2014 reported as busiest year for FDNY firefighters

FDNY firefighters enter the scene of a three-alarm grass fire at Westen and Gulf avenues in Bloomfield Monday, April 14, 2014.(Staten Island Advance/ Bill Lyons)

By Mary Sharmaine | mstan@siadvance.com
on January 13, 2015 at 6:48 PM, updated January 13, 2015 at 9:10 PM

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- For New York's Bravest, 2014 was their busiest year to date, and Staten Island's annual stats were no exception to the citywide increase in the number of emergency responses.
The Fire Department of New York responded to a total of 519,798 emergency calls last year -- a nearly 8.5 percent increase, compared to a total of 479,228 in 2013, according to an FDNY press release.
There were a total of 25,834 Staten Island emergency responses, up from 24,245 in 2013, a 6.55 percent increase.
Staten Island's FDNY emergency response data for 2014, compared with 2013, showed:

Structural fires increased by 9.66 percent -- from 1,252 to 1,373.
Non-structural fires, including auto, brush and rubbish fires, increased by 17.44 percent -- from 711 to 835.
Emergencies, including gas, water and steam leaks, trapped-in-elevator rescues, carbon monoxide and fire alarms in major buildings, subway emergencies and scaffold and building collapses, increased by 11.45 percent -- from 10,074 to 11,227.
Medical emergencies increased by 2.16 percent -- from 10,654 to 10,884.
False alarms decreased by 2.51 percent -- down to 1,515 from 1,554.

Statistics for individual boroughs, along with the citywide numbers, can be found on the New York City FDNY website.
"Today New York City Firefighters are trained to deal with a wide range of emergencies," said Steve Cassidy, president of the Uniformed Firefighters Association, in the release. "Going back decades it was fires, fires, fires. And now we're dealing with so many more things [other] than just structural fires. Firefighters are ready to deal with emergencies that are either manmade or natural."