For a second consecutive year, New York City first responders took longer to get to fires and other medical emergencies — and more people died in blazes.
Combined response times by FDNY ambulances and fire companies to “life-threatening medical emergencies” were up 20 seconds on average during the fiscal year ending June 30 – or 3.5% — to 9 minutes and 50 seconds, according to the Fiscal 2023 Mayor’s Management Report, released Friday.
Fire deaths involving civilians jumped by 10.8%, from 92 to 102, the report found.
Fire companies responded on average in 9 minutes and 23 seconds while agency ambulances took 10 minutes and 43 seconds — both up from the previous year, the agency said.
The agency also noted an uptick in life-threatening emergency calls, from 605,140 last fiscal year to 564,412 in fiscal 2022.
And overall structural fires also rose 2% over the same period, from 23,387 to 23,901, according to the report.
“We’re on the brink of costing people’s life if things don’t change,” said Oren Barzilay, president of Local 2507, the union representing more than 4,100 rank-and-file city emergency medical technicians and paramedics.
Barzilay said he didn’t expect much improvement to response times considering the mass influx of migrants and other new residents draining city resources, and City Hall’s anti-car agenda that includes efforts closing off more streets and driving lanes.
“[Unless] the city and state take EMS seriously as an essential service, we’re going to see a total collapse of the system,” he added.
The new numbers even exceed response times from fiscal 2020 when emergency responders were overwhelmed at the start of the pandemic, the report noted.
Response times are also 82 seconds – or 16.1% — higher than the 8 minute and 28 second average in fiscal 2019.
The FDNY blamed the increase in deaths on more New Yorkers using lithium-ion batteries to power e-bikes and e-scooters.
Battery fires have surpassed electrical fires at the top cause of deaths the past year, officials said.
And the agency attributed rising response times in part to “higher levels of traffic citywide as a result of changes in travel patterns,” such as more people relying on cars and to avoid the crime-ridden subways.
Major crime also continued to rise during Adams’ first full fiscal year in office – while NYPD response times slowed across the board, according to the report.