FDNY Commissioner Calls BOMA/NY Partner and Unveils Innovations for 2011

Commissioner Cassano annoucing zero fire deaths this year

FDNY Commissioner Salvatore J. Cassano opened his keynote address at the BOMA/NY Annual Conference by swinging wide the door to partnership: "The FDNY wants a great partnership with the building industry, and you, BOMA/NY, are the industry."

That partner is in its best position in years, explained Cassano, who brought the conference some good news—the FDNY has just recorded the lowest number of fire deaths ever. Equally as important, burn injuries are at their lowest.

Reaffirming that the "first five minutes of a fire are the most critical," Cassano noted that "what the building employees do during those five minutes is the most important thing they can do to save lives. Together we can keep those fire deaths at zero."

Recognition for FDNY prevention head Joseph Evangelista

Cassano, who worked his way to the top from being a rookie firefighter 40 years ago, dove right into how the FDNY is sharpening its skills, resources, tactics and training to make sure New York’s Bravest can maintain their safety record and work even more efficiently with building teams. He ticked off a series of initiatives and accomplishments, including:

•  CIBIDAS software, a web-based, risk-based inspection system identifying hazardous buildings which he called "revolutionary." This New York "first" is seen as a template for the nation and will be on line in 2011.

•  The Fire Alarm Plan review time has been cut from two months to two weeks.

•  "Taking nothing for granted", EAP training continues to be a priority with a wealth of tools available online at www.nyc.gov/fdny.

•  The state-of-the-art Fireboat #343, designed to protect the New York/New Jersey harbor, is now in service; a second duplicate fireboat for Staten Island became operational earlier this month. The #343, honoring the number of firefighters lost on 9/11, can pump 50,000 gallons a minute and detect/protect against chemical, biological and nuclear event fires.

•  Communication and relationships with the DOB have never been better, with inspection information being shared to avoid duplication and use time more effectively.

BOMA/NY VP Lou Mantia (l) with Commissioner Cassano
(center) and Codes & Regs/Gov't Affairs Chair Tom Hogan

Yet the Commissioner also stressed that even though the FDNY has "the best firefighters in the world", the mission is to be even better. "We have made important changes in fire prevention based on public input—and we need your feedback. We’ve worked together during this past three years on the Fire Code review process. You told us what worked and what didn’t work, your concerns and the changes you wanted to see. It is a partnership that works, and we will continue you to reach out to you, as a partner."

Special thanks to our valued exhibitors for making our Annual Conference such a success:

Able Services, Allied Barton, Briscoe Protective Services, Brisk Waterproofing, Building Security Services of NY, Burke Supply, Con Edison, Con Edison Solutions, Degmor, Donnelly Mechanical Corp., Eaton Corporation, Envision Realty Services, FDNY, Firequench, Firestop Solutions, Green Energy International, Hothead Tech.com, Instar Services Group, Johnson Controls, Inc., Kastle Systems, Maxons Restorations, McEnergy Inc., O&S Associates, Parker, Quality Fire Protection Consultants, Rosenwach Tank, Scales Technologies, Siemens and Supreme Building Messengers.

BOMA/NY
http://www.bomany.org/