Welcome

Welcome to my EMS incident dispatch data analysis for New York City. This page provides a comprehensive analysis of emergency medical service (EMS) calls handled by the Fire Department of New York (FDNY). EMS plays a crucial role in responding to medical emergencies, and understanding the patterns of these calls can help inform resource allocation, policy decisions, and public health interventions. The data presented here span from 2020 to the most recent reporting period, sourced from the NYC Open Data platform.

Data Overview

The dataset includes all EMS incidents dispatched by FDNY, capturing key details such as the date and time of the call, location, response time, and final call type. However, it does not include EMS responses from hospitals, private ambulance services, or other agencies operating in New York City. As a result, these data represent only a portion of the total EMS activity within the city. While FDNY is the largest EMS provider in New York City, the absence of data from other agencies should be considered when interpreting trends.

How to Use These Data

This page presents multiple visualizations to help users explore EMS call trends. The analyses include daily call volumes, response times, spatial distribution of incidents, cumulative and trend analyses for different call types, and incidence rate calculations. Users can examine citywide patterns or focus on specific boroughs, times of day, or types of medical emergencies. These insights can support emergency preparedness planning, operational adjustments, and policy development to improve response efficiency and public health outcomes.

Why Are These Data Important?

EMS data provide valuable insights into public health and emergency response systems. Monitoring trends in call volume, response times, and call types helps identify emerging health concerns, evaluate the efficiency of EMS services, and guide resource allocation. These data are particularly critical for understanding the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, seasonal variations in medical emergencies, and disparities in access to emergency care across different neighborhoods.

What Do These Data Show?

These data illustrate key aspects of FDNY EMS response, including the frequency of calls by borough, time of day, and final call type. The visualizations highlight cumulative incidence rates and annualized incidence trends, allowing for the identification of shifts in EMS demand over time. Spatial analyses further reveal how EMS calls are distributed across the city, which can help pinpoint areas experiencing higher volumes of medical emergencies. Additionally, call response times are examined to assess potential delays in emergency care.

What Do These Data Not Show?

These data do not provide information on EMS incidents handled by non-FDNY agencies, which means they do not reflect the full scope of emergency medical responses in New York City. Additionally, they do not include patient outcomes, such as hospital admission status, treatment effectiveness, or survival rates. The dataset also lacks demographic details on patients, limiting the ability to analyze disparities in EMS utilization across different population groups. Finally, potential reporting inconsistencies or missing data should be considered when interpreting trends.

Implications for Public Health Practice

Understanding EMS call patterns can support strategic decision-making for emergency response and public health initiatives. Policymakers can use these data to identify areas with high call volumes and assess whether additional EMS resources or alternative healthcare services, such as urgent care centers, are needed. EMS administrators can analyze response time trends to optimize staffing and dispatch strategies, ensuring that emergency care is delivered as quickly as possible. Public health officials can examine call type distributions to detect emerging health threats, such as seasonal spikes in respiratory distress calls or clusters of opioid overdoses, allowing for timely interventions. By integrating these insights into broader health and emergency preparedness planning, stakeholders can enhance the effectiveness and equity of emergency medical services across New York City.

Executive Summary¹

Date: July 15, 2026
Subject: FDNY EMS Dispatch Data Briefing: Trends from July 2025 to June 2026

This briefing summarizes trends from the New York City Fire Department’s (FDNY) Emergency Medical Service (EMS) Computer-Aided Dispatch system for the 12-month period of July 2025 through June 2026. Over the past year, citywide EMS incident volume remained relatively stable, with a total of 1,605,855 dispatches. Call volume in June 2026 (138,437 incidents) was nearly level with volume from June 2025 (139,743 incidents), representing a minor decrease of 1,306 calls (-0.9%). Throughout the reporting period, three call types consistently constituted the highest proportion of incidents: “Minor Illness” (averaging 15,836 calls per month), “Sick” (15,575 calls per month), and “Minor Injury” (8,220 calls per month). Together, these categories accounted for nearly one-third (31.9%) of all EMS responses in June 2026.

The most recent monthly data point to a substantial rise in calls for minor injuries. Between May and June 2026, incidents classified as “Minor Injury” climbed from 9,054 to 10,197, an increase of 1,143 incidents or 12.6%. This single-month increase is the most notable change among high-volume incident types. This pattern could indicate the beginning of a seasonal trend, as warmer weather and increased outdoor public activity often correlate with a higher incidence of minor trauma. It is important to note that these dispatch data are preliminary and reflect initial call information, not a final clinical diagnosis. Continued surveillance will be necessary to determine if this uptick is sustained through the summer months.

Analysis of the full 12-month period reveals a pronounced surge in pediatric calls during the past winter. Incidents classified as “Sick Pediatric, <5 Year Old” rose sharply from a baseline average of approximately 2,470 calls per month in late 2025. The volume began climbing in January 2026 (4,714 calls) and peaked in March 2026 with 5,290 incidents, a 114% increase over the previous six-month average. This pronounced seasonal curve may reflect a higher-than-usual circulation of respiratory viruses, such as influenza or RSV, affecting young children. By June 2026, the volume for this call type had returned to 2,638 incidents, which is within the expected baseline range.

It is important to acknowledge certain limitations within these data. Dispatch-level classifications are broad and serve operational purposes; they do not represent confirmed medical diagnoses and can be subject to revision upon patient contact. Furthermore, some lower-volume incident types show high month-to-month volatility that may reflect isolated events or data artifacts rather than broader public health trends, such as an anomalous spike in “Internal Bleeding” calls recorded in December 2025. These data, however, remain a critical tool for monitoring acute public health needs across the city in near real-time. Ongoing monitoring of injury patterns and pediatric illness will be valuable for resource planning.

Daily EMS Call Volume

Daily EMS Call Travel Times

This figure displays median FDNY EMS travel times to incident scenes by borough across the observation period. Each line represents daily median travel time in minutes for a given borough, with smoothed trend lines showing longer-term movement over time. The visualization highlights both overall stability and subtle shifts in travel efficiency across the five boroughs.

Differences among boroughs may reflect variations in geography, traffic congestion, call density, and resource allocation. For example, longer travel times may occur in boroughs with greater distances between stations and incident locations, while shorter times may suggest more concentrated coverage or faster roadway access. Tracking these borough-level medians over time provides insight into the operational tempo and responsiveness of the city’s EMS system under varying conditions.

Graph Prepared By: Isaac H. Michaels, DrPH
Data Source: NYC Open Data

Back to top

Call Times

Spatial Distribution

Final Call Types