Cites Speedier Queens Responses
Over Union Beefs, FDNY Expands Dispatch System

By ARI PAUL

The Fire Department expanded its pilot dispatch program to The Bronx May 1 and it will institute it citywide on June 1, although the fire unions still believe it is compromising firefighter and public safety.

NICHOLAS SCOPPETTA: Program 'a true success.'

In reaction to high response times in Queens, the department instituted a pilot program in that borough in February that had Dispatchers send out fire companies with only an address for the incident in order to get units out faster. The department said this process shaved average response times by half a minute, but the fire unions said it was resulting in units going to wrong addresses and not having further information about the incidents.

Scoppetta: Significantly Better

"This simple change of protocol has resulted in the one of the most significant drops in response times in FDNY history," Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta said in a statement. "During the last 10 weeks, Queens firefighters responded to 1,000 structural fires 30 seconds faster on average than they did a year ago. The hard work of our Firefighters, fire officers and Dispatchers has made this program a true success."

EDDIE BROWN: Despite tweaks, still problems.

Mr. Scoppetta has defended the policy against union criticism, saying that even though units are leaving their houses with only an address, the Dispatchers stay on the line collecting information about the incident and communicate the nature of the incident to the units. The Dispatchers union has supported the change from the outset.

But Eddie Brown, the Uniformed Firefighters Association's Bronx trustee, said that on May 5, after a building fire was called into 911 in The Bronx, Dispatchers assigned the nearest fire company to be fourth-due to the incident. He claims that this was a result of the dispatch policy.

"This has never happened before," Mr. Brown said. "The old system wasn't broken."

Sees Some Improvements

He added that the department had "tweaked" the policy for the better in some respects since the union had voiced its concerns when it was first tested in Queens.

"They said they were going to iron out all the problems," Mr. Brown said. "They did a little better with getting the correct address."

JOHN J. McDONNELL: More chaos en route.

Uniformed Fire Officers Association President John J. McDonnell said that the dispatch policy would put more responsibilities on the fire officers while companies are en route to incidents, giving Firefighters fewer resources to plan their strategies.

"They're coming out less-prepared," he said. "You're creating more chaos in the front cab of the fire truck for the fire officer as he's responding."

Mr. McDonnell, a Battalion Chief, explained that under the current policy, firefighters plan their response strategies while they are getting dressed and in the truck, using the information they're provided, such as the location, the type of incident and copies of floor plans.

Getting Data on the Fly

"Now you're going out the door with nothing more than an address perhaps or an intersection," he said. "And as you're responding you're listening to the radio, writing down this information while you're also responsible for keeping an eye out for traffic, because the chauffeur is moving at a fairly quick rate in order to get to the location."

He added that normally the department would consult both the UFOA and the UFA when it would institute a procedural change of this magnitude, but had not in this case.

"This is a phenomenal change," Mr. McDonnell said. He also took issue with the department's claim that the policy change was needed in order to decrease response times, saying that in most of the city the response times were acceptable. In terms of lowering them in Queens, Mr. McDonnell said that a better way to do that would be to re-open a fire house in Long Island City that was closed in 2003 and increase fire coverage in the borough overall.

The Fire Alarm Dispatchers' Benevolent Association initially embraced the pilot program in Queens and supported the move to expand it to the rest of the boroughs.

"My position is the same," said David Rosenzweig, the union's president. "As far as the citywide application goes, we are continually reducing central office processing time."