A 24-year-old Bronx man, Nick Costello, died in December 2023 after waiting nearly 20 minutes for an ambulance—despite multiple paramedic units being stationed less than 500 feet away.
Costello suffered cardiac arrest at a friend’s apartment while nearby 10 ambulances were on standby at a fire scene, CBS New York reports.
The FDNY’s computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system, which is over 30 years old, does not allow dispatchers to redirect offline ambulances. As a result, paramedics who were on standby at the nearby fire were not alerted, forcing a crew from across town to respond instead.
An FDNY review determined there were no violations of policy in the case, and the agency is evaluating procedures.
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