From NY1:The new city fire commissioner is restoring staffing levels at 49 of the city's engine companies.
Fire Commissioner Salvatore Cassano says the fifth firefighter has been restored to teams that were reduced to four firefighters last month.
The cuts were made after a rising number of firefighters called in sick, straining the overtime budget.
The annual medical leave rate for firefighters rose above 7.5 percent by December 1. That is the threshold at which the New York Fire Department begins to cut staff, and it is the third time in seven years the department has done so.
FDNY officials say absenteeism has dipped 16 percent since the cuts, which has allowed the department to add the staff again.
4 comments:
The Fire Dept had better double the staff in Elmhurst, Woodside, Middle Village, Maspeth and Glendale as they knowingly ignore all of the illegal basement conversions and the chopping up of single family homes into SRO rooming houses.
Most of these structures were illegally self-certified and complete with iron bars on every window and door (Are there hoards of gold in these dwellings?)cook in basements cellars that have 7' ceilings.
The most vulnerable are firefighters who must tear down the bars and wade into the nightmare of partitioned rooms to save folks. Firefighters or the Dept should be inspecting CO on demand where obvious and it is obvious in many neighborhoods what structure is illegally occupied
Why do firefighters need to send their biggest rig to 'dispatch' 4 guys to grocery shop? The people their truck boxes in are forced to wait until they are done shopping. I have a ton of respect for the FD, but get back to earth.
Last I checked, the job of the Fire Department wasn't to certify basement conversions.
Actually, it is part of their job.
"In 2009 through last month, the FDNY has notified the Buildings Department of 566 illegal apartment conversions - up from 205 in all of last year."
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