FDNY Foundation

Fire Officers Management Institute (FOMI)

Overview:

Following 9/11, the New York City Fire Department recognized the need for coordination of resources and response strategies with city agencies, levels of government, private, and non-govermental partners as well as an increase in management of long-duration responses. FOMI provides, for senior uniformed officers in the fire and emergency service, much needed service skills in advanced management leadership. This in turn allows senior officers a means to implement new technolgies into operations, assess and identify new threats.

FOMI combines elements of Columbia University’s Master of Public Administration and Master of Business Administration curricula with customized fire-service case studies and General Electric’s innovation management practices.

The projects included:

Developing Criteria to Evaluate Grant Projects By Captain Robert Amato, Assistant Chief Fire Marshal John D. Lynn, EMS Deputy Chief Steve Morelli and Battalion Chief John Nykiel
The Department is anticipating a dramatic cut in grant funding from the Department of Homeland Security over the next few years. This team researched the impact of such a reduction and developed enhancement information toward the performance of existing grant funded projects.

High Reliability Organizing By Battalion Chief Keith Cartica, Battalion Chief Steven Fitzgerald, Supervising Fire Marshal William Law and EMS Deputy Chief Jonathan Pistilli
Many organizations that have to operate reliably or risk catastrophic results, such as aircraft carrier operations and nuclear power plants, are described as high reliability organizations (HRO). This team developed an understanding of HRO principles and how to apply them to the FDNY, considered the challenges of an organizational culture adjustment for the FDNY to embrace these principles and recommended ways the Department can move to become an HRO.

Providing Emergency Response for Bariatric Patients By Battalion Chief James Boylan, Captain Michael Kendall and EMS Deputy Chief Andrew Werner
Since bariatric patients pose specific challenges to emergency responders and require specialized resources and responses, this team thought a coordinated response by Fire and EMS members is needed to ensure overall patient care and good customer service. They reviewed ways in which the Department can alter its protocol to improve services offered to this group of patients, which is growing in number.

Evaluation and Specifications for Bunker Gear By Battalion Chief Peter Blum, Deputy Chief John Esposito, Captain Joseph Jardin and Deputy Chief Jay Jonas
This team interviewed doctors, members of the Department and personal protective experts to learn more about the design of the FDNY’s bunker gear. Although they found the gear exceeds national requirements for safety, has an optimal balance of breathability and thermal protection, and members are satisfied with its design, they offered suggestions for a number of design improvements to make it more comfortable and user friendly.

Alumni

FOMI alumni have helped to implement reduced emergency response time, established an anti-terrorism center and emergency operations center, increase firefighter safety and design multi-agency, risk-based, building and fire safety inspection system.