FDNY Drills On Roosevelt Island This Weekend & Update On 11/30 Island House Fire

You Tube Video of 11/30 Roosevelt Island Fire at Island House

RIOC is reporting:

Please be advised on Saturday December 12th and Sunday December 13th from the hours of 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. FDNY will be performing training drills at various locations on Roosevelt Island to better respond to the Island's needs in case of a fire or other related emergency.

That is a very good development. Remember on November 30 there was a fire at Roosevelt Island's Island House. At the time Public Safety Director Keith Guerra reported:

The fire this afternoon took place at 551 Main Street #203, which is an "Up apartment". FDNY extinguished the fire. The Fire Marshall informs that it started in a bedroom on the 2nd floor of the apartment. There is a possibility that it was caused by an electric blanket, but that has not been confirmed as of yet.

The entire 2nd floor of the building was evacuated by PSD, including the residents of apartment 203, who I'm told are nuns from the church. Thankfully, there were no injuries. The Red Cross is on the scene.

During the December Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) meeting there were several eyewitness complaints concerning FDNY's response time to this fire as well as their knowledge about the layout of Island House. RIRA President Frank Farance met with FDNY representatives and reports:

Fire in Island House. As reported in the WIRE, there was a fire in 551 Main Street. We heard several complaints about the performance of FDNY afterwards. I spoke with Lt. Philips at Engine 260, which is our nearest firehouse. The discussion was in the spirit of comparing notes and lessons learned. Overall, there's a little bit of improvement everywhere: FDNY, RIOC, Public Safety, managing agents, and the residents themselves. RIRA will be compiling an informative list for an upcoming Town Hall meeting.

In church on Sunday, Fr. Miqueli asked residents to avoid idle gossip: there were no candles or electric blankets to cause a fire in the nuns' apartment. He suggested that we await the fire marshal's report to understand the cause of the fire. On Monday, a half dozen of us helped pack up the convent while the apartment is being repaired.

Here's a fire safety tip especially for Roosevelt Island residents: Many baseboard heaters have no guard, so power/electric cords can slip up into the heating elements and cause a fire. In my apartment, the heater configuration makes it impossible to have a bed in a bedroom that doesn't abut a heater (for me, those heaters are ALWAYS off). Please be careful and regularly check sofas, beds, cables, etc. to make sure they are well clear of baseboard heaters.

Island Hous Fire Image From rizares Tweetphoto