Save Fire Patrol

To the Editor:

Where's the "Businessman" Mayor? On Oct. 15, the New York Fire Patrol was due to stop responding to fires.

What does that mean for a New York City business that has a fire from now on? It means that business owners and employees may be deprived of their livelihood and their customers will be deprived of the goods they need.

It means the city will lose income from the taxes it would have received from the employer, the employees and the customers who would have purchased merchandise had the business been protected by the New York Fire Patrol.

The Fire Patrol was a not-for-profit Fire Salvage Unit, funded by 1 to 2 percent of fire insurance premiums written in the city. Fire patrolmen respond to fires on a 24/7 basis, in red Fire Patrol trucks. They arrived with the FDNY and wear the same "turnout gear" that firefighters wear, except their fire helmets are red while the FDNY wears black. While the firefighters were fighting the fire on the fire floor, the Fire Patrolmen went to the floor below the fire and protected the furnishings, stock, computers, and other equipment by placing various kinds of tarps and coverings. They set up damming systems to confine the water and to keep it from damaging other areas not affected on that floor. They stopped water from damaging all the other floors below.

It is essential that this service be performed in conjunction with firefighting operations. Fire Patrol members then safely pumped the water out of the building, and pumped out the basement if necessary to protect electrical service in the building. They also replaced sprinkler heads, and placed the system back in service. In the early-morning hours they remained to secure the building until an owner or representative showed up. This enabled the firefighters to leave the scene and be available to respond to other life-saving calls.

At a Fire/Criminal Justice Committee hearing at the City Council on Oct. 4, the city failed to send a representative from the Fire Department or the Mayor's Office. The Fire/Criminal Justice Committee Chair, Council Member Miguel Martinez, who only recently heard about the closing of the Fire Patrol, asked the two representatives from the New York Board of Fire Underwriters (NYBFU) to hold off the closing until Dec. 31, while a settlement that would benefit all parties could be worked out.

The two representatives stated they had exhausted all means of trying to get some entity to take over the Fire Patrol. They said it was a matter of business and expenditures, and that half the insurance companies didn't think they were getting anything from the service the Fire Patrol provides. This they stated in spite of the fact that they admitted the Fire Patrol saves millions of dollars each year.

The NYBFU enjoys a tax-exempt status due primarily to the work that the Fire Patrol provides. It seems only fair to the public which foots the bill on their tax-exempt properties that the NYBFU extend the life of the Fire Patrol now that the City Council is willing to work on solutions that would benefit all parties. There are many possible solutions to this easily solved problem. The Businessman Mayor must step up and get things moving before the city and businesses suffer unnecessary losses.

JOE De GEORGE, Deputy Chief Fire Marshal FDNY (retired)