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FDNY: Busiest Week In Almost 30 Years
By
Ben Yakas
Published Jul 10, 2010
Modified Jul 10, 2010
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Jul 10, 2010
Modified Jul 10, 2010
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It was hot outside this week, hotter than Batman riding a robot unicorn. It also made for a particularly hot time for the FDNY, who had their busiest week in almost 30 years according to the Uniformed Firefighters Association (UFA).
The FDNY responded to 93 major fires this week, resulting in 471 firefighters getting minor injuries (such as sprains and heat exhaustion). Since last Sunday, there have been more than 8,700 fire incidents in the city, including several around Brooklyn and Manhattan. On Thursday, maintenance supervisor Victor Hidalgo admitted to sparking one such massive blaze in Bayside, Queens, which left seven people and 15 firefighers with injuries.
UFA Vice President Jim Slevin was grateful the Mayor didn't go through with a plan earlier this year to close 25 firehouses, and explained just how lousy firefighters had it last week: "Firefighters operating in bunker gear, which traps the heat in, your body gets debilitated in this kind of heat. Operating in a fire in which temperatures reach 2,000 degrees, injuries are going to go up, especially with that amount of fire activity." Now let's all cool down with some Talking Heads.
Tagged
brooklyn
fdny
fire
firefighters
heat
manhattan
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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