Critics who use reduced fire incidents as the sole criteria for maintaining current fire company levels ignore the important reason for having an effective fire suppression level in the first place - to save lives and property from fire. Even if fire units did not respond to any medical emergencies, there is still a critical need to have sufficient firehouses in neighborhoods regardless of the frequency of fires. Before fires spiked in the 1960s and 1970s, NYC had even more fire companies than present levels. You can't tell a neighborhood it's firehouse is no longer necessary because working fires have decreased 20%, or 40%, or any percentage. Medical calls do utilize fire suppression assets, but they are not the only justification for fire companies.
NY Daily News Today-9/23/21
- Thread starter memorymaster
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