Researchers at Columbia Engineering have teamed up with the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) to upgrade the FDNY's ambulance Emergency Medical Services (EMS) response operations and optimize hospital capacity balancing so that hospitals aren’t overwhelmed in the future by an unprecedented patient surge like the one that occurred in the early months of the pandemic. FDNY oversees New York City's 911 EMS system, providing coverage for all five boroughs of the city with ambulances and specialized response vehicles. It currently operates two-thirds of the nearly 450 ambulances in NYC’s 911 system directly, with the rest provided by about 22 of New York City's private hospitals. In addition, 198 fire engine companies provide medical response to a subset of life-threatening emergencies.