Addabbo seeks return of Fire Patrol

City Councilmember Joseph Addabbo is calling for the New York Board of Fire Underwriters (BFU) to reverse its decision to discontinue the New York Fire Patrol thereby leaving New York businesses without access to salvage work in the event of a fire, and throwing the long-standing Patrol's 100 staff members out of work.
It may be that bad record-keeping and inadequate management practices on the part of the BFU are ultimately responsible for the closure of the Fire Patrol, which ceased operations on October 15.
In November 2005, Park Strategies LLC, a consulting firm issued a report by Gregory V. Serio that was highly critical of both the BFU and the Fire Patrol.
Serio was subsequently appointed Interim Administrator of the BFU and he attacked the BFU calling their record keeping as &#8220very delinquent in accurately reflecting how much money might be saved.”
Eric Shultz, vice president of Uniformed Fire Patrolman's Association Local I-26 of the International Association of Firefighers countered with, &#8220We supply them with extremely accurate info.” He continued, &#8220What the Board of Fire Underwriters decides to do with these figures is up to them.” Neither Serio, nor Shultz returned calls or made themselves available to comment for this article.
Serio's report said it was difficult to substantiate the estimated $10 million per year that the Fire Patrol allegedly saves by preventing property damage, especially water damage and lost business. In a statement on the Fire Patrol's website Shultz said that the closure would result in insurance rates rising as claims increase.
Speaking on a television morning news show on July 22, Peter Gorman the president of the New York City Uniformed Fire Officers Association said, &#8220If they [the Fire Patrol] were not there, the Fire Department still has responsibility to mitigate fire damage.” He went on to predict that the New York Fire Department (NYFD) will need to keep up to three ladder companies available to do salvage work. &#8220That would have three ladder companies not available for suppression and more importantly for immediate rescue.”
Established in 1803, the Fire Patrol was responsible for securing buildings (especially commercial ones) after a fire and preventing damage to equipment - such as computers - in the rest of the building below or ones adjacent to the fire. It responds to approximately 10,000 fires per year and over the years has lost 32 members in the line of duty, most recently Keith Roma of Fire Patrol 2 on 9/11.
While the NYFD sometimes does similar work at residential properties, it does not do salvage work on commercial properties, having relied on the Fire Patrol these 200 years.
&#8220It's possible that the expertise to do what the Fire Patrol does exists in the NYFD but it still involves diverting resources. This closure is going to cost the City money no matter what,” Addabbo said.
A spokesperson for the NYFD, Anthony Sclafani said, &#8220The NYFD has no plans to take on the specific work of the Fire Patrol.”
According to Shultz, the biggest problem facing the Fire Patrol is a lack of publicity. The public does not distinguish between the Fire Patrol and the NYFD, and therefore does not appreciate the work the Fire Patrol does. The Fire Patrolmen look the same as firefighters except they wear red helmets.
&#8220The staff of the New York Fire Patrol is unsung heroes,” Adobe said.
Sclafani said, &#8220The New York City Fire Department has had a long history with the Fire Patrol and recognizes that its members have provided a valuable service to the City. But regrettably, this is not our decision.”
&#8220For the BFU this action is cost saving, but the job still needs to be done which means the burden will fall on the NYFD. This is not a time to be compromising safety in New York,” Addabbo said.