by Amanda Farinacci
Just a day after the mayor's executive budget called for serious cuts to the New York City Fire Department, the firefighters' union says the proposal is a threat to its members and to public safety. NY1's Amanda Farinacci filed the following report.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg's doomsday budget proposal is offering to cut New York City Fire Department spending by $7 million, and the main choice seems to be fewer fire companies or fewer firefighters per company.
The mayor's plan calls for closing 20 engine companies around the city, but he says that can be avoided if the firefighters' union agrees to cut staffing at some companies from five firefighters to four.
Uniformed Firefighters Association President Steve Cassidy says that is not going to happen.
"The UFA is not going to reduce our manpower," says Cassidy. "We have a contract, we're not going to do it. The truth of the matter is, if he wants to close firehouses, he has to deal with the communities."
While 137 FDNY companies already operate with four firefighters, 60 others have one more firefighter. Reassigning those extra firefighters would allow the FDNY to keep all its companies open.
Cassidy says that would be dangerous because the companies with five firefighters are the busiest in the city, and they answer calls in neighborhoods where the building heights or layouts make it more difficult to get water on a fire.
"My decision is to make sure that my people are staffed properly, so they can fight fires and save lives," says Cassidy. "I don't want a citizen hurt, I don't want a firefighter hurt."
John Jay Fire Science Professor Glenn Corbett agrees and points to a study by the National Fire Safety Protection Agency, which recommends five and sometimes six firefighters per company. The standard is voluntary, but Corbett says in cities like New York it should be followed.
"When you're dealing places like high-rises, or places like hospitals, or facilities that have very high numbers of occupants, or very dangerous occupancies, those are where you need to have all those hands available," says Corbett.
The situation even poses a tough choice for residents, who say they don't know how to choose between closing fire companies or reducing staffing.
"With them, we feel safer, and the neighborhood too. So I don't know what to do," says Pedro Fernandez, a resident of Long Island City, Queens.
The mayor is set to announce which engine companies are on the chopping block on Monday, May 17. Meanwhile, the union says where staffing is concerned, it will not budge.
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