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The city’s top fire official testified Wednesday about the FDNY's new building inspection program implemented in the wake of this summer’s fatal blaze at the former Deutsche Bank building.
Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta told lawmakers that the new procedures have not slowed down fire response times, despite claims to the contrary by the fire union.
Under the new program, the Buildings Department lets the FDNY know anytime it issues a new building or demolition permit and a new computer program keeps track of when all the buildings under the 15-day rule are due for inspections. At last count, 468 buildings more than 75-feet high are either going up or coming down in the city.
The new program is causing controversy because every fire company is spending three more hours a week on inspections, nine hours instead of six.
"Results in the system have been outstanding, as of yesterday, December 11th more than 97 percent of FDNY inspections of these buildngs were done within the mandated 15 days," said Scoppetta. "Compliance exceeded 99 percent within 20 days.
The Uniformed Fire Officers Association and the Uniformed Firefighters' Association say Scoppetta's numbers are not to be trusted because they say the city has only been looking at results from November.
"A reasonable person has to accept the fact that if you're in a building, inside a building, your travel time from your position on the sixth floor to the street to the fire apparatus, putting on your gear, and then being on your way has to increase over what would be the quicker response from quarters," countered UFOA President Jack McDonnel.
"There is no way that they can get there in a reasonable time," said UFA President Stephen Cassidy. "That's going to compromise public safety and firefighter safety. We saw it last week up in Harlem, we are going to see it again. Unfortunately somebody's life is going to be lost because firefighters won't be there when we need them."
Unions are continuing to push for a building inspection task force. The FDNY argues that this plan would cost too much and that firefighters should be the ones inspecting the buildings they might have to enter in case of a fire.
Scoppetta recently sent a letter to the entire Fire Department denouncing Cassidy's claims that adding extra building inspection time will increase response times. The commissioner dismissed Cassidy's opinion as "campaign literature."
In response, Cassidy accused department brass of hindering the investigation of the fire by hiring outside defense lawyers.
Firefighters Robert Beddia and Joseph Graffagnino died battling the August blaze.
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