BFD2553

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Posts posted by BFD2553

  1. Posted · Edited by BFD2553

    Some of the volunteers that showed up were not “inside firefighters”(which means that they are not allow to enter a building fire. WHAT!!!!!

    There are exterior-only firefighters within the volunteer service. There are reasons for this which they are well aware of, and there are plenty of tasks on the fireground they can do.

    ) Some of the Outside firefighters refused setup the hydrant and opted to take pictures instead. This action caused one of the paid firefighters to go take care of the hydrant and took him away from inside firefighting.

    Any firefighter who, if qualified to do this task, and refused such an order should be ordered off the fire scene and disciplined by the chief at a later date.

    The chief claims that the fire got a good headway (news12). I bet it did while you were waiting there for more people to show up!

    Actually- the fire was burning for quite some time before anyone noticed and called in the alarm as previously posted.

    Even if the Commissioners hired 6 paid firefighters tomorrow they would still have to be trained and this would take time. I can hardly believe that such a great dept as Mohegan has been reduced to not being able to fight their own fires, because of should short sighted Commissioners.

    If this needs to be done, then it should be done.

    I am getting a lesson in fire dept politics and the games people play with others lives.

    You live in the district. Make yourself heard at the meetings or run for a commissioner's seat yourself.

  2. Posted · Edited by BFD2553

    I didn't say it wasn't a good stop...that was one of the troublemakers on here ( I know who he is and I can confirm that he is always up to no good) ...I'm nice remember??

    I have no idea what actually happened at the fire. What members are questioning on here is a seemingly repetitive and systemic problem of being unable to provide an adequate and timely response of qualified firefighting personnel.

    If it takes numerous departments to deal with even a private dwelling fire every time, why don't those departments just combine?

    Our automatic tri-village dispatch is not in place out of "need" to deal with "even a private dwelling fire", but is instead a proactive policy to deal with "What If". The other two departments are dispatched to stand-by in quarters, and apparatus is called in as-needed. Our departments have designated first, second and third alarm assignments from within the area to deal with what MAY occur. It's a pre-plan, in place and it works. For example- My department does not operate a ladder truck therefore we rely on any of the surrounding departments which border us on any side to provide one if needed. The point is, instead of waiting to arrive on scene and then have one dispatched, the other two depts. are already in quarters ready to roll. We operate a dedicated cascade truck which we will respond anywhere called upon as we did at this fire, with qualified interior firefighters two of which in this case, were put to work. Volunteer numbers within many departments are lower than what they once were as many who grew up in their communities cannot afford to live in them anymore so they move out. Others work two jobs and cannot volunteer their time. Planning for this possible shortfall in available manpower with multiple area departments is a working alternative to consolidation.

    fireguy43 and highwaybuff like this

  3. Posted · Edited by BFD2553

    This fire got a huge head start before anyone was ever aware of it- burning in the walls of an unoccupied home with rapid spread to the attic before any units arrived. Crews from Put. Valley, Yorktown, Peekskill and as I can personally attest, Buchanan, worked with Mohegan in an excellent and coordinated effort and kept the damage from being worse than it was eventually was. Should mutual aid departments be included on the initial dispatch? That is a question Mohegan should consider, at least during the daytime hours. We do it in the tri-village (Buchanan, Montrose and Verplanck)24/7/365 on all structure fire calls (even if it's an oven fire). The district with the fire is toned out immediately followed by the other two to man their stations. Works very well anytime of the day for all situations. Again- this fire was well involved before anyone even noticed and the crews did "make a good stop" considering what they faced. Not making excuses here Chief Flynn- just giving a little first-hand insight to what I experienced on scene.

    highwaybuff, fireguy43 and tjd1012 like this

  5. Posted · Edited by BFD2553

    I think the question, at least legally, would then become does the fact that they were in EMT/Medic uniforms and employees of the FDNY satisfy the "role expectation" and "participation with an agency..." wording.

    I don't know the answer because I am not a lawyer, but on the face of it, this case feels very different than a case where a medic was off duty and driving on vacation with his children and decided not to stop at an MVA, a case where the medic is clearly not participating with an agency having jurisdiction and thus has no binding job description or role expectation.

    What do you think?

    From an article by the Associated Press...

    "All of our members are qualified to make that initial assessment and in some cases, start medical care," said Robert Ungar, spokesman for the Uniformed EMTS and Paramedics, FDNY.

    "Being dispatchers is not a defense" for inaction, he said.

    A FDNY spokesman said all members take an oath to help others whenever emergency medical care is needed.

    Department spokesman Jeffrey Hammond said, "The charges are appalling and the Department is vigorously investigating both EMTs."

    The Fire Department has suspended Green and Jackson without pay.

    Any questions?

  8. Posted

    If you hear the rattle of a rattler, you are already on top of it. Best bet is to stop where you are, don't make any sudden moves, get a general idea of where it is, and either A) slowly move away from it or B) let it move away from you. The snake IS more scared of you than you are of it. It WILL get away from you ASAP.

    Remember, most striking snakes can only strike out to about 2/3 their body length. Around here the crotalids max out at about 6 feet, so you are talking a striking distance of 4 feet max. And statistically, a lot of bites from venomous snakes to humans (over 50% I believe if you look at the stats. [EDIT - MY bad...it's far less at 20%....see below.]) are "dry" bites - ie...no venom is injected.

    Venomous snake bites around here are as rare as the rattlesnakes are (they are endangered too so don't go shooting them just because your dog is barking at one) but it's beneficial to become familiar with the basic treatment of same. Westchester still has some spots where even rattlesnakes can be an uncommon site (Ward Pound Ridge, Camp Smith to name a few).

    I thought MOST hospitals have at least ONE dosage of Crofab on hand. I know FEW have more than that because of the expense of the antivenom. I believe NWH has one dose on hand (I know the head pharmacist well and yes I've asked but that was a while ago and that status could have changed). I'm surprised that HVHC and (especially) WMC wouldn't have at least one dose on hand. Pays to call ahead I guess. But even so, if there is a confirmed envenomation (sp?), the average adult may need 6-8 doses, so they will likely get transfered anyways. One of the best things you can do as a prehospital provider is keep the patient calm and monitor for signs of envenomation. If there are no signs, it is unlikely they will get antivenom prophylactically as the negatives of giving it without symptoms far outweight the pros.

    [EDIT: More information]

    Here is a very good article from JEMS on the subject. NOTE: MY stats for the Crotalids above seems to have gotten mixed up with the ones regarding coral snakes (actually in the cobra family). Dry bites from coral snakes seem to be in the 50-60% range, whereas the crotalids are much less at about 20%. I stand corrected. :)

    Re: Dry Bites Coral Snakes are rear-fanged and actually have to "chew" up to where their fangs are to envenomate.

  14. Posted

    I didnt want to hijack the 34-71 Thread so I started this.

    In regards to REHAB specific units - I am curious as to what is in, or avaialble to Dutchess County FD's?

    I know DC911 has the Mobile Dispatch/Command truck, which is very nice - but that isnt what I am talking about...

    I mean more of a rehab/cooling/warming unit....tents/chairs/etc.

    Are there units with a bathroom? (Don't laugh....I had to steal a Chief's Car yesterday for an emergency run back to Millbrook Firehouse......you may have heard it on FG 7/8 <_< )

    We're in Westchester but available if requested. Buchanan FD's Utility 4 is a converted school bus with Heat, A/C, roll-out awning, coolers, tables for IC and...A Bathroom. Lights and siren up Route 9 and we're in Fishkill in 25 min.