Banks questions Bonsignore on fire and EMS coverage gaps
Councilmember Banks asks about fire and EMS coverage gaps in the southern portion of his district. Bonsignore explains EMS stations are fewer but ambulances are deployed citywide, while firehouses are more evenly distributed with over 200 locations.
Thank you, Chair, to the Commissioner.
Thank you for coming today.
One of the concerns I frequently hear from residents in my district, particularly those living in the southern portion of the district, is the perception that the fire and EMS resources are located too far away from where they live.
And I want to know, how does the FDNY evaluate potential coverage gaps and determine whether a neighborhood is being adequately served?
And what role do community feedback, call volume, response times, and pollution growth play in that analysis?
There are definitely some areas in the city that have stations that are further away.
EMS stations we're talking about, right?
But with the call volume that we're experiencing, those stations aren't really having a significant impact on where they are because our ambulances are out serving the public 24 hours, seven days a week.
So what generally happens is when an ambulance has a run and they take that person to the hospital, they become available.
So they automatically now become available for the area that they're in as the closest resource.
And what about fire trucks or firehouses?
So firehouses are more distributed across the city.
There are far more firehouses than there are EMS stations.
EMS stations, I think we have about 40 EMS stations and over 200 firehouses.
So there tend to be a more equal distribution of firehouses than there are EMS.
Right.
Particularly...