PEMO3

Just a point of information.  Peekskill OEM has a mobile command vehicle equipped with not only Westchester DES and PD but Rockland, Dutchess,  Putnam,  Orange and Marine channels along with a PC with ICS software. It is not trunking capable but that is another thread.  The unit is only a simple phone call away through the PPD desk.

Start billing for the cost of mutual aid coverage and watch how fast they find their own in house solution. Of course aside from not possible this could be a double edged sword when the powers that be just take the stance of not calling in M/A and in turn put lives of the firefighters and citizens in jeopardy while the bean counters pay close attention to costs.

The problem boils down to one simple issue: my toys, my sandbox. While the trunk concept is great issues such as end user cost for equipment and county restrictions as to who gets access and who doesn't makes it difficult (important to avoid system overload). Alot of agencies opt for their own frequencies because then they uultimately have control. Again, my toys, my sandbox. Occasionally I had actually wondered if the system would have been better served had it not gone trunked but if each battalion was issued a UHF pair if that would have worked better. I also don't knowif the trunking system could do department pagingand if it could with the cost of individual receivers for each member be out of reach of most department budgets.

Is the main problem a repeater or dispatch center issue? For a center to be down this long it would appear to be an extensive issue. Maybe someone with better insight on YFD could shead some light. On a separate note I know that YFD has a pretty state of the art fieldcom, could that double as a dispatch center albeit not ideal?

Why would they need to stage anyone at 60?

I actually see that as a valid question and not a statement that 60 is in someway incapable of doing the job. A YFD dispatch would probably be better familiar with streets, locations, unit assignment and problems that crop up in certain areas with calls. Based on this valuable added resource a YFD would be a great asset.

My deepest sympathy goes out to Chris' family in this difficult and trying time.

May he rest in peace.

This isn't accurate and have no idea where this info came from.

Not going to question your opinion but would you please elaborate with some details for everyone why you feel that the information is not accurate. Do you have any addition incident details, observations or information that you can share?

The reason it legally isn't the responsibility of the parents is because they are 18/19. Yes you can play the "you live under my roof" card as a parent, but bottom line they can do what they want, including moving out of the house.

You are correct but as my father would have said "Don't let the door hit you in the a-- on the way out". While a parent's legal responsibility may have expired there is still a moral obligation to that child that you invested 18 plus years of your life in. That is the problem with this world, too many people looking for the extent of their legal obligations and the loss of moral vision (and no SageVigilies that is not directed at you)

I think another issue here is how many vessels does it take to transfer 1 patient. FDNY, NYPD, Coast Guard, etc. Simply put, too many cooks in the kitchen. If FDNY with the EMS crew onboard was dispatched for the medical call then why was NYPD jockeying for position. Seems like the same old turf wars just this time in boats.

The more important issue that needs to be focused on is if these young adults want go on to a career in emergency services they are going to need a HS diploma with a decent GPA because most promotions now look for college credits. If they are looking in other directions and being a volunteer is just for the "volunteer" section of the college app then they still need to focus on that GPA. A side from that if they are content on practicing the line "do you want fries with that?" then by all mean stay out all night seven nights a week. What needs to be understood is these "unfair" rules are being "imposed" by a group of well seasoned adults that "have been there, done that" and trying to provide guidance that to a young mind can appear to be restriction.

Mac8146 you are on the money. We are quick to throw the first responders under the bus but not hold the rest accountable for their own level of responsibility in these tragedies. Who allowed the lighter/matches to be readily available to small children/where were the smoke detectors/who was watching the kids. I realize lives were lost and hearts are aching but to relieve their pain but placing it on those who were there to help is cruel. Why should a firefighter/EMT/Medic/PO/dispatcher go through life carrying the burden of the question of "if I was only a few minutes faster" for the sake of someone else lessening their pain.

... It is up to the reporter to use his judgment and morals and decide what to report or not.

Problem is most reporters subscribe to the rule of writing what sells not what is morally correct or in the best judgement. If they feel the majority of the public wants to see it, even it is morally wrong or not in good judgement you will see it "leaked by a source on condition not being revealed", you know those shadowed figures with their backs to the camera and the scrambled voices.

Today the City of New York went to social media to notify residents of a measles outbreak in upper Manhattan, the South Bronx and the Lower East Side and reminded residents to vaccinate their children starting at 12 months. Unfortunately in 1998, the Lancet, a British medical journal, published an article that claimed that the MMR (measles-mumps-rubella) vaccine caused autism in children. The article has since been retracted, but the worry has remained. Today a large movement remains with non-vaccination of children coupled with a large undocumented, unvaccinated populations and these once nearly eradicated diseases are back on the rise. Are our EMS providers finding this spike only in larger urban areas or also in rural areas?

Before I start I need to say I do not condone, agree with or accept what the Chief did as acceptable or appropriate. With that said reading the article it appears that these comments occurred sometime in the past and were brought up as a part of some line of questioning by an attorney for a plaintiff against the district for not being hired. They were actually solicited from a party who had a conversation with the chief. It appears the Chief appologized both personally and publicly when he realized that these conversations caused personal harm. This should be left between the Chief and Finer. As far as the salary Fairview made it's own bed there. Nuff said. Again only my opinion based solely on the information in the article.

I have to agree. There is low profile then there is " am I being pulled over or held up?" One has to question the thought process behind the design of this car.

The Last Alarm


My father was a fireman, he drove a big red truck
and when he'd go to work each day
he'd say, "Mother, wish me luck".

Then dad would not come home again, until sometime the next day.
But the thing that bothered me the most was
the things some folks would say.
"A fireman's life is easy. He eats and sleeps and plays,
and sometimes he won't fight a fire for many, many days."

When I first heard these words,
I was too young to understand.
But I knew when people had trouble
dad was there to lend a hand.

When my father went to work one day
and kissed us all good-bye, little did we realize
that night we would all cry.

My father lost his life that night, when the floor gave way below.
I wondered why he'd risked his life for someone he did not know.

But now I truly realize the greatest gift a man can give,
is to lay his life upon the line so
someone else might live.

So as you go from day to day and pray to God above,
say a prayer for your local firemen.
He may save the ones you love!

Author
Jim Martinez,
Vice President, IAFF 7th District
Dedicated to the children of fallen firefighters

My heart goes out to both Kevin's family at home and at PFD. You will dearly be missed.

That truck is regularly parked on the NB side of the Grand Concourse in the Bronx in the 160's. Did some checking a while ago and it seemed to be affiliated with Hatzola.

Not being to familiar with YFD Ops & alarm assignments I have a few questions.First I noticed that the 1st alarm assignment was a 4 and 2 plus specialty response. Is this standard or was there dispatch info, e.g. multiple calls, confirmation from PD,etc, that dictated a large first alarm assignment? Next, I noticed that YFD pressed a large number of "reserve" units into service. Are these trucks manned by recall personnel? Definitely an advantage to having a large reserve fleet.

The thought process behind this does not appear well reviewed. First having personnel sit in a rig overnight can not do much for moral. Secondly, publicizing such an idea places this personnel in harm's way while attempting to score political brownie points. An interesting side question would be if a crime does occur in front of the crew and they do not act since they are not armed would the city be liable for their inaction. Conversely, if they did act and were injured would they be penalized for acting outside their job description.

That's an ARFF not the General Lee in the Dukes of Hazard. Looks like someone was cooking and went airborne into that "ditch"

I would say under a unified command I believe the Empress supervisor would be EMS sector, the FD supervisor would account for the fire sector and PD for the PD sector. With that said, ultimately EMS command should go to the highest medically trained boss on the scene if we are talking about an MCI.

This is not withstanding the CO risk from homeowners putting these running generators either right nextto the structure or inside the garage to prevent theft.