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But firefighters' presence at hearing is not expected to alter decision giving police control at emergencies
By WILLIAM MURPHY
STAFF WRITER
Hundreds of firefighters in full dress uniform are expected to pack City Hall and an overflow space today to support their chief's contention that the Fire Department should have joint command at many of the city's worst emergencies.
It's powerful symbolism, but by most accounts, their show of force will be little more than that. The mayor's decision to give the Police Department sole command at virtually all emergency scenes has already been made by executive order.
Today's hearing, at which Chief of Department Peter Hayden will testify, is expected to have little impact on the mayor's position. It's the latest public disagreement in an ongoing battle of the badges, in which the Police and Fire departments jockey for control at emergency scenes - an unrest with added urgency since Sept. 11, 2001, a day Hayden believes was made worse by lack of coordination.
Even before Sept. 11, the NYPD and FDNY had a history of confusion over control. Rather than settling the long-running dispute, the definitive written protocols for response required by the new Department of Homeland Security have so far only fanned the flames.
Meanwhile, on the other side of town, two units of firefighters will be conducting a drill in a "simulated urban terrorism disaster." Union officials were at first suspicious that the scheduling had something to do with Hayden's testimony, but they later said they had been assured it had been previously planned.
Hayden has angered his bosses in the Bloomberg administration by insisting that fire commanders should have joint command with police at hazardous material emergencies.
"His career is on the line because he did what he knew was right," Peter Gorman, president of the Uniformed Fire Officers Union, said in a message to his 2,500 members last week.
The officers union and the Uniformed Firefighters Association, representing 8,500 firefighters, have asked off-duty members to show up in uniform on the West Side of City Hall before Hayden's scheduled testimony before the City Council.
Bloomberg signed an executive order April 11 giving police supervisors command at the scene of any incident that involves the possible presence of chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear materials.
The parts of the order dealing with water rescues, building collapses and most other emergencies raised no concerns, but the hazardous materials (hazmat) section raised alarm flags among fire commanders. Almost two weeks after the Nov. 11 mayoral order was issued but never made public, Hayden spoke out against it, calling it a "recipe for disaster."
He said 99.9 percent of all hazmat incidents did not involve terrorism or a crime, except for "a handful" of incidents involving white powder.
The response protocol was directly opposite of those employed by other large cities and was at odds with the standards of several regulatory agencies, Hayden said.
Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said New York was different from other cities because it has such a large police force and was already the target of terrorist attacks.
While the fire unions have backed Hayden, the police Captains Endowment Association was expected to testify today that it favored most of the new protocols.
The train bombing in Madrid 14 months ago resulted in arrests because police there were able to gain evidence from a cell phone used as a triggering device, according to John Driscoll, president of the association, which represents 750 police captains, deputy inspectors, inspectors and deputy chiefs.
While the debate focuses on future emergency responses, everyone involved understands that the loss of 343 members of the fire service on 9/11 is not far below the surface.
Hayden, who was in the lobby of the north tower that day, has told associates in the department he is convinced the lives of many firefighters could have been saved if there had been a unified command.
He said that if firefighters and fire commanders had learned of the imminent collapse of the north tower as soon as their police counterparts, they could have fled in time.
Copyright © 2005, Newsday, Inc
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