Post by scannerman5555 on Nov 10, 2004 20:38:51 GMT -5
New York City News Wednesday, November 10, 2004
First responders strike deal in 'battle of the badges'
BY WILLIAM MURPHY
Staff Writer
November 10, 2004, 8:48 PM EST
Police and firefighters have had their "battle of the badges" on the ground, but they have decided to fly in friendly skies.
A new agreement between the Police and Fire departments will allow a fire battalion chief to monitor the scene of most major emergencies from a police helicopter.
It will also allow a team of firefighters to be airlifted onto the roof of a high-rise building during a fire, something that has been envisioned for some 20 years but never attempted, according to Deputy Assistant Fire Chief James Esposito.
Until now, fire commanders boarded the police helicopters only for high-rise fires, and that protocol was hurriedly changed after some confusion at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.
Now, fire commanders can be used in a variety of situations. One was in a police helicopter to coordinate firefighting and ambulances in upper Manhattan during a big parade this summer, Esposito said.
The police will also provide a live video feed that the Fire Department can redirect to the fire commanders on the ground, who can get a broader aerial view of the situation.
"At a moment's notice, they can get a fire chief in the air, the video feed or both," Police Department spokesman John Sweeney said yesterday.
The union representing battalion chiefs, the Uniformed Fire Officers Union, said the new plan was a significant improvement in communication between the agencies.
"It established a pretty flexible plan for the use of the helicopters," said Deputy Chief Nicholas Visconti, the chief's representative on the union executive board.
"It could be used for anything -- a fire in a row of stores, brush fires, collapses," Visconti said. "The significant point is that it puts the chief in the air in a forward area."
The six-page Air Support Plan calls for a battalion chief to board a helicopter at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, the base for the police Aviation Unit.
It spells out in great detail the types of radios and radio channels to be used and the conduct of the fire officer while aboard.
For a high-rise fire, police will advise the fire commanders of the feasibility of landing on the roof.
Any firefighters deployed to a roof via helicopter are restricted to carrying their air tanks, two axes, one bolt cutter and two other types of specialty tools.
Copyright © 2004, Newsday, Inc.