FDNY profile
Published: 01 April, 2007
Opened by Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta in late 2006, the $US17 million, state-of-the-art centre currently serves as the central command and information hub for all the FDNY.
Opened by Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta in late 2006, the $US17 million, state-of-the-art centre currently serves as the central command and information hub for all the FDNY.
Located at FDNY Headquarters in Downtown Brooklyn, the FDOC is staffed by uniformed personnel who monitor fire and EMS activity across the five boroughs, 24-hours a day, seven-days-a-week.
“Technology upgrades in the FDOC have allowed the FDNY to increase its interoperability with other City agencies including the Police Department, the Office of Emergency Management and US Department of Transportation,” a spokesman told F&R.
“This allows senior fire commanders the ability to management multiple, large scale incidents across the City from a single, central remote location.”
The FDOC is also able to link to the Citywide Public Safety Wireless Network which provides real-time links to city, state and federal agencies and provide for greater ‘situational awareness’ and resource coordination in case of a large scale manmade or natural disaster.
“The expansion and development of the Fire Department Operations Center is a critical management tool for fire commanders in the event of a large-scale disaster or simultaneous, multiple emergencies around the city,” comments Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Increased range of capabilities
“This new Operations Center is equipped with an unprecedented range of capabilities which will continue to grow,” Commissioner Scoppetta told F&R.
“This is the nerve centre and the future of the FDNY. Every day our members risk their lives to help their fellow New Yorkers. This Center will ensure our firefighters and EMS workers get there faster and safer than ever before.”
Built with funding from both the City (US$3m) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (US$14m), the FDOC has been equipped with the most advanced technology available to first responders, enabling Fire Department commanders to manage one or multiple emergencies from a single remote location and better communicate with other city, state and federal agencies. The FDOC is divided into two sections, the Emergency Operations Center, which supervises the Department’s thousands of daily responses, and the Incident Support Center, which is designed to manage large-scale emergencies and/or special events. Nearly a dozen firefighters and EMS personnel are trained and assigned to staff the FDOC on a 24-hour basis.
Lined with more than 75 computers and 52,000 feet of network cable, the FDOC is the operational nucleus of the FDNY, facilitating communication among all of its responding members and specialised units.
“As events unfold at one crisis scene or at multiple locations, the FDOC shares updates with different commanders in the field and provides important data needed to fight fires, rescue civilians, properly deploy personnel and protect members from any potential harmful substances,” comments an FDNY spokesman.
Vehicle tracking
Through the Department’s new Automatic Vehicle Location system, the movement of every FDNY ambulance is also tracked in the FDOC on maps spread across large computer screens, and soon, fire apparatus will be monitored in the same way.
In addition, the FDOC is equipped to access live uninterrupted video feeds from NYPD helicopters giving fire commanders an aerial view to any major fire or large scale emergency. Fire officials also will be able to access 80 real-time traffic cameras installed throughout the city by the Department of Transportation.
Every radio transmission and telephone call that comes in to the FDOC is recorded and able to be played back immediately. This ‘scenario replay’ helps officials recreate events and allow them to fill information gaps unclear to their counterparts in the field.
The FDOC also has access to the Autodesk Crisis Command, which provides layers of maps that show the locations of nearby schools, hospitals, subway lines and other crucial data.
