How did the Collaspe Rescues come around?

[Lebby]

if you think with the way this city is being run currently, that a new R1 firehouse will be done in 2025, i have a bridge to sell you.

They'll be lucky to find land to buy by 2025. EMS Station 7 has been looking for new real estate without success for at least six years.

 

[entropychaser]

The actual history of collapse rescue can be traced back to the London Fire Brigade and subsequent National Fire Service in the UK during WWII. Those organizations quickly developed institutional experience in the rescue of citizens in bomb damaged buildings (like the demand for silence in the search for survivors).

In the USA this became more formalized with the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977. FEMA was established in 1979. The birth of Urban Search and Rescue would gradually follow. One of the centers of science and training of collapse rescue was the Texas A & M Engineering Extension Service in College Station, Texas (a past president- Major General Earl Rudder, commander of the Second Ranger Battalion at Point Du Hoc, Omaha Beach). With a federal grant, they established Disaster City in the mid 1990's. Fire service members from all over the place came to learn. twenty-five years ago, it was not unusual to find members of the aforementioned London Fire Brigade in local watering holes there.

Since, The Los Angeles Fire Department created their USAR on 4/4/1993.
Their first response was the Northridge Earthquake at 0431 hours 1/17/1994.
They now maintain USAR Task Forces at Stations 3,5,27,85,88,89.

As I recall, the first Hazardous Material Unit was created by the Jacksonville Fire Department.

 

[TLTruckie]

This is my opinion, not anything Offical, just my opinions on where companies should be. R5/CR5. Mid-Island somewhere on Victory near Manor Heights. R4 and CR4 might work at 73rd and Utopia Pwky, R1 kinda works right there but I'm surprised on how there pulling out of there quarters on that block. But CR1 shouldn't be that far from. Maybe somewhere near 59th and 5th or on Central Park West for both companies, or just collaspe. R3 is actually somewhat fine where it is. R2 works with its actual spot to. If R6 was kept in service after the RNC, maybe Southern Queens exculding JFK. Along with probably Bushwick Brooklyn and Highland Park.

R-1 location is fine.…though the traffic from the Lincoln tunnel is always a problem , but then again, traffic in most any of mid-town is always a problem. THEIR collapse rig should be in the same quarters with them.…it doesn’t get the same TLC it would if it was in with R-1. As would rig , equipment maintenance and in house training on and with the rig and equipment. R-1’s firehose is WAY too small for a Rescue/Soc company. 3 rigs , equipment maintenance and storage of the extraordinary amount of equipment that is stored on site. R-2 &R-3 firehouse was also built with in house training in mind. High angle , confine space , building collapse, elevator rescue training simulator are all including in the design and build of the new firehouses.

R-4 would be best located somewhere around the LIE and Junction Blvd / 108st area. Close to the LIE , GCP , Van Wyck , Queens Blvd , Whoodhaven Blvd. and Broadway. Easy to get to most any part of Queens and still have a good ETA to Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx.

 

[Skyler Fire]

if you think with the way this city is being run currently, that a new R1 firehouse will be done in 2025, i have a bridge to sell you.

Negative! The building will not be ready until 2025. Meaning whoever owns it now is not giving it up until 2025

 

[DaveReinstein]

For many years since it's inception R*2 was in close proximity to the BKLYN Navy Yard during it's Military heyday.....in 1985 we moved to 1472 Bergen St. bet Schenectady & Troy Aves.....ENG*248 is in the basic center of BKLYN but back in 1985 the Bergen St FH was in the center of the actual working area (Firewise) of BKLYN & that was the selected site....today it remains not too far away in much more suitable (size wise) FH.

You guys moved after that large fire on Hall Street. Warren talked about that job on GS, throwing Downey his radio because his went dead

 

[DaveReinstein]

R-1 location is fine.…though the traffic from the Lincoln tunnel is always a problem , but then again, traffic in most any of mid-town is always a problem. THEIR collapse rig should be in the same quarters with them.…it doesn’t get the same TLC it would if it was in with R-1. As would rig , equipment maintenance and in house training on and with the rig and equipment. R-1’s firehose is WAY too small for a Rescue/Soc company. 3 rigs , equipment maintenance and storage of the extraordinary amount of equipment that is stored on site. R-2 &R-3 firehouse was also built with in house training in mind. High angle , confine space , building collapse, elevator rescue training simulator are all including in the design and build of the new firehouses.

R-4 would be best located somewhere around the LIE and Junction Blvd / 108st area. Close to the LIE , GCP , Van Wyck , Queens Blvd , Whoodhaven Blvd. and Broadway. Easy to get to most any part of Queens and still have a good ETA to Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx.

Heard R4 can’t relocate their quarters, something about it being in a charter. Not sure how accurate that is though, came from a reliable source

 

[Skyler Fire]

Heard R4 can’t relocate their quarters, something about it being in a charter. Not sure how accurate that is though, came from a reliable source

They said when they rode out of E316 it was a lot better

 

[DaveReinstein]

They said when they rode out of E316 it was a lot better

I think that’s the consensus, it’s in a bad area, they’re just not permitted to permanently go anywhere else.

 

[TLTruckie]

Heard R4 can’t relocate their quarters, something about it being in a charter. Not sure how accurate that is though, came from a reliable source

That’s news to me …..never heard that before. Worked there for 13 years , and yea the few years we spent w E316 was awesome. A great bunch of guys, great sleeper engine company that we caught some good first due work with and laughs lots of good laughs ….responding out the back worked great. Close to the GCP , BQE , Whitestone exp and the Van Wyck. “TIN HOUSE RESCUE “

 

[68jk09]

It is not R*4 but it might be LAD*4 that is in a deed to remain on the same site

 

[Atlas]

Res 4 is restricted from moving by a court order.

 

[RCL]

As explained by Chief Norman and others in the Gettin Salty episodes, the current collapse rescue units are the product of an evolution of SOC. Pre-911 and before the formalization of SOC, each of the five rescues had their own speciality. Rescue 1 (and 5, I think?) had the specialty of dive rescue, Rescue 4 had the speciality of HAZMAT (before HM1 was organized in 1984 then continued as a support function after that I believe). Rescue 3's speciality was collapse. R3 with Collapse Rescue 3 responded city-wide on collapses. From Signal's post above, it looks like this was true from 1988 to 2005. With the massive expansion of SOC pre and post 9/11, individual rescue companies no longer had their own specialties, but rather all rescues were trained and equipped with all specialties. The idea was that each borough should be able to operate independently. Thus, all five rescues got dive trained, all five rescues got collapse pieces, etc. This is to say nothing of all the other aspects of building out SOC such as the return of Squads, HMTUs, SOC battalion evolution into RB, MB, HMB, evolution of the Marine division, CTU, etc. This is my understanding of things based off listening to discussions from Chief Norman, Chief Salka, Chief Lafemina, Chief Richardson, and other great guests on Gettin Salty.

I may be wrong, but pre 93 WTC all of the rescues were dive trained. I've worked quite a few drownings, in and around the Cross Bay Bridge between HB and BC and all 5 rescues were there with divers in the water. At least 1 D13 had special called the engines the Rescues were quartered with or close by to pick up spare scuba cylinders since they were running out, and MSU couldn't fill them onsite or had any spares. Matter of fact it's mentioned in the book R2 Life in the edge about a member detailed to R1 that made a dive grab before they even knew he was on the rig.

 

[TLTruckie]

Res 4 is restricted from moving by a court order.

Please explain …with proof and some details. And that’s funny , because when I was still working , only a few years ago, we where told from higher ups the food chain to start scouting for acceptable locations for the new firehouse.…truth !

 

[TLTruckie]

I may be wrong, but pre 93 WTC all of the rescues were dive trained. I've worked quite a few drownings, in and around the Cross Bay Bridge between HB and BC and all 5 rescues were there with divers in the water. At least 1 D13 had special called the engines the Rescues were quartered with or close by to pick up spare scuba cylinders since they were running out, and MSU couldn't fill them onsite or had any spares. Matter of fact it's mentioned in the book R2 Life in the edge about a member detailed to R1 that made a dive grab before they even knew he was on the rig.

R-3 didn’t become a dive rescue till about 2008.…give or take a year. They were the last Rescue company to be train ….R-4 was always assigned to dive jobs in the Bronx prior to then….on the Initial call, not as the back up dive team on the conformation of “diver in the water”.

 

[68jk09]

Some early FDNY Dive history.... https://www.nycfire.net/forums/threads/fdny-dive-teams.51762/

 

[entropychaser]

R-3 didn’t become a dive rescue till about 2008.…give or take a year. They were the last Rescue company to be train ….R-4 was always assigned to dive jobs in the Bronx prior to then….on the Initial call, not as the back up dive team on the conformation of “diver in the water”.

By the time Rescue 3 became a dive unit, medal winning diver Dave Reichel was long gone.

 

[Skyler Fire]

Speaking of firehouses…. With E35 TL14 firehouse being the only thing on the block…. They should have told the city they would build them a state of the art firehouse on the 1st & 2nd floors and they can have the rest of the building….. 50-60 stories up….. plenty other firehouse can be done like that and getting firehouses for free…. 54/4, 34/21…

 

[t123ken]

I heard decades ago that the air rights for 54/4/9 were sold.

 

[Lebby]

Speaking of firehouses…. With E35 TL14 firehouse being the only thing on the block…. They should have told the city they would build them a state of the art firehouse on the 1st & 2nd floors and they can have the rest of the building….. 50-60 stories up….. plenty other firehouse can be done like that and getting firehouses for free…. 54/4, 34/21…

That is if they wanted it, between the cost of land and the expected income it may not have been worth the extra money.

 

[thefirefreak911]

This is my opinion, not anything Offical, just my opinions on where companies should be. R5/CR5. Mid-Island somewhere on Victory near Manor Heights. R4 and CR4 might work at 73rd and Utopia Pwky, R1 kinda works right there but I'm surprised on how there pulling out of there quarters on that block. But CR1 shouldn't be that far from. Maybe somewhere near 59th and 5th or on Central Park West for both companies, or just collaspe. R3 is actually somewhat fine where it is. R2 works with its actual spot to. If R6 was kept in service after the RNC, maybe Southern Queens exculding JFK. Along with probably Bushwick Brooklyn and Highland Park.

Rescue 5 is on a good spot with lots of room just of the highway