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Mayor confirms he's given police control in most emergencies; a firefighters union rep calls that 'outrageous'
By DAN JANISON AND WILLIAM MURPHY
STAFF WRITERS
If the World Trade Center attack occurred today, the city would be no better prepared to respond to the emergency than it was in 2001, the two main firefighting unions said Friday.
Their comments came as Mayor Michael Bloomberg confirmed that he signed an executive order on April 11 giving police control over most emergencies except fires and structural collapses. Police would be in charge of any incident that involved the possible presence of chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear materials.
The protocol makes New York the only major U.S. city that puts police rather than firefighters in charge of incidents where such hazardous materials might be involved.
"For us to report to the Police Department to do our job is outrageous," said Stephen Cassidy, president of the Uniformed Firefighters Association.
Peter Gorman, the president of the Uniformed Fire Officers Association, said the protocols still do not address problems identified by the national 9/11 commission last year.
"When terrorists strike, a fire is usually included," he said. "The NYPD is not the agency to mitigate this."
The union leaders' comments come after the highest-ranking uniformed member of the Fire Department, Chief of Department Peter Hayden, said the mayor's decision "jeopardizes public safety" because firefighters are better trained to handle hazardous material incidents. Hayden made his comments in a story in Friday's New York Times.
The Fire Department declined to comment on Hayden's statement.
Police Commissioner Ray Kelly pressed for police control, arguing that New York was the only U.S. city hit by terrorism twice and had a large department equipped to handle such incidents.
The executive order puts the city in compliance with federal regulations and makes it eligible for federal funding from the Department of Homeland Security. The compliance is self-certifying this year, but Homeland Security must certify localities next year, said Jared Bernstein, a spokesman for the Office of Emergency Management.
Bloomberg cited terrorism as his motivation in giving police command. "The Fire Department comes in and does the life-saving. That's what they're trained to do. They then stand aside and the police are in charge during the investigation of whether or not it's terrorist or criminal," the mayor said on his weekly radio show.
"When they finish their investigation and say they have no further need to collect data or whatever, then the Fire Department comes in and does the cleanup," he said.
The new rules will be the subject of a public hearing before the City Council committee on May 2.
Copyright © 2003, Newsday, Inc
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