The annual Death and Injury Survey, published by the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF), reveals that sprains and strains routinely account for approximately 50 percent of all line-of-duty injuries. Even more astonishing is that back injuries, in particular, account for 50 percent of all line-of-duty retirements each year. These types of injuries affect quality […]
During the past few years, a phenomenon known as “Big Data” has swept across the consciousness of a wide range of the economy and our society at large. Stemming from its roots in the corporations of the private sector, the “Big Data” conversation has spread across the global landscape, ranging from government and public policy, […]
Author’s Note: This account is written from the perspective of the members of the first Special Operations Command (SOC) unit on-scene (Squad 288). While the intent is to convey a general impression of overall operations, it focuses on the operations of SOC companies, in general, and Squad 288, in particular. It is recognized that many […]
On the afternoon of June 18, 2013, FDNY units were called to the scene of a reported trench cave-in in the Kew Gardens section of Queens. A laborer, who had been working in the excavation, in conjunction with a heavy equipment operator operating an excavator, had been caught in the cave-in. The site excavation had […]
Chief in quarters! Not so long ago, these three words created more tension and apprehension than could be imagined. In an attempt to promptly reach the housewatch area, Firefighters would jump down pole-holes and run into each other on the apparatus floor. Icy-cold chills would run up and down the backs of newly promoted Lieutenants, […]
It’s approximately 0200 hours when you receive a Class 3 alarm for a three-story retail mall. En route, you receive a second source for smoke on the third floor. On arrival, the ladder Officer radios that he has heavy smoke in a restaurant on the third floor. As the Incident Commander (IC), you initially transmit […]
There are tens of thousands of food establishments in New York City to feed the millions of people who live and visit the big apple each day. Cooking equipment long has been one of the leading causes of structure fires and, for the past 20 years, has surpassed heating equipment to become the number one […]
On Saturday, July 26, 2014, at 1105 hours, FDNY units were dispatched to a report of an electrical fire in an apartment on the fourth floor of a six-story, non-fireproof, multiple dwelling, with a lobby built slightly below-grade. Initial response was quick, with two engines, a ladder and a Battalion arriving simultaneously. (Engine 262, Ladder […]
The Fire Department Operations Center (FDOC) provides real-time information to support Incident Commanders responding to an event. It also informs senior executives who will make decisions in support of the Department’s response. In the first five minutes of an incident, FDOC posts maps, cached photographs, building information and a size-up. Provided by FDOC are before […]
The FDNY is unsurpassed at initiating and using emergency management. Operations at large, multiple-alarm incidents are considered almost routine. But after the attacks on the World Trade Center, officials came to realize that there would be great value in developing an Incident Management Team (IMT) within the FDNY that could assist in large-scale operations. The […]
The below-listed guidelines were considered and implemented at Manhattan Box 55-1406, March 12, 2014. En Route Transmit additional alarms. (Based on preliminary reports from first-arriving Battalion Chief, 10-60, Code 1, and a third alarm were transmitted.) Ensure units responding on a third alarm or greater report to Staging Area and that Staging Area Manager and […]
Rescue 1 arrived at Box 1406 at approximately 0945 hours and initially parked the apparatus on 116th Street, due to the amount of debris that was blocking the street. As Rescue 1 members made their way around the corner and on to Park Avenue, they saw that two five-story tenements had exploded/collapsed and dense smoke […]
Then-Deputy Assistant Chief James E. Leonard, Brooklyn Borough Commander, was the City-wide Command Chief when Manhattan Box 55-1406 was transmitted on Wednesday, March 12, 2014. On arrival, he was met with an extremely serious situation. The Command Post had not been established yet. Chief Leonard contacted then-Deputy Chief Anthony De Vita, Division 3, via handie-talkie […]
In 2005, I received a letter from Battalion Chief Philip Gaetani, who was president of the Honor Legion at the time, about joining this FDNY organization. Most members are familiar with the FDNY fraternal organizations, but I had never heard of the Honor Legion. Like most Firefighters, I went to work and inquired about the […]
