New York, N.Y.-- Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta today announced that all New York City ambulances and Fire Department apparatus including engines, ladder trucks, rescue companies and battalion vehicles will be equipped with the Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) system by the end of the summer.
AVL utilizes Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) technology to track the real-time movements of any equipped vehicle, helping dispatchers more accurately deploy emergency resources. AVL began in September 2005 as a pilot program with five engine companies on Staten Island and FDNY EMS units on Staten Island and in Southern Brooklyn. Under the system, EMS response times to the most serious medical emergencies (Segments 1-3) were reduced by 33 seconds.
By June 30, all City ambulances participating in the 911 system will be fully equipped with AVL. Implementation of the system in all fire apparatus will be completed by the end of the summer. In total, 1,565 Fire and EMS vehicles throughout the City will be equipped with AVL at a cost of nearly $50 million.
"In an emergency, every second counts," said Mayor Bloomberg. "That's why the AVL technology we've piloted on Fire Department vehicles is so promising. In ambulances alone, response times to the most serious medical emergencies have decreased by more than half a minute
