An FDNY pilot program that sends SUVs to medical emergencies instead of fully-equipped ambulances has cut response times by a minute, Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said Thursday.
The program, which launched last summer in The Bronx, employs “fly cars” manned by a paramedic and lieutenant who perform first aid at the scene.
“The response is more than a full minute faster than when simply an advanced life support unit is dispatched,” Nigro testified at a City Council budget hearing.
Fly cars are accompanied by pared down “basic life support” ambulances, which can transport people to the hospital. If the fly car’s paramedic and lieutenant are no longer needed to perform first aid, they can then move on to the next emergency.
Response times citywide have improved as well, Nigro testified. For FDNY ambulances they clocked in at an average 8 minutes and 59 seconds in 2016 for life-threatening emergencies.
In 2015, they averaged 9 minutes and 20 seconds.
The combined response times for fire trucks and ambulances in 2016 was 8 minutes and 8 seconds, compared to 8 minutes, 26 seconds in 2015.
On another FDNY issue, Nigro said that it is costing $4.5 million a year just to keep a two-person fire alarm investigation team at Trump Tower around the clock.
From the election to the inauguration, the FDNY spent $1.7 million on resources at the tower. When Trump is there, the FDNY assigns 13 additional people to the tower, FDNY Chief of Department James Leonard noted.
“This is the standard package for the president of the United States and heads of state,” he said.
Leonard said a federal request for reimbursement was submitted as part of the one the city made by the NYPD
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