FDNY ordered to check rooftops across NYC for cooling towers in battle against Legionnaires’ disease
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Published: Tuesday, August 18, 2015, 5:38 PM
Updated: Tuesday, August 18, 2015, 7:09 PM
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Cooling towers in the Bronx have spread the disease. Now the city is trying to create a list of all the cooling towers across the five boroughs.
The city deployed a potent weapon Tuesday in its fight against Legionnaires’ disease — the FDNY.
City fire prevention inspectors and thousands of firefighters swarmed the five boroughs as part of an all-hands-on-deck effort to check rooftops for water cooling systems, sources told the Daily News.
The smoke-eaters joined about 150 fire inspectors from the Bureau of Fire Prevention, who had already been pressed into service in Mayor de Blasio’s war on Legionnaires.
But with upwards of 45,000 potential rooftops to scour, City Hall ordered even more boots on the ground by deploying rank-and-file from the FDNY, sources told The News.
Fire inspectors and firefighters have a list of buildings around the city that use central heat and air units, the sources said.
Such buildings are supposed to have rooftop cooling towers — like the one in the Bronx that’s believed to have sparked the recent outbreak of Legionnaires.
The Legionella bacteria was sprayed out in the cooling tower mist — and then presumably got inhaled into the lungs of passersby below.
RICHARD HARBUS/FOR NEW YORK DAILY NEWSNew York State fire workers were sent to the Bronx last week to test cooling towers. On Tuesday, the FDNY was deployed in the city's fight against Legionnaires' disease.
Twelve people died and 127 were sickened by the Bronx outbreak.
De Blasio signed legislation Tuesday aimed at regulating the towers.
The new law requires landlords to register, inspect and regularly clean cooling towers.
Building owners would also need to get an annual certification — or face fines of up to $25,000.
The fire inspectors and firefighters are working double time to create an accurate map of which buildings have the systems — hence the rapid deployment of all FDNY field personnel, sources told The News.
“NYC’s bravest are doing what they do best -- tackling a huge task with precision and tireless energy. Identifying the location of the city’s cooling towers could literally save lives,” said Mayor de Blasio.
Each firehouse in the city has a list of buildings in its specific area that are likely to have a cooling tower — and companies are working as fast as possible to canvass their areas and assemble a count
“It’s a big, coordinated effort,” a source told The News. “For firehouses that are close to each other, the inspections are staggered, to make sure there’s still coverage for fire calls.”
The Fire Department stressed that none of its members were cleaning the cooling towers or testing the contents -- merely doing "line of sight inspections," the agency said.
Data is reported back to the FDNY Incident Management Team, which is working with the Mayor's Office to compile the numbers.
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