FDNY Staff Cuts

[GFD70 4]

From the 12/28 Daily News Opinion section:

City Hall cuts in FDNY are danger to city 

By STEVE CASSIDY 

 

There are some things about fire safety that New Yorkers need to know, most notably the impact of reduced firehouse staffing on public safety.

The Fire Department recently cut staffing by 20% in more than 100 communities throughout the city. City Hall says the reductions are in response to firefighters not showing up for work. That is a lie. Firefighters' medical leave must be approved by the department's own doctors; firefighters can't just call in sick.

Further, the department's tragic losses of 9/11 have led to a newer, more inexperienced leadership. This inexperience leads to unsafe policies and more injuries fighting fires. 

Since the staff reductions, the time it takes to begin lifesaving operations has grown exponentially. In the past few days, there have been five civilian fatalities, more than 40 civilians seriously injured and six firefighters hospitalized - all due to the policy of staffing fire engines with four firefighters instead of five. 

City Hall's cuts have gotten so bad that the FDNY is ordering trucks with as few as two firefighters to respond to fires. This is unacceptable and endangers civilian and firefighter lives. 

City Hall's talk about response times is deliberately misleading. One understaffed fire truck outside a burning building can't get the job done. Fire trucks don't put out fires or rescue civilians - firefighters do. 

According to the FDNY's own studies, reducing manpower to these levels actually doubles the time it takes to begin lifesaving operations. This means in a community where response time is about five minutes, you need to add almost an additional 10 minutes for firefighters to begin extinguishing the fire. 

More than 100 civilians perished in a nightclub fire in West Warwick, R.I., last year when two firefighters showed up on a truck and were too understaffed to rescue those trapped inside. I hope it won't take a tragedy like the Happy Land Social Club fire of 1990 for the mayor and fire commissioner to admit they are wrong about cutting staffing in a city that, according to the Census Bureau, has increased in population by 10% since 2000.

In Jackson Heights, Queens, where one of the five fatal fires occurred, residents haven't seen an increase in fire protection levels in 75 years dating to when Queens was sparsely populated. 

In the wake of the five civilian deaths and 40 injuries of recent days, not to mention several hospitalized firefighters, New Yorkers need to know the real facts, not just City Hall's propaganda. 

Cassidy is president of the Uniformed Firefighters Association of Greater New York. 

[Pudge3311 5]

very interesting, but can anyone actually confirm what hes saying as being truth?

[afd65 4]

how can they do this? this is soo bad

[TimesUp 148]

Manning cuts means more work for the guys on scene. Fatigue sets in sooner on these guys. Now the likelyhood for injury goes up! So why not believe that the manning cuts causes an increase in Firefighter injurys. They can call other units to make up for the cuts, but they take time to get there. We know what that means.

[TimesUp 148]

One more thing. When you start pulling more engines to a call to make up for manning cuts on the first due co's the you end up taking those engines out of their E.M.S. response area. Now you have to deal with the delay of treatment to sick or injured persons. Thats how Cassidy can say the cuts cause deaths in relation to E.M.S. calls. The trickle down effect.

[mfc2257 464]

I understand that there are staffing cuts and houses getting shut down... BUT I'd like to know where FDNY has an Engine, Truck, or Rescue responding with only 2 guys on it. I work in the city and often travel to all the boroughs.... When I see a fire truck I look at it.... Yes it's my natural instinct as a fireman to look at other peoples fire trucks... It's sick isn't it..... BUT I've never seen an Engine, Truck, or Rescue without at least 4 on it.... The only FDNY units that I see with 2 are Hammer units, Ambulances, Chief's vehicles, TSU's and other "support" units.

[GFD70 4]

If they're mad about dropping from 5 men to 4, then take a short ride north to Mt. Vernon.

[tbendick 27]

Ok. here is the low down on all this staffing stuff.

At the start of each tour FDNY staffs as follows.

All Ladders = 1 Officer and 5 FF's

11 Engines = 1 Officer and 5 FF's

All other Engines 1 Officer and 4 FF's

Now people say whats the big deal. Here is what is going on.

Engine XXX has a fire and 3 FF's go sick. The Engine will remain in service with the Officer and the Driver until other manpower replaces the 3 FF's. These 3 Replacement FF's will be the 5th FF from 3 of the 11 Engines. Now you have 8 Engines left with 5 FF's.

Now lets say Ladder XXX and Engine XXX have a fire and all 9 FF's go sick now you are short one FF. So they will start taking away FF's from Ladders and have them ride short.

So with the New rules and unit with a Driver and Officer will respond to all Reported Building fires and Verbals. Any unit with a Driver, Officer, and FF will remain in service for ALL runs.

This has been going on for sometime now and there have been plenty of times that units ride real short. Remember FDNY won't hire anyone after the start of the tour...

[Remember585 815]

Why not take a truckie or two and put them on the engine to balance out the crews until sufficient relief has arrived?

The city is playing a dumb and dangerous game of manpower reduction. I hope a solution is near, but somehow I doubt it.

As for the FDMV manpower thing - good point! Take a trip north and over the line to see how difficult it is to do the job with minimal manpower. Politicians shouldn't decide on manpower and equipment issues. It's not their line of work, and it definitely isn't their asses on the line, job after job!!!

[CFD320 35]

Tax payers really don't give a crap about fire protection. Tax payers elect politicians. If you were a politician would you try to keep the firefighters jobs or voters taxes low?

The real problem is most people have an "it will never happen to me" attitude about fires, accidents etc. So when they go into the voting booth they don't know a thing about what is going on with the FD. Trust me when I tell you that more people would go nuts if they made cuts in the sanitation department and garbage sat on the sidewalk.

I can't tell you how many people I have had conversations with in my little village who thought we were a paid department. The average citizen just doesn't give a sh** until his house is burning, he crashed his car, or his chest hurts.

SAD TRUTH

[27east 19]

...the average citizen just doesn't give a sh** until his house is burning, he crashed his car, or his chest hurts...

well said CFD!!! =D>

[Remember585 815]

Wait a second!!!

Croton's not paid?!

Could of fooled the 8,000 residents!