CBS NEWS
Jennifer Bisram | June 26, 2025
Ambulance response times in New York City have jumped.
During the summer months, paramedics say they get even more calls. They fielded more than 1,000 calls a day this week because of the heat wave.
It comes as EMTs say there’s a staffing shortage.
Paramedic Edgar Romero, who has been on the job for 20 years, works at FDNY EMS Station 27 in the Bronx. He says there aren’t enough ambulances for the amount of calls coming in.
“This week, with the heat, it has been unbearable. It’s been tough. It’s just been very busy,” Romero said. “We have jobs holding two hours, three hours, sometimes even four hours.”
“The Bronx is suffering the most”
According to the union representing 4,200 paramedics citywide, 911 calls went up significantly during this week’s heat wave. They say there were 5,296 Monday, 5,208 Tuesday, and about 5,600 Wednesday. That’s compared to a daily average of 4,325.
“It’s definitely a strain because there’s hardly any units out there,” Romero said.
We’re told 15-20 additional units are needed in the Bronx just to keep up with the amount of calls coming in.
“The Bronx is suffering the most. Most of the calls on hold are in the Bronx. We simply don’t have enough ambulances,” EMS Local 2507 president Oren Barzilay said. “The demand is higher than the resources.”
According to the mayor’s management report, response times have slowed down too. In 2023, it was 10:43. In 2024, it was 10:42. So how about this year?
“We’re over 11 minutes for critical calls such as cardiac arrest,” Barzilay said.