Dispatcher Error has Fire Union Smoldering

The city's largest fire union Tuesday accused the FDNY of sending the wrong engine to a Bronx blaze because of a foul up in the department's new dispatching program. But the FDNY rejected the union's charges, saying the mistake was a human error. FDNY brass defended the new program by pointing to a dramatic drop in response times since the rules were implemented. The dispute centers around a two-story building that ignited Monday night on Coster St. in Hunt's Point. The closest FDNY rig - Engine 94, about six-tenths of a mile away - was not the first dispatched to the scene...more>