Fire Deaths on the Rise

The Daily News is reporting that deaths from fires have spiked in the last year. The spike, however, comes after a year that recorded the lowest fatality level since 1919. The important point to emphasize here is that fire safety, much like national security, is the preparedness against the unexpected. Just when it appears that you might be able to get away with a little less manpower something catastrophic occurs.

That is why we have disagreed with the mayor's firehouse closures and why we think that the City Council needs to be particularly vigilant in the coming year if the mayor revisits the issue of fire house closures. As we have argued elsewhere the city needs to commission a full siting study to determine the extent to which current house locations may be anachronistic and whether other neighborhoods may need additional fire protection resources.