FDNY Emergency Response Training Scrutinized

Posted: Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Updated: July 8th, 2008 05:26 PM EDT
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FDNY Emergency Response Training Scrutinized






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Story by wnbc.com

NEW YORK --

A new policy at 911 call centers is cutting down on the New York City Fire Department response times, but some say the emergency crews are getting to the emergency scenes without all the facts.

The new program was put into place in the Bronx last Friday and although the city claims it vastly improves fire response times, there are some who say it is not a good idea.

For three years in a row, it has taken longer to get help in a fire in Queens than any other borough, an average of just under five minutes, compared to four and a half minutes citywide.

In February, a 5-year-old boy died in a house fire in Corona, where firefighters were sent to the wrong address.

But since February, the city fire department began retraining dispatchers in Queens, and they say fire trucks are now arriving, on average, 30 seconds faster.

The difference? Sending crews out as quickly as dispatchers get the nature and location of the emergency.

Now the city aims to have all five boroughs operating the same way by June 1.

But the firefighters union is concerned, pointing out how fast people react when they are calling in an emergency.

"They’ll say the wrong street, but we’re already being dispatched and sometimes they’re sending us to the wrong address," Ed Brown of the Uniformed Firefighters Association told News 4 New York.

Brown said that because of confusion over the new training, the nearest firehouse to a Bronx blaze Monday was not initially notified.

And as for the city saying response times in Queens are down dramatically, Brown said nothing everything is the way it may appear.

"Statistics do lie," Brown said.

A fire sciences professor at John Jay College agreed that waiting several more seconds to get additional information before dispatching a fire crew could be more beneficial overall. However, the city insists its new protocol will save many lives.

The debate continues.

Copyright 2008 by WNBC.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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