MikesPhotos

So are they going to be replacing the HES units with USAR or other units that carry extraction gear or what?

There has always been one Heavy squad per battalion that carried more gear then the rest. Because they now have even more medical gear to carry in case of WMD or medical disaster, the ability to carry things like blowers or extrication tools, which was a station/battalion choice, is just not feasible any longer. Extrication gear is now carried solely on the Quints, Light Forces, and USAR units. No units are being replaced or added.

what lights?

LAPD lightbars are red on the drivers side, blue on the passenger.

Nah I wasnt looking for excitement, looking for realism in hopes of releasing the Lifeguard mod for EM3 ported to EM4.

Trust me its not much better here, although I think the PD might be experimenting as one of the cruisers that patrols around here seems to be using a slightly different sounding siren then the other cruisers. They just picked up a few new vics about a month or two ago, perhaps its one of them. All the engines here use Fed Q(aside from some of the volunteer township departments which use a few various sirens, Ambos use a Touchmaster, and I cant recall what pd,sd,and state use at the moment. Actually have no clue what the state boys use as its rare to see them code 3 in the city.

Just remember, LACoFD lifeguards no longer uses those trucks or anything like it anymore. They were donated by Nissan and they all went back when Ford Escape Hybrids were donated.

Hey Mike, just a quick easy question for you this time. What sirens, if any do the LACoFD Lifeguards use?

Same as the County Fire, sheriff, lapd, chp, and everyone else. I can't think of a single user who doesn't use the Fed Sig SS or Touchmaster series. LA is *NOT* the place if you're into exciting lighting or sirens.

Nice read Mike. I know photography is your thing but any chance of some videos of the new light patterns? Are all lifeguards under LACoFD or just those on beach patrol? Hope you dont mind me being curios.

No videos, never been my cup of tea though I did put one up of the new arjent when it first came out. I might add others from the upcoming airshow depending on who is there.

As for the Lifeguards, they are part of the Los Angeles County Fire Dept. You can read more about them here though its pretty out-dated, 2005 I think was the last time it was updated.

The LA city lifeguards just work at one small section of beach in Cabrillo, but mostly respond and cover the cities lakes and parks. LA County has the rest of the cities beaches, from Venice to Malibu.

Just a quick note, I noticed Shane and others said that the whole point of this submod was realism, you do realize the Heavy Squad is an LACoFD unit, not an LAFD unit and that the LAFD does not have squads right? If its just there for fun and fantasy, thats cool, just wanted to point that out.

Also in regards to white SUV vehicles, another one you might want to look at is the LA County Dept of Public Health Emergency Operations Vehicle which can be found here and is an Authorized Emergency vehicle, unlike the EMSA unit.

Core Public Health PHERT Mission and Activities

The overarching mission of the PHERT is to conduct rapid, coordinated epidemiologic and clinical investigations or health needs assessments while providing technical assistance to response partners in the mitigation, response and recovery of public health emergencies. In addition, PHERT has two specific missions:

Mission I: To provide an on-scene presence and to assist in coordinating Public Health functions during a multi-agency potential terrorism response.

Primary Mission I Activities:

Respond in real time in the context of a possible terrorist event with other response agencies including Health Hazmat, FBI, LA Police Department and Los Angeles Sheriff Department to assess a potential threat

Collect and communicate information from the field to the Public Health Technical Advisory Group (TAG) or other central Public Health authority

Gather information on behalf of the Technical Advisory Group

Act as the Public Health representative to the Unified Command structure and carry out orders of the Health Officer

Serve as a conduit between responder agencies and Public Health and recommend resource needs for Public Health on-scene response

Mission II: To provide surge capacity and assist Public Health programs and field staff in the investigation of other public health emergencies, including disease outbreaks and natural disasters.

Primary Mission II Activities:

Provide rapid response capacity for investigating suspected or confirmed cases of disease, determining sources of exposure, including defining at-risk groups

Assist Public Health programs and field staff as needed in the investigation of other public health emergencies, including disease outbreaks and natural disasters

Technical or operational assistance to emergency response personnel

Identification of at-risk populations for the effective deployment and delivery of public health resources (needs assessments, contact tracing, etc.)

Provide critical public health information to those affected by the event and interface with other local responders on the potential health risks of a disaster

Evaluation and analysis of post-disaster impact, resource utilization, and community health through rapid needs assessments and impact surveys

Review medical charts, emergency department logs, hospital admissions data, coroner’s records, and other data sources; conduct interviews with cases, their surrogates, and other potential contacts

Collect, manage, analyze, and summarize epidemiologic data and communicate findings

Conduct environmental inspections and testing

One thing to remember about the Older cars with the Aerodynic's, LAPD didn't want to limit the side visibility of the rotating lights by having built in alley lights, so they attached clear spot lights, like the small fog lamps you put on your bumpers, to the mounting feet just below and behind the Aerodynics. It was always something very distinctive that let you know it was an LAPD car versus anything else.

I know here we do the 24/72 which is you work a full day then you are off for 3 full days.. Pretty simple. The only difference is at the Goulds station, that one is a 9-5 paid station, then outside of that, it's a volunteer deal. Works pretty good too, because call volume wouldn't warrant a fully paid dept, but there is too many, plus they fall under SJRFD jurisdiction to be only a volunteer.

Ah but is it really so simple? Having a 24/72 schedule puts you on a 48 hr work week which is 32hrs less a month of pay, in addition to that, you have a 4 platoon roster which is a major hit to depts budgets when everything from uniforms to health care and other expenses are factored in. You now have 4 people at captains pay, 4 people at Engineers pay, so on and so forth. That's why a lot of depts, and a lot of firefighters themselves like the 3 platoon roster. More pay, better chances for OT, and less of a hit to the budget when benefits and retirement and all of that is factored in.

The good thing about it is that you never have to stare at the strange color coded calendar trying to figure out if you're on a 2 day 4 day or 1 day off part.

Some things of note..

LAFD Changes

• LAFD's converted it's last Paramedic Engine to Paramedic Assesment. Due to staffing issues ranging from not enough medics to wanting medics to be able to rotate between Rescue Ambulances, Engines and Light Forces instead of just being stuck on the RA, they've dropped the staffing to just 1 Capt, 1 Engineer, 1 FF/EMT and 1 FF/PM from the 2 FF/PM's. This is seen as a semi-temporary solution until they can get more guys through medic school in the next few years.
  
• LAFD EMS Supervisors are having difficulty with vehicles as their crown vics are on their last legs. They were going to purchase new SUV's customized for their needs, but so far thats been placed on hold. Right now at least 2 are using old BC SUV's but that hasnt worked out well due to the lack of space with all of the chief electronics and other crap in them. It's been such a hassle, I doubt you'll see those SUV's for much longer or any others switch to them until the purpose built ones are purchased.
  
• LAFD ANSI-107 Vests have now been issued to all personell and are to worn on any incident that is on or near a street which goes a little farther then the Federal mandate.
  
• Both LAFD and LACoFD will be contracting with a Skycrane to be deployed to Van Nuys Airport for this upcoming fire season again.
  
• Latest RA's have toned down the striping on the rear big time due to complaints from civilians and personnel after following the vehicle and experiencing weird vision issues. Also timberwolf sirens have been replaced with EQ2B's. Honestly, you can't tell the diference between an Engine, RA or Light force anymore. They all sound the same rolling code.
  
• LAFD Crew 3, the Type II Explorer staffed Hand Crew has completed the majority of its training and will be available for calls this summer once again. They are still utilizing the 2 former LACoFD Crew Carriers
  

LACoFD Changes

• Lots of changes regarding the squads. The heavy's now just carry more EMS equipment and gear, no longer any extrication tools. The new fords have a totally redesigned rear box area that incoporates the new HiViz stripes. Both the heavy and regular squads will have covered rear areas. Also the upcoming order is split in half with Dodge, so expect to see some new Dodge squads in the not so distant future.
  
• ANSI-107 vests are coming out, not everyone has them yet.
  
• LACoFD hasn't set a date yet for the super scoopers to be deployed to van nuys, but they are coming. Probably around october.
  
• LACoFD Lifeguards have all switched over to the Ford Escape Hybrid SUVs. The old Nissan's are completely gone.
  

LASD Changes

• Noticing a weird trend with the cars with the MX7k lightbars. Not all of the crown vics are coming with the arjent, and the ones with the MX7k all have red/red LED steady burns on the lower level. Now you get a mix of Mx7k with red/blue, Arjents with red/blue and MX7k's with red/red lights
  
• Malibu SAR had one of their trucks burn to the ground on an incident. They're getting ready to take delivery of a new one shortly.
  
• No word on the ANSI-107 vests, all of the deputies pointed and laughed at the LAPD officers wearing them. They've neither recieved them, nor knew anything about them.
  
• They're really pushing the Reserve deputy program into high gear and trying to get everyone certified Level I as well. The goal is to have at least a 1/4 to 1/2 of the cars on the street with 2 people inside.
  

LAPD Changes

• The dodge charger is looking like a no go. Few of them are left and the reports have not been exactly favorable of a large purchase. The biggest comments I've read in the evals from the officers in the Valley divisions are that it is just not a workhorse of a car with maintenance being high even with the test cars, the back seat is too small for a good percentage of transports, and the visibility is an issue. Whittier PD only gave them to corporals and above for just those reasons.
  
• Supervisors vehicles are now coming with extra LED's in the turn signals, Red on front left, blue on front right, both red in rear tailights. These flash in an alternating triple pulse for the most part.
  
• The newest Slicktops (LAPD calls them hybrids) now have Amber/Blue LEDs to the rear that alternate and are getting a single flashing blue LED light next to the steady burn red. They also have the led's in the turn signals
  
• They got their new ANSI-107 vests over the weekend and its become a major issue. They're constantly getting caught on the radios, firearms, batons and all of the other stuff on their belt. The officers who tried them on all promptly shoved them back into their pouches and shoved them into the rear of the trunk.
  
• They are still testing the full face helmet for Motor officers, but it has not been approved dept wide as of yet.
  
• Hooper heliport has been shut down for some time due to a new roof being put on. For now all air units are flying out of Van Nuys airport, and so far, it's still just the 1 A-star and 1 Jet ranger in the black and white paint scheme. As much as its been a hit with the Officers and such, there is just no plan for it to be applied to any other air unit. Still no word on a Replacement for the old big blue huey for SWAT either. I'll ask more about that July 11th.
  

CHP Changes

• As you might have read in the Emergency Pics thread, the CHP dodge charger is a no go do to procurement issues related to the ballistic door panels. They'll keep what they have, but they've committed to ford till 2012
  
• They're trying about 10 different new lighting schemes out right now including red/red leds on the mirrors and push bumpers. These are single slow synched flash lights.
  
• Havent seen a single CHiPpy wearing the new ANSI-107 vest, so no idea what their status is.
  

I think that just about covers most of the major changes.

UPDATED 6/14/2009: Chatsworth Emergency Preparedness Expo

First off, I'd like to thank each and every one of you for voting and so far it looks like it's a pretty big majority for choice #2. But, and this is a big but, I am going to see if I will be able to keep this page up as well as the new page for a brief period of time. All hotlinked images and such will be broken though. And now for the latest update! This time it's 115 pictures from the Chatsworth Emergency Preparedness Expo that featured apparatus and members from the LASD Malibu Search and Rescue Team, LASD Metro Transit Authority, LAFD Engine 107s new Seagrave, LAFD Recruitment van, LAPD Supervisors Crown Vic with the new led's in the turn signals, Community Mobile Sub-Station, and the new LAPD ANSI-107 compliant vest which was given to officers that day. LASD still has not received theirs or any memos on it yet. As always, Enjoy!

Hows the 56 hr schedule work as far as days on and off?

That is more then I'm willing to bite off and is a topic not understood by many in and out of the fire service. I personally have never worked either schedule so I'm unfamiliar with the in's and outs. CDF worked a 72hr work week (3 on/4 off) that was pretty easy to follow, LACoFD and LAFD as well, works a 56hr work week that is broken up into a 24 day corridor. [u]For LACoFD it bassically breaks down to 2, 12 day segments that go 1 on, 1 off, 1 on, 4 off, 1 on, 1 off, 1 on, 2 off, repeat. This allows different days to cycle each month so you're not always working on the weekend or holiday as well as allowing for overtime opprotunities during your days off. It's pretty common for guys to just skip their 1 day off and work 3 straight and pick up the OT or an assignment at a different house. I've heard the 56hr schedule we use called various things with Modified Detroit being the most common. Remember, we use a 3 platoon rotation, the others can use as many as 4 platoons which is both a plus and a minus in many regards.

Sorry, maybe someone else on the board has experienced the other schedules, but I haven't.

aha, they chose Seagrave. sure they look nice, but from what ive heard from some firemen, performance isnt all that great. it still is a nice engine, though.

shoulda stuck with Pierce.

This was part of the 25/25 split purchase of Seagraves and Pierces.... as for your comment, so far the Seagraves have been performing marvelously for the dept, whereas 9 of the first 12 Pierces had multiple electrical problems and were removed from service in Feb. As of August, all of the Pierces are finally back in service, though many reported mechanical issues such as head gasket leaks and other issues.

Whay dose Class 1 mean? sorry if this was already asked

Already asked and answered Here

If you're going to hotlink an image, please give credit to the original photographer, or at least the website where you got it from.

And just for info, this is one of the new Seagrave's LAFD got in the last budget purchase. Fire Station 51, based at Los Angeles International Airport, responds to all Fire and EMS calls within the terminal, parking structure, and LAX property with Engine 51 and Paramedic Rescue Ambulance 51. Fire Station 80, also at LAX, handles all Airport Crash Rescue calls and is equipped with the FOAM, CRASH, and Stair Chair units.

I think you should start fresh, but I would hate for all those pictures to come down, and have to wait for them to come up again, so would it be possible to keep like an archive of the current one up, until the new one has all the pictures?

I might, and I seriously stress might be able to, but because of the size (nearly 20k pictures), and the convoluted database issues, I'm not quite sure it'll be possible, especially since the new site uses so much of the old code, naming conventions for folders and such. Afterall, the original page is still up and available, with nearly 40k pics on it that never got moved over to the 2nd one. Hopefully, with the ease of doing this new way, it won't take too long to merge both the original and the current to the new in a few months.

Since so many people from this board/game utilize my website, I've decided to throw this question out to all of you as well as the rest of my userbase...

Hey there, I've sort of reached an impasse of sorts, and I'd like to reach out to everyone and ask their opinion on where to go from here.

I'd really appreciate it if you go to my website @

MikesPhotos.us

and vote on the poll on the front page. It'll help greatly!

As some of you know, I'm currently working on a brand new version of the site that will incorporate only minor outside changes (like google map integration), more pics on a single page, faster loading, and less spam. The biggest changes are more behind the scenes which should allow me to add photos quicker and easier then before. Right now it's almost an 800 step process to do a single event, and that's just the uploading side of things, not the editing or tagging or anything. The new site will drop that down to 4 steps!

So please vote and let me know what you think.

UPDATED 6/12/2009: FSD Home Depot Center

Just cranking out these pics left and right while getting the new site up and ready. This time its 238 shots from the Fire Service Day in Carson at the Home Depot Center. You'll find pics of the BP Refineries Quick Attack 4, Compton FD Engine 44 and Dodge Charger, County of Los Angeles Fire Museums Squad 51 and Engine 36 Restorations, LACoFD Foam 10, K9, Hazmat MIRV-171, HAZMAT Suits, Mobile Light Air 115, Water Tender 70, LASD Radio Car, SEB Bearcat and Firearms, LASD Unmarked SUV, Long Beach Fire Technical Rescue Paramedic Assessment Engine 6, County Dept of Public Health, LACoFD Lifeguards Ford Escapes, McCormick Ambulance Supervisor, Van, Box, Disaster Response Units, and OES/LACoFD E8133 from FS 125. It's a huge update with a lot of walk arounds that had been requested, so as always, Enjoy!

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Take special notice of the HAZMAT suits and realize the dangers that manning a hose in one of those would entail. Between the danger of tearing it, they're simply sealed plastic membranes with, at best, minimal flash fire protection. Radiant and sustained heat would melt them in seconds. Ask a HAZMAT Tech or Spec, and they'll tell you that with many of Hazardous chemicals, fire is the best tool to just let it burn off safely. Spraying water causes all sorts of issues with runoff and spread of the chemical, beyond any reaction or interaction.

Thanks mike, so which schedule do the crews you work with follow?

CDF was a straight 72

LACoFD is modified Detroit traditional 56hr work week.

Thanks Mike, could you elaborate on the 48/96 schedule and the Kelly's schedule? I saw it mentioned in one of the comments but didnt fully understand it.

That is more then I'm willing to bite off and is a topic not understood by many in and out of the fire service. I personally have never worked either schedule so I'm unfamiliar with the in's and outs. CDF worked a 72hr work week (3 on/4 off) that was pretty easy to follow, LACoFD and LAFD as well, works a 56hr work week that is broken up into a 24 day corridor. For LACoFD it bassically breaks down to 2, 12 day segments that go 1 on, 1 off, 1 on, 4 off, 1 on, 1 off, 1 on, 2 off, repeat. This allows different days to cycle each month so you're not always working on the weekend or holiday as well as allowing for overtime opprotunities during your days off. It's pretty common for guys to just skip their 1 day off and work 3 straight and pick up the OT or an assignment at a different house. I've heard the 56hr schedule we use called various things with Modified Detroit being the most common. Remember, we use a 3 platoon rotation, the others can use as many as 4 platoons which is both a plus and a minus in many regards.

Sorry, maybe someone else on the board has experienced the other schedules, but I haven't.

Can anyone tell me what this is used for? its STLFD fuel unit 1 (its on page 5 - cant post the pic cause of stupid board limitations and cant save cause its been disabled (at the other site)

Once again Fire Chief mag is a great resource...

Fire Chief Mag

FUEL TENDERS

Some departments operate fuel tenders to deliver diesel and gasoline to their fleet of vehicles rather than have each vehicle come to a central location or refuel at local filling stations. The advantages of this arrangement include the ability to control the quality and seasonal formulations of the fuels, as well as restrict the potential for refueling unauthorized vehicles. Fuel tenders also can be a big benefit during long-duration or widespread incidents where individual apparatus can't leave the scene or travel great distances to find fuel. St. Louis recently purchased a new fuel tender that carries 1,500 gallons of diesel and 1,000 gallons of gasoline in a split tank.

I would actually be interested in knowing all the different types.

Fire Chief Magazine walkthrough

Um, quick question while we are talking about Type engines... what is a type 7, I can't find any info or pictures anywhere

Now I know you can google better then that, just type in Type 7 Patrol. Basically a Type 7 is the smallest possible vehicle, usually a 2 door pickup with a skid plate on the back and a single hose reel staffed with 1 or 2 personnel. Going off memory, the other qual is at least 50gpm. Actually type 7 is 10 gpm at 100 psi, tanks with 50- to 200-gallon capacities, 200 feet of 1-inch hose and a crew of two. I had to look it up in my FOG manual real quick. Knew 50 played somwhere in it

The major difference between the patrols is how many people can it carry (back seat/4 door or not) and Gallons Per Minute capability. Some LAFD patrols are rated at Type 6 and I think LACoFD's are either 6 or 7 depending on the number of doors. The big deal is that 3rd man capability.

I'm not sure I understand the question.

Wouldn't it make sense just to get them newer cars, not necessarily a Crown vic or Suburban either..

With 16 Battalions in the LAFD, the way to keep maintenance and purchasing costs down is to purchase in bulk fleet deals and keep all of the equipment as similar as possible. Are you asking why not just pick a cheaper model of vehicle? The answer is simply because nothing is cheaper then tagging onto the current city fleet deal in both the short term and long term (maintenance).

But I guess whatever works, doesn't LAPD retire units after like 60,000 miles or something?

Back in the 90's or such, it was 66k, or 2 years, now its 100k if you're lucky. There are still a lot of older CVPI's running around with close to 200k. For LAFD to take the hand me downs is also a major expenditure in converting them for fire use.

Either way you look at it, you end up spending money that just doesn't exist anywhere.

UPDATED 6/11/2009: Whittier PD & LACoFD Open House

As many of you know, I've been hard at work on the new version of the website, but I thought I'd give you all a quick treat and upload 315 pics from the open house event in Whittier. This update includes photos of CHP's new Dodge Charger, Area E's Law Enforcement Command Center, Care Ambulance, LACoFD Truck 28 (Reserve) and an Extrication Demo by them, Santa Fe Springs FD Truck 811, Whittier PD's Crown Vics, new Dodge Chargers (used by the supervisors and corporals), Dodge Magnum K9 units, a K9 demo, Whittier PD Honda and Off Road Motor units, Public Safety Chevy Colorado, PD SUV, SWAT Armored Vehicle, Gear, and a SWAT/K9 demonstration including flash bang detonation! So as always, Enjoy!

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Just a quick note since many of you might be interested to find out the status of the Dodge Chargers in use by the CHP. I talked to a few of the officers, including one who is on the purchasing and evaluation committee (which is why he was driving it that day). Bassically, beyond the test subjects that are out and about now, you won't be seeing any other Chargers in CHP colors. There was a major foul up by someone at Dodge in regards to the ballistic panels not being included in the estimate and bid, even though they were spec'd, which caused the price to rise astronomicaly. Some of the cars delivered had them, others just had signs on the door saying they were there, but with nothing but empty space instead. Needless to say, this caused a huge uproar within the department, and Dodge handled it badly enough that CHP immediately cancelled the evaluation and committed to Ford until 2012.

Whittier PD purchased the Chargers but has relegated them to supervisors/corporals use only. They love the huge trunk space, but the rear area is just too cramped for suspects. They were having to get creative with some of their larger hook-ups, and ended up losing some back and side windows because of it.

LAPD is still testing theirs with no definitive word either way just yet. They've also purchased (from last budget) some new Crown Vics with various lighting packages, including their slicktops, to see how they will go with their next major purchase.

LAFD has basically run out of useable crown vic's for EMS Captains and has put a couple of them in former BC suburbans. The plan, per EMS 14, is to build custom built EMS supervisor SUV's, but with the budget cuts, they might just end up having to take hand me downs from the LAPD. The chiefs SUV's have to have heavy modifications done to them to remove all of the command and control radios, boxes, and equipment, to make way for the EMS gear that makes it almost prohibitive. So we'll see where that is headed.

The police took forever to show up the other day when there was a fire across the street. All they did was partially block the road so no one ran over the supply line for one of the engines, yet some dumb girl tried to go around the cop and was going to drive over the hose. Then another cop showed up, got out of his car, and stood there talking to the cop, who was in his cruiser blocking the road. Didnt even bother with directional lights is memorey serves me right.

There is a question in this or an answer to someone else's question?