FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.couriersun.com february 5, 2015 • THE COURIER SUN 3 Photo by Riyad Hasan A five-alarm blaze, which engulfed the Bruson Building in Jackson Heights in April 2014. The fire was determined to be electrical due to an overloaded power strip. AS QUEENS GROWS, SO DOES THE NUMBER OF BUILDING FIRES IN 2014 BY THE QUEENS COURIER STAFF editorial@queenscourier.com/@QueensCourier The number of structural fires in Queens surged last year by 7.7 percent, well above the average increase for the entire city, as firefighters responded to reports of 5,170 burning buildings in the borough in 2014, new statistics compiled by the Uniformed Firefighters Association show. Citywide, structural fires increased 5.7 percent for a total of 25,097 buildings set ablaze. Overall, 2014 was the busiest year on record for the FDNY since it began keeping records 150 years ago, the report found. The sharper rise in fires in Queens was likely due to the faster pace of new development in the borough, said Steve Cassidy, president of the Uniformed Firefighters Association. “Queens has been growing in leaps and bounds. And the more people you have, the more likely you will need us,” Cassidy said. “The borough is growing faster than any other borough.” With the fast pace of new development in Queens, Cassidy said he believes the FDNY needs to provide more firefighting resources to the borough. “We’ll see how the department responds to that,” he said. Non-structural fires — cars, brush and rubbish — were up 6.48 percent, with 15,512 calls to firefighters for these types of fires in 2014, compared with the prior year. Overall, the single largest increase in responses by firefighters was for emergencies involving gas, water and steam leaks; elevator rescues; carbon monoxide and fire alarms; and scaffolding and building collapses. Those calls increased 13.85 percent in Queens for a total of 42,630 last year. “Today, New York City firefighters are trained to deal with a wide range of emergencies. Going back decades, it was fires, fires, fires. And now we’re dealing with so many more things than just structural fires,” Cassidy said. “Firefighters are ready to deal with emergencies that are either man-made or natural.” Merrick Academy gets renewed five-year lease BY SALVATORE LICATA slicata@queenscourier/@Sal_Licata1 Giving parents an educational option within a neighborhood that deals with economic challenges is vital to the success of the children living there, said Staci White, chief of operations at Merrick Academy, which recently received a new five-year lease with the city. But at Merrick Academy, the school’s leaders and staff pride themselves on providing more than just an option to families — they want to be known as the best charter school in Queens. On the heels of the academy’s new five-year lease, Dr. Karen Valburn, principal of the school, created a new motto for staff and students: “Proficiency and Beyond.” She said that doing just enough to get by doesn’t show success; instead, students should strive toward greatness. “We don’t want to just prepare our children for the next grade level,” Valburn said. “We want them to go beyond that.” The Springfield Gardens school, located at 136-25 218th St., has been in operation since 2000. It was the first charter school to come to Queens, providing instruction for students from kindergarten through sixth grade. The school just renewed a lease that will keep it going until 2020. Valburn has worked in public education for most of her life, but this is her first year in a charter school. She said that being part of the charter school program has been a great experience because the opportunities for growth and creativity are unmatched elsewhere. “There are no bounds by rigid district rules,” said Valburn. “We can do a lot of different things outside of school and run many different interactive programs we wouldn’t be able to do otherwise.” Some of these programs include instruction in fine and performing arts, often lacking at other public schools. Thirdgraders are learning how to sculpt and create still life studies as part of “Studio in School.” Fourth-graders are working with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. After completing the 17-week dance program, the students will put on a performance for the rest of the school. Fifth- and sixthgraders, meanwhile, are taking classes with the Metropolitan Opera. Not only will they get to perform an opera for their schoolmates, they’ll get to see an opera firsthand. Valburn said the children enjoy the classes, adding that she has seen positive growth with their testing and overall performance. She was excited that because of the new lease for the school, she will be able to expand the system of learning at Merrick Academy and continue to reach their goal of preparing students to go beyond the minimum standards for proficiency. “We want to regain our status as being one of the most competitive educational institutes in our neighboring charter schools and district,” she noted. “This is 21st-century learning, where we push our students to be leaders of their learning.” Queens FDNY emergency responses during 2013 & 2014: Structural fires up 7.71 percent 2013: 4,800 vs. 2014: 5,170 Non-structural fires up 5.83 percent 2013: 3,363 vs. 2014: 3,559 Emergencies up 13.85 percent 2013: 37,443 vs. 2014: 42,630 Medical emergencies up 3.9 percent 2013: 44,436 vs. 2014: 46,169 False alarms up 6.57 percent 2013: 4,204 vs. 2014: 4,480 Total calls up 8.24 percent
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