Fire Lt. retired after 9/11 sues to return

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Fire Lt. retired after 9/11 sues to return 

 

BY NANCIE L. KATZ

DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER 

 

A former FDNY lieutenant who retired after 9/11 is suing the city to change its policy barring anyone who quit after the terror attacks from returning.

"I'm very capable of doing the job," said Brian Laine, 47, who left Ladder 295 in Whitestone, Queens, in October 2002 after a nearly 17-year FDNY career. 

"I don't want to do anything else. I have a B.S. from Cornell and an M.B.A. from Baruch College. I could choose to do other things. I just want to be a helpful civil servant."

Laine was part of a post-9/11 retirement stampede that left the FDNY with a dearth of experienced hands. Nearly 2,000 firefighters and officers, out of 11,000 citywide, retired after the tragedy, cashing in on pensions that soared due to overtime earned after the attacks.

At least two dozen since have tried to get back in, said FDNY spokesman Frank Gribbon. But Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta has turned them down.

Now, in a lawsuit filed last March, Laine is charging Scoppetta has discriminated against firefighters who risked their lives after the terror attacks.

Laine said he was suffering from posttraumatic stress, depression and "just plain burnout" when he left. A year later he felt better, was in great physical shape and willing to return "to the job I had always loved" even if he risked making a smaller pension later, he said.

"Every morning, I wake up feeling terribly sad that I am no longer a member of the FDNY," he wrote to Scoppetta on May 11, 2004. "I am very desperate and need your help."

Gribbon said officials grappled with the flood of requests from retirees who wanted back in, but that the prospect presented too many "complications" relating to pensions, assignments and other issues.

"Ultimately the commissioner's decision was this was not in the best interests of the department," he said.

But Laine and his union charge it's only about money.

Steve Carbone, vice president of the FDNY officers union, said two new "probies" cost the same as one experienced officer.

Laine still hopes the commissioner will reconsider. 

 

[JBE 328]

I hope he does get the opportunity to come back. I also hope that the Media in New York City get a fire beat writer who will not screw up unit numbers and such. But that is another rant for another time.

[Guest]

I WANT A DETAIL TO 295 TRUCK :D/ !!!!! :roll: On a serious note, the job needs experience.......the new firefighters are just too young and inexperienced........its pretty bad when you have guys with 5-10 yrs as the the "senior" guys.

[Guest]

On a serious note, the job needs experience.......the new firefighters are just too young and inexperienced........its pretty bad when you have guys with 5-10 yrs as the the "senior" guys.

Man you got that right!!!! :roll: But now a days they come on the Job and they know everything, Can't be told anything,doesn't matter where you come from NY,Fla, Calif,TX, or wherever, the thought is get hired today, senior man tomorrow- You have to earn your time. :-k

[Remember585 815]

Pbvpm,

Same thing goes at any job it seems. And, sadly, too many vollies in FD and EMS think they've done their time before they hit their one year anniversary....

Gimme a break!

[BIGRED1 71]

I think this is a fine line to be walked. on one hand guys left cause they just could not handle the mental stresses of what they saw. on the other hand there were guys who left cause they racked up lots of OT. i think that if the guys "retired" then they are out. they could have taken a leave of absence or something. i'm not sure if they have that but if you are RETIRING then you don't plan on coming back. thats what it is. it is that simple. now i agree that there is a ocean of knowledge that cant be taught in a classroom or in a smoke house that was lost. but i think that if they want back, take the tests. there were alot of guys who waited on many lists for some openings, crapped happened and some opened up. Some guys retire and they get their call to the academy. it was a decsion to leave. no one asked them to quit. they weighed their options and made the decsion to go.

I am sure that i have pissed everyone off by now and am gonna get off my little soap box before i get hit with a tomato