As Temps Rose, FDNY Battled Record Number of Fires

Firefighters in New York City battled a record number of fires this week during a heat wave that topped 100 degrees.

The Uniformed Firefighters Association of New York says this week was the busiest week in 30 years for city firefighters. The association says there were more than 8,700 fire incidents between July 4 and July 9. Nearly 100 of those fires caused enough damage to make a property uninhabitable or cause injury and more than 470 firefighters were injured.

Steve Cassidy, the association’s president, said the heat was to blame for the high number of injuries and made it harder to fight fires.

Fire Department spokesman Frank Dwyer said more firefighters were needed to rotate into and out of fires due to the extreme temperatures.