On a recent mini Get Together this past July in Virginia, we were told by site member "flapara13", Steve E., that as a battalion chief in the Albermarie County Fire Department, some of his runs required a distance of 25 miles. I'm sure a "10-12" is requested, if not required for that kind of run. So what I had told him was that I had never heard of any fire department units making that long of a run for a first alarm.
Well, as most of us know, and from our Get Together of last year, the FDNY does have a unit that may sometimes respond that long of a distance. Not on the initial call but may respond on certain request or at the transmission of a working fire. As we learned, Squad 1 from Brooklyn will sometimes make a response to the far end of Staten Island putting that mileage on the rig.
As reported earlier, except for some extra cost for training, equipment and SOC members, it seems to me the extra benefits versus the cost, to make E 165 into S 165 would have certainly made sense to do. I guess money needs to be spent elsewhere. I guess there's always a few surprises that pop up. One such surprise that I heard will be a mass protest march across the VZ Bridge later this month. I'm sure a police mobilization and FDNY EMS presence will be required. I'm sure the cost for that one day event would support the cost of a new Squad 165.
Some other places that I know of where Squad Companies have worked and are in addition to Rescues are: Jersey City and Camden, NJ., Yonkers, NY. and Philadelphia, Pa. and I believe Baltimore. Cities with Squads only and no Heavy Rescue are Bridgeport and New Haven, Ct (2 for New Haven). However, those of Ct do not have regular first alarm response districts to cover. Even in the small city where I worked, our Squad was used as an Engine/Rescue Company, with its own first alarm engine company duties.
For many of these Squads, the concept came from the idea of the FDNY to use an engine company, not only for regular first alarm assignment, but added manpower for working fires and also for Rescue and Haz Mat duties. They seem to be performing their double duty quite well. And by combining the services of a well trained group of members for Engine and Truck company operations, many with their own added duties who receive additional training, makes it all worthwhile to the people who depend on the fire department. Add in the numerous life saving EMS runs in conjunction with the FDNY/EMS, and it's what could be seen as "The Total Package Deal". The earlier Squad Companies were closed down in the mid 70s, just as their services were even more required, due to very heavy fire activity.
I am not a citizen or taxpayer of NYC. But would making Engine 165 into Squad 165 with it's additional duties been worth it ? I think so. A 25 mile response for any FDNY company or a Battalion Chief of any county in Virginia, or elsewhere, is a pretty long ride when people are waiting for them to arrive.
