First, allow me to update the Committee on a few other important Department initiatives.
You undoubtedly saw the news a few weeks ago that our unprecedented recruitment efforts produced terrific results. Of the 4,000 top scorers on this year’s Firefighter exam, 33 percent (1,333 candidates) are minorities. This is, by far, the highest percentage of minority scorers at the top of the list in Department history. Moreover, in each of the first four groups of 1,000 – that is, from list number 1 to 1,000, from list number 1,001 to 2,000 and so on – about 33 percent of the candidates are minorities. That means more minorities than ever will become probationary Firefighters starting with the very first class drawn from this list, which we expect to enter the Fire Academy in the summer of 2008.
Here’s the breakdown of minorities among the top 4,000 scorers: 18 percent (722) are Hispanic; 12 percent (491) are Black; and three percent (114) are Asian. All of these percentages are significantly higher than the list from our last exam in 2002, when only nine percent of the 4,000 top scorers were Hispanic and four percent were Black. We also attracted more female applicants than ever before. Of the 4,000 top-scoring candidates, 109 are women; this presents a realistic opportunity to increase the number of women on the job by as much as 300 percent.
The Department and the City will soon begin to see the benefits of our efforts as the most diverse classes of probationary Firefighters in FDNY history enter the Fire Academy. More remains to be done, of course. And because Mayor Bloomberg provided permanent, baselined funding two years ago for our recruitment staff, we will continue to recruit year in and year out, under the sterling management of Director Michele Maglione, and overseen by Deputy Commissioner Doug White, both of whom deserve our thanks and praise for a job extremely well done.
In a boost to the skills these new Firefighters will learn at our Randall’s Island Training Academy, we recently secured private funding from the Leary Firefighters Foundation and the FDNY Foundation to build a new high-rise simulator. This one-of-a-kind resource will provide both new and veteran Firefighters with enhanced training for responding to emergencies in the high-rise buildings that dominate many parts of our City. The simulator will allow Firefighters to test their knowledge and skills in a controlled environment under realistic conditions, and will provide simulation of residential, office and commercial firefighting conditions.
I am also pleased to announce that we have opened a new Fire Marshal base, known as Citywide North Command. The base, located at Ft. Totten, will serve Queens, the Bronx and Manhattan north of 110th Street, operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This new resource will significantly enhance our Fire Marshals’ ability to respond quickly to suspicious fires in these areas.
We also are pleased to report that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently awarded FDNY more than $34 million in new grant funding. A portion of these funds will be utilized to continue strengthening our “tiered response matrix” – the system we employ for ensuring ample hazardous materials response capabilities throughout the five boroughs. We are especially gratified that DHS singled out the FDNY's tiered response matrix as a national best practice and gave our grant proposal a perfect score of “100” points.
While continuing development of the tiered response matrix, this year’s Federal funding also will provide additional payments on two new-generation fireboats and fund training to ensure the Department continues to meet and exceed standards established by the National Incident Management System (NIMS).
In addition, our Center for Terrorism and Disaster Preparedness has initiated a groundbreaking partnership with DHS to improve information sharing between DHS and the FDNY. DHS has provided security clearances, secure facilities and other technical products that enhance the City's ability to receive the most up-to-date information on the threats we face, which will allow the Department to efficiently and effectively deploy emergency services resources in response to those threats.
After three years of painstaking work, the FDNY is in the final stage of revising the City’s Fire Code – the first comprehensive revision of the Code since 1913. This undertaking paralleled DOB’s revision of the City’s Building Code. The final draft of the new Fire Code has been completed and was posted on our website for public comment last week. After briefing the Mayor, we scheduled a briefing for Council Members Martinez and Dilan, as well as Speaker Quinn’s staff. A public forum is scheduled for December 20th. We anticipate introducing a bill early next year. This is a tight and ambitious time-frame, but with the Council’s help, we seek to enact the new Fire Code soon so that it can have the same effective date as the Building Code, July 1, 2008, with which there is some overlap. This also will allow adequate time for training, public education and updating our rules in light of the new Code.
Finally, in September of this year, the Department published a comprehensive analysis of the health effects of 9/11 on our members. The volume, “World Trade Center Health Impacts on FDNY Rescue Workers: A Six-Year Assessment, September 2001 – September 2007,” provides an overview of our Medical Monitoring and Treatment Program’s efforts since the attacks of 9/11, and provides extensive data on exposure, illness and treatment. Copies of the Assessment were sent to each FDNY member, and recently your offices also received copies.
Background on FDNY Inspection Programs
Let me provide a little context to help you understand recent improvements we have made in our inspection programs. The FDNY conducts a variety of inspections, many of which may not be well known to the public.
For example, in our Bureau of Fire Prevention (Fire Prevention), we have approximately 350 civilian inspectors who inspect equipment and component parts of buildings for permitting and licensing purposes and to witness system tests. In Fiscal 2007, Bureau inspectors conducted more than 180,000 inspections. Fire Prevention has distinct units responsible for different kinds of inspections. These include, among others, a Blasting Unit that inspects and issues permits for explosives, fireworks and special effects; a Bulk Fuel Safety Unit that inspects motor fuel storage systems at gas stations; a Fire Suppression Unit witnesses tests of sprinkler and standpipe systems; a Fire Alarm Inspection Unit that inspects all fire alarm central stations in commercial buildings; and a Public Safety Unit that inspects high-rises and places of public assembly. I have attached to my testimony a list of our civilian Fire Prevention units and their respective inspection responsibilities.
Also, under the oversight of our Bureau of Operations, our local fire companies conduct inspections of buildings within the administrative areas they serve. These inspections are part of a new Building Inspection Safety Program (BISP), formerly known as Apparatus Field Inspection Duty (AFID). In addition to ensuring Fire Code compliance at these building inspections, companies familiarize themselves with the buildings and check things like Certificates of Occupancy and Fitness, egress, access, and sprinkler, standpipe, electricity and heating systems. Company officers have the flexibility to prioritize those buildings whose histories merit increased attention, and can issue violation orders and summonses to buildings as needed.
Following the devastating loss of two Firefighters – Joseph Graffagnino and Robert Beddia – who made the supreme sacrifice while battling the Deutsche Bank fire at 130 Liberty Street on August 18th, the Department undertook a comprehensive review of its inspection programs. We are determined to turn this terrible tragedy into an opportunity to improve safety for our first responders and the public. And, as a result of this thorough review, the Department implemented several enhancements to its inspectional programs.
Inspection Initiatives
First, several initiatives are underway to upgrade the technology we use to track and manage our inspections. We have already developed and enhanced our computer program for reporting inspections of buildings over 75 feet tall that are under construction or demolition. The user-friendly interface we developed allows company officers to easily retrieve information about the status of their inspections. For example, the program provides automatic “pop-up” reminders when a building’s inspection is coming due or is overdue.
The results from this new system have been outstanding: as of December 11th, more than 97 percent of FDNY inspections were done within the mandated 15 days; compliance exceeded 99 percent within 20 days.
As part of this overall effort, we are working with the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications (DoITT) to analyze and procure the tools necessary to better integrate all of our inspection information. This includes integrating with, and providing access to, useful information maintained by the Department of Buildings (DOB) and other City agencies.
Second, we are continuing to broaden our partnership with DOB in a number of other ways. DOB now sends to the FDNY daily and monthly reports on matters ranging from construction to renovation to demolition to structural integrity issues for buildings citywide. Information from these reports is then disseminated to our field units to ensure they have up-to-date information about the hazards of buildings in their response areas.
It is worth noting that enhancing information sharing between DOB and the FDNY is a long-standing effort, and recent improvements reflect years of cooperation by our two agencies to upgrade technology and improve coordination. For example, we will soon expand our successful Fast-Track Pilot Program, which was conducted in the 6th and 7th Divisions in the Bronx from mid-October to mid-December 2006. The program, which is already standard operating procedure in the Bronx, enables Deputy Chiefs to enter critical information about buildings directly into DOB’s Building Information System, significantly reducing the amount of time required for DOB to address structural hazards that could endanger FDNY members or the public. And, when Firefighters discover an unsafe condition during an inspection – such as shoddy construction – that requires DOB’s attention, the companies photograph the condition and electronically transmit a report with photos to DOB. Also, pursuant to law enacted this year, DOB now notifies the Department when it issues any permit that will result in the issuance of a new or amended Certificate of Occupancy or other change in the use and occupancy of the premises.
We also are undertaking a joint Lightweight Materials Pilot Program on Staten Island. DOB has long shared with the FDNY information on buildings with lightweight materials because these structures pose unique challenges to firefighters. This new initiative seeks to identify buildings made of lightweight materials that have not been reported to DOB. Its aim is to increase Firefighter safety while simultaneously improving and updating the information that the FDNY and DOB maintain in each agency’s building records.
Interagency coordination on inspections will be further enhanced by a high-level working group established by the Mayor that includes FDNY, DOB, and DEP.
We have engaged IBM to develop a pilot program for our Field Activity Routing and Reporting Project, which will use handheld devices to input and automate the information gathered through Fire Prevention inspections. This will improve the inspection process by increasing standardization of reports, improving access to reports, enabling the Department to better categorize risk around the City, and enhancing our ability to share the information our personnel gather with other City agencies. We expect the first of these handheld devices to be deployed in the field by next summer. The Department is also seeking IBM’s assistance to determine how we can further integrate our field and fire prevention inspectional efforts, and integrate the databases that capture the information produced by these inspections.
With the tools and technology we are developing and putting in place, our field commanders can better perform their jobs and protect public safety. They are getting the information they need – more systematically and more timely – to address conditions that may compromise the safety of first responders and the public.
Third, we are providing fire personnel with more fire prevention training. With additional funding from the Mayor, we extended Probationary Firefighter training from 13 to 23 weeks; the “probie” curriculum now contains 40 hours of training on fire prevention and inspections. We provide additional fire prevention and inspection training for newly promoted fire officers at every level in their promotional courses. Fire prevention questions were added to, and will continue to be part of examinations for all officer ranks. And, we are developing a new course – set to begin in early 2008 – for specially designated fire prevention coordinators in each Company, Battalion and Division. Significantly, and contrary to claims by the unions, the amount of training that our fire personnel receive will not be reduced as a result of the implementation of this added inspection period.
Fourth, enhanced accountability measures will help ensure that required inspections are carried out. Utilizing our new database and tracking technology, we can more efficiently identify and address inspections that are not performed timely.
Fifth, our new BISP includes an additional three-hour inspectional period for all fire companies, increasing by 50 percent the amount of time fire personnel will have to inspect buildings in their administrative districts. These inspections provide the important benefit of allowing local companies to become familiar with the conditions they could face in the event of an emergency at that location. Because our members now have additional time to familiarize themselves with some of the City’s most complex buildings, and to issue violations where problems exist, we are confident that this measure will enhance the safety of our Firefighters as well as the public.
The Uniformed Fire Officers Association (UFOA) has taken a misguided approach on this issue in proposing that the Department hire a huge new cadre of officers to perform building inspections instead of local companies. (The UFOA has never actually submitted a proposal to us.) Because of the importance of local companies inspecting their own buildings, BISP is more effective than having a freestanding group of officers perform inspections. As we monitor our program, we can provide supplemental resources if that becomes necessary to accomplish our safety goals.
I should emphasize that performing building safety inspections is itself an excellent form of training. The additional three-hour inspectional period will allow for valuable additional instruction in building and fire code regulations, particularly for newer Firefighters who do not have the practical experience of their veteran colleagues. We will require that any unused inspection time be utilized for company-based fire prevention training.
Effects of FDNY Inspection Program Enhancements on Response Times
We do not anticipate that the additional inspection period will cause an increase in response times since units conducting building inspections are -- as they have always been -- still available for duty. In fact, since the Department implemented the additional inspection period on November 5th, citywide response times to structural fires have in fact decreased.
* Structural fire response time in November 2007 was 4:24, seven seconds faster than November 2006 (4:31) and 12 seconds faster than November 2005 (4:36).
* Emergency medical response time by fire units in November 2007 was 4:23, four seconds faster than November 2006 (4:27) and 10 seconds faster than November 2005 (4:33).
* Average response time to “All Emergencies” was 4:46 in November 2007, five seconds faster than November 2006 (4:51) and 13 seconds faster than November 2005 (4:59).
Clearly, we are very pleased with these data, and our officers and Firefighters deserve the credit for a job well done. While it is too soon to say whether these positive trends will continue, we will monitor response times closely to ensure that they remain as fast as safely possible. In this effort, we will utilize new technology and tools we have developed that allow us to compare any apparatus run to previous runs from the same firehouse to the same fire alarm box location. This enables senior chiefs to quickly analyze response time trends and ask the right questions when a run appears to be slower than expected.
In any event, our early data refute the UFOA’s baseless assertion that response times would certainly rise after the additional inspection period went into effect.
In determining that we should add more hours of inspection time each week, we did consider that, on average, field units spend less than half of the scheduled inspection time actually inspecting buildings. As I mentioned earlier, units remain in service while conducting inspections and some inspection time is lost when units are called to respond to emergencies, are in training or are undergoing annual medical exams. Also, units do not conduct inspections during very hot or cold weather. The net result is that approximately 50 percent of scheduled field inspection time is actually spent performing inspections. What this means is that the present nine hours per week of inspections will actually be only 4.5 hours. Devoting 4.5 hours to inspections, out of a 168-hour workweek, is unlikely to impact response times.
Recently, the UFOA also trotted out the tired, patently false assertion that the closures of six engine companies in May 2003 caused citywide response times to jump in 2005. As I have stated publicly on many occasions:
* the six closures caused annual citywide average response times to increase by less than one second.
As you know, four of the six closures occurred in Brooklyn. During the first 11 months of Calendar Year 2007, average response time to fires and life-threatening medical emergencies in Brooklyn is 3:59, one second faster than in Calendar Year 2002, the year before the engine companies were closed.
The engine company closings did not significantly increase citywide response times and neither will local units having an additional three hours of inspections scheduled during a 168-hour workweek.
Conclusion
The Department will continue to do everything we can to strengthen its inspection programs, and we are confident that the changes we have implemented will enhance the safety of both our Firefighters and the public. We will accomplish this with no projected increase in response times, no decrease in training for fire personnel, no decrease in medical exams for our members and no increased cost to taxpayers.
Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today. I would be happy to answer your questions at this time.
