March 27, 2020
An FDNY medical worker wears personal protective equipment outside a COVID-19 testing site at Elmhurst Hospital Center on March 25 in New York.(John Minchillo/AP)
New York City’s 911 dispatchers are handling a “record high” volume of calls as FDNY emergency medical technicians and paramedics, along with firefighters, responded to some 6,000 emergencies across the five boroughs — numbers that the city hasn’t seen since 9/11, FDNY officials and union members said Friday.
On a typical day, FDNY and EMS respond to about 4,000 calls a day, officials said. On major party holidays such as New Years Eve and the Fourth of July, the number can go up to about 5,000 calls.
“We are far surpassing those,” an FDNY spokesman said Friday. “Those are the dramatic spikes, largely driven by sick calls, people who should call a doctor and not an ambulance.”
As the city entered its second week in its ongoing war against the rapidly spreading coronavirus, the FDNY responded to 5,700 911 calls on Tuesday and 5,800 calls on Wednesday, an FDNY spokesman said.
FDNY and EMS responded to a record 6,000 calls on Thursday, the spokesman said.
The high call volume numbers come as 170 FDNY members have tested positive for coronavirus and more than 2,000 members are on medical leave, officials said.
But Oren Barzilay, president of Local 2507, which represents EMS workers, said that the city’s figures were conservative. Dispatchers manning the 911 system Thursday answered more than 7,000 emergency calls as of midnight, he said.
“Our EMTs and paramedics are running rampant, non stop, over 16-hour shifts five days a week during this crisis” said Barzilay. This week’s call volume rivaled the one fielded after 9/11, he said. “There is no such thing as down time as more 911 calls are flooding our switchboard, sometimes low priority calls have to wait a few hours to receive an ambulance.”
“EMS, fire inspectors, police officers, firefighters, we’re holding our city together,” he added.
Barzilay also said that the calls coming into the system Thursday included several non-emergencies from the worried well.
“The public needs to understand and realize that our city is in a crisis and 911 is designed for emergencies,” he said. “If you or your loved ones are not experiencing a life or death situation, don’t call 911.”
In order to tamp down on non-emergency calls, the FDNY has released several public service announcements on social media reminding people to call 911 only in case of a true emergency.
“Allow first responders to assist those most in need,” EMT Sarah McShane explains in the video. “Only call 911 if you need help right away.”