Fires in NYC Soar to Record Levels as Deaths Drop 25 Percent

New York – Deaths from fire were a quarter less than last year in New York City even as the fire department responded to its second-highest number of calls in history.

Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro announced on Wednesday that the city had 66 civilian fire deaths in 2019, fewer than in the 88 who died the year before. This marks the fourteenth consecutive year there have been fewer than 100 fire-related deaths, an unprecedented period in city history.

Nigro said the drop was a result of “our members responding quickly, working together to remove those trapped by fire, providing unrivaled emergency medical care, thoroughly investigating fires, educating the public, and inspecting buildings and areas of public assembly throughout the city to ensure the safety of the public we serve.”

The deadliest year in New York City for fires was 1970, when 310 people died. The safest year came in 2016, when 48 people lost their lives because of blazes. The causes of last year’s fire deaths, as determined by Fire Marshals, are mostly electrical and cooking, with a few blamed on smoking candles, incendiary devices and car fires. Six remain under investigation.

The 1,531,870 times the department has responded to medical emergencies in 2019 are the second highest on record. Roughly a third of them were for life-threatening emergencies such as cardiac arrest, unconscious and choking calls.