Insurance Fire PatrolLoses Member In WTC
To The Editor:
Members of the Fire Patrol of the New York Board of Fire Underwriters have worked side by side with the New York Fire Department at just about every major incident that has occurred in New York City.
Many times this work involves life-saving efforts, such as those in 1993, when all three patrol units assisted in the evacuation of the World Trade Center after the terrorist bombing. These heroic efforts were recognized by the Fire Department, who presented each member with citations.
On Sept. 11, 2001, all three Fire Patrol units once again responded to the World Trade Center after a terrorist attack. Like the last time, all members were put to work assisting with the evacuation of thousands of people in jeopardy from the smoke. They assisted in keeping people from panicking and helped them out of the buildings.
As we now know, the ultimate consequences of this attack were the collapse of the Towers and the largest civilian death toll in New Yorks history. Along with the staggering figures of those lost, there was also one member of the Fire Patrol.
Fire Patrolman Keith Roma of Patrol 2, while operating in Tower One and assisting with the evacuation, was caught in the collapse of the building. His bravery and sacrifice will be recognized by the placing of his name on the Roll of Honor at Patrol Headquarters. His will be the first name added since 1958, when four patrolman were caught in a collapse on Woorster Street in Manhattan.
The Fire Patrol can trace its history back to 1803. In November 1839, the Association of Fire Insurance Companies, forerunner of the present Board of Fire Underwriters, employed 40 men as a "Fire Police Force" in the citys mercantile district (below Chambers Street). They served as a night patrol and attended all fires in the district, where they were "to use their best endeavors in extinguishing fires and saving property from destruction."
As the city increased in size and fire frequency, the Fire Patrol expanded and at its height numbered 10 patrol units located in the industrialized sections of the city. Today, three units remain–two in Manhattan and one in Brooklyn. Its apparatus includes patrol wagons containing specialized salvage equipment and pickup trucks.
Todays force of 97 patrolmen is highly trained and skilled at providing protection to the valuable contents of high-rise office structures as well as other commercial buildings. In addition, the Fire Department often calls the patrol to emergencies for use of their specialized equipment.
The patrol responds to more than 10,000 alarms a year with savings to insurance companies in excess of $11 million annually, not including other millions saved in damages averted to buildings, businesses that might be closed or interrupted, jobs lost, rents unpaid and other economic impacts.
Relatively few members of the public are aware of the patrol's existence or its members' classic role of safeguarding property against fire and water, and in many instances saving lives at the risk of their own. Keith Roma is one such hero who must never be forgotten.
Dennis L. Rowe
President
New York Board of Fire Underwriters
New York, N.Y.
Reproduced from National Underwriter Property & Casualty/Risk & Benefits Management Edition, October 15, 2001. Copyright 2001 by The National Underwriter Company in the serial publication. All rights reserved.Copyright in this article as an independent work may be held by the author.
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