Brooklyn, NY - In less than one week residents on both sides of the Brooklyn-Queens border got a glimpse of what their future holds if Mayor Bloomberg and Commissioner Scoppetta go forward with permanently shuttering Engine Company 271 which responds to fires along both sides of the Kings and Queens County border. Two serious Bushwick fires left residents of four buildings homeless, while several shopkeepers who lost their business in fast-moving fires.

In January the Mayor and Fire Commissioner began closing four firehouses at night, when the majority of New York City's fire deaths occur. This action, which effects Engine 271, located at 392 Himrod Street in Bushwick, was proposed to save money. More recently the mayor announced that effective July, Engine 271 and the three other companies closed at night, as well as up to 12 additional fire companies will be permanently closed, never to reopen.

"Fires can reach 2,000 degrees in less than 3 minutes, so every second counts when firefighters are trying to protect lives and property" said Steve Cassidy, president of the Uniformed Firefighters Association. "These two fires along the Brooklyn and Queens border illustrate exactly the difference between having a company closed and open. On the night when the mayor and commissioner closed E-271 three buildings and multiple stores were lost. On the night that E-271 was kept open by the FDNY, firefighters were able to safely evacuate residents and then rescue three victims cornered by heavy heat, high smoke and trapped behind child window bars."

In the March 18 fire, when the engine company was closed for the night by the Fire Commissioner and on March 24, when the FDNY decided to keep the company open, area residents saw vivid examples of what happens when you have a neighborhood firehouse and what happens when you don't.

In the early hours of Wednesday, March 18 (1:46 a.m.) a 3 alarm fire on Wyckoff Avenue destroyed three homes and several neighborhood stores. The properties sustained severe damage, displacing several families and shopkeepers. The buildings adjoin the Ridgewood Senior Citizen Center.

Normally Engine Company 271 based only 3 to 4 blocks away would have been the first unit on the scene. The fire company closure meant that additional manpower had to be brought in from further away.

Less than a week later on Tuesday, March 24 an early morning fire at 376 Palmetto Street also in Bushwick saw three residents trapped on the third floor of a multi-family building by heavy smoke and flames. However Engine 271 was ironically kept in service and available to respond first to the scene along with Ladder Company 124 to the early morning fire. Firefighters from Engine 271 and Ladder 124 were able to safely evacuate all of the residents from the burning building after first having to rip down child proof window guards that were blocking the windows.

"The clear message to City Hall and the Fire Department management is that we must keep these and all of our community firehouses open. Firehouse closures can spell doom for a community," Mr. Cassidy concluded.

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