OUR YEARS AFTER the Fire Department took over New York City's Emergency Medical Service, response times to crisis situations have been cut down and more lives have been saved. Every second counts in an emergency, and in a city where traffic congestion is the norm, the men and women at the helm of FDNY ambulances play a crucial role in keeping response times low.

But don't dare call them "ambulance drivers."

All FDNY ambulance crew members are highly trained in basic or advanced life-saving skills. PHOTO: C. Rae Jung

"That's the most derogatory comment you can make to one of us," says David Billing, the FDNY Press Secretary who himself worked in EMS for many years. "We like to be referred to as EMTs [emergency medical technicians] and paramedics."

The reason for this, says Billing, is that every person working onboard an ambulance, including the drivers, is extremely well trained in life-saving skills and medical procedures.

The driver program alone involves more than 40 hours of instruction in emergency vehicle operations, during which EMTs learn to apply defensive-driving tactics to emergency vehicles. In the case of ambulances, trainees are taken to the Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, where an obstacle course is set up on a big, open field.

Billing says those who think it will be like driving a regular car - only faster - soon realize they're mistaken.

The back of FDNY ambulances warn motorists to keep their distance. PHOTO: C. Rae Jung

"I always tell them: 'You can drive your Chevy like an ambulance, but you can't drive an ambulance like a Chevy,' " says Billing, laughing. "They are two totally different vehicles and they handle very differently."

Trainees cannot pass the driving course until they are deemed proficient in all aspects of emergency vehicle operations. Until they pass, trainees are forbidden to drive any FDNY vehicles - even the equipment vans.

Once a trainee has passed both EMT and driver training, he or she is issued a five-borough map, which is considered part of the mandatory equipment, to be kept in the vehicle at all times.

Each new member of an FDNY crew is assigned a specific area of the city to cover, and is expected to learn that area, inside and out.

This ambulance is ready and waiting for the next call, outside St. Luke's Hospital in uptown Manhattan. PHOTO: C. Rae Jung

"We never pair a new person with another new person," said Billing. "Newcomers are always put with old-timers who know the best routes and streets to avoid in that area."

Both EMTs and paramedics are expected to become familiar with traffic patterns in their area, but Billing points out that in a city like New York, there isn't much variation.

"We have one traffic pattern in this city," says Billing. "Hustle and bustle. This is truly the city that never sleeps and there is always a high volume of traffic, even if it's not a traffic jam."

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