FDNY firefighters are again raising concerns about the city's new 9/11 dispatch system after a father and his two sons were killed in a blaze in Brooklyn yesterday (Nov. 18), according to NY1.
Firefighters called to the blaze were sent to the wrong address, leading the Uniformed Firefighters Association to blast the new system.
An incident also related to the new system occurred earlier this month when a typing error caused a delay in response to a deadly fire in Queens that killed three people.
In the system's most recent break down in communication, WNYW-TV says two 911 callers didn't provide the exact address of the apartment on fire, which left crews search for the unit when they arrived. Fire officials told the news station that it took firefighters about three to six minutes to find the correct address.
FDNY spokesman Frank Gribbon denied the union's claim, saying firefighters responded to the vicinity of an intersection given by 911 callers.
"They did not respond to the wrong address," he said. "They responded to the location provided by both calls to 911."
Gribbon said crews arrived at that location in just over three minutes and learned the fire was around the corner and at that time began trying to rescue the victims and put out the fire.
The union told WNYW-TV that firefighters encountered the same problem while answering another call yesterday. Firefighters were sent to 470 Lefferts Avenue instead of 570 Lefferts Avenue.
The union claims the dispatcher typed in the wrong address. The union says that mistake caused a 45 second delay in response time.
