u/Expensive-Buy-8536

Firefighter working in fire prevention here, kind of a random question for boards and managers.

I'm on the inspection and code side all day so I know what fire stuff is actually required for a building and how often. The part I never see is the billing. When your association gets invoices for alarm monitoring, sprinkler inspections, fire panel service, extinguishers, all that, is anyone actually checking them or do they just get approved and paid?

I ask because I doubt most boards, or honestly a lot of management companies, know this stuff cold. So getting billed quarterly when code only needs annual, or paying monitoring on something that doesn't need it, would be easy to slip through.

How does your association handle it?

I'm on the inspection and code side all day so I know what fire stuff is actually required and how often. The part I never see is the billing. When your fire protection invoices come in (alarm, sprinkler, extinguishers, monitoring, fire watch), is anyone actually checking them or do they just get paid and filed?

I ask because I doubt most people managing a building know this stuff cold, so getting billed quarterly when code only needs annual, or still paying monitoring on a unit that's been vacant for a year, would be easy to miss.

I assume it's a lot of the same thing with other trades.

How do you all handle it? Anyone ever catch a vendor padding a bill and claw money back?

I'm on the inspection and code side all day so I know what's actually required and how often. The part I never see is the billing. When your fire protection invoices come in (alarm, sprinkler, extinguishers, monitoring, fire watch), does anyone actually check them or do they just get paid?

I ask because I doubt many people on your end know this stuff cold, so getting billed quarterly when code only needs annual, or paying monitoring on a building that closed, would be easy to miss.

How do you guys handle it? Anyone ever catch a vendor over billing?

Not in the trade, I'm on the fire side (career FF) , but I see a ton of alarm inspection reports and talk to enough alarm guys that I'm curious how this works on your end.

When you run a 72 inspection and write up a list of deficiencies and trouble conditions, what happens to that report once it goes to the customer? Seems like most of what's on there is quotable repair or replacement work, but a couple guys have told me a lot of it just dies in the report. It gets emailed over, nobody turns it into an actual quote, nobody pushes the building owner to approve the fixes, and it sits until the same stuff shows up on next year's inspection still open.

Real thing where you work or am I off base? Mostly trying to figure out who owns turning that report into a quote, and whether it's a manual grind or you've got software doing it.

Not a contractor, I'm on the fire side (career FF), but I read a lot of inspection reports and talk to enough sprinkler/alarm guys that I'm curious how this works on your end.

When your techs run an ITM and write up a stack of deficiencies, what happens to that report after it leaves the shop? Every deficiency on there is quotable repair work, but a couple service managers have told me a lot of it just sits. Report gets emailed to the customer, nobody turns the deficiencies into an actual quote, nobody chases the property manager for sign-off, and the work never gets booked. Then half of it shows up open again on next year's inspection.

Real thing at your shop or am I off base? Mostly wondering who owns turning that report into a quote, and whether it's a manual slog or you've already got something that handles it. Trying to get a feel for how much repair work actually falls through vs gets sold.

Curious how tow yards are handling damaged EVs right now.

Like if you tow in a wrecked Tesla, Rivian, hybrid, etc., do you guys treat it any differently than a regular car?

A few things I’m wondering:

Do you park them in a separate area or just wherever there’s room?

Are insurance companies asking for anything different with EVs?

Do you charge extra for EV storage/handling?

Has anyone had insurers or owners fight those charges?

Is the whole “keep it 50 feet away from everything” thing actually realistic in a normal yard?

Are EVs actually becoming a headache, or is it mostly overblown?

Curious how tow yards are handling damaged EVs right now.

Like if you tow in a wrecked Tesla, Rivian, hybrid, etc., do you guys treat it any differently than a regular car?

A few things I’m wondering:

Do you park them in a separate area or just wherever there’s room?

Are insurance companies asking for anything different with EVs?

Do you charge extra for EV storage/handling?

Has anyone had insurers or owners fight those charges?

Is the whole “keep it 50 feet away from everything” thing actually realistic in a normal yard?

Are EVs actually becoming a headache, or is it mostly overblown?

Curious how tow yards are handling damaged EVs right now.

Like if you tow in a wrecked Tesla, Rivian, hybrid, etc., do you guys treat it any differently than a regular car?

A few things I’m wondering:

Do you park them in a separate area or just wherever there’s room?

Are insurance companies asking for anything different with EVs?

Do you charge extra for EV storage/handling?

Has anyone had insurers or owners fight those charges?

Is the whole “keep it 50 feet away from everything” thing actually realistic in a normal yard?

Are EVs actually becoming a headache, or is it mostly overblown?

277 e-bike fires in NYC last year, 6 dead. The recent ones aren't small — whole apartments gone, people not making it out.

What I can't figure out from the landlord side: do you actually know what your tenants have plugged in? Or are you basically just hoping nothing happens? Every one of these looks like a lawsuit waiting to happen and the owner probably had no clue unit 4B had three e-bikes charging on a couch.

Spoke with a property manager recently who said "what am I supposed to do, go door to door?" Which is fair. But FDNY is writing violations, NYC passed three laws on this in 18 months, and the plaintiff lawyers are paying attention.

If you've dealt with this let me know.

8 years on the job in MA. I sat down last week trying to figure out my pension situation and realized I genuinely don't know:

• What counts toward my FAS and what doesn't
• Whether the OT and details I work mean anything for retirement (pretty sure no but nobody's confirmed)
• If I'm leaving money on the table by not buying back my military time
• What happens to my wife if I get killed before I retire
• Half of what's in my own contract

The retirement board's website is a maze. In the kitchen all have different theories and half of them contradict each other. The HR portal at the city has like 47 PDFs and zero of them are written for a normal human being.

And this isn't just me. Every time I bring it up at the table I get the same reaction "yeah I have no idea either."

How are the rest of you handling this? Specifically curious:

1. How did you figure out your benefits — union? mentor? trial and error? Lawyer when something went wrong?
2. What's the question you've never gotten a straight answer on?
3. Anyone retire and find out something they didn't know good or bad or too late?
4. If you've been on the job 15+ years, what's the thing you wish someone had explained to you at year 5?

Career fire only please. Not asking for advice on my situation specifically, just trying to figure out if everyone else is as in the dark as I am or if I'm the slow kid in class.