efermann

Cleaning the river is a good thing to do. Building burms along the river so that low lying areas immediately adjacent to the river is wise. Constructing concrete river botoms and embankments certainly made a difference in flooding along the Saw Mill in Ardsley and Yonkers.
However, the root cause of all the flooding, now ocurring on a regular basis, is the overdevelopment and the establishment of impervious surfaces.
Impervious services prevent the absorbtion of runoff into the ground. Instead, water runs down and around the impervious surfaces, dumps into a storm drain (and sometimes a sanitary sewer.....but that's a discussion for another day) and into a river. The river fills up with silt and debris, the river slows and flooding ocurrs.
When development is proposed, municipal planners generally are able to detect and identify the "water" impact of the development. However, in the end, the almighty short term $$ euphoria always, always trumps logical environmental planning.

I can see why they stopped using it as a fire house. It must have been extremely difficult getting the rigs in and out of the building. Having that big tree in front of the bays !!!!

I would have guessed that was the entrance/stairwell to the upstairs apartment on either the B or D side based on the fact that the 2nd floor window didn't match up with the 2nd floor on either side. Zoomed way in, through the half-moon window above the door, I think I'm making out stairs. It's not clear, however, why it's painted a different color.

In regards to occasionally removing a glove - I dont know about you, but my gloves, with any hint of moisture in them, be it persperation or water - they can be a real hassle to get back on..

Video shows why it's critical to wear ALL your PPE for that "routine" call.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/44287205#44287205

I'm at home in Ossining with my kids and we felt nothing. My wife is working in Ossining and called to say "Did you feel that?" She tells me everyone in her building felt it and that others in her building called to their homes where it was felt. A couple friends of mine from White Plains sent me a message that they felt it.
I teach Earth Science in HS, so I have a bit of knowledge about earthquakes and have connections to data and visualizations and such.
For the next 18 hours or so, you can go to this page (My link) and scroll down to see click-able seismic displays from seismographs all around. Right now (2:44 PM), the Earthquake being discussed here is at the bottom of each image on the 17 line. Over time, the 17 line will migrate to the top of each image. (FYI the other large earthquakes currently in the view - at the end of the 05 line - are from Colorado)
There's plenty of information available about how the Virginia region is (was) at a relatively high risk for a significant earthquake. This would definitely qualify. There are some reports (older and more recent) that NY and the Hudson Valley are also at a significant risk for earthquakes. Maybe as strong as this one was in Virginia.
Clearly, people on here felt the earthquake. For those that did, you can go to this USGS site and complete a "did you feel it" form for the USGS. I just checked and it looks like a lot of people have already filled out the form. From a teaching and science perspective, it would be great if anyone here could also fill it out.

I'm at home in Ossining with my kids and we felt nothing. My wife is working in Ossining and called to say "Did you feel that?" She tells me everyone in her building felt it and that others in her building called to their homes where it was felt. A couple friends of mine from White Plains sent me a message that they felt it.
I teach Earth Science in HS, so I have a bit of knowledge about earthquakes and have connections to data and visualizations and such.
For the next 18 hours or so, you can go to this page (My link) and scroll down to see click-able seismic displays from seismographs all around. Right now (2:44 PM), the Earthquake being discussed here is at the bottom of each image on the 17 line. Over time, the 17 line will migrate to the top of each image. (FYI the other large earthquakes currently in the view - at the end of the 05 line - are from Colorado)
There's plenty of information available about how the Virginia region is (was) at a relatively high risk for a significant earthquake. This would definitely qualify. There are some reports (older and more recent) that NY and the Hudson Valley are also at a significant risk for earthquakes. Maybe as strong as this one was in Virginia.
Clearly, people on here felt the earthquake. For those that did, you can go to this USGS site and complete a "did you feel it" form for the USGS. I just checked and it looks like a lot of people have already filled out the form. From a teaching and science perspective, it would be great if anyone here could also fill it out.

I'm at home in Ossining with my kids and we felt nothing. My wife is working in Ossining and called to say "Did you feel that?" She tells me everyone in her building felt it and that others in her building called to their homes where it was felt. A couple friends of mine from White Plains sent me a message that they felt it.
I teach Earth Science in HS, so I have a bit of knowledge about earthquakes and have connections to data and visualizations and such.
For the next 18 hours or so, you can go to this page (My link) and scroll down to see click-able seismic displays from seismographs all around. Right now (2:44 PM), the Earthquake being discussed here is at the bottom of each image on the 17 line. Over time, the 17 line will migrate to the top of each image. (FYI the other large earthquakes currently in the view - at the end of the 05 line - are from Colorado)
There's plenty of information available about how the Virginia region is (was) at a relatively high risk for a significant earthquake. This would definitely qualify. There are some reports (older and more recent) that NY and the Hudson Valley are also at a significant risk for earthquakes. Maybe as strong as this one was in Virginia.
Clearly, people on here felt the earthquake. For those that did, you can go to this USGS site and complete a "did you feel it" form for the USGS. I just checked and it looks like a lot of people have already filled out the form. From a teaching and science perspective, it would be great if anyone here could also fill it out.

Summer of 2002, both my sister in law and little brother, as well as my wife and I, were expecting our firstborns. All was going great and we were all very excited.
About 3 weeks before they were due, the doctors noticed "something of concern" with their baby in the sonogram..and they were sent for a more detailed eval down in Westchester. The news was devastating to say the least. The baby's internal organs including the heart were not properly formed, among other abnormalities..they were told she would not survive birth.
In August, they were scheduled for delivery at Wetchester Med...still shell shocked from the news. I remember driving down on August 14th....not knowing what to say, especially since our child appeared to be totally healthy and trying to not be overly excited in front of them.
The delivery was tough to say the least...not only did my brother have to fear losing his first born, but his wife nearly died during the process...the staff at WMC worked their hardest, stabilizing her, and delivering the baby, a little girl, aptly named Faith. She did in fact survive birth...barely...and the second she was born she was whisked away to NICU for so many tests and procedures...
My brother couldnt talk...his wife couldn't even so much as open her eyes..we didn't know what to do, what to say..
My brother was shown how to baptise Faith by our Preist...which he did, as well as her Last Rites..could you imagine that!? I still can't.
We were able to see Faith quickly..and I will be honest..knowing what I knew..I thought it would be best of she passed quickly...when I met her...her eyes were wide open..her little fingers moving...so much about her that day was amazing, but I still can picture her beautiful blue eyes..the eyes of a fighter! I knew right then that no matter what actions needed to be taken, no matter the cost..that little Faith deserved every chance in the world to survive.
And fight she did!
She was taken to Columbia Pres by Stat Flight ground crew..the very same people I had worked with so many times on Empress chopper jobs...My brother was told not to expect her to live through the trip. BUT she did! Faith and her mother spent months living at Colmbia Pres...so many surgeries..rebuilt her heart, as she was born with a single chamber..her kidneys...a feeding tube, chest tubes, so many other things they patched, fixed, or made..amazing work..GOD'S WORK.
MY little brother aged 30 years in that time..barely working so they could be together as a family..just in case..so many times they were prepared for the inevitable.
In November, our Son was born, 100 precent healthy. I would be lying if I said we didnt feel a tinge of guilt, but moreso releived.
Right before Christmas 2002, little Faith came home. Amazing.
She was in and out of the hospital alot...for a long time..more surgeries..got very sick easy..
This all took one helluva toll on my Brother and his Wife. They lived like zombies..no emotion at all..just numb.
We were on vacation in Myrtle Beach the next summer when the house phone rang in the middle of the night..my brother crying that Faith was being airlifted to WMC by Stat Flight and she wasn't going to make it. And we are 13 hours away..
Well...she did survive another battle!
As she grew, she lived a very normal life..but was still plagued by medical issues..a long term feeding tube..frail..
Faith and her mother just returned from her first vacation to Scotland, where her mom was born and raised before coming to th US..
Today we got together to celebrate Faith's NINTH birthday.. This little FIGHTER is as normal as any other 9 year old today..she is the TOUGHEST, BRAVEST, SWEETEST person I know. She could teach volumes on being a survivor...she has more fight in her than I ever will. A NINTH birthday for a wee little lass who wasn't supposed to survive birth. Guess she showed them!
So even though we read daily that the police, fire, EMS, hospital, and medevac staffs are overpaid, under appreciated, overworked, etc..know that there are peopl eout there who benefited from your actions, your training, and your skills..people who appreciate you and what you do - because as little, well, not so little anymore, Faith can prove...you are needed and appreciated..from the Doctors who reconstructed her heart, to the nurses who changed her, to the medics that responded to their house when she collapsed, to the firemen who stood by while the chopper took off with her, to the Trooper who didn't ticket my mother on the TSP...all of you made a difference.
Thank you.
And HAPPY BIRTHDAY FAITHY...I LOVE YOU!

also what i am about to say will be unpopular with many but i really do not care. this pertains to volunteer departments of which i belong to one.Since nYS and WC have many many FD's and EMS agencies to please it is the onus of these towns and villages to bridge the gap on training needed and not wait for 60 control to pick up the pieces. The AHJ (Authority having jrusidiction) IE the town or village has every right to book accredited standardized training (of which there area zillion companies out there who will come and do it) and as long as the training hours and curriculum covered is logged and stored then their members are trained. This training has to be considered more important then the $3000 LED light bars and otherfrivilous items that are bought with taxpayer money. I am painting the taget on my back as we speak so feel free to fire back those who do not agree but ask yourselves this: how can you disagree with training whether it be in house or at valhalla ?

While there are many jokes to be made about this threat, there are many serious issues at work here.
1) It was stated in the article that plywood was on the windows, painted to look like curtains. This presents many complications including venting, egress, sizeup, etc.
2) Delays in getting water on the fire. It was not stated in this article, but I am sure the locks/doors were fortified heavily.
3) Entanglement issues. It was noted that there was a vast electrical system for the lights, etc. I am sure this was not installed by a licensed electrician, nor inspected by the BI. This could cause entanglement issues in the wires, plus electrical shock and the very hot bulbs could cause burns.
4) Traps/snares. People that make/grow drugs often booby-trap the houses where this is done as a form of security. Also, dogs and other animals are used for this purpose.
5) Preservation of evidence. Obviously this fire became a crime scene and Police officers do not like their crime scene upset too much (with good reason..). Making sure to document where things were, what order they were in, etc is crucial to a criminal investigation.
6) Know your buildings. Obviously this is an extreme example that no one most likely knew about beforehand, but take your time and look at the buildings around. At a wires down call, look (from the street) at the houses in the neighborhood. Look for multiple mailboxes, meters, heavy locks, etc. This stuff sinks in beforehand, and when the brown stuff hits the fan, we may have a slight lead.

Interesting article...
Unfortunately, I don’t have a law to cite, but I know building and fire inspections are periodically required in commercial buildings, and multi-family dwellings (more than 3 family homes). These same inspections are not required for single and two family home inspections except for when they are first built and if a building permit is ever taken out on the home. If anyone does have that law, I’d appreciate it if it was posted.
I have a few questions, however. Do all career departments conduct fire inspections? If so, are they limited to inspecting the multi-family homes and commercial structures, or do they inspect single and two family homes as well. I would imagine not, since that would be an enormous task in most communities. Either way, it doesn’t really matter WHO does the inspections, but that they are done.
At any rate, I think this is an important topic. The NYS law we've come to know as the "bail-out law" was the result, ultimately, of illegal conversions. Illegal conversions put us at risks that cannot necessarily be predicted from an exterior size-up. They are also a drain on a community (taxes). Collaboration between building and fire departments is a smart move. Illegal conversions found during a response to an automatic alarm could generate an automatic response by the building department. And if all inspections (building departments, career departments) are limited to commercial and multi-family homes, this would be an easy way to deal with single and two family home issues when they are encountered. Would it correct all illegal conversions? Not really, but it’s a start. And if stiffer penalties (only a $250 fine in Rockland?) were enforced, word would eventually make its way around communities and landlords may be less inclined to take advantage of and placing their tenants in danger by renting out closet space.
I don’t see a down side to this.

Today (6/10/2011) was Fleet Demo Day at Playland. Here are some of my pictures. If you enjoy my photos please comment of give me a rep, it would be greatly appreciated. Thank You.

Seriously dude!?! You need someone else to tell you that it's NOT okay for you to have a teenage boy fondle your junk? So if your town didn't provide you with that "training" you'd have no idea that this is wrong? Your way of thinking (find someone else to blame/failure to accept responsibility) is exactly what's wrong with this country.

Ok so the next time someone is trapped in a confined space, you should jump in unequipped to save them (note 60% of those that do this have died)
or
someone is trapped in an unshored trench, you should jump in to save them
or
a sniper is taking shots in an open lot, instead of waiting for properly trained and equipped LEO's you should run into the kill zone because you are a human (but not likely after the shooting stops).
or
a fully involved fire, no gear, no SCBA, because someone said my baby is in there (he was refering to his car or her cat.)
I am not saying we should not go in harms way, but we have policies to improve the chances of both the victim and the rescuers.
Without the training & equipment, your death does not help this victim or the next one. Some here have said we are no 1 and the victim is no 2, An instructor of mine many years ago said we were no 7.
No 1. is the rescuer
No 2. is his family (particularly his children)
No 3. is his partner or crew (some say #2 & 3 should flip flop)
No 4. is the dept. (which will be hurt by his death)
No 5. is the municipality or communicty (which will have to pay for the loss or litigation and thus will reduce service to the next victim)
No 6. is all the lawyers that will be litigating this case
No 7. is the idiot who most likely put himself into this position (and if rescued,will probable try again next week [even if the rescuers are killed in this attempt]).
How dare you speak for those hero's. They were well trained, well equipped, well staffed, following long established policies and the extremly well respected Operations officer (Ray Downey) stated shortly before the collapse and his death that the buildings would come down but he thought there was enough time to resuce many/most of the people inside and still pull out in time.
This is not the same, do not use 9-1-1 to put down others, their is no comparison. thank you.

I agree. He and many others offer invaluable information on a daily basis for free and most people bash them for it. Does that mean these people were proven wrong and cant be mature enough to admit it?
If I could I would hire Bnechis to come to our county and give a lecture or a seminar on firefighting, and pay him all we could afford.
As volunteers, we all too often hide behind the term when we discuss the requirements and time away from family, yet when someone as knowledgeable as Bnechis speeks up about the training standards being less than equal when compared and that people may be entitled to a better service, these same people get defensive, and claim we are the same...Im sorry folks but we are not. Volunteers need to be trained to the same standards, plain and simple.
In regards to covering calls, we seem to have forgotten about the one most important thing here, the people we serve. This isnt about departments ego or reputation, we are talking about getting a trained response to every call for help in a "TIMELY" manner. Anyone worried about response statistics and call volume and numbers of trucks responding as opposed to number of TRAINED providers able to actually help mitigate the incident responding as fast as possible, realy needs to re-evaluate the reason you are in the service. Its all about getting help where needed WHEN needed, and not a minute later. If your house is burning and your wife/husband is inside, the last thing you care about is the whining volunteer firefighter complaining about his family party being ruined or the fact his boss wouldnt let him/her respond right away. You do expect to see trained help arrive in a timely fashion that CAN help you, instead of 20 well intentioned good hearted people who are not trained interior firefighters that cant save your loved one. To see a group of firefighters in full turnouts standing around unable to help due to lack of training is a waste...sort of like going to an ER for help and seeing people dressed in white lab coats but none of them are doctors, kind of makes no sense right? So why are we still letting newer members with no training ride to calls? Why are we letting ANY member with no training respond to calls with an expensive suit of gear that they should not have?
Sorry, end of rant. Thank you for the replies to all who did, and thank you Bnechis for your professional attitude and demeanor in handling some of the insults, your contributions to this site are appreciated by some of us and I look forward to more in the future.
Stay Safe everyone.

Past New Hamburg Chief Jack Peruse sets the record straight......

Hughsonville Firefighter Tommy Masch......

And last but not least....... The Lucky Dogs......
And oh yeah........ Telling a photographer that he/she must have a nice camera is like telling the cook that he/she must have nice pots after eating a good meal.......

This is a serious concern for many depts. and there are proven methods to attack this problem, including the following:
1) Meet with the facility, try to convince them that this is there problem. The crying wolf could become a real disaster for them and that their failure to address criminal acts by their staff/residents is a big liability for them.
2) Pass a local ordinance that AGGRESSIVLY bills for repeat and or malicious alarms. Fee's should be designed to dramatically escalate so property owners are encouraged to fix the problem.
Fire Districts may not do this, but the town (thru the building dept can) and in Mt Pleasant they have an ordinance that’s at least 10 years old, but it has never been enforced. I spoke at length on this issue with your Board of Fire Commissioners about 10 years ago and they said the town would not enforce it because they wanted to be "nice" to the property owners.
If the town is unwilling to assist, you may have to play hardball. Advise the public that the situation is so bad that only 2 solutions have been determined: 1) the town strongly enforces its own ordinance or 2) your will be forced to hire enough firefighters to handle the problem this will result in 2x- 4x increase in everyone’s property tax to cover solution #2.....If you do not want this to happen, contact the town supervisor at 555-1234 and demand he/she solve this issue.
3)With enforcement efforts, we were able to address the collages and they started fining students who did not evacuate during alarms, at 4am this caused many of them to rat out those who were pulling the alarms and it no longer was a "game". With the funding from the fines they were able to purchase alarm covers, which made it easier to catch those pulling the alarm. They also established an expulsion policy (without reimbursement for tuition & board) for pulling a false alarm.
Our false numbers have gone way down because of these actions.

Nope, just a removable storage box for future needs. Similar to the FDNY Squads.
They do swivel out.
They are called I-Zone Hooks (interface zone hooks). They were a west coast design used when you have a couple hundreed feet of attack hose out and need to move the rig a couple 100 yards to hit the next fire or protect the next exposure and you do not want to repack the hose, you van just throw a few loops over the hooks (like your garden hose) and go. We thought it was a good idea when on I-95, it would be faster to get off the road and repack it in a safer loacation. Also good in bad weather or if the hose was muddy and we didn't want it in the bed.
A number of different variations are out there:

Too bad he didn't speak in front of the education department as well. Hopefully his testimony is passed on.
As a high school teacher, I can't tell you how happy I am to hear someone say this. Those have been my thought for far too long. There are some students in my classes who should definitely pursue a path other than college. I don't think society (or their parents) realize how important other career paths are and that they shouldn't be seen as consolation prizes. Keeping students who would truly benefit from a learning environment other than a classroom in a desk for four years helps no one - the student, society, etc. High schools used to offer classes like "shop". While those classes weren't meant to teach someone everything there was to know about carpentry, etc, at least students would be exposed to those essential skilled labor fields. If the class served to interest the student, they had an idea that there was something out there for them to study. I remember coming home with all sorts of stuff I made out of wood, metal, etc. I can't say I was great at it, but at least those classes were offered. And I knew how to use most of the tools in the classes already from when I helped my dad rebuild the porch, work on the car, etc. It's rare to find a school that offers classes like than anymore. There are the BOCES programs for students around Westchester (and other parts of NYS), but enrollment is often limited.
I've been reading educational literature lately in which there is a push for "college or career readiness". I've yet to see that happen, but it would be great if it ever did.

Too bad he didn't speak in front of the education department as well. Hopefully his testimony is passed on.
As a high school teacher, I can't tell you how happy I am to hear someone say this. Those have been my thought for far too long. There are some students in my classes who should definitely pursue a path other than college. I don't think society (or their parents) realize how important other career paths are and that they shouldn't be seen as consolation prizes. Keeping students who would truly benefit from a learning environment other than a classroom in a desk for four years helps no one - the student, society, etc. High schools used to offer classes like "shop". While those classes weren't meant to teach someone everything there was to know about carpentry, etc, at least students would be exposed to those essential skilled labor fields. If the class served to interest the student, they had an idea that there was something out there for them to study. I remember coming home with all sorts of stuff I made out of wood, metal, etc. I can't say I was great at it, but at least those classes were offered. And I knew how to use most of the tools in the classes already from when I helped my dad rebuild the porch, work on the car, etc. It's rare to find a school that offers classes like than anymore. There are the BOCES programs for students around Westchester (and other parts of NYS), but enrollment is often limited.
I've been reading educational literature lately in which there is a push for "college or career readiness". I've yet to see that happen, but it would be great if it ever did.

Too bad he didn't speak in front of the education department as well. Hopefully his testimony is passed on.
As a high school teacher, I can't tell you how happy I am to hear someone say this. Those have been my thought for far too long. There are some students in my classes who should definitely pursue a path other than college. I don't think society (or their parents) realize how important other career paths are and that they shouldn't be seen as consolation prizes. Keeping students who would truly benefit from a learning environment other than a classroom in a desk for four years helps no one - the student, society, etc. High schools used to offer classes like "shop". While those classes weren't meant to teach someone everything there was to know about carpentry, etc, at least students would be exposed to those essential skilled labor fields. If the class served to interest the student, they had an idea that there was something out there for them to study. I remember coming home with all sorts of stuff I made out of wood, metal, etc. I can't say I was great at it, but at least those classes were offered. And I knew how to use most of the tools in the classes already from when I helped my dad rebuild the porch, work on the car, etc. It's rare to find a school that offers classes like than anymore. There are the BOCES programs for students around Westchester (and other parts of NYS), but enrollment is often limited.
I've been reading educational literature lately in which there is a push for "college or career readiness". I've yet to see that happen, but it would be great if it ever did.

Too bad he didn't speak in front of the education department as well. Hopefully his testimony is passed on.
As a high school teacher, I can't tell you how happy I am to hear someone say this. Those have been my thought for far too long. There are some students in my classes who should definitely pursue a path other than college. I don't think society (or their parents) realize how important other career paths are and that they shouldn't be seen as consolation prizes. Keeping students who would truly benefit from a learning environment other than a classroom in a desk for four years helps no one - the student, society, etc. High schools used to offer classes like "shop". While those classes weren't meant to teach someone everything there was to know about carpentry, etc, at least students would be exposed to those essential skilled labor fields. If the class served to interest the student, they had an idea that there was something out there for them to study. I remember coming home with all sorts of stuff I made out of wood, metal, etc. I can't say I was great at it, but at least those classes were offered. And I knew how to use most of the tools in the classes already from when I helped my dad rebuild the porch, work on the car, etc. It's rare to find a school that offers classes like than anymore. There are the BOCES programs for students around Westchester (and other parts of NYS), but enrollment is often limited.
I've been reading educational literature lately in which there is a push for "college or career readiness". I've yet to see that happen, but it would be great if it ever did.

I absolutely agree with what he has to say, and glad someone's out there fighting for this important, brushed away by modern society cause.
Mike Rowe's Testimony Before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation
May 11, 2011
Read the speech here:
http://www.mikeroweworks.com/2011/05/mike-rowes-oral-testimony-to-the-senate-commerce-committee/
Watch the video of the speech here:
http://www.mikeroweworks.com/2011/05/mike-rowe-speaks-to-commerce-science-and-transportation-committee/

Too bad he didn't speak in front of the education department as well. Hopefully his testimony is passed on.
As a high school teacher, I can't tell you how happy I am to hear someone say this. Those have been my thought for far too long. There are some students in my classes who should definitely pursue a path other than college. I don't think society (or their parents) realize how important other career paths are and that they shouldn't be seen as consolation prizes. Keeping students who would truly benefit from a learning environment other than a classroom in a desk for four years helps no one - the student, society, etc. High schools used to offer classes like "shop". While those classes weren't meant to teach someone everything there was to know about carpentry, etc, at least students would be exposed to those essential skilled labor fields. If the class served to interest the student, they had an idea that there was something out there for them to study. I remember coming home with all sorts of stuff I made out of wood, metal, etc. I can't say I was great at it, but at least those classes were offered. And I knew how to use most of the tools in the classes already from when I helped my dad rebuild the porch, work on the car, etc. It's rare to find a school that offers classes like than anymore. There are the BOCES programs for students around Westchester (and other parts of NYS), but enrollment is often limited.
I've been reading educational literature lately in which there is a push for "college or career readiness". I've yet to see that happen, but it would be great if it ever did.