The FDNY (New York City Fire Department) is a renowned firefighting organization with a long history, dating back to 1648. It was initially established as the Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam and was later renamed to the Metropolitan Fire District and the Metropolitan Fire Department (MFD). The FDNY is comprised of nine volunteer fire companies that answer calls in their respective neighborhoods, in addition to FDNY units. These units are also comprised of specially trained firefighters from the New York Fire Department. The FDNY uses a ten-code radio signal system, as well as an internal bell code system, to transmit and receive information related to emergency communications and general operations of the Department.
The FDNY's hazardous materials (Haz-Mat) company, Haz-Mat 1, is based in Queens and responds to major hazardous materials incidents throughout the city, building collapses, pollution-related incidents, terrorist-related disasters, serious emergencies, and a variety of other incidents where its services may be needed. When an alarm is sent to the assigned companies, both in their respective fire stations and to the individual mobile data terminals (MDT), of each company's devices when they are in the field, depending on where the Starfire computer indicates that they are. If a street fire alarm box from the Emergency Notification System (ERS) is not answered within 60 seconds, usually because all the alarm receiving consoles are in use, the computer automatically sends an engine company to the location of the physical street fire alarm box. False alarms can be a major issue for fire stations in Suffolk County, New York. To reduce false alarms and ensure that firefighters are able to respond quickly and efficiently to real emergencies, Suffolk County Police recommends that homeowners and business owners protect any object that their alarm system can detect and “read as a potential intruder”.
This will help reduce the number of false alarms that each station of each fire district in Suffolk County, New York responds to per year. By taking proactive steps to reduce false alarms, homeowners and business owners can help ensure that firefighters are able to respond quickly and efficiently to real emergencies. This will help keep Suffolk County residents safe and secure while also helping firefighters do their job more effectively.
