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The New York City Fire Department or the '''Fire Department of New York''' ('''FDNY''') has the responsibility of protecting citizens and property in New York City 's five Boroughs from fires and fire hazards, as well as first response to biological, chemical and radioactive hazards. FDNY is the largest Municipal Fire Department in the US with 16,000 personnel and faces an extraordinarily varied challenge. In addition to responding to building types that range from wood frame to high-rise, there are the many bridges and tunnels needed to move a large commuter population into and out of the city as well as the largest subway system in the US. These challenges add yet another level of firefighting complexity. Old wiring in subway tunnels (as well as in older buildings) is occasionally the cause of fires. A scarcity of water for drinking and fighting fires ultimately resulted in the transition of Brooklyn from separate city into a borough of NYC. The city, by then had developed a vast up-state feeder system to slake the growing city's thirst. IDEOLOGY The FDNY ideology of aggressive fire attack grew naturally out of the building and population density that characterize the city. It was this time-honored approach that led to the death of 343 members of FDNY who rushed into the World Trade Center Towers following the terrorist-piloted plane crashes of September 11, 2001 Attacks . The contribution of Irish Americans to the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) is legendary, dating back to the formation of the professional department. During the Civil War New York's Irish firefighters were the backbone of a much decorated unit, The Zouaves . In addition to firefighting, rescue and HAZMAT , FDNY stations Ambulance s throughout the city and supplies Paramedic s and EMT s. Together with ambulances run by certain participating hospitals and private companies, it is known as the FDNY EMS Command, which is the largest prehospital care provider in the world, responding to over 1.3 million calls each year. Some of the FDNY EMS Command members are also trained in HAZMAT operations, allowing them to provide emergency medical care and decontamination in a hazardous environment, in addition to normal 911 duties. Members of the FDNY have the nickname "New York's Bravest" (in a similar manner, the NYPD are called "New York's Finest"). COMPANY ASSIGNMENTS Each company has slots for 1 Captain, 3 Lieutenants, and 25 firefighters, although each company may not carry a full roster. WORK SCHEDULE Fire officers and fire fighters work a 25-group chart. Each fire officer is assigned a group approximately six groups away from one another. Each firefighter is assigned a group (numbered from 1 to 25). At any given time there are six groups on duty. Tours run from 0900 to 1800 and 1800 to 0900. A calendar distributed at the beginning of the year helps to avoid confusion on who is working when. An example of the calendar follows. In the example above, the groups that are working the day tour on the time line and the night tour on the bottom line 19-24 and 9-14 respectively for Sunday the 1st. The three groups on the left of each row (with parentheses and asterisks next to them) are off for 48 hours (parentheses) or 72 hours (asterisk) following that tour. Essentially a firefighter works two day tours, has two days off, works two night tours, then has three days off. Every sixth rotation of the chart there is an extra day off between days and nights. Members are allowed to get another member to cover their tours. Members are assigned a mutual partner -- a member that falls approximately 12 groups away from him or her -- with whom they can swap shifts. .]] HOW INCIDENTS ARE RECEIVED AND TRANSMITTED There are three main ways to notify the central offices (dispatch) of an incident within the city. The most common, a telephone alarm, or report via telephone. Second most common, but most often malicious false alarms, the ERS (Emergency Reporting System) alarm. This type is sent via a pull box on the street, and replaced the earlier BARS system. The third way is to report a verbal alarm via a walk in to the communications office, or by reporting it to a unit in the field. When you dial 911, or 311 in the city, you speak with an NYPD call taker. He/She assigns the call to where it needs to go; based on the information he or she gets from the interrogation. If it is police related, it is transferred to another NYPD dispatcher. If it is on a Bridge or in a Port/Body of water, the Port Authority of NY and NJ is notified. If it is a fire, hazmat, or rescue incident, the FDNY gets it. The FDNY also answers a few EMS calls, all others go to the FDNY EMS central office. The initial call to the communications office is usually taken by the Alarm Receipt Dispatcher, or "ARD" they conduct the interrogation, and speak with the caller. They enter the information into the Starfire computer system, which; based on the information, gives a recommended response. This information is transferred to the Decision Dispatcher, or "DD" who decides what units will be assigned to the incident. When the DD is done, the information is finally transferred to the supervisor who checks the information to make any changes, and it is also passed to the voice alarm and radio in/ radio out dispatchers who transmit the call via radio and voice alarm to the units. The voice alarm dispatcher announces the call over the voice alarm, while the radio in dispatcher inputs information into the CAD. The radio out dispatcher does the talking. All of this happens in about 25-30 seconds. Each address in the city is assigned a box number, based on the closest ERS or "dummy" box. This just gives the company’s en route the information on where to go. Rather than say "Respond to a telephone alarm at 123 Fake St.", the units get assigned to a box # - "Respond to telephone alarm, box: 1234." The companies responding get the address and box number over the air, and via their Mobile Data Terminals or MDT's in the cab of their unit. With all the radio traffic clogging the NYC fire frequencies, the box system saves time, and shortens the duration of radio transitions. CIDS If you listen to FDNY dispatch you no doubt have heard the dispatcher say something about CIDS. CIDS stands for Critical Incident Dispatch System. This is information that is collected on a building that may impact fire fighting operations. Such things as warehoused apartments, type of stretch, number of apartments per floor, unsafe conditions, and anything else the company deems important. This information is printed on the run ticket and can be read by the dispatcher if requested. This information is also read when a signal 10-75 (working fire) is given or when, due to the number and quality of calls, the dispatcher believes a 10-75 will be given on arrival. . ''American Grace'', representing the aftermath at the Ground Zero .]] RANKS OF THE FDNY ORGANIZATION FDNY Organizational Chart Executive Staff
Bureau of Operations
Emergency Medical Service The provision of emergency medical services in New York City is the largest public-nonprofit ambulance partnership in the world. Although EMS is controlled and dispatched by the Fire Department, approximately half of the emergency 911 ambulances in the system are provided by the dozens of non-profit hospitals in New York City. Although some hospitals have provided emergency ambulances for over 125 years, since the 1990's, dozens of hospitals have joined the 911 system, with many subcontracting actual ambulance operations to a private ambulance provider. Care is provided at three distinct levels: Certified First Responder engine companies, staffed by firefighters providing first aid, CPR, and defibrillation; Emergency Medical Technicians-level (EMT) ambulances, whose 2 EMTs provide first aid, defibrillation, and limited medication administration; and Paramedic ambulances, whose 2 paramedics provide critical care. Each level of response is divided into overlapping grids, with the closest FDNY first responder engine company responding to life-threatening emergencies, and the appropriate level of ambulance responding. FDNY's EMS workers are not firefighters, but civilian employees with "uniformed status" (which is currently the subject of litigation.) They do not have the same salary, benefits, or pension as firefighters. NYC EMS was originally operated by the city's Health & Hospitals Corporation and was not a part of the Fire Department. The NYC EMS was administratively taken over by FDNY on March 17, 1996. NYC EMS falls under the Chief of EMS who reports to the Chief of Fire Operations. Chief of EMS
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