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 mayor’s management report.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 FDN...