Esposito says EMS response times are a top FDNY priority
FDNY Chief of Department John Esposito testifies that response times are increasing and unacceptable, and says addressing them is a top priority for him, the fire commissioner, and the mayor. He cites declining ambulance in-service hours and rising life-threatening call volume, saying FDNY is responding to more calls with fewer ambulances.
Good morning, Chair Areola and members of the Fire and Emergency Management Committee, and Chair Narcisi and the members of the Hospitals Committee.
My name is John Esposito, and I am the Chief of Department of the New York City Fire Department.
I am joined today by Paul Miano, Chief of EMS, and Denise Werner, Chief of EMS Dispatch.
For members of FDNY EMS, reaching a patient experiencing an emergency quickly is paramount.
When lives are at stake, every second counts.
As we have testified to this committee previously, the department is currently engaged in a challenging period of increasing response times.
We know this is unacceptable, and we are working tirelessly to reverse this trend.
I am grateful for the opportunity today to discuss some of the reasons for these increases and the steps that we are taking to fix it.
I want to state unequivocally that addressing EMS response times is a top priority for myself, the fire commissioner, and for the mayor.
There are numerous reasons we are seeing increases in response time.
One major factor is the number of in-service hours of ambulances in the 9-11 system.
As you can see from the most recent Mayor's Management Report, the average ambulance
in-service hours per day has trended lower over the most recent five-year period, from 8,891 in fiscal year 22 to 8,572 in fiscal year 25
and 8,109 in fiscal year 26.
Meanwhile, the number of life-threatening medical calls has increased now compared to five years ago, from 564,412 calls in fiscal year 22
to a total of 610,771 calls in fiscal year 26.
Put another way, when comparing these snapshots, we are responding to more calls with fewer ambulances.
After years of seeing increases in call volume every year, the total number of calls was slightly down over the last year.
However, it remains a very high total number of calls.
Many of which are low-acuity calls that may be more appropriately served by non-emergency medical services.
If a person is not experiencing an emergency, an ambulance is not always the appropriate means of transport.