NYC ambulance response times for life-threatening emergencies jump as EMTs see staffing crunch
Ambulance response times during life-threatening emergencies jumped in the last year, according to revealed data — as the FDNY blames ongoing staffing and recruiting troubles.
Average ambulance response time to life-threatening emergencies jumped more than 34 seconds from eight minutes and 14-seconds in the 2024 fiscal year to eight minutes and 48 seconds for the first quarter of the 2025 fiscal year running from July 1 through November, according to the.
The FDNY goal is to bring ambulance response times to such calls to under seven minutes, the report said.
The response times have creeped up in recent years. In fiscal year 2022, the ambulance response time to life-threatening emergencies was seven minutes and 26 seconds.
Combined average response to life-threatening emergencies by ambulances and fire companies combined also shot up by 18 seconds — from six minutes and 32 seconds last year to six minutes and 50 seconds during the first quarter of this fiscal year.
The report comes as FDNY leaders say the department has been having trouble staffing and recruiting EMTs and paramedics in its Emergency Medical Services unit.
“Emergency Medical Services (EMS) faces a lack of resources in terms of emergency medical technicians and paramedics as well as a smaller pipeline of potential recruits,” FDNY said in the report.
“This reduction in capacity leads to fewer in-service hours per day for EMS.”
The union representing 4,200 paramedics, emergency medical technicians and fire inspectors is one of the few that has not reached a new labor contract under Mayor Eric Adams. Low pay has been a sore point for the life saving ambulance workers.
By comparison, average response time to life-threatening medical emergencies solely by fire companies held steady at five minutes and 55 seconds, a second lower than the last fiscal year.
Still, the target FDNY response time goal is four minutes and 38 seconds for life-threatening emergencies.
Former FDNY Commissioner Tom Von Essen blasted the increased ambulance response times and blamed former Mayor Bill de Blasio and current Mayor Eric Adams for not addressing the subpar pay for paramedics and EMTs, as well poor agency management.
“The incompetence and mismanagement of DeBlasio has not been corrected by Adams. We merged EMS into Fire over 25 years ago and hard to believe but not complete yet,” Von Essen, the fire commissioner during the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, told The Post.
“We promised EMTs and Paramedics better pay and broke that promise,” added Von Essen, who also served as regional director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency during the pandemic. “What they did during Covid was nothing short of remarkable. Current Response time problem is exacerbated by shortage of new recruits (salary a problem) and need for more ambulances and general poor management at FDNY.”
Staffing issues in FDNY’s Emergency Medical Services unit is a real problem, said Oren Barzilay, president of EMS Local 2507 representing EMTS, paramedics and FDNY inspectors.
“It’s simple math. You have high demand and low supply,” said Barzilay.
“We’re one of the few unions left without a new contract. People are going elsewhere for better pay.”
In a statement released Thursday night, the FDNY and City Hall insisted they’re addressing the issue of longer response times.
“The Adams administration is dedicated to making sure New Yorkers get the services they need when they need them. While several factors on our streets — like a drastic increase in outer-borough traffic congestion and higher call volumes — are beyond our control, we are using every tool in our toolbox to improve response times, like increasing coordination with hospitals, enhancing efficiency in high-volume areas, and using telehealth technology to streamline care,” said City Hall spokeswoman Liz Garcia.
“We take this extremely seriously and will continue to take every step possible to keep New Yorkers safe.”
