August 8, 2003 -- Fire response times in four of six neighborhoods where fire companies where shut down more than two months ago are still lower than the citywide average, officials said yesterday.
"These communities, despite the closures, continue to experience average response times that are better than most communities throughout the city," said Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta.
Opponents of the budget-cutting shutdowns had predicted response times would shoot up.
"We are very happy with the results," Scoppetta said.
Union officials immediately cited the numbers as proof the closings were a bad idea.
"Seconds make a difference of life and death," said Pete Gorman, president of the Uniformed Fire Officers Association.
The department released the response times for June and July for the engine companies that have first-response duties for areas formerly covered by the six shuttered houses.
Only two companies - Engine 261 in Long Island City and Engine 204 in Cobble Hill - had response times that were higher than the citywide average of four minutes and 50 seconds.
Union leaders accused the department of "sanitizing" the response times by calculating it from when the first unit - whether a supervisor's car or an actual fire truck - arrives on scene, rather than waiting until there are two engines and a ladder.
