Baltimore FD would it work in Westchester

[turk182 37]

Does anyone have any insight into the Baltimore Countty FD I know it is a large Combo Department. Does it work for them? Could Something like this work in Westchester?

[cas2383 22]

One word comes to mind: NO, everyone is too independant, funding would be a nightmare.

[mfc2257 464]

I would advise anyone who doesn't have any experience in both the way Westchester's system works now, compared to the way that the combination systems in Maryland work not to participate in this forum. I see the potential for a lot of bickering here. Not to be a jerk, there is just a lot more to the Maryland systems than simple combination departments. It wouldn't be as simple as each department in Westchester adopting the Mohegan or Peekskill models (not that there is anything wrong with those departments as they operate today in Westchester)

That being said....

I'm fairly familiar with the way that Baltimore, Prince Georges, Anne Arundle, and Montgomery counties in Maryland work as combination departments.

It could work in Westchester, but it would take a lot of money to implement and would cause a lot of ego's to hurt. Maryland also has a large head start on Westchester when it comes to this type of program. Career and volunteer firefighters, officers, and administrators are working successfully in these counties while sharing volunteer and county owned apparatus often in the same station.

The committment to implement would need to be made over the course of a decade or even longer. It would require leadership at the county level that I don't believe is present currently. It would also require some of the local volunteer departments to adhere to certain standards and SOG/SOP's that they currently don't as well as reporting to a central command structure.

It all has to start at the top by hiring an fire/rescue administrator at the county level with a high level of success and experience in running a true combination county.

There cannot be a massive influx of change all at once. Career FF's and apparatus are only introduced into departments / areas where the standard of protection is determined to be below an acceptable level. The beginning will include a standardization of response, apparatus protocall, minimum staffing, response time, equipement purchasing, radio frequencies, and many other things that combination counties implement beyond the simple introduction of county paid career firefighters.

Many departments may never see a piece of career apparatus OR a career firefighter.... Many may recall prior discussions by myself and others on this site about the Kentland Volunteer Fire Department. ( www.kentland33.com )They run the second busiest engine in the USA next to Washington DC Engine 10. They are in Prince Georges County and are surrounded by Career, Combination, and 100% Volunteer Stations. You won't see a peice of career apparatus or a career FF in that station anytime in the next 50 years or more unless they are providing stand-by coverage during one of the hundreds of confirmed structure fires they run each year.

Edited October 5, 2005 by mfc2257

[JohnnyOV 2]

quick question about kentland 33, how is it possible that they run so many structure fires and there whole city hasnt burnt to the ground? Most of there runs seem to be fires and pin jobs. This question has boggled my mind for a while now.

[mfc2257 464]

quick question about kentland 33, how is it possible that they run so many structure fires and there whole city hasnt burnt to the ground? Most of there runs seem to be fires and pin jobs. This question has boggled my mind for a while now.

←

Either one of the engines (E331 or E332) the rescue engine (E333) or the Truck (Truck 33) is also first or second due into just about everyone elses territory that directly and secondarily surrounds Kentlands district.

One of the differences between a County like Prince Georges vs. Westchester is that apparatus from other companies are listed on the first due box card for mutual aid. Often times, another department is dispatched for a fire, and Kentland has a piece of apparatus on the initial call and is dispatched at the same time. For example, on September 17th, they were dispatched on the initial alarm assignment into Company 5's territory with the rescue engine (E333 which is set up as a "true" rescue) as the rescue company (not FAST, but as a true rescue company like one of the five FDNY companies). Not only were they on the first alarm, but they rolled in right behind engine 51 and went to work right away.

[Guest]

I have to say that while I do agree that this could turn into another thread to bash, and I hope it doesn't, the discussion is completely academic. New York State law does not allow counties, or towns for that matter, to provide fire protection.

To change this would require such a complete transformation of state law as to be completely improbable.

[antiquefirelt 994]

Who is allowed to provide fire protection by law in NY? If the county or towns cannot that leaves the state or muniiciplaities listed as Cities?

[TBarnum 2]

I think he was refering to Fire Districts in NY State