Who Calls the 10-51?
In accordance with Fire Prevention Manual Chapter 3, addendum 3, Borough Commanders suspend or resume outside activities as conditions necessitate in their respective borough. On weekends, holidays and from 1600 to 0800 hours M-F, the Command Chief may suspend or resume outside activities in selected areas or Citywide. Battalion Chiefs are responsible to monitor their local conditions and report them to their Divisions. Divisions report conditions to their Borough Commands (or Command Chief during off hours). Borough Commanders are responsible to call 10-51 for their respective Boroughs if conditions necessitate. NOTE: Certain Division Commanders have been instructed to call the
10-51 signal if the Borough Commander is not available. The following weather conditions require a Signal 10-51 to be called:
a. Cold: Wind-Chill factor of 10 or less. See Wind-Chill Chart which follows.
b. Hot: Temperature Humidity Index (THI): 85 or higher. (Not the same as Heat Index) See THI Chart attachment (FPM, Ch. 3, add. 2) which follows on next 2 pages
c. Rain: Heavy rain coupled with high winds.
d. Snow: Accumulations which have an impact on traffic, curbside parking, or the ability of Fire Department units to respond. Light snow with little accumulation would not normally be a factor in canceling activities. Lingering accumulations would have to be evaluated for impact.
e. Ice: Hazardous road conditions caused by icy roads.
No 10-51 Called? Here’s What To Do
10-51 Signals are frequently not called when conditions dictate it should be called. If conditions warrant a Signal 10-51, in accordance with Fire Prevention Manual Ch 3, addendum 2, your Officer is responsible to call the Battalion or Division (if Battalion is unavailable). The Division is supposed to ask the Borough Commander to call the 10-51. Some officers avoid their responsibility of making notifications through the chain-of-command as required. This is what you should do if that happens:
1. Verify the Weather: Call (212) or (718) 976-1212 for the Temperature, Relative Humidity, Wind Speed & Wind-Chill factor for that area code. Plug these numbers into the Dept's THI chart (which follows), and it will easily show you the THI or Wind-Chill number to determine if a signal 10-51 is warranted.
2. Tell Your Officer: Then tell your officer to do his/her job and make notifications to get the Borough Command to call Signal 10-51! If your officer has difficulty getting his superiors to make notifications or call the signal, he/she needs to call the UFOA, not the UFA, as they sometimes do.
3. If Your Officer or Chiefs fail to do their jobs, or the Borough Command does not respond, then call the UFA Trustee-on-Duty or Sergeant-at-Arms. He will contact the Borough Command, and if conditions warrant, the Commander will usually quickly call the Signal 10-51.
4. Training at Randall's Island has never fallen under 10-51 guidelines because you will not respond to fires while training there.
