The Pa. Firefighter Cancer Presumption Law its turned into a complete Joke and waste of time and not helped one Firefighter

Aprox. 5 years ago Pa. passed the Firefighters Cancer Presumption Act

With an ever rising amount of firefighters Career and volunteer like myself getting cancer the law was suppose to help those of us with fire related cancer to get compensation with out having all the burden of proving firefighting caused our cancer. None of us was looking for Million Dollar pay offs we where looking for compensation to take care of our wives and family's should we not survive cancer I was fortunate I did

THE TRUTH

Not one firefighter including my self out of the 100 plus firefighters I personally know who got cancer  have gotten any help from the law in fact no firefighter in Western Pa has gotten help have not been able to find any one helped by this law  it is a total and complete sham and scam this law why was the effort ever put into it in the first place if it throws up more road blocks than helps  and Ohio just passed one and same thing is going to happen.

The Problem

Is the Oncologists who treat us not one is willing to sign off saying we got our cancer from Firefighting even thou there are many compelling arguments that inhaling diesel and other toxic  fumes and wearing of radios is causing problems . They all blame our cancer on family history even if that history is very spotty and inconclusive

No one wants to do studies on the correlation of Firefighters carrying radios on their hips and Colorectal cancer being caused by those radio and pager signal waves

Until Oncologists are willing to sign off not one firefighter will get help. Which was supose to be the whole point of the bill in the first place automatic presumption.

So as my friends are slowly dying off who will help take care of their familys.?

Thats right in many cases no one if your a volunteer chances are your lucky you even have a life insurance policy most volunteers are blue collar  and many are not making any kind of real money
yes some do  but thats the exception not the rule  and even if you do survive like me you often end up filing bankruptcy because of all the time you had to take off from work. Some who survive can go back to what they love most like me can not go back into firefighting.
So all the hand shaking and back slapping and ballyhoo about passing this law and not one person helped. why was it even passed.

One of the Cheifs I know who passed from Colon cancer  just like I had   and we went thru treatment at same time ,said it right why bother attemting to get help its going to be too little too late .

Alternative Energy and the Truth many obstacles need to be overcome before it can be total use of it

When it comes to Alternative Energy and the truth it appears Green Weenies cannot handle the truth when presented with facts . Why we still need Coal Oil and gas to produce electricity and can not go full solar and wind

Unfortunately solar and wind cannot replace the base load the 24/7 requirement for electricity. Known proven fact green weenies know and refuse to address. The base load is the constant demand for power when a factory turns on there is a demand solar or wind can only put out what its rated for yes you can turn on extra solar or wind but what if it’s not sunny or windy now what ? That’s where fossil fuels come in as demand changes it can be instantly be switched as needed  something wind and solar cannot do 24/7 especially in climates with freezing temperatures  where solar and wind become diminished or will stop working all together in severe cold weather turbines can freeze up with ice  .   Wind and solar are great supplemental source but in building solar and wind systems and batteries to store the electricity you also create a very large hazardous waste and environmental issues greenies do not want to talk about batteries for solar have greatly polluted 3rd world countries where they are produced with all the highly toxic materials, metals and chemicals needed to produce the battery’s. Wind turbines have killed thousands of birds and vibration from them because known issues with health ask people who live by them in Somerset Pa and Uniontown Pa.  Solar also has issues they start degrading after 5 years and after 20 years must be replaced. They also present a hazard to firefighters responding to fires at a home or business where panels can shock and kill a firefighter and it prevents them from getting water into the structure and venting the roof.   We also need coal , oil and natural gas for all the byproducts it produces such as activated charcoal, carbon, plastics, medicines etc. We cannot just cut off the use of coal and oil do some research and you will find out just how valuable coal and oil is to everyday life not just for providing electricity. Transporting oil and gas by pipe is safest way to do it, Billions of gallon flow every day in this country everyday no issues while one train that ran away in Canada with oil ran into a town in Canada and killed 57 people. Don’t believe me do the research. Yes we should be using alternative energy and conserving natural resources but doing so wisely and not trying to replace something which cannot be replaced till better technology break thru come about. 

AT&T Causing major headaches with Transition from GSM 2G to GSM 3G/4G Service and putting lives and property in jeopardy

On January1st 2017 AT&T Nationwide shut down its old 2G GSM data Network

In doing so they required all Burglar and Fire Alarm company's to upgrade their  existing 2G units to the new 3G/4G units.

Everything was going fine I like many company's put in the new 3G/4G communicators and where getting good solid signals on 3G/4G  but then when AT&T shit down 2G all of a sudden  now the good solid 3G/4G signals are no longer there or extremely low causing a mad dash to add on external antennas, re-position the units  etc. to try and capture a signal. 

The end result many Burglar and Fire Alarm customers are being left without protection if the Cellular Communicators are the sole means how the signal from their systems are being sent out.

It appears AT&T  has not properly deployed the new service and no one is getting answers from them in the mean time millions of homes and business have spotty to no coverage should their alarms activate.

Not a good situation to be in. Most of my customers cellular is used for back up incase the internet or hone line fails so signals are getting good and as i get a fail to communicate signal I can go and fix it

but large company's do not have this luxury and are scrambling to get things done becuse of the many thousands of accounts they have.

We had similar issues when AT&T transitioned from Amps Analog to GSM Digital a few years back but nothing like we are currently seeing. what ever they are doing to get things optimized in their network I hope they get it done soon so people can get a good nights sleep because myself and many other alarm company owners are not.

P.O.S. Sliding Gate Operator Installer Violates all the rules installing a security gate and puts public in danger

Yes hard to believe it but when a customer of mine bought a run down Mini storage facility in the South Hills of Pittsburgh  he was left with an extremely dangerous and major case of Negligence when it came to the entry gate to the place.

Although the previous owner was nice and installed a new gate operator on the place it was totally and completely installed improperly and in a very dangerous manner .

All automatic moving gates require a minimum amount of safety controls to prevent a person or vehicle getting smashed.  this gate had no such control installed the POS individual who installed the gate made no effort to insure public safety to make matters worse he moved the exit lop further back almost 6 ft from the gate after the loop that was in ground broke this means some one leaving  thru the gate  and not being able to get out on the main street could have their vehicle crushed by the gate and if its a person they will be killed  with the power this 1 HP controller has .

At  bare Minimum a break the beam photo beam has to be installed across gate and for extra protection a millers edge which sense pressure on end of gate and reverses it .

This gate had neither safety control.

I Have Notified Nortek who makes this controller to the danger a company called   Control Products of Pa.  has cuased and which seems to be a made up company I can find no such listing ,and how they put the public  in danger  so they will suspend all further sales to them.

When you go into a Mini storage facility you do so expecting a safe situation this is not the case . I have ordered and shortly will be installing the required safety controls on this unit .

When you have a town with lenient code enforcement it leads to problems like this which could lead to catastrophic results

Yes there is a town I have worked in the past 40 years and I have never ever meet one code official or fire dept member  .It is a well to do community in the North Hills of Pittsburgh near the border with Butler County.
In my 40 years of doing work there I have yet to see one building  in the town which properly meets building and fire  codes or ADA  .Requirements  and it will ultimately lead to the detriment of this community.

I recently was called on a last minute emergency or contractor friend when building he was working in Fire Alarm was not properly working . Seems one of the clients an Online School did a check of its office fire alarm and found pull stations which did not work and fire dept never responded .

I went out to the building and found several issues.

First the building was not being monitored by a24/7 central station.  Instead owner was self monitring with a voice dialer to his cell phone.

Fire panel with illegal voice dialer on top

While the code at time the building was built was fire and panic and not BOCA like other community's around  at time building was built it does not appear it needed monitored under fire and panic act . But if it did need monitored the building inspectors never checked to see that it did.

However the occupancy changed over the years and under modern code absolutely it has to be monitored again where are the code officials following up on this

Then I found non addressable pull stations on  a system which requires addressable pull stations
this was a very dangerous situation because the electrician or contractor who installed that non addressable device caused the whole fire system to be inoperable if you activated the non addressable
pull station and shorted the signaling loop.

The individual never bothered to look just hooked in the pull station and walked away and never tested it again some one required it to be there on plans  but no one from the township chose to come back and make sure it worked.

I had to add horns on to a system twice in a building in this town both times I installed them  and both times no one ever showed up they never even required a fire alarm completion certification the work was done and done so properly  so knowing this contractors regularly take advantage of the situation do what they feel like and could care less if its not done properly

Ultimately this neglect by inspectors of the town to do due diligence will cost the owners of these buildings in the end.

If ADA walks in finds the buildings not conforming to ADA  there are fines and then expensive repairs building owners will have  to do.

If there is a fire and systems are not in place or fail this can lead to major civil court actions for the building owners and denial of coverage.

 It can effect the community's ISO rating and cost more to have fire insurance in the community because property's do not conform to proper codes.

Ultimately some one is going to die in one of these buildings when a sprinkler or fire system malfunctions or otherwise fail to operate due to missing  monitoring etc .

But this is apparently what the community wants relaxed codes and higher insurance premiums This community is nothing more than a ticking time bomb waiting to go off.

Improperly Wired Sprinkler Systems The Ticking Time Bomb in too many buildings due to those who should not be working on fire systems

I see it all to often both Wet and dry sprinklers wired improperly and failing to send a signal to a fire alarm system when they trip which can result in hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage  if it happens over night in unocupied structures

I recently ran across two  such set up in a church in Penn hills  and a church in Ben Avon Pa. which had additions  built in the 90's before both towns had active Fire Marshals inspecting .

The wet and dry system switches along with the tamper switches all wired on 1 zone when it should have been 3 separate zones.  . The fire panel allowed for it but laziness on the part of the contractor  allowed it to happen.

Now back in early 70's before modern fire panels came on the market this was acceptable but as panels and codes evolved in 80's it was then required that tamper valves no longer be wired in same circuit as flow and pressure valves  and then  dry and wet systems had to be separately Annunciated .

So obviously these churches should have had 3 separate zones which was not done. In fact there are still so called fire alarm installers still installing wiring  the wrong way.

They get away with it because Pa. has no training or license standards and too many  inspectors who would not know to even check for it . How many of these bad systems are out there  in my estimates up to 60% have problems based on what I find in the field.

Whats being done about it nothing unless a tech like my self catches it and re wires it  or inspector catches it and has it corrected. 

This means a valve could be turned and no one knows and or when tamper valve is turned  or low pressure switch  activates it blocks signal from a flow switch.

This is why NFPA changed the code no misinterpreting signals and no wondering what has activated

You know its the dry system  pressure  switch the wet system flow switch the low pressure trouble switch or the valve tamper switch. .

In the case of these churches they have been rewired properly but thats 2 out of how many are bad and how many each day are being installed improperly all over this state and if the wiring is being installed improperly you know the piping is as well and I see plenty of horror story's there as well.. with building codes so dependent on sprinklers coming on and activating to protect lives you think people would be more cautious how they do thing but they do not care and are putting yours and my life on the line should a catastrophic condition  occurs . 

When a fire Official Rags and Tags Fire Extinguishers we have a real problem on our hands and possible ethical Questions

I was working in a Customers Plant when I noticed a Guy coming around and inspecting the Fire Extinguishers .

normally I see the technician  hold the extinguisher and tap it to loosen the powder and keepit fluffed and then you see them take off the hose and either blow thru it with air duster or look thru or run a thin piece of wire thru to make sure there not obstructed but thats not what I saw in this plant.

He simply tilted it looked in end of hose dusted off and tagged it inspected what we call in the Industry a RAG and TAGGER.

When I question his technique he says what he is ding is perfectly fine and  then I find out he is the Fire Marshal for several community's. He even rides around in what looks like an official Fire dept looking vehicle which says Fire Prevention on it.

The whole situation is Bad you have some one who is suppose to be protecting people and he is not doing his job. I have consulted with several industry experts including  Master degree Safety Personnel and they all agree in an environment like a fabricating shop with temperature extremes and dust everywhere  . He should have done a more complete job at what he was doing  . He should have done a better job to make sure powder was loose and hose was not obstructed. He said he was worried rust on units when he hit them to loosen powder would effect them then he should have replaced them if they are showing rust. Its right in OSHA Regulations they are to be replaced if rusted and in a fabricating shop not only NFPA applies but OSHA rules over everything.

Of course the next question should a person like a Fire Marshal even be doing this kind of work and that even includes installing fire alarms, selling smoke  detectors, first aid kits etc.
OK well he is not doing so in community's he protects but it still leaves the door open to ethics and power  the fire Marshal has

 If your not going to do a job properly you should not be doing it period.

If I am questioning what he is doing I am sure others are as well.

NUVICO Just one of a long list of CCTV & Electronics company's to go out of business in the Race To The Bottom

Yes sadly there is a race a very bad race when it comes to electronics and thats a race to the bottom when it comes to who can produce a camera or DVR or other electronic item., for the cheapest price and its killing the electronics industry.

The latest Victims include  Nuvico , Everfocus and KT&C

It was every time I saw nuvico rep they where changing their product line and look we have these cameras even cheaper . i kept telling them I do not want cheap i want the dam thing to work.

But electronics manufacturers have not listened instead of getting high quality for a reasonable price electronics made in Japan they instead have gone to China and Malaysia where there is no such thing as quality control and in the case of China it is often forced prison labor.

The result these manufacturers ordered products made and labeled with their brand name on it put it out on the market and  dealers started returning product after product due to it being absolute garbage.

I myself had to return several Nuvico DVR's with defective fans and hard drives in the last year something I never use to do when Nuvico made there own product instead of contracting out. 

I see the same thing going on with flat screen TV's , LED lights  and even in the trades the poor quality of electrical and plumbing fittings  you name it  and all you find is junk made overseas.

As as long as consumers refuse to pay for a quality product it will be nothing but shit being turned out  in the race to the bottom and I have absolutely no pity for any of the manufactuers who go out of business who play this game.

The USA priced it self out of the market years ago for American made products because the USA manufacturers refused or did not have the capital to improve efficiency due to constant wage demands and union work rules interfering and you saw where that got the US Steel industry .

When a mini mill in Korea could put out 10 times the steel for 1/4 the price an American mill could
because American mills where so inefficient .

When will the race to the bottom happen in electronics no time soon Im afraid to say as long as consumers are willing to buy and demand cheap it will only get worse.