"If Musk actually understood how modern fire departments operate, he'd know that more than 70 percent of FDNY 911 calls are for medical emergencies, while less than 5 percent are calls for structural fires. He'd know how divisive it is to pit firefighters and EMTs against one another, when our members of service all now respond to a wider variety of more complex emergencies, including medical emergencies."
"And he'd know that EMTs and paramedics are paid roughly half of what police officers and firefighters make, forcing so many of these public servants out of the job they love and driving attrition so severe that a dangerous number of ambulances sit unstaffed across the city every day. This is not just a New York City issue; it is a national trend. The shift in fire departments' workloads has been happening for decades."
Lillian Bonsignore is a career EMS leader appointed FDNY commissioner; criticism for lack of firefighting experience ignores modern operational realities. More than 70 percent of FDNY 911 calls are for medical emergencies, while fewer than 5 percent are structural fires. Firefighters and EMTs now respond to a wider range of complex emergencies, making divisive comparisons counterproductive. Structural fire rates have fallen since the 1970s due to safer building codes, yet remaining fires can be more damaging partly because of lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles. Low pay for EMTs and paramedics — roughly half of police and firefighter salaries — drives dangerous staffing shortages and unstaffed ambulances.
#fire-department-operations #emergency-medical-services-ems #workforce-and-pay #lithium-ion-battery-fire-risk #urban-emergency-response
Read at The Nation
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