
Fire Announcement and Press Conference

( NYC Board of Education Photo / WNYC Archive Collections )
Mayor Wagner discusses the death of nine children in fire related accidents since the first of January, 1964. Wagner reminds parents of their responsibility when it comes to fire safety. Keep matches away from kids and have a neighbor watch your children if you leave the house.
Wagner asks people to stop smoking in bed and to check the wiring in their houses. There has been an increase in false alarms which has caused some problems with firefighting resources. Most of the false alarms occur when the taverns close. The city has a record of the most frequently pulled alarms and has asked the police to crack down on false alarm triggers.
Generally speaking, there has been a decrease in major alarm fires over the last several years.
There are questions from reporters after the subject of fire is extinguished. Reporters ask if Wagner has met with Senator Jack E. Bronston. Would you be willing to support Bronston as majority leader? Wagner hedges. Have you met Senator Kennedy? I did talk to Kennedy - his wife Ethel just gave birth to a baby boy. Kennedy didn't want to get involved with New York election politics.
Audio courtesy of the NYC Municipal Archives WNYC Collection
WNYC archives id: 150632
Municipal archives id: T875
This is a machine-generated transcript. Text is unformatted and may contain errors.
My fellow on the ark is it is my responsibility to bring to your attention a tragic situation since the first of January nine children in our city have lost their lives and. These are grim statistics but they can never truly reflect the despair and heartbreak of the families involved the senseless tragedy must be stopped they can be stopped parents must accept and constantly remember their responsibility under no conditions are children to be left alone fire as a quick and always unexpected killing five of the children who have died so far this year have been left alone keep matches from the reach of children children and matches have no business together of the nine youngsters who died seven of them were playing with matches I would like to propose a good neighbor policy for those who are unable to have someone babysit for them all watch their children when they must be out of their homes let us turn to our neighbors and volunteer to watch one another's children when it is otherwise necessary to leave children alone I asked the cooperation of all. This and. Well I. Have great confidence in the commission and any legislation that he would propose I know that after discussion we would support I think Guy main concern here today is to emphasize to parents. To say to what that they do not leave their children alone We also emphasize the fact that people should be stop smoking in bed and that they should check their electrical wiring so that this. Area can. Be. Used in a way that we don't have any fires and that a good part of the fire has resulted from these categories and also that we ask people not to send in false alarms because we've had a big increase in that area and asked the Commissioner Scott to comment on that. And we let him comment on. The increase in the number of calls along. As we've built primarily due to those in the app in the homes of the children after they leave school thinking they're going to have some fun. And at nighttime fun Fortunately. Most in the car at the evidence flaws. Are now in a process of stepping up a campaign stop these false alarms in the areas where they most frequently happened it would be impossible but the ten thousand a lot while I'm boss and city to surveil each one. We have the records now of those that have been most regularly public applaud salaams and we have the hours of a car and. We are going to take the proper police action with the support of police commissioner Marty and members of the five apartment we hope in this particular area late at night to stop them we're asking the Board of Education the law most cooperative in all of our campaign to bring this message home to the children through our lecturers. Yes we will most successful On another occasion when we have a pilot project and if we. Have the same success this time we hope to cut this number down it's been increasing. Gailey and it would appear that was no answer so it was going to attack at the head on right now. The mayor wants these false alarms cut down way going to see to it that they will be and likewise the mayor has most graciously brought this message of the. Audit callousness of some parents leaving the children alone and in other cases of absolute necessity having to leave them alone. That we're going to have all of our men who are visiting the multiple dwellings and but they clean a disadvantage areas to ask the neighbors to cooperate in this good neighbor policy which he has enunciated today yes let me interrupt I understand that in the release handed out we shall I. Increase and the number of fire has almost doubled the amount. This year sixty four sixty fifty five that's good but the commissioners told me that. The vast majority of them are fires that are put out with a pail of water with one hundred one hose line ad but that the major fires have shown a decrease a substantial decrease over the previous years and. While the increase Mr Mayor statistically would appear to be very alarming. I would tell you thought rightly that. Most of these fires I believe it's about ninety eight percent of the fires are ninety nine are confined to their original point a barge and on the approach to the fire department and that the same percentage are extinguished what one line or less and one hose line however and they have the rest as the major all the big fires where we have this terrific loss of property and contents and also in some cases Well we have the loss of life. Building wise they have the crazed but the major wildfires in the city are decreasing yearly and we hope to show another substantial decrease this year we can can have that decrease in the number of the major ones in the minor ones and parents will take greater care of their children and also people will watch stop the smoking in bed and also check their wiring Yes sir and I believe that. All they have to obey is some commonsense rules of fire prevention and that area and that. Hasn't yet and yes we are and I'm very happy to tell you that we have great cooperation that particular. I have personally I have stepped up the number of. Lecture as not a poppin who off low and in Spanish and. When we had the two or three Way campaign Save the Children Mr Mayor which one doest waivers of the hundred twenty thousand people and seventy nine thousand various buildings and the Spanish PITA speaking members of the teams did a great job we found two hundred twenty six children left alone at that time and I rechecked Mr Mayor I'm very happy that side it. That. The impact of the first visit and the face to face meeting with these poor people who had to leave a child alone are some who are absolutely callous and leaving them alone that in only two or three instances and I reject that we find the children of the same caliber. And not tell but. I'm not aware of that but I can tell you truthfully right now that that had nothing to do with the cause of the fire. Right until and I'm. Saying why don't we. Still have anyone operate. On. Fire. That can be. Eliminated the people with. Greater. Frankly at this time we don't know of any other but I think what was lacking in these other campaigns that they were not continuing. We can month out year after year away going to attempt to continue them because. As I've explained it was out of the marriage that I Iraq via prevention campaign goes on every day I believe it's twenty eight percent of the total apparatus and men on duty are in the bail as the mayor from nine o'clock in the morning until five them all bail radio equipment ready to respond at a moment's notice to apply to a fire or such other ranches where they may be required. They are still doing this great fire prevention job which we believe in doing. Last year where happy to report every building in the city of New York was inspected by the fire them up. We are going to last them and they we have no problem with the support of the members of the human form force of this department to bring this message home and every multiple dwelling they go into when we have the pamphlets now being printed in addition to the ones we had before they are a sample and they have three messages that leave your children alone. Now leave matches around. Don't smoke in bed that's the message. I. Had this time I failed and on the advice of the shape of the popping on the other members of an apartment no legislation is necessary to do this simple thing this is a protective. Family to buy help one another be a good neighbor mine a challenge you don't have to have legislation just capital common sense a little charity in our hearts toward one another. Well that if we had such a law that stench of law that would not come within. That would come under the power of the water supply guys like President. The legislature the panel or already three which has to do with the pair and I held on the mind of. What is necessary yes. Fifty five that was I was asked to produce these pages for a ten year period and I gave the annual report these read figures are report it I nearly. You mean the frequency of them in certain areas yes there are certain areas. While in the midtown late at night we have frequent many false alarms and. Yes where there is a number of times we have a number of alarms. And we have them all over the city to point out one straight or another I think would not be in the best interest of what we intend to doat we don't want to telegraph what we're going to doe we're going to do it in the areas where they're most regularly a current. Absolutely not absolutely. They're all over the city and they have been and still and we are not going to pinpoint any area that the children of the city to do it I just misguided into having a little fun. But I would assume so because the city has been growing and growing in the Billings are getting larger and larger and the has it's a greater and greater because of the little industries and particularly with the plastics the chemicals and what have you and I we have and I said it today and the natural obsolescence and the carrier ration of some of the older buildings. Here. You know. There have been a total of thirteen people lost their lives in the fires a share to date and I know what children. For others were right. What happened that bond. Was not. The same character. Here. And they have a question. Where the you. Know all of. All right. Well. What other side all. Right. Well I understand that I received a call last evening at the center that would like to meet with me I am at that time attended a wake for. Scan that Stein Rick who had been married to a late cousin of mine Evelyn lag then who worked here in City Hall many years ago and I understand he called the small mining while I attended the funeral of Mr Steiner. Well it depends on what he would like to meet about when you see him right. I haven't had any opportunity to talk to him I don't know what he would like to talk about what. I've always been I think that this is and I. I'll come at decision this is a decision that has to be made by members of the Senate and members of the assembly. Well that depending on what he would like to discuss and I've always had a policy of being glad to meet with anybody I would do so not to have others there to as well if such a meeting was a right. I think that this is a matter that's up to the legislature I. Have said that I was first founded as a Reds case and address key is no. Longer on the ferry among others that he was the minority leader I said over the pier the time this is the. In my opinion the proper way to continue. And the precedence that they've had in the legislature for years that the minority leaderships would move up just as the rescue centers rescue has said that he is a logger and interested in it and again I say that. This is up to the legislators and I'm sure if I ask you if I say I have a preference and I'm trying to dictate who to some Anyway the membership would be who the leadership would they add I would say that at this stage and the macro Senator Orenstein would be to what I would think would be good but this is again up to the legislature. Well I guess one way they could agree on one individual. While I haven't discussed this with the sound of their I. Stand that he has been. So CA did what those will have and. Labeled in the press and everywhere else has the anti wagon no forces. And so through all the time that it was going to cut my legs from under me. And this is I mean I say this is the group that have been backing. All this is what has been said I've still read that in the press. In. Time I believe there are some of those who feel that. A little independent. Like to the party ahead so that. Just a few people are not going to decide not responsible to the electorate who are going to decide on. Who should be the leaders in the legislature I'm sure they're not technically happy with me they weren't happy with me in fifty one and we won that the sixty one rather and we won that. Contest and some of them die very high literary. Yeah. Under the rock and then a fight with those who oppose. Make a choice Senate president pro tem of the Senate impossible. My Listen Again I'm not a member of the legislature if you do and I was at one time a member of the like to have. Some people think I have others think I haven't. Got. Your possible so I. Suppose again this isn't my decision this is up to the legislators and and I may say that I am talks out of the Bronson. Or lied to now at this point as that he has been. And the candidate read about at the paper some time ago. Those who are. For want of a better title as they had a Wagner for us and I'm talking about any of them I so mad they added Wagner forces because I would like to see a little democracy exercised the part. The reason I am a campaign manager for. The part of the reason. For. My. Well I. You know one thousand nine hundred sixty six is some time away I never. Said I regarded and the ambitions on the part of anyone and nineteen sixty January sixty five the likely significant as far as the fall of sixty six is concerned I think we have to see at that time who would be the better the best candidate available I am not you might have five and this and that I and one of those who Graeme about sixty six expressed I mean that perhaps and. Distant future I might be interested and I'm not a candidate for it I think we have here as far as. The New York City is concerned I'm a OK election and we have a lot of work to do here and there are much more important than worrying at this time about sixty six. Well I think I might be interested in. I received a. Communication. I thought the press was reported to me. Last evening that to was was sent by Miss to work and most of the day you know I received the communications from them this morning. We reply I replied to them to say that. I would be glad to sit down with any committee that they would designate sit down with and then twenty four hours or less the time that they would return to work. And then we would be glad to sit down and attempt to negotiate under any method that we've already advocated advisory arbitration finding the other way and I haven't we haven't heard from as yet but tide think when much say they had together with them having at that meeting and the representatives of the Central Labor Council to take you Mr There was damage to your Chevys Mr BALL When any of the others and certainly willing to sit down and discuss. The Their problems discuss the issues but we cannot do that until I agreed to return to work. And they have four. And a hand illegal strike under local state law. While I member I state we stayed up number of the people I assume though all of their issues and all of their complaints for one full night got to half hours sleep from nine fifteen to quarter of ten in the morning and lastly there is a morning spent a good part of the next day I don't know what as a zapper I'd be glad to discuss that with them provided of course they go back to work which has been OP Alesi all along the line and any of these strikes that we cannot sit down and discuss. I was working conditions pensions and. Fringe benefits rather than pension because that's a city. Operation until I go back to work. With. Senator Kennedy yesterday morning. And I had to. Call him back and. Wanted to report that his wife had the baby boy and. His wife very good friend of mine I congratulated both of them because Sandra was some flowers and he said again that he was not participating in any way in this matter and as far as Albany is concerned that he would be here this week and. I get together. And the other. I don't think I know from what he's told me that he doesn't want to get himself involved in this and then view of that fact I wouldn't ask him to be and. We may get together we have a point. Well I for one would like to say it's settled as soon as possible. And. Can be agreement. In the best interests of the party. I don't see. Something that's going to be very terrible because I've been one of those who've been rather critical of the state legislature over the past years particularly when I've been mayor has to end under Republican leadership they always had before around March twenty fifth so in this is the deadline how to have everything done in that time I know constitutional provision that I have after the Senate and I think. That. Seems to me that they can add on or five days and any time that they think they should be done I think they ought to. As an outsider and not try to be as a political boss or anything like that I think they ought to stay there as long as there is business that can and to be undertaken so they can consider all the issues and whether it goes into April May or June shouldn't be any consideration we air in the city. Council lot of estimate we work. Twelve months a year. What is the deadline. Well this is this is giant diner where I. Think they can get the Republicans to shove their. Reapportionment through and wide awake in ten days I ten weeks is a pretty good parents.