msm232

Looks like a Capt Rex extrication class!!!

We are extremely happy with the way it came out.....The engine has an Aluminum 7 man enclosed cab on a Pierce Arrow Chassis which if needed gives us an extra 2 seating positions over the old E-One's +++++The cab is enclosed. A Huge safety factor for us since the engine runs on all EMS calls and MVA's with the Rescue 33. We can't thank Blauvelt Fire Co. enough for the generousity they showed to North White Plains. Situations like this are what the fire service is about! Things still need to be tweaked but they will get smooth out over time. We are keeping 1981 E-One (E-74) and disposing of 1977 E-One (Old E-75) which is being stored in Armonk HQ. Any one interested in the Old 75 can email ncsfd1@optonline.net (North Castle South Fire District #1) - It runs and pumps great and has been maintained upto this year. We would like to see it go some where as a spare or back into frontline service. Thanks Seth for the great pics. Stay safe.

Eight fire and ambulance officials arrested BY ERIK GERMAN erik.german@newsday.com March 21, 2007 A year-long criminal probe of Suffolk fire and ambulance districts yielded a parade of suspects in handcuffs Tuesday, all accused of plundering public funds in a "pattern of thievery" District Attorney Thomas Spota called "shameful." Seven current or former members of Suffolk County fire districts, along with the president of a Suffolk ambulance district, were charged with stealing taxpayer funds in schemes ranging from the spectacular to mundane: A former Montauk fire district treasurer, Terri Gaines, spent $500,000 in district funds on European vacations, casino junkets and private schooling for her son, Spota said at a Hauppauge press conference. East Moriches Ambulance company president Alan Crane stole $6,500, Spota said, spending it on items such as pork chops and a guitar. The largest group spotlighted Tuesday was the five current and former members of Selden's board of fire commissioners. Authorities arrested and charged them with stealing $52,600 in district funds and lying about it on false receipts that prosecutors said they submitted after out-of-state conferences. The grand larceny count could carry a prison term of up to 7 years and the false filing charges carries a penalty of up to four years.. "These individuals are nothing more than thieves," Spota said. "They used taxpayer monies for themselves and their families to gamble, and their conduct is reprehensible." Past Selden commissioners Robert Santora, Joseph Callari and Jack Emr, along with current commissioners James Spatafora and Joseph Parenti were arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip and pleaded not guilty. Also in court was former Terryville Fire Department volunteer Michael Konsevitch, who pleaded not guilty to pocketing $5,200 from the department's carnival account. Konsevitch's attorney James McElhone, of Miller Place, said, "It was a one-time thing and did not involve taxpayer money." Prosecutors said Konsevitch signed a "full confession." Crane's lawyer, Charles Rosen of Hauppauge, said Crane is "upset and disturbed about the charges" and maintains his innocence. Gaines was arraigned in East Hampton Justice Court and her bail was set at $10,000. Gaines is also represented by McElhone, who said he would dispute the extent of the alleged theft. He also said some of the checks were reimbursements to Gaines for money she spent on district expenses. All except Gaines, arrived in Central Islip handcuffed but were released on their own recognizance. The Selden Fire District's attorney, Raymond Perini, of Hauppauge, who spoke on behalf of the five charged Selden officials in court, said it was important to remember their long-standing volunteerism. "Collectively, they have hundreds of years of service and who knows how many times they put their lives on the line for Selden," he said. "We look forward to putting this investigation behind us." But Perini acknowledged that the misuse of funds "was a mistake" and that his clients intended to repay the money. Spota said he would seek $23,000 from Santora, $11,000 from Spatafora, $9,000 from Emr, $5,100 from Parente and $4,500 from Callari. The Selden commissioners were accused of using district funds for excessive travel spending, including extravagant dinners, meals for family members, amusement park admission tickets and alcohol. Because the commissioners also approved their own travel budgets, Assistant District Attorney Laura Newcombe said, "This is a case of a fox in charge of a henhouse." A Newsday story on Nov. 1 disclosed that Selden commissioners accounted poorly for hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars spent at dozens of conferences in Las Vegas, Orlando, Fla., and other cities over the last decade. Commissioners acknowledged routinely writing receipts on business cards, a practice the state comptroller discourages, and improperly spending portions of their food allowance on alcohol. Staff writers Joseph Mallia and Susana Enriquez contributed to this report. Copyright 2007 Newsday Inc.

I wouldn't exactly call that a failure.....Failure and SCBA is NOT a good combination of words. More like a Icing Condition which affects all firefighting equipment. Couple of things to check: NFPA 1500 (Grade E) requires compressed beathing air to have a -73 degree dewpoint. That is the amount of moisture in the breathing air. This is one of the reasons why air compressors must be maintained on a regualr basis. Check the age of the Air Pak......Pre-1987 Air Paks did not require the same low temp lubricants that the air paks are required to use today. This kind of condition frequently occurs during this type of weather from water spray. You must be aware that this may happen and use precautions, such as keeping the mask and regulator in a mask bag/pouch. This will keep spray and ice buildup to a minimum. Stay warm, stay low, stay safe.

This could be the start to the end of Carins helmets...... Wednesday, January 31, 2007 By DANIEL LOVERING ASSOCIATED PRESS Mine Safety Appliances Co., a maker of protective equipment for the military, construction workers, miners and firefighters, said Tuesday that it will close a plant in Clifton. The facility, which employs about 70 people, is one of two factory closings announced by the company. The other is in Evans City, Pa. The Clifton plant will be shut by year's end, and its fire helmet operations will be shifted to a factory in Jacksonville, N.C. Many of the plant's 70 employees will be offered jobs at the Jacksonville plant or another company facility. The plant closure extends the exodus of manufacturing jobs from New Jersey. Last year, the state shed more than 10,800 such jobs. Spokesman Mark Deasy said "it's hard to say at this point" whether there will be layoffs. A company release said it may incur some restructuring charges in late 2007 and early 2008 related to the Clifton transition. These charges, if any, are expected to be modest and will be specified at a later date. The company said the plan is intended to lower costs, improve operating margins, enhance competitiveness in key product segments and strengthen customer relationships. The company expects the initiative to reduce operating expenses by as much as $10 million a year once completed. Mine Safety Appliances is based in Pittsburgh.

Thornwood had a 1963 Mack (Old Engine 89) that had that feature.....When I was breaking in as MPO, the head driver told me there were 2 things in the cab NOT to touch.....the WET/DRY ROAD switch (we all know about that one) and the sand/traction device. If I remember correctly, there were jerry can like containers in the compartments above the wheel wells that contained the sand. They were always clogged and we still had to put the chains on! Those were the days..... Stay safe.

As a graduate of Oklahoma State University - School of Fire Protection, I am a little biased, As one of the first and most prestigious schools for fire protection, their reputation speaks for itself. Check it out..... http://fpst.okstate.edu/ Thanks and stay safe...

Also,,,,, here is the link to the NIOSH report for the Brick fire: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/fire/reports/face200404.html If you read both the 2007 NFPA update and the NIOSH report, it seems lots of the recco's are being implemented. As far as I am concerned, every person who is involved in the fire service should be required to read the NIOSH reports. "If you don't know your history, your doomed to repeat it" (unknown) Stay informed and stay safe.

FYI - ALS........Here are the changes to NFPA for SCBA's: NFPA 2007 Edition – Overview of Changes The following information is intended to supply you a top level overview and reference point pertaining to the key changes to the NFPA 1981 Standard for Self Contained Breathing Apparatus and 1982 Standard for Personal Alert Safety Systems. It is important to note that this document is not all inclusive but rather highlights the significant upcoming changes to the standards. The below topics are addressed in random order of importance.  The changes to the NFPA 1981 Standard on Open-Circuit Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus for Fire and Emergency Services 2007 edition and NFPA 1982 Standard on Personal Alert Safety Systems (PASS) 2007 edition become effective in February 2007. Mandatory implementation becomes effective in August 2007. This means that SCBA manufacturers can begin shipping 2007 compliant products in February and must ship by August 2007.  CBRN protection is mandatory under the NFPA 1981, 2007 edition for all SCBA’s and will be required to receive grant money from the Assistance to Fire Grants (AFG). Bottom line; CBRN will not be just a nice to have but rather a must have for compliance purposes and to be eligible to receive grant money from AFG.  Changes in communications for SCBA’s include a performance requirement for voice communication systems set at an 85% minimum score at 10 feet. The new mechanical voice diaphragm performance test will have an 80% minimum score at 5 feet. In layman terms this means electronic voice amplification will most likely be required with every 2007 compliant SCBA that is shipped.  As a normal function of the human breathing cycle carbon dioxide (CO2) is exhaled. To align itself more closely to the EN Standards (European Standard) NFPA adopted a 1% CO2 requirement inside the face piece versus the current 1.5%. This simply means that amount of measured carbon dioxide within the SCBA face piece is required to be 1% or less.  As part of new environmental test requirements NFPA added a heat soak and water immersion test for both the SCBA and PASS devices. Under the new performance requirement all electronics, for example, voice amps, HUD, and PASS devices must pass the heat soak/water immersion test. The testing involves a 350°F heat soak for 15 minutes, a 2 minute wait time, followed by immersion into approximately 5 feet of water for 15 minutes. The device must remain waterproof. The cycle of heat soak and water immersion is repeated a total of 6 times.  A HUD and Pressure Gauge will be required for all Self Contained Breathing Apparatus. Changes to the standard will now require both devices as oppose to the NFPA 1981, 2002 Standard which allows only a HUD. Note that electrical pressure gauges must also have a separate power source from all other electronics.  PASS devices have a new muffle test in which it has to release 1 data point greater than 95dBA at 10 feet while the user is in five different positions including face down, supine right/left, and fetal right/left. Simply stated, the muffle test simulates the proper function of a PASS device in any position of a potential downed or trapped emergency responder or firefighter. A 3 new hour destructive tumble test has also been added to PASS devices to push the device to the breaking point. The PASS is placed in a four foot diameter cage and tumbled for three hours. The PASS device must properly function per the manufacturer’s specification upon completion of the test.  Data logging will also be required for all PASS devices. The data logging function which features date/time stamps will log the most recent 200 events, for example, low battery alert, PASS on/off mode, pre-alarm and reset notification. Once the data logging function reaches the 200th data point it cycles again replacing the first event and so forth. Note that the standard does not require end users to use data logging but rather only to have the ability for data logging. The Technical Correlation Committee (TCC) has approved the proposed changes to NFPA 1981 & 1982 Standards thus the process has moved forward to the NFPA Standards Council. In October 2006, comments (if any) from the NFPA general membership will be reviewed and if there is no major pushback the Standards will be adopted for publication in February 2007. Stya Informed and Stay Safe... msm232

The Houston (Tx) Ship Channel Mutual Aid Group uses Ultra Large 8" (I think) above ground supply hose in cases of large scale emergencies at refineries. From what I understand the State of New Jersey pruchased this system from Kidde Fire Protection - Angus Flexible Pipline division: The Next Generation of Large Diameter Hose Angus has pioneered the use of high performance polymers in hose design for over 20 years. Thousands of miles of Angus hose deployed from Kuwait to Antarctica, from the North Seas to the Falklands, have proven the durability and success of Angus thermoplastic polyurethane hose technology. Now, Angus has taken this state-of-the-art hose technology - technology the United States military has come to depend on - and introduced the next generation of hose for industrial and municipal fluid transport. The new Angus 8", 10", and 12" Super Aquaduct products are the most technologically advanced fluid transport hoses in the world. Based on their performance characteristics, these hoses are unmatched in every feature. The applications for these products are numerous and create immediate solutions for municipal water suppliers, industrial fire fighters, heavy industry, and power generation suppliers. "New Technologies for Distribution Solutions"A new "Flexible Pipeline" Deployment System is introduced for large scale water movement operations. Utilizing three system components:1. "Flexible Pipeline" in diameter sizes of 8", 10" and 12" 2. Deployment equipment 3. A series of hardware components, this system now creates a logistically feasible solution to a variety of distribution and maintenance operations. The system also provides a unique operations package capable of meeting a variety of distribution oriented initiatives including:• Emergency water supply planning and operations • Mutual aid programs • Fire and water operations interface • Distribution system security and backup. The backbone of the system is a revolutionary new hose manufacturing product technology termed "Flexible Pipeline". These products are extremely lightweight, but are capable of working pressures up to 150 psi. The diameters have never been available before and are suitable for extremely large flows, carrying a "C" factor of approximately 165. They are available in continuous lengths up to 660 feet and can be coupled in the field. Water quality professions will appreciate the NSF 61 approval on the product itself. Designed as an "Above Ground" system, the distribution professional has a number of deployment options (trailer, reel, box) and can use the system with standard maintenance vehicles. The hardware component includes a number of manifold, valve, and coupling arrangements. The system creates economies with regard to time, manpower and equipment.The system was originally designed to be laid above ground to bridge underground distribution pipelines ruptured in the event of an earthquake. This system has been tested and now being considered by several west coast agencies and municipalities as a significant new distribution and operations system. The system is capable of benefiting a variety of large and small water providers and those tasked with distribution integrity. copied from the Kidde Fire website: http://www.kidde-fire.com I also heard rumor, NYC was looking at a similar system. Thanks and stay safe

Dumont suspends fire captain over spending Friday, July 28, 2006 By EUNNIE PARK STAFF WRITER DUMONT -- An embattled fire captain was suspended by borough officials Thursday for allegedly mismanaging the Fire Department's budget last year while he was chief. Capt. Brad Levitzki, who leads the 18-member Squad Company 1, was suspended for the second time this year, this time for allegedly spending about $26,000 beyond the department's budget. He was suspended earlier for allegedly failing to follow departmental procedure, fire company officials have said. Levitzki, a 16-year veteran of the department, did not return calls Thursday seeking comment. Borough Administrator John Perkins said Levitzki spent the extra cash on various gear and tools after he had been told not to spend any more money. The purchases were discovered by Fire Chief Antonio Spina when he took office this year, and borough officials say they have been investigating the matter for several months. "Our lawyers said there was significant evidence that what Brad did warranted suspension," said Councilman Robert McQuade, the acting fire commissioner. Spina did not return calls seeking comment. Levitzki was suspended in March for using a "10-code" against Spina's orders. The codes were traditionally used in radio transmissions to represent common phrases. But recently, many departments nationwide have stopped using the code in favor of plain language. Last weekend Levitzki's firehouse hung banners in his support, and the Fire Department executive board voted to disband Squad Company 1. The mayor and council, which have the final say on shutting down the company, issued a statement Thursday: "This recommendation will be considered in a professional, methodical and impartial manner with the safety of our residents as the most important factor." Spina rescinded Levitzki's 10-code suspension Wednesday, just before the mayor and council suspended him for allegedly mismanaging funds. Levitzki can request a hearing before the mayor and council. The allegations could result in his termination as captain, Perkins said. Officials said the latest charges have nothing to do with Levitzki's March suspension. "It's two different things," said McQuade. "It's a shame that it involves the same person and the same firehouse." 6967333

Because "Colors" aren't complicated and they work....... Stay Safe

Sure that wasn't the North White Plains FD Sirens??......EMS Call 3:40 am last night. Thanks

I would use the steel to make the biggest flag pole allowed by Navy rules on the ship! By an instruction dated 31 May 2002 (SECNAV Instruction 10520.6), the Secretary of the Navy directed the use of the rattlesnake jack in place of the union jack for the duration of the Global War on Terrorism.

Cos Cob 215, please don't confuse Interior firefighters with Exterior or Scene Support Personnel. I understand your fire companies position and role on the fire ground. This thread addresses INTERIOR or Class A Firefighters which choose to have facial hair in violation of OSHA rules. Thanks and Stay Safe.

Capt, AHJ??? As stated before, It's the Law......there is no gray area on this subject. Anybody who has done fit testing knows the validity of these rules. Here is the kick in the butt when it comes to the volunteer fire service! Why should I or my family be punished (meaning hurt or killed) because the person behind me or in front of me didn't feel like shaving? Does that person have the right to put me or other personnel in my department in jeopardy because of their shaving habits??? How many times have you seen officers and firefighters on the fire ground with full beards or goatees? Yea, I know the masks are positive pressure and any leaks, leak out of the mask....But and there is always a but....the better the mask fits, the less of a chance for a leak, the more air you have to breath!!!!!!! As a Chief, you will be held RESPONSIBLE.......Let me say that again......AS A FIRE CHIEF, YOU WILL BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR ACTIONS and THE ACTIONS OF YOUR PERSONNEL. If you as Chief allow personnel to respond in violation of the OSHA law, you a NEGLAGENT. You won't have a leg to stand on in court!!! If your a Chief and have a beard, don't show up on my fire ground.....I'm not a barber! Stay safe

There are subtle changes made to SCBA's on a year to year basis. A change that was made a year or two ago was the change to a bigger handle on the cylinder valve called the Tri-lobe handle. This was done after 50 years of the same handle being on Scott II, 2.2 and Scott 4.5 Air Pak cylinders. Basically they made the handle bigger so it could be turned easier with a gloved hand. That is the good part!! The bad part is that firefighters have to make sure every valve is sooooooo tight. We don't want it to leak!! Most likely the seat is leaking by because the cylinder handle has been overtighened. Take the cylinders in and have it fixed under warranty. If you need any addtional info, feel free to PM me....... thanks and stay safe

Be very careful with altering HUD's. The HUD was added as a additional means of EOS (End of Service) notifaction. You will get use to it just like you got use the the Integrated PASS Devices! Batteries should last between 6 months and a year. If they are not, then it could be bad batteries or a bad HUD driver. Tag it out of service and get it checked out. Most likely its under warranty! ALS .....is the rubber cover gone off the HUD display? Stay safe

The link for Robo-Pak..................Battery Pak Kit and other accessories for cordless equipment. Seems to solve some of cordless issues while improving the reliabilty of the tools. http://www.aircraftdynamics.com/utcover.htm Stay safe.

I spoke with a member of the Fire Patrol today and told him about the thread, He said there is always talk of the fire patrol closing. It always happens before the annual underwriters meeting. It goes to a vote and is always defeated. The closing of the fire patrols is rather complicated since the $$$ is tied to 2% fund. stay safe

Maryland - Fire Protection Engineering Oklahoma State U - Fire Protection Engineering Technology Eastern Kentucky U - Fire/Safety Engineering Technology Any questions about OSU, just pm me. Thanks and stay safe.

That is interesting, because we test our 13' and 22' Little Giant Ladders every year according to NFPA 1932. They PASS every year. Are you referring to the weight ratings? Thanks and stay safe

"ya i got the boot taking off thing already," c'mon y'all....That's called a "Boot Jack" and it prevents liner separation in leather firefighting boots. Warrington Pro does not give them away, they sell them and usually the distributor gives them out with each pair sold. Merry Christmas and Stay Safe.

Try - NFPA - Fire Protection Handbook I would try giving them a call and see if they have info they can email or fax! If that fails, call out to Fire Protection Publications @ Oklahoma State. Ask for the research librarian. Tell them that you are a student and what info you need. Good luck.

I am a big Lukas/Centaur Tool fan for several reasons, technology, engineering and performance. I would really like to know more about Holmatro and the new CORE technology. Has anybody used it and or switched to it? As far as which company has the best control system? Lukas/Centaur has a star grip controller which allows the user to feather the tool without the user breaking their wrists or having to stop and reposition. It is by far the best when it comes to control. Holmatro second and I always felt Hurst was the hardest to control. Maybe just because it was the heaviest and still is! I always felt extrication was more finesse then brut force. A Hurst 32A will get the job done but why kill yourself when there so much better out there. Stay safe.