DonMoose

I'm failing to see the problem. They were hired as probationary firefighters, and one of the terms of their employment that they had full knowledge of and agreed to was to become state certified EMT's , which they failed to properly complete, and in lieu of termination they were afforded an opportunity to resign and be rehired upon successful completion of passing the exam. If there are terms of employment that an employee must meet to remain employed, then they need to meet the minimum standards set forth by the employer, otherwise dismissal is appropriate. They knew they had to pass this exam to keep their job, and for whatever reason, they failed to do so. Sorry but maybe there are 7 others out there who are better suited for the position then.

Seems like the firefighters were given ample opportunity to gain a certification and were indeed informed of the requirement and given tutoring to comply with it The 7 decided they did not want to do it so they resigned instead of being hired so they can keep their jobs, maybe. Unless I am missing something it seems they dropped the ball, not BFD. Also, I can't seem to agree that the chief is being nefarious, he could have fired the firefighters but decided to let them resign so they could potentially get the EMT cert.
Given the turmoil of the Mass. EMT scandal from last year, I really don't think the department is being out of line. If someone thinks im wrong/can correct me please do.

[sigh] The vehicle is nothing more than the conveyance for a person or persons to a scene. It shouldn't matter what the side of the vehicle says.

All Mohegan has to do now is hire enough paid firefighters to man it. Their numbers have been cut so badly that they have more apparatus then people on duty

and lack of curiosity and knowledge kills fire fighters.
The building and its contents are the enemy

Our paychecks are funded through taxation. So, therefore, are you saying that we should not be able to spend any of our salaries on alcohol?
This is monies which the BFD union feels were owed to them contractually to be spent as they see fit for funeral expenses. Alcohol being served at a funeral reception is a normal, legitimate expense.
There were many thousands of mourners in Buffalo for two funerals and consuming alcohol off duty at a funeral is a perfectly legal, acceptable thing to do. Considering the numbers of attendees I don't think either $7,600, as the union claims, or $11,000, as the City claims, is a lot of money to spend on booze. It was not a frat party, however, this whole matter is obviously a thinly veiled attempt for the Buffalo City Administration to make it look like just that in order to discredit the union.
Some on this site are attempting to take that ball and run with it for their own reasons...

At this time I am no longer a volunteer fireman but just a resident of a volunteer town and I must say you both sound like you both need cheese for your whine. I live in an area similar to Westchester that could use a good dose of consolidation, and I have not gone to a meeting to ask why this isn't being looked into since the school districts are.
The voluntters on here that are bashing Chief Flynn for his comments get over yourselves and realize there is a problem. You are just showing everyone why change in the fire service has not occured. Also if you were so against parades one you wouldn't go, as I know a member on here who I used to volunteer with wouldn't and two you would speak up at a meeting. Finnaly they are not talking about just volunteers when they talk about regionalization. There are several career departments in Westchester that would be just as well served by regionization as volunteers departments would.
Career firemen I understand why you have the feelings you do, but if you have loved ones living somewhere that the fire service being provided is less than adequate do you tell them to move? Also doesn't the Commisioner of Yonkers live/lived in a volunteer town?
In the end I hope you both realize that neither of you has a perfect system. Is it right for a career department to call another department that is crazy far away or to not be adequately staffed? Is it right for every volunteer to not be properly trained as much as a career man?
Bnechis the county would be better served if you were its next Commisioner. You come well informed and have proactive ideas, especially for someone that is a member of a top class department.

We have previously established the fact that many departments in the area have a real tough time with having an adequate number of trained firefighters able to cover incidents in their jurisdiction. In light of this, I would be interested to know with as much specificity as possible, what type of preplans various departments have made to ensure that when members and apparatus participate in a parade in another jurisdiction, there will be no diminution in fire protection during the time these members and apparatus are not available????

Most places have a signup and it's not like the whole department goes to the parade and leaves their respective district unprotected. What's your beef with Volunteers, anyway?

"...and who cares?..." Lots of us do, apparently. In the fire service response times are crucial. That is why they are tracked and recorded. It's simply not good enough to say, "we do the best we can", or "these times aren't exact", "what's the big deal?", etc. It is a big deal. SECONDS COUNT. If we can improve response times, we will save lives and property. What is more important than that, someone's feelings?? QTIP.

Thanks Mike. I was pretty confident that the times were exact but I was waiting for you to confirm it. So....could someone please explain why the Banksville tanker was not enroute for a Banksville structure fire until 12 minutes after the initial alarm? None of this makes sense to me. Is this the norm???