New York City Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro has announced a large increase in civilian fire deaths for 2017 after the Big Apple experienced a record low in 2016.
According to an FDNY release Friday, statistics for 2017 show there were 73 civilian fire deaths compared to 48 in the previous year - the fewest in 100 years of accurate statistics.
In December alone, there were 26 deaths - the highest monthly number in decades - including a fifth-alarm fire in the Bronx on Dec. 28 that took the lives of 12 people, several of them children.
"While we have worked very hard in recent years to educate millions of New Yorkers about fire safety, several recent tragedies demonstrate our work is far from over and we must do all we can to reach everyone with vital, life-saving knowledge about how to prevent fires and what to do if you're in a fire situation," Commissioner Nigro said.
"We mourn the loss of every life lost due to fire, and we commit to doing even more to make 2018 a safer year for everyone in our city."
In response to the deadly Bronx fire, which was caused by a 3-year-old boy playing with a stove burner, the FDNY says it will enhance its Juvenile Fire-setters Intervention Program. The program is run by fire marshals with the Bureau of Fire Investigations and handles cases involving children identified as having an unhealthy attraction or curiosity with fire.
Commissioner Nigro also announced that EMS response times improved to 6:44 in 2017 from 6:51 the year before. With fire unit response times included, the overall response from the department improved to 5:52 from 5:56 in 2016.
These improvements came despite an increase in total emergencies for the year. The FDNY set a record high in 2017 with 1,748,618 total emergencies responded to by fire and EMS personnel -- an increase of 14,139 from 2016.
