MikesPhotos

Like many, I assign a BC to stand near the FS1 Control panel and assign him to Hotkey #1. I then send a County squad with 2 Medics and a Diver to the south east corner of the Freeplay map to load up the small boat. After that 2 PD Motor units get assigned to Hotkey 3 and patrol. These guys are my traffic control dudes since motor units can get to places easier and faster then cars. Then I send 3 or 4 PD units, 2 Crown vics, 2 Slicktops usually, out on patrol assigned to hot key 2. When a PD incident comes up, I press 2 and point and voila, units and backup on scene and I still have the 2 motor units patrolling. The next thing I do is send a car with 2 LASD deputies to the hospital for security, and call in a PD helo assigned to #6 to land at the PD station. I've also edited my freeplay events to suit my wants, and one thing that many of you might enjoy is to edit the <EFPEventFlashStrike> to <DamageRadius value = "5000.0" /> or larger to have a massive fire once in a while. You'll see a huge chunk of your map turn bright red when that hits Mike.

You can find quite a bit of information from google re:the LARCOPP system so I'm not going to write too much about it. But here are some key quotes that will give you a basic idea. ""This vehicle is designed to go out and gather Intel and feed it back to the decision makers so they can decide the best course of action. Hypothetically the more solid information they have the better they will be able to mitigate an incident." "Allows on-site incident commanders to electronically gather data and transmit it to those at off-site emergency operations centers (EOCs) and to other agencies, jurisdictions and disciplines." "LARCOPP can provide information to all levels of that structure and from each incident site, thereby giving command staff the "ground truth" from each location. Each bit of information gathered by LARCOPP thus becomes a piece of the puzzle that, when put together, becomes the common operating picture." " The LARCOPP Portal is easily the most innovative technology and the one that will provide real-time situational awareness and a common operating picture. It is a secure, Web-based platform that can transmit real-time video of an incident via deployable wireless broadband digital cameras, through a video uplink from a news agency camera or from footage shot by a public safety agency's helicopter. It allows for the transmission of perimeter information, street maps, aerial views of the site, traffic routes, emergency vehicle access and a host of GIS data. It lets commanders locate, track, and move manpower and equipment resources." "The system works in real time, sending the same information to other responding agencies, off-site EOCs, or if needed, to the state EOC or the DHS National Operations Center in Washington, D.C." "The technology, known as AntaresX, has been installed in agency SUVs or mobile command posts. Attached to the top of the vehicle is a 1.2-meter dish that sends information via satellite. The satellite component makes the AntaresX technology extraordinarily robust because it uses a system powerful enough to transmit through rain, smoke or heavy cloud cover.' "In its first phase the LARCOPP suite of hardware and software has been installed in eight California law enforcement and fire agency vehicles (either SUVs or mobile command posts) and two operations centers. There are plans to add 19 vehicles in the next two years and to add the technology to other area operations centers." " can disseminate mapping, as well as video, information to aid in the evacuation of the area and transport of the injured to nearby hospitals." "In addition to the Los Angeles city and county fire, police and sheriff's departments, the project has included the Long Beach police and fire departments, the Glendale PD, which is the third largest city in the operational area behind Los Angeles and Long Beach, and the Pomona Police Department, located on the eastern edge of the county." Bassically it gives the incident commanders an on scene host of tools that are all networked and linked in a small portable package instead of a huge command post vehicle. During the pomona earthquake, it was used to take photos and videos of damage and feed it back to the EOCs for damage assesment and mitigation. Mike

UPDATED 11/09/2008: Sesnon IC - LAPD Staging Area Pt III & FS106 LAPD Another day, another update! Sticking with the LAPD, todays update includes 54 shots that finishes up the Staging area and also includes the LAPD shots from the FS106/Roscoe Blvd area. LAPD Crown Vics, Command SUV, more Harelys, Los Angeles Regional Common Operational Picture Program response vehicle, Mobile CP, and unmarked charger and crown vic. Enjoy!

I am sure many are glad that the program is continuing. As to proving your point, well just like with any plan, you must accept the consequences for your actions and behavior. If all you wanted was to bring the topic back into view and relevance, a simple, proper and respectful question would have sufficed and been a much better plan. Instead, you have now reached 100% on your warning level and the consequences that comes with that. Let me be clear to one and all, We have a good group here, these forums will not deteriorate into petty name calling and childish behavior.

Yep, was working on some antique pics and over used the batch process key.

UPDATED 11/08/2008: Sesnon IC - LAPD Staging Area Pt II Continuing on from yesterday, todays update includes 63 shots of LAPD's test Chevy Malibu, Command SUV, Motor Units including the new Harleys and test BMW, Speaker Truck and Mobile Substations. Enjoy!

FDNY hands down, but then again it's like comparing apples to oranges: FDNY # of Sworn Personnel: 14,000+ LAFD # of Sworn Personnel: 3,500+ FDNY # of Stations: 240+ LAFD # of Stations: 106 New York Population: 8,000,000+ Los Angeles Population: 3,800,000+ They also have a lot of older construction then LA city does since many of our buildings have been retrofitted/replaced due to earthquakes and other safety concerns.

UPDATED 11/07/2008: Sesnon IC - LAPD Staging Area Before I get back to the AHA photos, I'm going to try and work through some shots from the Sesnon Fire that I shot at FS106 and FS28's staging areas. First up are 26 photos from the LAPD Staging area near FS106. This first batch includes the Safety briefing, LAPD's Automatic Vehicle License Plate patrol car and a complete walk around of their new Dodge Charger test vehicle that was assigned to Pacific Division. Enjoy!

Darkray, Please see this post regarding board etiquette. You seem to have an issue with the simple concept that the people who create things on this board do so without any form of compensation or reimbursement for their work, time or effort. Many "mods" and projects on here unfortunately are more words and flashy pictures then actual end-use product due to the amount of skill and time required to produce anything of substance without being paid to do so. These people are not companies, they are not asking anything of you or from you, and when something is offered, its great that they choose to share it with everyone. One thing I want you, and EVERYONE on this board to focus on is this key part of the new Rules of Etiquette: Your post is a total "bitch" post, but it didn't have to be. If you are interested in this project, a polite comment about your hopefulness to see it released, or even a simple question asking if it is still being worked on would more then suffice. If the project is canceled, then you know what, that's ok too since last time I checked, you were not out any cash, livestock, or first born children. I am getting REAL tired of the personal attacks, childish behavior and improper flame baiting. We have a good group of adults and children on this board and WE (the moderators and admin) are going to keep it that way.

Here are some clues in order of importance, 1) Look for any and all writing. Even if it is a partial word, you can still google the partial word and "fire department." If you can only make out the first letters like WW, try googling "WWFD." There was one a few posts back where the only writing was on the plate, but googling it came up with a buttload of info! 2) Look for numbers and type of vehicle. One example we had showed a hazmat and 101 on it. Google "Hazmat 101" Other examples might be "Engine 3" "Eng 3" "E3" "Pumper 3". Common types of vehicles are Engine, Tanker, Pumper, Truck, Quint, Hazmat, Squad, Rescue, Type I, Type III, Patrol, Brush, and Attack amongst others. Also look at who makes the vehicle. Ford Crown Victoria, International, Pierce, Seagrave, and other companies can help with the numbers and type to weed out the right one from the wrong one. 3) Look for a logo. Notice the shape and any writing in it and search for something similar. A lot of times the logo will be the departments patch! 4) Look at the paint. So many departments have similar or same paint, and i think that is what is screwing up many of you who make guesses that are completely off. Look for the primary and secondary colors, is it black over red, straight red, lime and white? Look for the striping, what type/size and direction are the stripes? 5) Look at the color of the lights. A lot of times you can rule out or rule in various states or countries based on this. If you have a fire engine that looks like LAFD but has blue lights on it, you know it cannot be LAFD. If its a police car with all red lights on it, you know its not LAPD 6) Look for street signs, advertisements, writing on benches or buildings in the area. A few times I was able to tell what country just by googling what was on a recycle bin. After you have what you think is the correct one, go one step farther and go to that departments web page or google deeper to verify it. Look at other apparatus from that department and see if they match the first 5 qualifications and if so, voila, you're gold! With google, flickr, and other sites, most of these can be found in under 10 mins of looking. Mike

Firefighter111 is right, its no fun if I just keep winning so this way everyone gets a chance to play and the thrill of the hunt and posting new pics. Tommyboy is up! If people want, I'd be more then happy to explain how I find the answers so fast after someone else gets the right one. it might help all of you become better at not just this game, but research and details in general. Mike

I must be missing something. Was this posted in the wrong thread? What is the relevancy of this post to any of the current discussions? You did not use the quote function so I'm at a loss as to why you posted this information here. LAFD maintains a capable HAZMAT response that has been greatly improved since 9/11 and the anthrax postal attacks. With fully staffed HAZMAT squads throughout the city for immediate first in response like the one you are familiar with in the mod, they also have a few HAZMAT tenders which are just large cargo trucks with equipment inside for extended responses. In addition to that, for any large incident, LACoFD HAZMAT units would also respond as well as LA County Health-HAZMAT division, which responds to all HAZMAT responses in the city and county, for long term care, cleanup and mitigation after the initial emergency response is handled. Mike

The Los Angeles City Fire Department (LAFD) has 3 large mobile Command vehicles as well as numerous smaller vehicles for interoperability communications and command. One thing to remember is that the city of Los Angeles alone has a population of over 3,834,340 (2007 US Census data) and has jurisdiction over 471 square miles. Responding to over 700k calls for service each year and with 106 fire station, the LAFD is the size of more then a few state departments. Even with that size, they are not the county Coordinator, with that role falling on the shoulders of the Los Angeles County FD and Sheriff's Dept. Some examples of LAFD's Command vehicles: Command 2: Auxillary Communications Unit They also have their own LARCOPP (Los Angeles Regional Common Operational Picture Program ) vehicle, and Communication Interoperability unit similar to the Aux unit. Plus every BC vehicle is it's own mobile command post in its own right. Mike

Before this gets out of hand anymore, EVERYONE must read this post. If this thread continues in this fashion, warnings and further measures will be taken.

Lately there has been a rash of posts that have crossed bounds of decency and politeness and let me be clear to ONE AND ALL that this will NOT be tolerated. Some of you, especially the younger members of this board, seem to feel the need to express whatever thought and opinion comes into your head. Let me be the first to give you the rude awakening of real life... Very very few of us care what you have to say or think. It's really just that simple. Just because you think it, doesn't mean you should say it, post it, express it, or share it. I can already tell that I have ruffled a few of your feathers who will declare such noble ideas of freedom of speech and the whole "I can do whatever I want to because I'm from ___ country." The simple, even for those of you with trouble with English as your native language, answer to that is that this website and forum is not here to be your personal soapbox. Feel free to speak your mind on your own site all you want, this is not your own site and you need to remember that. So, having said all of that, the rules for board etiquette on this site is quite simple. Be polite, THINK before you SPEAK, be respectful, be encouraging, and if being critical, give constructive criticism. If you don't like something, give a recommendation on how you'd like to see it improved. If the person putting their time and effort into the item dismisses that recommendation, accept it and move on. No one here has a free license to argue or "bitch." Let me say that again. NO ONE here has a free license to argue or "bitch." Many of the people on this board are putting their time and effort into making these things public for all, instead of just keeping it for their own use. The last thing they want is to log on here and see a bunch of brats, whiners, and complainers who cannot express themselves effectively, politely, or constructively. More then anything, everyone needs to remember that we have a private message function. If someone bothers you, if something bothers you, if you have a personal opinion, feel free to msg that person. Feel free to ask questions, feel free to give congratulations, feel free to share your thoughts and insight and give constructive criticism. But before you post whatever it is you want to say, stop, go back and re-read it for a second and ask yourself if you are adding anything to the conversation, are you being polite, and are you being respectful. A second item that is related is relevancy. If someone asks a question about something specific, answer that question specifically. Just because the FD in your area does something, or you've seen something on TV once, doesn't mean you are able to add anything to the conversation or answer that question. Please understand that it is ok for questions to go unanswered if no one has the answer. You don't need to be a part of every conversation and you don't need to boost your post count by telling people what happens in your neck of the woods or what you saw in a movie last year if it isn't relevant to the question. I really hope that you take these words and rules to heart. Many of you are under the age of 17 and have a skewed view of the world around you. As a brilliant professor once said, many people under the age of 21 have a personality that is 50% Entitlement and 50% Resentment. You believe that you are entitled to do whatever you want, say whatever you want, whenever you want, and that you should get whatever you want, and frankly, you resent the fact that other people disagree.

As said, it is a dual function unit that fits into the Breathing Support and Illumination Support roles. Other departments usually refer to them as Air/Light units as well. One special thing about these units is that they take that concept one step beyond what you normally find. With their focus being on the Rehab part of the incident, they are a fully stocked with misting fans, shade pop up tents, chairs, drinks, and the rear door is even a portable toilet. The units are cross staffed by the FF/EMT's on the RA at the station, and by that I mean for RAT-81 to go in service, the personnel from Rescue Ambulance 881 put the RA out of service and staff up the RAT. It is mostly used on very large incidents due to having to take the RA out of service and more often then not, the red cross canteen unit or the Bureau of Support Services volunteers will be dispatched long before the RAT. Remember, over 90% of all fires are out within 30 mins. It's safer and saner to just cycle in extra crews then bother with refilling tanks on an incident and sending them back in. Also with the USAR units having a light tower and being sent automatically to most "Greater Alarm/Major Emergency" for RIC (Rapid Intervention Company) the RATs are pretty dormant most of the year.

Remember, the brave Men and Women who wear the khaki and green of the US Forest Service do much much more then just fight forest fires. Thanks to urban encroachment on what were traditionally wildlands, many stations have taken on the role of a much more municipal fire department. In the Angeles National Forest (ANF), many of the firefighters have gone above and beyond the traditional Forest Firefighter role due to the needs of their area. With the Angeles Crest Highway, numerous roads and off road trails, as well as homes in the wildland urban interface, you'll find many of them being State Firefighter I certified and having vehicle extrication tools, skills, training, as well as confined space rescue, and structure firefighting equipment and training. It all just depends on the area the station covers and the staffing. Mike

Before the LAFD went to the type III box style, they used the type II van style for ALS and BLS ambulances. For those who feel nostalgic and requested it and use it, this gives them their ALS ambulance from that era.

Ok everyone, this is getting out of hand, since it semi-applies to the game, in as much as the question of, "Do LAFD Rescue Ambulances carry 1 or 2 patients", let me put in the final word here and we can all get on with our lives. The simple answer is 1 patient to 1 ambulance (ALS or BLS) Now for detailed answers: I have no idea where you are getting your terminology from, but I think I can grasp your question. A little bit of info for those unfamiliar with American ambulance types. There are, essentially, 3 types of ambulance designations in the US. Type I - Coventional Cab chasis with modular ambulance body. Basically, the box in the back is a module and there is no pass through/connection between the cab and the patient compartment. (not seen in game) Type II - Standard van conversion with integrated cab and patient treatment area. Type III - These combine the features of Type I and II and are what LAFD uses. These are the standard box ambulances with an integrated cab/body. LAFD Rescue Ambulances carry either BLS or ALS equipment depending on their function. Also each one carrys the SCBA and turnouts for the Men and Women staffing it, and some basic things like bolt cutters. No jaws, no blowers, no hoses, or anything like that. Now I say essentially three types, because there are also two others I'll throw into the mix because someone is bound to throw their 2 cents in just cause they can. The medium-duty/heavy duty ambulance are the larger freightliner style pictured above. Two departments that I've worked with 1st hand that have them are Burbank FD, and Huntington Beach FD. These are considered Type 1s if they are modular, or some companies are calling them Type V if they are integrated. Another type of Type V are the Fire Engine (pumper) ambulances springing up here and there. These are standard Fire engines and look the same from the outside, but can carry a single stretcher as well in very cramped quarters. You can google transport engine or transport pumper if you're curious. These are NOT used by LAFD. This is RA98's old white box RA88's RA107s new rig As you can see in the pictures above, there is NO room, nor any mounting equipment, for a 2nd stretcher at all. Standard Operating Procedures and Dept rules are very strict regarding multiple patient transport which I'll detail below. Type 1 or 5 Medium/Heavy duty. See above. LAFD rules are very specific regarding multiple transports in 1 rig and the basic rule is NO. The minor/rare exceptions are if the 2nd patient is very very minor and the 1st patient doesn't require much intervention. If the 2nd patient has a splint or anything requiring vitals, or due to the mechanism of injury appears fine but might have a delayed reaction, the 2nd patient is going in a 2nd box. It's really almost never that you find 2 patients in a rig, even with children. Someone mentioned disasters, well we just recently had one as most of you know. The Metrolink disaster resulted in 135 patients transported. Help was requested from CARE ambulance, AMR, and other private companies, but the result was the same, 1 patient per box. With a seriously injured patient, you are going to have no less then 2 people, even 3+ at times working a patient. With a minor or moderate injury, you still have vitals that have to be taken enroute in addition to the base vitals, and everything else going on with that patient, its too much to handle with a 2nd, even if that person is just minorly injured. Another stretcher or backboard/c-spined patient is definitely out of the question beyond any shadow of a doubt. How does this relate to the game? Well it's quite simple actually, the game does not have a "walking wounded"/minorly injured patient in it which would be the only type that could conceivably be allowed to ride as a 2nd patient. Therefore you have just 1 patient per ambulance. Mike

Hmmm, Actually I don't think i am banned. I voluntarily quit playing simply because I hated having to find new pics to post LOL. I enjoyed the hunt, not the posting. 1) the photo is undoctored but due to the methods of the photographer, the color is not quite right as you'll find in other pictures of the apparatus. Its just a touch off. 2) It goes by two different numbers like many small departments in it's state depending on local or county/state numbering system. 3) With the clues already in this thread, it shouldn't take more then 5 mins to google this one. There are a plethora of photos of this rig out there and you have the key critical clue already posted about its name.

Since I've had a few PM's about the "strange" looking rig in this pic, I figured I'd address it here and show off this pic as well. The lime/yellow rig is a California Office of Emergency Services Type III Brush engine that is part of a package of 5 that was loaned/given to the Los Angeles County Fire Dept to form up a type III strike team for wildland responses throughout the state. These rigs are brand new and were purchased by the state after lessons learned with the 2003 and 2007 fire storms we experienced here. One key thing to notice is the exhaust stack is vertical like a semi's. Some of the more standard rigs were actually lighting the brush on fire with the pipes down low and just making a bad situation worse. Many lessons learned from the USFS and CDF rigs have been incorporated into these rigs made by Rosenbauer and they've been well recieved by those who have used them so far. These rigs are not staffed full time but are pre-staffed during special weather events (Red Flag/Wind Events) and can also be cross staffed in an emergency by the Engine crew at the station with staffing being 1 Capt., 1 Engineer, and 2 Firefighters (or FF/PM depending on the station). Thanks! In the last week or so we've had 3 major emergency brush fires, Sesnon, Marek and the Sepulveda Pass last night. Had 3 small fires, 1 medical aid, and a roll over TC. It's never boring in LA! I don't have the accurate stats in front of me right now, but going by wikipedia which doesn't have the latest new stations, LACoFD has 168 stations, and LAFD has 106. On top of that we have a bucket full of smaller departments all within a 2/3 hr radius (LA time is 10 to 20 miles = 1hr) and you're never hurting to find something to shoot out here if you want. I mean no disrespect to some of the members on this board, but one happened to brag to me a few days back about how his department (not station, but entire department) is one of the busiest in the country. Looking at his run statistics for this year, the highest number of calls they had had was under 500 in a month. I know that in one of the latest Fire Bulletins LAFD put out, there were over 20 stations that were running 30 calls a DAY. What that one LAFD station does in a month (over 900), most entire CITIES don't even come close to. I know for both LAFD and County FD we're on incident 500 usually by the end of morning rush hour if not sooner in a day! Thank god for the slow stations though, sometimes it's nice to actually head back to the station in between calls. A few nights back at 8s, we hit 4 calls back to back. Medical aid, ringing alarm (trash chute fire), medical aid, and then a shooting. Gotta love WeHo!

UPDATED 10/21/2008: Living in the Fire Zone Expo Last weekend LACoFD FS124 held a special Living in the Fire Zone Expo and invited vendors and various agencies to come out and talk to the citizens about fire safety and disaster preparedness. LASD, CHP, LACoFD, and others were on hand with apparatus and a great BBQ in addition to a Fire extinguisher demonstration where adults and kids alike could learn to use one. Here are 185 pics from the expo, including a walk around of CHP's new SMPV crown vic, one of LACoFD's new Type III OES engine, and detail shots of LACoFD's Dozer 4. Enjoy! You're welcome. It can be dizzying keeping track of every Law Enforcement and Fire Agency in the Los Angeles area alone. My best suggestion is to see if your high school offers a photography class with a good text book that details composition, light and color science and workflow. Also if you are serious about photography, looking into the Scott Kelby lightroom for photographers book. JPG, RAW, or Film can all produce brilliant images, but its who is taking them and the knowledge and skill level of that person that matters most of all. Knowing what your tools can do, both in software, and the limitations of the camera and gear itself. It's a lot like playing a musical instrument or any other art. Its such a mix of personal talent and knowledge of the science behind it that produces the desired end result.

Please read this tutorial on how to edit your freeplay files and change the weather

I'm sure if you read the above posts in this thread you will find that the new version is being worked on.

The Los Angeles General Services Division - Office of Public Safety is the LA City equivalent to the Los Angeles County Police Dept and Federal Protective Services. They protect and patrol all city owned property and were formed after combining various smaller departments like the Library Police, Housing Authority, and others. They can be found at all parks, city government buildings, and libraries, and areas like that. Think of them as the security officers for the city.