FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
06-004
April 19, 2006

STATEMENT FROM OEM FIRST DEPUTY COMMISSIONER CALVIN DRAYTON ON LAST NIGHT'S TRAM RESCUE OPERATION

"The rescue operation on the Roosevelt Island Tram last night was managed as a Unified Command incident, in accordance with the Citywide Incident Management System (CIMS). CIMS dictates that when an incident falls outside of the predetermined incident types, as a high-wire rescue does, the incident will be managed as a Unified Command. Thus last night's operation was managed using a Unified Command between the FDNY, NYPD, and the New York City Office of Emergency Management.

"Not only did the CIMS protocol work and work well, the excellent interagency cooperation was epitomized by the joint Police-Fire rescue operations which took people from both trams to safety. Both agencies deserve enormous credit for safely rescuing 68 people and preventing an accident from becoming a tragedy."