Engine Co. 261 Extinguished

For years Steven Cycan and Chris Marino were firemen stationed in Long Island City. That changed Sunday when the city swung its budget axe, eliminating their firehouses engine company and reassigning them and 20 other personnel to companies throughout the city. Five other firehouses in the city received similar treatment.
The cutbacks came after Judge James Starkeys ruling last week against a temporary injunction that would have put off disbanding companies until a court hearing could take place this Wednesday. The news to clean out their lockers was particularly devastating for Engine 261 because Judge Starkey had recommended to City Hall that it remain open for the time being. Starkey stated that the community board of Roosevelt Island, an area covered by Engine 261, had not been properly notified of the budget parings.
To most New Yorkers the cost-saving measures seem like a sign of the times each city department taking its licks from the budget-deficit blues. But, Cycan and Marino, whose company serves Long Island City, Astoria and Roosevelt Island, worry that city residents do not fully understand the impact of these cutbacks. For the two veterans, its not a simple matter of getting rid of a fire truck and shuffling 18 firemen, three lieutenants, and one captain to other firehouses to save overtime expenses. They say getting rid of an entire engine company removes an essential element to extinguishing fires.
"Fighting a fire requires two parts: a ladder and an engine company," said Cycan, an NYC fireman for over nine years and a union delegate. The ladder company is in charge of search-and-rescue and ventilation, the process of making holes in roofs and windows to let smoke escape from a burning building. The engine companys role is to hose down the building and extinguish the flames.
The Long Island City firehouse will be left with just Ladder Company 116. This means when the ladder company responds to a call, it must rely on engine companies from surrounding neighborhoods to support it.
"Now, the fire engine is coming from 20 blocks away," said Cycan grimly. "The ladder may be at a call before the engine gets there."
Being in the same station allowed Engine 261 and Ladder 116 to leave the firehouse and arrive at a burning building together. Relying on another firehouses engine company means a rise in response times, potentially increasing the danger for civilians and firemen. The problem gets worse if the supporting engine company is already out at another call.
Response times have been a major point of contention. Originally the mayor wanted to make cuts in eight firehouses, but on May 19 he reneged on two. Engine Co. 293 in Woodhaven and Squad 252 in Bushwick were spared because their firehouses response times would be higher than the city average, 4 minutes and 46 seconds. City Hall believes the remaining six firehouses targeted for cuts will not have dangerously high response-time rises.
Engine Co. 261 firemen disagree. They say the mayors response-time numbers are estimates that dont factor in real-world situations like traffic, construction and bad weather. Moreover, city stats show Long Island City and Astoria residents will wait an average of 62 seconds longer. Comparatively, Engine 293, the Woodhaven company saved from closures, would have had a slightly higher increase of 71 seconds.
"These are our first responders," said Councilman Gioia, whose district covers Long Island City and Astoria. "Its extraordinary that in these times of terror alerts that Bloomberg would make these cuts." Gioia will argue the case on Wednesday in a Brooklyn Courthouse that Engine 261s closure was illegal because communities were not properly notified.
The Bloomberg administration estimates the cutbacks will save the city $6 million in overtime expenses. However, firemen in Engine 261 are mystified Bloomberg would be so concerned with such an insignificant amount compared to the billion-dollar deficit the city faces especially when lives are at stake.
"We are not a revenue producing agency for the city, but we are an insurance policy for it," said Marino, a member of New Yorks Bravest for five years. Marino says the FDNY saves many lives each year and, consequently, the city from lawsuits. Though he prays it never happens, he believes the citys belt-tightening would be wasted if a person from a neighborhood experiencing the firehouse cutbacks were to die. "A lawsuit would be bound to happen and cost the city much more than what its saving."
Many Long Island City residents have also expressed concern over the loss of Engine Co. 261. Gioia noted that he personally delivered 50,000 postcards protesting its closure to the mayor.
Long Island City resident Joan Kehoe dialed up City Hall after reading a poster outside the firehouse located on 29th Street that asks residents to call the mayors office and voice their concern. All she got was a voicemail. Kehoe felt Mayor Bloomberg, or Doom-and-gloom-berg as she referred to him, was not listening to residents concerns.
"I hear the alarms going off all night, those men have a lot to do," she said about the firehouse, which has been in the neighborhood for 109 years.