FDNY Announces Cutbacks, Including Night Tours at 4 Fire Units

The Fire Department announced four fire units across the city will no longer have night tours plus the Governors Island unit will close. The moves are expected to save $8.9 million. The units affected are Engine Companies 4 (Manhattan), 161 (S.I.), 271 (Brooklyn), and 53 (Bronx); the FDNY says those firehouses have two units assigned, "one unit will remain in service 24/7, while the other will remain in service during the day tour (9 a.m. to 6 p.m.), but go off-line during night tour (6 p.m. to 9 a.m.)." While Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta called this a "prudent" decision given the city's dire budget concerns, many are upset. Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion Jr. pointed out Engine Co. 53 serves City Island, “To leave an island community, with only one point of access, without adequate fire protection is a recipe for disaster." And a firefighters' union said, "In this post-9/11 world, the F.D.N.Y.’s expanded responsibilities to protect New Yorkers cannot be accomplished by service reductions."

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By Jen Chung in News on December 5, 2008 9:13 AM

Comments [rss]

Outter Burrougher

ha, i crack myself up!

Outter Burrougher

i don't suppose it's too much to assume that they studied the statistics and pattern of incidents and determined that these were the areas and times that least needed the coverage that will be cut?

GM

Yeah, but the argument is "the post 9/11 world." It should be changed to the "post Lehman Brothers world."

JacqueMehoff

I'd rather have the opposite,

nighttime is when people do stupid stuff and when all the action is.

smoking while sleeping, trying to start a BBQ indoors, cooking in general and candles.

nomnomnom

Seems kind of foolish to completely cut a unit, especially with winter coming. People always accidentally set their apartments on fire trying to stay warm.

r1b2

Even with all the money the City is saving by eliminating bottled water, this is still necessary?

This won't end well. People will be in harm's way because of FDNY cuts.

TJ

This is a logical move.

The Police Department and EMS are constantly changing the way they deploy units and no one ever hears about it.

The difference is that Fire Department units are all tied into responding from fixed structures, so the city cannot change response matrices as quietly as they can for other agencies. Every time they do, there is community uproar about the impact on response times.

NYPD & EMS both have fewer units running at night. There is no reason the FDNY can't as well.