Ariola and Esposito discuss response times and fifth firefighter targeting
Ariola asks about response times by borough. Esposito reports: Manhattan 4:39, Bronx 4:58, Brooklyn 4:10, Queens 5:02, Staten Island 5:05. Ariola presses on whether the fifth firefighter should be concentrated in high-need areas like the Bronx.
So let's just talk about it.
The Bronx consistently has among the highest rates of structural fires and fire-related fatalities in the city.
Does the FDNY's internal data support a targeted fifth firefighter deployment in high incident boroughs like the Bronx and secondly Queens as you mentioned?
We would certainly welcome any additional resources and it could have an impact on putting out those fires quicker.
But, you know, the fires that we're seeing in the Bronx, putting them out quicker is, or the fifth firefighter is only not necessarily a silver bullet to stop, to solve all of those problems, right?
Stopping and preventing the fire in the first place, sharing the message about closing the door so that the fire doesn't spread before we get there.
It's a comprehensive approach to deal with this fire problem.
And isn't the fifth firefighter very, very important, especially in vertical fires and getting the hose up and buildings and more and more into the outer boroughs, not just Manhattan or in the Bronx, but in the outer boroughs.