Latest news with #RobertTucker
CBS News
23-06-2025
- CBS News
Lithium-ion batteries sparked Bronx fire that gutted 3 homes, FDNY confirms
The FDNY has confirmed a fire that tore through three homes in the Bronx over the weekend was sparked by lithium-ion batteries. Multiple people were injured, including several firefighters. Mayor Eric Adams and fire officials toured the intense damage left behind Monday after the FDNY said three homes caught fire along Devoe Terrace on Sunday. Latest on the investigation The FDNY said there were five lithium-ion-powered devices outside the home and at least two were charging when the fire broke out. While fire officials say their investigation is still ongoing, at least one of the lithium-ion batteries involved was uncertified, CBS News New York's Zinnia Maldonado reported. "It is traumatizing, not only to the residents of both houses on the left and right, but for the neighbors on the block," Adams said. One man who did not want to be identified lives next door. "When I came out, the fire spread so fast. There were four bikes right here," the man said. The FDNY said 14 individuals suffered minor injuries -- 12 first responders and two residents. An additional firefighter was taken to the hospital in critical condition due to smoke inhalation but is now stable and in good spirits. NYC has seen massive drop in lithium-ion battery fire deaths Adams said deaths due to fires sparked by lithium-ion batteries in the city dropped 67% between 2023 and 2024. "We are at zero this year. However, last night could have been the first one," FDNY Commissioner Robert Tucker said. The FDNY confirmed that at least one resident inside the home was disabled and utilized motorized scooters. Another next-door neighbor said e-bikes were constantly parked on the front porch. "We decided to evacuate. The smoke was coming in. By the time we came out, there was another explosion. I guess they had a lot of e-bikes sitting on their porch," the neighbor said. The Red Cross is now assisting the individuals displaced along Devoe Terrace. The FDNY said that one firefighter still in the hospital is now stable and remains in good spirits.
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
LIRR service resumes after electrical fire in Grand Central Madison
NEW YORK (PIX11) — Long Island Railroad trains are back on schedule after an electrical fire broke out in a tunnel at Grand Central Madison Tuesday morning, officials said. Authorities responded to the incident at 8:15 a.m., and it took several hours and more than 100 firefighters to contain the smoky tunnel, according to FDNY Commissioner Robert Tucker. The heavy smoke conditions were in the basement of the LIRR tracks, officials said. 'There was zero visibility down there,' Tucker said. Three firefighters and a civilian suffered non-life-threatening injuries, according to the FDNY. All Grand Central-bound trains were diverted to Penn Station or Jamaica due to the incident, according to the MTA. The trains were back on schedule at around 2:40 p.m. The cause of the fire is under investigation. Mira Wassef is a digital reporter who has covered news and sports in the NYC area for more than a decade. She has been with PIX11 News for two years. See more of her work here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Yahoo
Woman arrested in deadly stabbing at a northwest Jacksonville senior living facility
A 68-year-old Jacksonville woman now faces a murder charge. Investigators with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office responded to a stabbing at Morris Manor Apartments on Norfolk Road in Sherwood Forest on Tuesday. They found Robert Tucker, 73, bleeding inside the senior living facility. A report said they followed a trail of blood and found the suspect, Carol Caroll. >>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<< Tucker died at the scene. Carroll was arrested and booked into the Duval County Jail. The motive for the stabbing has not yet been released. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
FDNY orders ambulances to take patients to closest hospital, sparking backlash
NEW YORK - A New York City Fire Department directive, intended to reduce ambulance response times, is drawing backlash from both patients and doctors. The backstory Previously, patients were able to direct emergency service workers to a hospital of their choice, provided it was within 10 minutes of the closest hospital available. The previous directive only required crews to take patients to the nearest hospital in severe or life-threatening medical emergencies. The selection of the hospital is assisted by the Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD). As of March 12, EMS ambulance crews must take patients to the nearest hospital. Brooklyn's Gerritsen Beach Fire Department, which provides volunteer ambulance services for their community, posted on Facebook about the change. "Even if you have a preferred hospital where your doctors are, that no longer matters unless a rare medical exception is approved. If you refuse, you'll have to sign a refusal form, and the ambulance will leave." What they're saying Some in the hospital industry have taken issue with the change. Dr. Bret Rudy, executive vice president and chief of hospital operations of NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn, told the New York Post, "The new policy is too rigid and undermines patient safety and care." He cited an example of a patient with a broken hip being sent to the emergency department of a hospital that was not equipped with an orthopedic surgeon. NYU Langone's team traveled to the hospital to transfer the patient to Langone to perform the surgery. The policy has "created a lot of consternation" in the hospital industry, said Kenneth Raske, CEO of the Greater New York Hospital Association. There are also reports of confrontations between patients and ambulance crews regarding the updated policy, according to the New York Post. "We're not the Uber business or Lyft business." FDNY Commissioner Robert Tucker to the New York Post A woman in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, who asked to remain anonymous, called 911 to transport her grandmother to NYU Langone-Brooklyn Hospital, which is in Sunset Park. The woman said her grandmother is Chinese and that she preferred to send her grandma to a hospital with more Chinese-speaking staff. But the paramedic and EMT in the ambulance said they had to transport her grandmother to Coney Island Hospital instead. The family refused the ride and drove the grandmother to Langone-Brooklyn. The other side FDNY Commissioner Robert Tucker defended the updated policy in an interview with the New York Post, stating some hospital officials are displeased that patients are not being taken to their hospitals. "That's a business dispute. I'm in the business of saving lives," Tucker said. "I don't steer patients. I take them for the most part to the local hospital. We're not the Uber business or Lyft business to take people where they want to go." The average ambulance response time to life-threatening emergencies rose to 8 minutes and 48 seconds in the first quarter of the 2025 fiscal year, according to Mayor Adam's January management report. "It's working," Tucker said. "Response times are coming down." The Source This article uses information from the New York Post's reporting. A group representing NYU Langone also reached out directly to FOX 5 NY.
New York Post
27-04-2025
- Health
- New York Post
New FDNY order sending patients to closest hospital provokes backlash: ‘Stupid — in a word'
A new city Fire Department directive aimed at slashing the rise in 911 response times has provoked a huge backlash, with patients and hospitals claiming it's actually jeopardizing safety instead of being a lifesaver. FDNY Commissioner Robert Tucker imposed a rule March 12 requiring EMS ambulance crews to transport all patients — whether their condition is life-threatening — to the nearest hospital, not one where the patients have a relationship with their doctor or where they prefer to go. 4 FDNY Commissioner Robert Tucker imposed a rule requiring EMS ambulance crews to transport all patients to the nearest hospital. AP The previous directive only required ambulance crews to deliver patients to the closest hospital during severe or life-threatening medical emergencies. The selection of the hospital is aided by a computer. In rare instances, an appeal to a tele-FDNY doctor can overturn the computer-aided decision. The new policy is too rigid and undermines patient safety and care, said Dr. Bret Rudy, executive vice president and chief of hospital operation at NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn. He said that for example, a patient with a broken hip was recently sent to the emergency department of a hospital that didn't have an orthopedic surgeon to perform surgery. NYU Langone's team ended up going to the other hospital to transfer the patient to Langone for surgery. 'This policy does not produce good outcomes. It's going to result in bad outcomes,' Rudy warned to The Post. 'It's putting more patients at risk.' 4 The new policy is too rigid and undermines patient safety and care, said NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn's Dr. Bret Rudy. NYU Langone The new directive has led to confrontations between patients and ambulance crews, too. Eli Gottlieb, 84, said he was suffering from kidney failure and that his doctor, who was affiliated with Mt. Sinai Brooklyn, told him to call 911 for an ambulance to take him to the facility. Gottlieb said he sat in an ambulance for 30 minutes as he haggled with its crew, which was instructed to take him to Maimonides Midwood Community Hospital. Gottlieb refused to go there, noting that the hospital that treats him, Mt. Sinai Brooklyn, was not much farther away from his home. The ambulance crew called the FDNY-teledoctor, who overruled the computer dispatch selection and allowed the ambulance crew to send him to Mt. Sinai Brooklyn. Gottlieb said the ordeal wasted precious time. Asked how he would describe the nearest-hospital-first policy, Gottlieb responded, 'Stupid — in a word.' 4 In rare instances, an appeal to a tele-FDNY doctor can overturn the computer-aided decision. Matthew McDermott A woman in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, also called 911 to transport her grandmother, who had blood in her stool, to NYU Langone-Brooklyn Hospital, which is in Sunset Park. The woman, who requested anonymity, said her grandmother is Chinese and that she preferred to send grandma to a hospital with more Chinese-speaking staff. But the paramedic and EMT in the ambulance said they had to take granny to Coney Island Hospital, which was closer. The family ended up refusing the medical assistance and drove the grandmother to Langone-Brooklyn. The new ambulance policy has 'created a lot of consternation' in the hospital industry, said Kenneth Raske, CEO of the Greater New York Hospital Association. He said negotiations are ongoing to see if tweaks can be made to the directive. But FDNY Commissioner Tucker defended the policy during a Post interview, as did the union leader representing paramedics and EMTS on 911 ambulance crews. Tucker said some hospital officials are not happy that patients are not being steered to their hospitals by the FDNY 911 system. 'That's a business dispute. I'm in the business of saving lives,' Tucker said. 'I don't steer patients. I take them for the most part to the local hospital. We're not the Uber business or Lyft business to take people where they want to go.' He said transporting patients to the nearest hospital in most instances is 'the right thing to do' so that ambulance crews can more quickly respond to the next 911 call. 4 The previous directive only required ambulance crews to deliver patients to the closest hospital during severe or life-threatening medical emergencies. Getty Images The average ambulance response time to life-threatening emergencies jumped more than 34 seconds, from 8 minutes and 14 seconds in 2024 fiscal year to 8 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 in January. The FDNY is in discussions with hospital officials over possible tweaks to the policy, but Tucker does not foresee dramatic change. 'It's working,' he said. 'Response times are coming down.' A patient who is not facing a life-threatening situation can refuse medical assistance and take a private car service or other transport, Tucker noted. Oren Barzilay, president of FDNY EMS Local 2507 representing FDNY EMS paramedics and EMTS, backed the new 911 directive, repeating many of the points made by Tucker. He said some patients want to avoid the city's public hospitals. 'People think we're a cab service to take them where they want to go. We take you to the local hospital to be treated,' Barzilay said.
