NYC Firefighter Union Vows to Sue Over 911 Call System

The New York City firefighter union vowed to sue to end the centralized 911 call system after what it called an eight-minute delay turned a row of Bronx homes into an out-of-control five-alarm fire, reports the NY Post.

The fire in the Parkchester section was reported to 911 at 2:40 a.m. but the FDNY was told at 2:48, according to the Uniformed Firefighters Association.

“The reason that this fire got out of control is that when we got there it was already out of control,” UFA president Steve Cassidy said. “It was an eight minute and 22 second delay in the 911 dispatchers handing this off to the Fire Department.”

But the FDNY said there was no delay, and the end-to-end response time was four minutes and 42 seconds.

It said the initial call to 911 was received at 2:47:38, the FDNY got the call at 2:48:46 and the fire units arrived on the scene at 2:52:21.

A source said the union was relying on a time stamp from a previous call to draw the incorrect conclusion about an eight-minute delay.

Nevertheless, the union called on the city to junk the unified call system, known as UCT, in which all 911 calls are sent to a centralized office, and return to the practice the city abandoned in 2009 of transferring calls to the FDNY dispatcher in the appropriate borough.

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