NEW YORK—City officials and Lower Manhattan residents joined the firefighters of the Engine 4, Ladder 15 Company on Wednesday to protest Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s proposal to close 20 fire companies throughout the city.
“Fire fighters are in the most important business I can think of: the business of saving lives,” Councilwoman Margaret Chin said. “These closings will have a devastating ripple effect in neighboring communities by placing an undue burden on our firehouses and increasing response time. This is dangerous to the community and dangerous for the men and women of the fire department.”
“It is disgraceful, a complete insult to this community that we have to be standing here today. This is the third year in a row that we’ve had to do this,” said Julie Menin, Chairwoman of Community Board 1.
The list of companies has not yet been released, but Engine 4 has been in danger of closing multiple times.
On Monday, a spokesman for the mayor told WNYC that there was no final list. “It’s not just a list that says, ‘If we close 20, it’s going to be this.’ It’s a question of if you close 30 or 10 or none.”
Chin said that she and supporters refuse to allow closure of even one fire company, because if any one company has to close, the whole city would feel the “ripple-effect.”
“Firefighters are essential personnel in this city, and we will not stand for any firehouse closures. Closing fire companies that have received special training and that are situated in areas that remain high-level targets for terrorism does not make sense,” Chin said. There are only a dozen units in the city with decontamination and counterterrorism training, and Engine 4, located right below Wall Street, has an experienced unit.
Elizabeth Crowley, the chairwoman of the City Fire and Criminal Justice Committee, said that with the growing population—which has practically doubled since the 9/11 attacks in the Lower Manhattan—it’s crucial not to increase response times. “We spend millions of dollars [on the system], but it doesn’t matter how fancy our 911 system is if there are no firefighters to respond to it,” she said.
The proposed cuts would result in the loss of nearly 600 firefighters. Chin said that by looking at the allocated budget, firefighters are already 270 short of their budgeted headcount.
“New York City has to make choices,” Bloomberg said when he presented the $65.6 billion budget, which will go in effect this July. “Everybody expects you to do everything. That’s not the world we live in.” He added that he was confident the City Council will be able to make cuts without hurting the city.
Cutting 20 fire companies would save the city $40–55 million. However, many officials have criticized the mayor’s plan of action, arguing that what firefighters save in property damage and lives far outweighs that the projected monetary savings.
“The reality is, every engine company in New York saves the taxpayers money, above and beyond what it costs to operate,” said Stephen Cassidy, president of the Uniformed Firefighters Association.
“There is a lot of wasteful spending,” Chin said, adding that freezing wasteful contracts, such as City Time, could save the city about $100 million without impacting New Yorkers. “The money is in the budget, the problem is [the mayor’s] priorities,” she said.
“The city will never be as safe as it would be if we had a firehouse on every block. That is just not practical,” Bloomberg told NY1. “We’re not talking about closing 20 firehouses, were talking about closing 20 fire companies, which is very different because you would still have somebody in the neighborhood to respond.”
If 20 fire companies are to close, the remaining companies would be dispersed throughout the city, so that there would not be any vacant fire stations.
Cassidy added that not all companies are equipped to do the same things, and even if response times aren’t reported to have increased after the cut, it will make a difference.
“If they close Engine 4 and there’s a fire down the street, Fire 15 will pull up and they’ll report that time, but there [will be] no one to put water on the fire,” he explained. “They don’t have the equipment to do it, that’s not their job. … So, if there’s no one there to put water on the fire but the dispatcher says, ‘Don’t worry, we were there in three and a half minutes,’ the reality is this is an administration that doesn’t tell the truth.”
“Fire fighters are in the most important business I can think of: the business of saving lives,” Councilwoman Margaret Chin said. “These closings will have a devastating ripple effect in neighboring communities by placing an undue burden on our firehouses and increasing response time. This is dangerous to the community and dangerous for the men and women of the fire department.”
“It is disgraceful, a complete insult to this community that we have to be standing here today. This is the third year in a row that we’ve had to do this,” said Julie Menin, Chairwoman of Community Board 1.
The list of companies has not yet been released, but Engine 4 has been in danger of closing multiple times.
On Monday, a spokesman for the mayor told WNYC that there was no final list. “It’s not just a list that says, ‘If we close 20, it’s going to be this.’ It’s a question of if you close 30 or 10 or none.”
Chin said that she and supporters refuse to allow closure of even one fire company, because if any one company has to close, the whole city would feel the “ripple-effect.”
“Firefighters are essential personnel in this city, and we will not stand for any firehouse closures. Closing fire companies that have received special training and that are situated in areas that remain high-level targets for terrorism does not make sense,” Chin said. There are only a dozen units in the city with decontamination and counterterrorism training, and Engine 4, located right below Wall Street, has an experienced unit.
Elizabeth Crowley, the chairwoman of the City Fire and Criminal Justice Committee, said that with the growing population—which has practically doubled since the 9/11 attacks in the Lower Manhattan—it’s crucial not to increase response times. “We spend millions of dollars [on the system], but it doesn’t matter how fancy our 911 system is if there are no firefighters to respond to it,” she said.
The proposed cuts would result in the loss of nearly 600 firefighters. Chin said that by looking at the allocated budget, firefighters are already 270 short of their budgeted headcount.
“New York City has to make choices,” Bloomberg said when he presented the $65.6 billion budget, which will go in effect this July. “Everybody expects you to do everything. That’s not the world we live in.” He added that he was confident the City Council will be able to make cuts without hurting the city.
Cutting 20 fire companies would save the city $40–55 million. However, many officials have criticized the mayor’s plan of action, arguing that what firefighters save in property damage and lives far outweighs that the projected monetary savings.
“The reality is, every engine company in New York saves the taxpayers money, above and beyond what it costs to operate,” said Stephen Cassidy, president of the Uniformed Firefighters Association.
“There is a lot of wasteful spending,” Chin said, adding that freezing wasteful contracts, such as City Time, could save the city about $100 million without impacting New Yorkers. “The money is in the budget, the problem is [the mayor’s] priorities,” she said.
“The city will never be as safe as it would be if we had a firehouse on every block. That is just not practical,” Bloomberg told NY1. “We’re not talking about closing 20 firehouses, were talking about closing 20 fire companies, which is very different because you would still have somebody in the neighborhood to respond.”
If 20 fire companies are to close, the remaining companies would be dispersed throughout the city, so that there would not be any vacant fire stations.
Cassidy added that not all companies are equipped to do the same things, and even if response times aren’t reported to have increased after the cut, it will make a difference.
“If they close Engine 4 and there’s a fire down the street, Fire 15 will pull up and they’ll report that time, but there [will be] no one to put water on the fire,” he explained. “They don’t have the equipment to do it, that’s not their job. … So, if there’s no one there to put water on the fire but the dispatcher says, ‘Don’t worry, we were there in three and a half minutes,’ the reality is this is an administration that doesn’t tell the truth.”
