The New York City Fire Department Bureau of Emergency Medical Services, also known as the FDNY EMS Command, or FDNY EMS, was established on March 17, 1996, following the merger of the New York City Fire Department and New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation’s EMS division. FDNY EMS covers all five boroughs of New York City with Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) and Paramedic staffed ambulances as well as various specialized response vehicles.

Prior to March 17, 1996, municipal ambulances were operated by NYC EMS under the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation, a public benefit corporation, which dispatched both its own ambulances and hospital ambulances. On March 17, 1996, NYC EMS merged with the New York City Fire Department, forming the Bureau of EMS. Employees of the newly formed bureau were considered FDNY employees and became eligible for transfer to firefighter within the department. As a result of the merger, the FDNY Bureau of EMS became the largest fire department-based EMS system in the country.

FDNY EMS controls the operation of all ambulances in the New York City 911 System. 70% of the ambulances in the 911 system are FDNY EMS municipal units while the remaining 30% of 911 system coverage is provided by hospital-based units known as Voluntary Hospital Ambulances, which are staffed by paid hospital personnel who work in partnership with FDNY EMS. Private ambulance services and Volunteer Ambulance Corps also make their resources available to supplement the 911 system. FDNY EMS maintains and controls Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD), and telemetry (online medical control). FDNY EMS is also responsible for managing emergency medical care for all mass casualty incidents (MCI’s) in New York City.

The FDNY EMS has approximately 4,300 EMTs and Paramedics and 500 Officers.

FDNY EMTs, Paramedics and Fire Inspectors are represented by the Uniformed EMTs, Paramedics & Fire Inspectors FDNY- Local 2507, AFSCME DC 37 AFL-CIO.
https://local2507.com/

FDNY EMS Officers are represented by the Uniformed Emergency Medical Service Officers (UEMSO) Local 3621, DC37, AFSCME, NYSPEC, EMSLA, AFL-CIO
https://uemso.com

FDNY Stations