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In the face of heightened terrorist concerns, the Fire Department quickly creates a unit to cope with any situation in lower Manhattan
By WILLIAM MURPHY
Staff Writer
The Fire Department rushed a new heavy-rescue unit into service in Lower Manhattan this week after federal officials increased the terror alert, fire officials said yesterday.
Rescue Co. 6 was scheduled to open in time for the Republican National Convention at the end of the month. Instead, it was put into operation at 6 p.m. Monday, officials said.
The new unit will operate out of the same firehouse on Lafayette Street as Ladder Co. 20 and respond to emergencies south of 23rd Street. The department said its primary response area will be composed of the government offices and financial district that are located south of Canal Street.
The unit was assembled at the last moment, and the department order authorizing it went out on the same day it went into service.
The new unit is being staffed by two firefighters from each of the existing rescue units and other firefighters on overtime to create about 30 positions for around-the-clock coverage, the department said.
Firefighters permanently assigned to rescue units are considered the elite of the Fire Department and get a much higher level of training than other firefighters. However, some of the firefighters filling in on the rescue units will not have the additional training, which includes responding to incidents involving hazardous, chemical or biological materials, union and department officials said.
The Fire Department could not say yesterday whether the rescue vehicle, which comes with dozens of specialty tools, was a spare rig or a new one. It apparently was not fully equipped, according to one firefighter, because it did not have the equipment for scuba rescues.
A Fire Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the new unit would remain in service "until further notice."
The fire unions said they heard of the opening after the fact, and they also had heard that the unit would be closed sometime after the convention wraps up Sept. 2.
There are five rescue companies, one in each borough. The existing Manhattan unit, Rescue Co. 1, is on West 43rd Street between 10th and 11th avenues. While the new unit is meant to serve lower Manhattan, the department said it "can be dispatched if required" to other areas.
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