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by WILLIAM MURPHY
The fire commissioner yesterday accused fire union leaders of putting lives in danger by urging a rule-book response to traffic regulations en route to emergencies.
"Your actions may well be endangering the public you are sworn to serve," Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta said in a letter to the two main unions.
He wrote that response times to emergencies have increased in each of the past eight months, compared with the same months last year. He called it "a statistic that is both alarming and dangerous."
Both unions said the increased response times were because of the department's concerted effort to reduce accidents.
The head of the Uniformed Fire Officers Association, Peter Gorman, said Scoppetta had influenced the slower response by disciplining a firefighter involved in a fatal crash last July in the Bronx.
Gorman added that the response times would remain slower because of a pilot program to mount video cameras on the dashboard of rigs.
"I welcome the cameras," he said. "They will result in a safer environment for my members and the general public."
Stephen Cassidy, president of the Uniformed Firefighters Association, also said the safety effort to reduce accidents has slowed responses.
"You have to get to the scene before you can help people," he said.
"The department should be proud of the fact they've reduced accidents. They're just not happy with one of the side effects."
Since the crash, the officers union has been telling its members to order firefighters driving rigs to obey the National Fire Prevention Association guidelines by coming to a full stop at red lights and stop signs.
Scoppetta said that contradicted department regulations, which allow fire vehicles to proceed through stop signs and red lights with caution.
The fire commissioner said that in the July crash, the fire engine was going 30 miles an hour through a red light when it was struck by a sport utility vehicle, fatally injuring a passenger in the civilian car.
In reviewing the accident, Scoppetta said, he learned that department regulations required a full stop at red lights and stop signs.
After Scoppetta found out about the requirement, the department revised its regulations to comply with state law, which allows emergency responders to go through a stop sign or red light.
Copyright © 2005, Newsday, Inc
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