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The New York City Fire Department announced a citywide expansion of a new dispatch policy recently tested in Queens.

The 90-day Queens pilot program resulted in a significant drop in response times to fires and other emergencies, including emergency medical calls, throughout the borough, according to Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta.

“This simple change of protocol has resulted in one of the most significant drops in response times in FDNY history,” Scoppetta said. “During the last 10 weeks, Queens firefighters responded to 1,000 structural fires 30 seconds faster on average than they did a year ago. The hard work of our firefighters, fire officers and dispatchers has made this program a true success.”

The 90-day trial, which began on February 14, allowed dispatchers to immediately assign fire units to an emergency when they obtain and confirm the location and nature of an incident from an emergency caller, the announcement said.
Average response times to fires in Queens between Feb. 14 and April 26 decreased by 30 seconds compared to the same period in 2007, according to the announcement, and average overall emergency response time in the borough dropped by 20 seconds – from 5 minutes and 16 seconds to 4 minutes and 56 seconds.

The Queens dispatchers were trained to utilize a new protocol that required them to electronically assign fire units after receiving an emergency call. The dispatchers now only need two questions answered before they can assign a fire unit – the location and nature of the emergency and a confirmation of the caller’s answers to ensure accuracy.
Dispatchers will continue to interview callers for more information, which is forwarded to the responding unit, already en route, via radio.

Under the previous system, a dispatcher could not assign a unit until more questions were answered.

“As response times decrease, the opportunity to save lives increases,” Chief of Department Salvatore J. Cassano said. “Every second this program saves gives firefighters across the City a better chance to extinguish a fire and protect the public and each other from dangerous conditions.”
Dispatchers throughout the City will now be trained under the new system, the announcement said.

The policy will be implemented citywide on June 1.