Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta Announces Fire Unit Night Closings to Begin January 17
Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta is joined by Chief of Department Salvatore Cassano (left) and Chief of Operations Patrick McNally as he announces the fire units that will be closed at night starting Jan. 17
Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta announced on Dec. 4 the Department will eliminate night tours at four citywide fire units and cease operation of a fire unit on Governor’s Island beginning Jan. 17. These changes will enable the FDNY to meet an $8.9 million agency budget cut caused by the city’s financial crisis that Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced in November.
With the exception of the Governor’s Island Fire Protection Unit (a three-person firefighting team assigned to the 172-acre island in New York Harbor since 2004), no firehouses will be closed and no fire units permanently disbanded.
“A great deal of study and analysis enabled us to determine these changes,” said Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta during a press conference at the FDNY Operations Center. “We think this is a very prudent reduction.”
He said they examined companies’ number of responses, response times, location and proximity to other units, impact on the community, traffic patterns and many other factors before determining these changes.
The four firehouses affected by nighttime closures have two units assigned. When the changes are implemented, one unit will remain in service 24/7, while the other will remain in service during the day tour (9 a.m. to 6 p.m.), but go off-line during night tour (6 p.m. to 9 a.m.):
| Nighttime closure | Remains open 24/7 |
| Engine Co. 4 (Manhattan) | Ladder Co. 15 |
| Engine Co. 161 (Staten Island) | Ladder Co. 81 |
| Engine Co. 271 (Brooklyn) | Ladder Co. 124 |
| Ladder Co. 53 (Bronx) | Engine Co. 70 |
Commissioner Scoppetta, Chief Cassano and Chief McNally stand in front of five maps, outlining the areas each firehouse serves and their neighboring companies.
The FDNY also will deploy fire and EMS units to Governor’s Island when warranted by activity that brings persons there for work and/or recreational use.
“We’ve made cuts in areas where there will be the least impact,” said Chief of Department Salvatore Cassano. “These changes represent less than one percent of our firehouses.” The FDNY has a total of 198 engines, 143 ladders, seven squads, five rescue units, three marine units and one hazmat unit throughout the five boroughs.
The nighttime closures will save the Department $8.9 million by reducing overtime, redeploying firefighters in these four companies to other units during night tours.
In November, the Department provided the city with proposals totaling more than $60 million in savings through a combination of budget cuts and new revenue increases.
Among the budget cuts were a reduction in the length of Probationary Firefighter Training School (from 23 to 18 weeks of instruction), at a savings of $6 million annually. Savings also will be achieved through reduced hiring of firefighters, beginning with the upcoming January class, when 100 - instead of 300 - new firefighters will be hired.
Another proposal was the increase of the tax on fire insurance premiums (from 2 to 4 percent) that would raise $20 million annually.
“Since we do not know how long the fiscal crisis will last, these cuts were made for this year’s budget,” Commissioner Scoppetta said. “Overall, most of the changes made will not affect operations.”