PEMO3

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Posts posted by PEMO3

  1. Posted

    From the South Fulton Fire Dept Web Site:

    Department Facts

    • Member of the West Tennessee and Western Kentucky Mutual Aid Pack, and Automatic Mutual Aid with City of Fulton, Kentucky on all structure fires within the corporate city limits.
    • ISO rating of Class 5 within the City limits.
    • 5 mile radius coverage area under Rural Fire Protection Service.
    • 19 Fire Fighters involved in an ongoing, intense training program.

    http://www.cityofsouthfulton.org/fire.htm

  2. Posted

    Washington, DC - International Association of Fire Fighters General President Harold Schaitberger today issued the following statement on the September 29 fire in Obion County, Tennessee:

    “The decision by the South Fulton Fire Department to allow a family’s home to burn to the ground was incredibly irresponsible. This tragic loss of property was completely avoidable. Because of South Fulton’s pay-to-play policy, fire fighters were ordered to stand and watch a family lose its home.

    “Everyone deserves fire protection because providing public safety is among a municipality’s highest priorities.

    “Instead, South Fulton wants to charge citizens outside the city for fire protection. We condemn South Fulton’s ill-advised, unsafe policy. Professional, career fire fighters shouldn’t be forced to check a list before running out the door to see which homeowners have paid up. They get in their trucks and go.”

    The International Association of Fire Fighters, headquartered in Washington, DC, represents more than 298,000 full-time professional fire fighters and paramedics and is the leading advocate for health and safety of first responders in North America. More information is available at www.iaff.org

    http://www.iaff.org/Comm/PDFs/SouthFulton.pdf

  3. Posted

    I guess the point that I fine hard to swallow is that in a country where we can agree to disagree, where in the field of Emergency Services we are supposed to provide assistance regardless of status, race, color, religion, sex or economic standing, where we are supposed to treat first and worry about payment second, that such a system can and does exist. My posts are more out of sheer disbelief in the original information rather than anything else. I guess it just proves that the grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence, especially if you forget to pay the $75.

  4. Posted · Edited by PEMO3

    It goes against all our morals and ethics to stand by and watch something like this, but that is just putting our values on residents and lawmakers of other parts of the country.

    I agree that we are putting our morals and value structure on others but additionally , all public servants take an oath of office in which they promise to "serve and protect". I am sure that the oath that these men (& women) took did not qualify that promise by saying only those who are residents of XYZ city or pay their $75 dues.

  5. Posted

    In other parts of the country subscription based coverage in unincorporated areas is not so uncommon. You don't pay municipal taxes for the service so you pay a subscription fee. Does the FDNY have a duty to act if the fire is in Bayonne or in Mount Vernon? Nope.

    It is a tragic reality but you don't get something for nothing even in an emergency.

    Chris, normally I agree with your logic but this time I have to differ. Lets assume a call comes in to WC County PD for a boat in distress, possible capsized, just east of Haverstraw Bay. Caller's description clearly puts it in Rockland waters. Will Westchester County sit on its hands and say well its in Rockland's waters or will they start a duel response regardless of their "duty to act"? You know the answer. There is a difference between duty to act and a moral obligation that comes with putting on a uniform be it professional or volunteer. When those values become blurred we loose sight of why we are doing what we do. in reading this article and seeing it say that someones personal property and / or life was worth $75 to save or not save it was the equivalent of paying for protection from organized crime.

  7. Posted · Edited by PEMO3

    Tornado Watch

    TORNADO WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED BY THE NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK AT 11:00 AM EDT TUE SEPT 28, 2010. TORNADO WATCH 686 IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6:00 PM EDT FOR THE FOLLOWING NEW YORK COUNTIES:

    ALBANY BRONX BROOME CHENANGO COLUMBIA DELAWARE DUTCHESS GREENE KINGS MADISON MONTGOMERY NASSAU NEW YORK ONEIDA ORANGE OTSEGO PUTNAM QUEENS RENSSELAER RICHMOND ROCKLAND SCHENECTADY SCHOHARIE SULLIVAN ULSTER WESTCHESTER

  12. Posted

    Mark,

    Simple and straight forward add this html code direct into the web page where you want the link:

    <p><a href="file name.pdf" target="_blank">Description</a></p>

    Replace file name.pdf with the name of your file. If it is not in the same directory as the web page remember to use the full address e.g. http://www.mywebsite.com/files/application.pdf

    Replace Description with what you want the user to see as this is the text they will be clicking to open the pdf file.

    Good luck

  13. Posted

    I used to always put moth balls in my tech bag to avoid "stowaways" from some off the more interesting residential assignments. A few camphor balls placed in the bottom of each compartment kept the multi-legged hitchhikers from grabbing a ride home with me at the end of my shift. I also kept cedar balls in my locker, which is also another natural insecticide, thus ensuring my gear was bug free, plus it kept it smelling fresh.

  15. Posted

    JJB531 I can see where you are coming from with your post and in many ways agree with it. A lot of what goes on is best described as job justification. I think what we are seeing here is clearly based soley on the document at hand. If you read it and not into it, it clearly states that DES will be folded INTO DPS not become part of DPS. This is not a merger but a carefully worded TAKEOVER. You can sugar coat it all you want, play the politically correct game, which if any one know me I do not play, and any other game there is, a take over is a take over and if not carefully thought out without input from everyone involve the entire system will suffer.

    A lot of time has been spent on the just the HAZMAT area of the document but there is more to it than just HAZMAT in this document. Dispatch and coordination which 60 control does an excellent job doing on their end and DPS on theirs, the respective training units, the various command structures, the time spent to set up various specialty units within DES by many members at their own expense and time, and the thousands of years of combined years of experience in the volunteer sector will all suffer if the administration is allowed to paint the canvas with their broad "merger" brush.

  18. Posted

    I must say, the idea of merging the Bomb Squad and HAZMAT teams sounds smart the way they presented it. The HAZMAT team would then be significantly more "all-hazard" capable, including having tactical response, decon, EOD, mass decon, etc all covered.

    After taking the time to read the document it does appear to be one sided with a "Crystal Palace" empirical look at how things would work in a "perfect world". But we all know it is far from a perfect world. Through out the document it consistantly states that DES is providing a duplication of DPS services. It never states that DPS is duplicating DES services. One section relating to HazMat that seemed to be through rose colored glasses was the text

    "Under a consolidated DPS, the HMRT will be an arm of the DPS Hazardous Devices Unit (formerly known as the Bomb Squad). The Hazardous Devices Unit will respond to all potential CBRNE incidents and utilize available volunteers of the HMRT to support its operations. This should significantly reduce response times to CBRNE in Westchester County and ensure that resources are used efficiently and effectively."

    If we thought the paid/volunteer issue was always raising its ugly head here combine that with Paid PD/Volunteer FD and what how it plays out.

    Remember585 and JBJ1202 like this

  22. Posted

    Does a fire lower its temperature when a minority is on a call or is the smoke suddenly less intense? Do patients become instantly lighter or less complicated? Dumbing down a test for the sake of making it appear non-discriminatory so that more people of a certain ethnic class can pass places not only the general public but everyone in danger. I wonder how the judge would feel if when the crew arrived for a family member of his the transport was delayed because they had to wait for back up because the minority member was not able to perform the carry down. You see he/she took the lower standard test where they carry a gallon of milk down five flights of stairs instead of a full sized manikin.

  23. Posted · Edited by PEMO3

    Personally after reading the post by PEDSTRUK and then the IA (http://www.emtbravo....howtopic=37961) assuming I have the correct one I am concerned. The IA contains basically no information other than time, location, unit roster and a 1 line job description, nothing to get wrong or misstate aside from overlooking a unit or 2 . PEDSTRUK if you were on the scene of this job, based on your post you appear to not be dealing with the call and internalizing it. If in fact this is the case please reach out and speak to some CISD personnel. Indirect anger is a clear sign of post traumatic stress. It is common on calls involving children as innocent victims.

  24. Posted · Edited by PEMO3

    Interesting looking truck. Looks like it would establish a group of "honeycombed" type MASH tents for a large scale MCI or extended operation to provide on site medical support or administrative/ICS space in a controlled environment. Interesting that such a unit has been kept so quiet if in fact it was actually delivered and not just a concept design. Either way a good idea for an extended operation or pre-scheduled large scale event.

    A review of the company website (http://www.westernshelter.com/) found this description:

    Western Shelter Systems are so much more than a rapid response tent. From emergency medical to tactical and remote field operations, Western Shelter Systems turn-key camps are custom designed to provide a portable and rapidly deployable system to meet all the needs of your mission. Western Shelter Systems solutions and support products are crafted with deployability, interoperability and superior performance in mind.

  25. Posted

    I really do not feel based on the start of the scenario "Early this morning the tones sounded for a department in my County (Department A) to respond to the scene of a Garage Fire with gas and propane cylinders around the garage", that one can just jump into judgment. A lot of unanswered questions are left, how 'early in the morning' was it and considerations 'gas and propane cylinders' along with 'owned the Garage arrived on scene and notified it was fully involved' could easily be driving factors for calling in additional resources early. How close were exposures, where was the nearest water source, what was the travel/response time for Departments B & C if they were needed. All these answers could easily justify this as being more than just a knee jerk "roll me everything to save my house" response. All to often I am reading back and forth on here about not calling in the troops fast enough, not having enough manpower and or resources on the ground for a solid initial attack.