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by WILLIAM MURPHY
Fire engines can now legally travel the wrong way on a one-way street under certain circumstances, according to a new Fire Department order.
The chauffeurs who drive the big rigs have always done so, but now the department has made it legal as it battles with response times, which have worsened in the past 10 months.
The change, announced in an order that went out Thursday, allows the chauffeurs to travel one block against traffic without restriction, and any further "only when absolutely necessary."
The change, according to fire union officials, legalizes the current practice of going the wrong way on a one-way street when the engine or ladder company leaves its quarters, and when it turns into the block of the reported emergency.
Union officials said the use of one-way streets in those circumstances can save several minutes in heavy traffic areas and should improve response times, or least keep them from worsening.
A Fire Department spokesman declined to comment on the explanation by the union officials and said the change was "putting into writing what the guys were already doing."
The union officials said they did not want to be identified because they are in the middle of contract negotiations and did not wish to antagonize city officials.
In another department order that went out the same day, Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta appealed for firefighters and superior officers to work with the department to reduce response time.
The average response time for reports of structural fires in June was 4 minutes and 37 seconds, 25 seconds slower than in June 2004, according to department statistics.
Scoppetta urged fire personnel to respond more rapidly, beginning with the moment the alarm sounds in the firehouse, and urged them to report their arrival at the scene promptly so that response times can be properly calculated.
"Working together, we can decrease response times while maintaining reductions in accidents, and in so doing, save more lives," the department order said.
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