little daughters. His twin brother, also a firefighter, must now bear an unspeakable pain for the rest of his own life. Mayor Bloomberg – do the right thing. Don’t let robed elitists make a joke of your fire department.•
Karen Lee Torre, a New Haven trial lawyer, litigates civil rights issues in the federal courts. Her e-mail address is thimbleislands@sbcglobal.net

And why are you not a fan? 'Cause you don't like the way it looks? I think you need to have a better reason than that. From a practical standpoint, that rig is HUGE for NYC streets and the shorter it is, the better it is to operate. With a long bumper having no operational value, they order a short one and hope to hit less stuff.
General FYI: TL's have "Jacks" on the front bumper and rear quarters. "Outriggers" are the mid-mounted stabilizers.

Monty, working near a major facility where cars are towed into and out of every day, I also have seen this. There is no need for tow trucks to have their flashing warning lights on when carrying a car on the flatbed or even towing one for that matter.
According to NYS DMV, the only time a tow truck is to have its warning flashers on is loading/unloading a vehicle when it may present a hazard to other drivers. Once secured and on the way, the lights are supposed to be turned off. If towing a vehicle, the towed vehicle is supposed to be equipped with turn/stop/tail lights that operate with the towing vehicle lights.(Let me follow this by saying this is what I believe is in the CDL/tow truck operator endorsement manual).
BTW, in addition to tow trucks, have you seen the light show put on by many plow contractors? I've seen nearly every color of light on those as well.

Sorry for the rant - but it might make me feel better
I know we've talked about the letter of the law here and volunteer fire/ems providers. But what's got my goat a few times lately has been tow trucks!
The other day I was behind one that was very patriotic. Had flashing red, blue and white lights on the back, and at the time it was just carrying a car on the flat bed down 9A. Today there was one coming the other way on 9A that had flashing white lights on the light bar - again with a car on the flat bed.
Do they ever get tickets? At what point I wonder would they get tickets? And we wonder why people don't pull over for flashing lights .... this certainly doesn't help the cause. I'm not sure why they really need warning lights when they're traveling with a load on the flat bed - if they've secured it properly.
Thank you!