File #: Int 0187-2002    Version: * Name: Fire Department, Emergency Assisstance Report
Type: Introduction Status: Filed
Committee: Committee on Fire and Criminal Justice Services
On agenda: 4/24/2002
Enactment date: Law number:
Title: A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York in relation to requiring the New York city fire department to submit to the city council an operational time analysis report summarizing departmental performance with respect to calls for emergency assistance.
Sponsors: David I. Weprin, Leroy G. Comrie, Jr., Hiram Monserrate, James Sanders, Jr., Larry B. Seabrook, Yvette D. Clarke
Council Member Sponsors: 6
Attachments: 1. Committee Report, 2. Hearing Transcript

Int. No. 187

 

By Council Members Weprin, Comrie, Monserrate, Sanders and Seabrook; also Council Member Clarke

                     

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York in relation to requiring the New York city fire department to submit to the city council an operational time analysis report summarizing departmental performance with respect to calls for emergency assistance.

 

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:

 

                     Section 1. Chapter one of title fifteen of the administrative code of the city of New York is amended by adding a new section 15-129, to read as follows:

                     §15-129. Fire department operational time analysis report.  a. Definitions. For the purposes of this section, the following terms shall be defined as follows:

                                          (i)                                          "Call" shall mean a request for emergency assistance received by the fire department, either over the telephone or through the alarm box network.

                                          (ii)                                          "Incident" shall mean an event which results in the emergency dispatch of a fire department unit, or units, regardless of the number of distinct calls made with respect to such incident.

                                          (iii)                     "Fire unit" shall mean an engine company, ladder company, rescue company, or squad company.

                                          (iv)                                          "First responder unit" shall mean an engine company, ladder company, rescue company or squad company designated by the fire department as a certified first responder unit.

                                          (v)                                          "Emergency medical response unit" shall mean a fire department ambulance, paramedical response unit or other medical response unit.

                                          (vi)                                          "Dispatch time" shall mean the interval of time between receipt of a call requesting emergency assistance and assignment of such a call to an available fire department unit for response by a dispatcher.

                                          (vii)                     "Travel time" shall mean the interval of time between the assignment of a fire department unit, or units, and the arrival of the first unit at the scene of the incident.

                                          (viii)                     "Response time" shall mean the sum of dispatch time and travel time.

                     b.                     The department shall submit to the city council an operational time analysis report summarizing departmental performance with respect to calls for emergency assistance. Such report, which shall be submitted on a quarterly basis, shall include the following information:

                                          1.                     The total number of emergencies responded to by fire units.

                                          2.                     The total number of emergencies responded to by fire units first reported by a telephone call to 911 and those first reported through the alarm box system.

                                          3.                     The number of incidents representing structural fires, nonstructural fires, non-fire emergencies and malicious false alarms.

                                          4.                     The average dispatch time, travel time and response time for all incidents to which fire units responded, broken down by the time of day during which such calls were received.

                                          5.                     The average dispatch time, travel time and response time of fire units to incidents in each of the following categories: structural fires; nonstructural fires; non-fire emergencies; and malicious false alarms.

                                          6.                     The total number of reported medical emergencies initially designated as potentially life threatening medical emergencies (EMS segments one, two and three).

                                          7.                     The number of potentially life threatening emergencies to which a first responder unit was dispatched.

                                          8.                     The average travel time of first responder units to potentially life threatening medical emergencies.

                                          9.                     The number and percent of total potentially life threatening medical emergencies to which the first responder unit was the first fire department unit to arrive.

                                          10.                     The average dispatch time, travel time and response time of emergency medical response units to all potentially life threatening medical emergencies.

                                          11.                     The average dispatch time, travel time and response time of the first advanced life support emergency medical unit to arrive at a potentially life threatening medical emergency.

                                          12.                     The number of potentially life threatening medical emergencies in each of the following categories:

                                                               (i)                                          those for which response time was less than six minutes;

                                                               (ii)                                          those for which response time was between six and ten minutes;

                                                               (iii)                     those for which response time was greater than ten minutes;

                                                               (iv)                                          those for which an advanced life support emergency medical response unit response time was between eight and ten minutes;

                                                               (v)                                          those for which an advanced life support emergency medical response unit response time was greater than ten minutes; and

                                                               (vi)                                          those to which an advanced life support emergency medical response unit was required to respond, but to which such a unit did not respond.

                                          13.                     The number of non-potentially life threatening medical emergencies (EMS segments four through eight).

                                          14.                     The average dispatch time, travel time and response time of emergency medical response units to all non-potentially life threatening medical emergencies.

                                          15.                     The number of non-potentially life threatening medical emergencies with a response time greater than ten minutes.

                     c.                     (1)                     The data contained in the fire department operational time analysis report required by paragraphs one through five of subdivision b of this section shall be provided to the council on a citywide, borough-by-borough and battalion-by-battalion basis.  The data required by paragraphs  six through fifteen shall be reported on a citywide and borough-by-borough basis, until such time as the boundaries of EMS battalions are established, at which time the department shall also report such data on a battalion-by-battalion basis.  The data required by paragraphs ten, twelve (i), (ii) and (iii), fourteen and fifteen shall also be broken down by the time of day during which calls for emergency assistance were received, specifically midnight to eight o'clock a.m., eight o'clock a.m. to four o'clock p.m., or four o'clock p.m. to midnight.

                                          (2)                     The report required by this section shall be provided to the council for the quarters ending September 30, December 31, March 31 and June 30.  The reports for the periods ending June 30 and December 31 shall be released on the same days that the year-end mayor's management report and preliminary mayor's management report are released, respectively.  The quarterly reports for the periods ending September 30 and March 31 shall be provided to the council no later than thirty days following the close of the reporting periods.

                     §2.                     This local law shall take effect 180 days after it shall have been enacted into law.