Captain Vince Iaccino

While at the fire station on this past Monday, we had just concluded our monthly business meeting when one of our District Fire Safety Officers called all of us back into the meeting room whereupon he notified us of the death of Fire Captain Vince Iaccino, of the Roosevelt Fire Department.

Apparently while participating in a drill at the Dutchess County Fire Training Center in Poughkeepsie, NY that Monday night, the 65 year old Capt. Iaccino began to suffer chest pains and was rushed to the hospital where he passed away. The news of his passing was met with stunned silence by those present, with several pausing to offer their own muted prayers.

Hearing of his sudden passing reminded me of our own mortality and how precious life is; having been through 2 LODD's (Line Of Duty Death), one in each of the 2 departments that i've been a member of since my entry into the firefighting service in 1975, you never get used to having to deal with a LODD. You roll out on a call sometimes with the Brother or Sister fire fighter or respond from your home to the scene and when the call is done, you always expect everyone to go back to the firehouse, put the trucks back in service, kick back, chat for a bit, only to find out that one of you didn't make it back and won't be coming home to their families or loved ones. Words alone cannot express the loss we suffer when one of the members of our fire fighting family die in the line of duty. Most often, the loss is carried with us throughout our entire lives, etched in the memory of time, never to leave us.

In the meantime, resiliency being a common denominator, the department will do what they have to do to bury their Brother and help as best as they can with Vince's family in dealing with his sudden passing. The CERT Team will be in the background in case their help is needed. Other departments from around the county will likewise assist as needed, whether it be staffing the station to respond to alarms that come in during the coming week, or to help clean Roosevelt's Apparatus to get it ready for the upcoming funeral or whatever else is requested of them. After all, we are one big family and its times like this where we all pull together for the common good of the fire service, especially when it involves one of our own.

I personally did not know Captain Vince Iaccino, but upon hearing of his age (65) and his years of service to the Roosevelt Fire Department (22) and positions held (Captain, President) it struck me that here was a man who obviously gave his all for something he believed in and it was reflected on his family who, as I've come to learn, have 2 son's serving in the same fire department as their father. It is the perfect example of a tradition of families serving their town/city/hamlet; doing what must be done to protect life and property which stand out as traditional American values.

Rest In Peace Vince, may the good Lord welcome you into his Kingdom and grant you eternal peace and happiness.

How Times Change

When I first joined the fire service back in 1975, I joined a Hose Company (another name for engine company) excited with the thought of being able to assist my community in their time of need. I found myself with 29 or 30 equally excited members, many of whom had been in the fire service since the 1930's.

When the fire horn would blow for a fire call, you'd have volunteers rushing from every part of town towards our fire station; we were lucky in that we had our own station for our company; other companies were all squeezed in together at Fire Headquarters and all of them had to share the limited facilitates that were then in existence.

The apparatus always got out; we had a rule in those days that the trucks could not leave until they had a full crew; ie; a driver, an officer and three firefighters; most then often the truck was completely overloaded by the time it pulled off the ramp (remember in those days you could ride the back step, the side steps and ride in the hose bed if necessary).

After every fire, the trucks were wiped down and left spotless; after all we wanted to show the public that we were taking care of their tax dollars purchased equipment. We stood ready to serve the public at a moments notice.

To be selected to be an officer, whether it be business or line was considered a huge compliment and those of us elected took our positions very seriously.

For around 20 years I was a member of the company and then a move upstate NY caused my resignation as an active member to be offered and alas, I became an Associate Member of the Fire Department and moved on with my life.

Just this past week, I spoke over the phone with one of the more senior members of the company and inquired how things were. I was told that elections had just been concluded and that we had a new Captain; but that was it; no other line officers were elected and the excuse was given that no one wanted to serve in those positions, which now puts the Captain in the untenable position of having to do everything himself.

Now I realize that over time things change along with values, but this really caught me off guard once I heard what had happened. Is it because of the new requirements that many fire districts have imposed on those seeking to be an officer? Or is it because people are lazy or have no interest in assisting in the operation of the company?

I'll be attending the Annual Benevolent Association Meeting in a couple of weeks and hopefully I'll get a clearer insight as to whats going on down there in my beloved fire company.

My how times change.

Spring Is Upon Us

It looks like spring is set to come to fruition. With the advent of spring means the beginning of Parade season for most volunteer/combo departments.

Now I've been attending parades ever since 1976 and I've worn everything from tee shirts to full dress Class-A uniforms but I've found over the past few years, that my body doesn't tolerate full dress uniforms in 90 degree/95% humidity as well as I used to back in the day.

So when the suggestion was made to wear non-regulation uniforms, of course my hand was the first to go up in support of the proposal. It was argued that wearing full dress uniforms were necessary if you wanted to win the "Best Overall" trophy, which to me didn't have much significance since I only attend parades for the enjoyment, not competition. Well, needless to say, the proposal was crushed and its still full dress class A uniforms to this day; which is a reason why I no longer attend parades and march in them. I'm much more comfortable in my Fire-Police short sleeved shirt directing traffic instead at parades.

To each their own I suppose.

New By-Laws Wreak Havoc With Some Members

Well I knew It wouldn't be long before one of the members complained about the recently passed re-worked/re-written By-laws. One of our members who remained quiet during the entire process of creating the new by-laws we now have and suddenly he decides that the newly adopted by-laws are unfair and how could we pass sometime so draconian? Funny that he sat mute during the whole process of drafting new by-laws; then at the meeting to vote on them he became angry and walked out and as such didn't stay long enough to cast his vote. Now he's threatening to terminate his membership if we don't reinstate the old by-laws which we changed because they were hold overs from the early days and were severely outdated.

The reaction of the base membership to his antics are less then ecstatic; most of them we've talked to say good riddance and don't let the door hit you on the ass leaving.

Some members question why even have by-laws in the first place; the answer is simple, without by-laws you'd have complete anarchy and there'd be no guidance for the members, so some type of organizational guidance is necessary.

Either way the by-laws are what they are and there's not much to be done about it as of this point other then go by what we all voted on. People need to accept what others have voted to do in a democratic system and learn to embrace change as most of the time its for the betterment of the organization. Otherwise your beating a dead horse. Just my two cents.

Time To Sharpen The Knives!

Well, once again in my fire department we are gearing up for the upcoming fire company elections which will be conducted the first Thursday in December. Its an annual ritual that takes place once per year and the process is more interesting to watch then prime-time television (and i know cuz i work in television).

Its a process older then many fire departments in the state; strange things happen when this time of year rolls around; people who were best of friends suddenly turn on each other and stab each other in the back. Its a truly amazing sight to behold. I've actually seen some friendships that never recovered due to the infighting and backbiting that occur during some elections; of course some years are worse then other years; its sort of cyclical process.

Some members of the fire company, in an effort to eliminate some of the pettiness that goes on during elections, have changed the by-laws of the fire company to prohibit anyone from running off the floor. Its felt that this will help to eliminate last minute quirks in the election; we shall see.

Already, the secret meetings are taking place in the various corners at the fire station, new cliques are developing like larvae from mosquito eggs dropped into stagnant water. They wiggle as small groups and connive ways to get their candidate elected; I think some of these people would have done well to have worked in the last presidential campaign last year. Deals are being cut as we speak.

I'll report on the results of the election once they have been conducted.

The Legend of The Lincoln Fuse

Most people don't think twice about a penny when they hold it in there hand. For some its a nuisance; something to be discarded as soon as possible; for others they pick through their pennies looking for the famous "wheat" penny hoping to make a rare find that will turn them into millionaires.

During the depression, the Lincoln penny was used by many American's to keep their power on in their houses. You see most people in the days of the depression had houses which used the screw-in type fuses in their power panels and when the fuse would burn out, rather then going out and spending money on a new fuse (remember things were tight during the depression financially) which worked well up to a point. The main problem was that fuses have a certain amperage rating and while most fuses were rated to 15 amps or so, the penny was good for about 60 amps. The end result was in many cases homeowners ended up burning down their houses because the wiring wouldn't support up to 60 amps. The moral of the story is: being cheap in the short run may cost you dearly in the long run.

Rest In Peace FF Patrick Joyce

Its always a very sad time in the life of a firefighter when a Brother or Sister passes away, its particularly tragic when its a line-of-duty death and even more so when its arson-related, which in this case is what happened.

Yonkers Fire Department NY lost one of its bravest when FF Patrick Joyce, 39, died while trying to escape a "Flash Over" which occurred on October 9, 2009. He jumped out of a third story window to get away from the blistering heat and smoke which intensified due to the flash over. Two other of Yonkers bravest suffered injuries from that same fire but fortunately will recover from their injuries.

The Yonkers Police Department apprehended a suspect, Rafael Roldan, 33,who allegedly lit the fire for reasons of revenge for being tossed out of his apartment for non-payment of rent. I hope that he faces the family of Patrick Joyce in court when found guilty to see the loss and hurt he has caused. Ideally the courts will sentence Mr. Roldan to life without parole so he may spend his remaining days thinking about the horrible deed that he did and the heartache and suffering he caused to the family and friends of Patrick Joyce.

May FF Patrick Joyce rest-in-peace.