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AGENCY TESTIMONY
FDNY addresses surge in brush fires with innovative approaches
0:16:29
ยท
104 sec
Commissioner Tucker discusses the significant increase in brush fires faced by the FDNY in late 2024, highlighting the department's proactive and innovative response to this challenge.
- The number of brush fires quadrupled from about 20 in October-November 2023 to over 500 in the same period in 2024
- The FDNY launched its first-ever brush fire task force to combat the surge
- Innovative approaches included deploying drone teams for both active fire operations and preventive scouting
- The commissioner expresses confidence in the FDNY's ability to learn, improve, and continue keeping New York City safe in the face of this new challenge
Robert Tucker
0:16:29
A new challenge that we faced this fall was the great proliferation of brush fires.
0:16:35
Fighting brush fires is not new or unusual to the FDNY.
0:16:40
But in late twenty twenty four, a prolonged drought and persistent dry conditions led to drastic increases over a short period of time.
0:16:50
To give you a sense of that increase, we had roughly a 20 brushfires in October and November of twenty twenty three.
0:17:00
The number more than quadrupled to over 500 fires over the same period of time in 2024.
0:17:09
We were proactive in our efforts to combat this surge, launching the department's first ever brush fire task force.
0:17:17
We used innovative approaches to keep the city safe, deploying drone teams to assist fire operations at active fires as well as in a preventive capacity.
0:17:30
Scouting areas of potential fires to ensure efficient responses is important and we're doing that.
0:17:37
We were fortunate that these fires didn't cost lives of any New Yorkers and were mostly contained to isolated areas and did not cause widespread damage to buildings or homes.
0:17:50
We continue to learn from our experience here and from the experience of our counterparts in Los Angeles and other parts of the country.
0:17:59
As with any challenge the FDNY faces, I have every confidence that our members will learn and improve and continue to keep New York City safe.
0:18:12
Thank you.