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EMS Chief John Peruggia Demoted Over City's Blizzard Response

By DNAinfo Staff on January 6, 2011 8:11am

By Gabriela Resto-Montero

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

MANHATTAN — City officials demoted the head of Emergency Medical Services Wednesday over the bungled response to December's holiday blizzard that left a 1,300 call back log to 911 services.

Chief John Peruggia will remain with the FDNY but no longer serve as head of EMS as a result of the agency's response to the storm, the New York Post reported.

"Last week's blizzard presented tremendous challenges for the department that are currently being addressed with an eye toward improving performance going forward," FDNY Chief Salvatore Cassano told the New York Daily News.

Peruggia was already facing a $12,000 fine in a conflict-of-interest case where he allegedly took a trip with an defibrillator vendor, the Post reported.

Emergency Medical Services Chief John Peruggia was relieved of his position Wednesday as a result of his agency's response to the holiday blizzard.
Emergency Medical Services Chief John Peruggia was relieved of his position Wednesday as a result of his agency's response to the holiday blizzard.
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FDNY

He will be replaced as chief of EMS by 25-year FDNY veteran, Abdo Nahmod.

Joseph Bruno, commissioner of the Office of Emergency Management, also faced intense criticism and could potentially lose his job as well, according to published reports.

Bruno, who was tasked with coordinating crisis response between the departments of sanitation, fire, police and transportation, didn't activate an emergency command center until 4 p.m. on the first day of the blizzard, the News reported.

The snow storm's fallout spurred a federal investigation into the Department of Sanitation's response this week as well as an investigation by the Medical Examiner's office into how many deaths resulted from storm delays.

Deputy Mayor Stephen Goldsmith, who was out of town at the time of blizzard, was expected to testify before City Council in the first of several hearings into the storm response on Monday, the News reported.



Slow snow clean-up efforts have led to several investigations into the city's preparedness and the demotion of Emergency Medical Services Chief John Peruggia.
Slow snow clean-up efforts have led to several investigations into the city's preparedness and the demotion of Emergency Medical Services Chief John Peruggia.
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DNAinfo/Jim Scott