UFA Says Fire Workload Needs Boost in Staffing; Record Responses, Extended Training Cited by Cassidy

By GINGER ADAMS OTIS

Uniformed Firefighters' Association President Stephen J. Cassidy this week will release figures showing that 2006 was one of the busiest years in the Fire Department's history.

THE CASE FOR EXPANDING: A workload for 2006 that is expected to exceed the previous year's record level, plans to add as much as 10 weeks to the training period for new Firefighters, and continued growth in the city's population are all prime reasons, Uniformed Firefighters' Association President Stephen J. Cassidy said, that the FDNY should be looking to expand its forces and consider reopening six firehouses that were shuttered four years ago during a budget crisis.

More than 444,000 emergency responses were made by mid-December, he said Dec. 28.

That put the FDNY on track to match or possibly surpass last year's record of 485,702 emergency calls, and the previous record set in 1978 with 472,405 calls.

Medical Calls Responsible

The Fire Department has yet to release year-end figures. But one department source noted that while incidents were up, overall fire emergencies dropped in recent years. Responses to medical calls and non-fire emergencies like gas leaks made up the difference. Medical calls alone comprise 40 percent of emergency responses, according to the FDNY.

But the union leader said that any emergency - be it medical or fire-related - still required a response.

"The Fire Department is a big grid, and when you take from one area it creates gaps in another area, which slows response times," countered Mr. Cassidy. "When you take from another part of the grid to address those response times, you get a gap somewhere else, and so it goes. Firefighters respond and work at every emergency that comes in."

Mr. Cassidy said the workload figures also needed to be considered in conjunction with a recent FDNY policy change that will lengthen the amount of time new recruits spend at the Randall's Island Training Academy.

A 23-Week Course?

Department officials announced last summer that the current 13 weeks would be extended, but didn't give specifics.

Several sources told this paper that the FDNY is considering an initial five-week extension for the next class, and then - as a new curriculum gets developed - adding another five weeks to bring the total to 23.

Mr. Cassidy said such a change would cost tens of millions of taxpayer dollars that could be better spent.

"Tourism is at an all-time high, housing is booming, there's unprecedented population growth, and all of this has led to an increase in response times," Mr. Cassidy said. "And instead of reopening the six firehouses closed in 2003 and adequately staffing all engine companies, the FDNY is spending millions to extend training instead of putting more firefighting resources on the streets."

Francis X. Gribbon, the chief spokesman for the FDNY, said the department hadn't settled on a specific length of time.

"We always want to provide training and more training for probies," he stated. "But nothing has been decided yet."

Department insiders say the FDNY's decision to lengthen its training period stemmed from a series of changes it made to hiring criteria earlier this summer.

Starting pay for new hires - $25,100 under a deal reached with the city in 2005 - will not be extended, however. The UFA contract stipulates that after 13 weeks of training new hires will advance to $32,700, regardless of how long they stay at the Randall's Island Academy.

"Twenty-three weeks is an increase of 77 percent in training time and it will be very expensive," reiterated Mr. Cassidy. "The department just got rid of its education requirements and watered down its physical exam, so it's going to train more? My position is simple: reinstate the old requirements and use this money to reopen firehouses - I know six neighborhoods that would like that money."

'Big Changes in Training'

Mr. Gribbon denied any link between new hiring criteria and extended training. "We are talking about changes that will happen well before hiring from the next list occurs, which won't be for another two years," he said. "These discussions aren't tied to people coming off a certain test or who were hired after a certain date. The FDNY has undergone a dramatic transformation in its training in recent years - we've got subway simulators, driving simulators, confined space simulators and much more, so more training can be done."

The FDNY this summer slashed the number of college credits needed to apply for Firefighter from 30 to 15, and said it would waive the requirement entirely for candidates with at least six months' military or full-time work experience.

A few weeks later the department announced it had adopted the nationally-accredited Candidate Physical Ability Test as its physical exam. CPAT is a time-based test that requires candidates to move at a continual pace through a series of tasks and finish all of them in less than 10 minutes and 20 seconds. It's graded as a pass/fail. The previous test had a time limit for each event. Candidates had to pass each one to receive a perfect passing score.

Not Your Father's Written

The Department of Citywide Administrative Services will administer the written exam for Firefighter Jan. 20. Although officials haven't disclosed any details, the written exam is expected to have significantly different content than previous tests, with more emphasis placed on interpersonal and communication skills.

But it appears unlikely that DCAS will alter the way the exam is graded. Now that the physical is pass/fail, candidates will be ranked solely on their written score.

Mr. Cassidy was strongly opposed to changing the way the physical exam is graded. He has maintained that in an increasingly vertical city, better fitness, stamina and strength are required of firefighters.

He pointed to recent reports from the Mayor's Office that predict unprecedented growth over the next 20 years.

Brooklyn to Feel Strain

"What are the projections for response times on Flatbush Ave. when the Nets Stadium goes up?" he asked. "Williamsburg will have an additional 60,000 housing units in 10 years - a neighborhood where they closed a firehouse. The streets aren't getting any wider. It's part of what the FDNY will have to deal with for as far into the future as we can see."

He added that of the FDNY's 197 engine companies, 133 are staffed with four firefighters and 64 have five. He cited an FDNY report that said having a fifth person on an engine company cut the time it took to get water on a fire by 50 percent.

"It's only one firefighter; 20 percent less when you work with four instead of five," he said. "Yet it's a critical difference when it comes to getting water on a fire, which is the crucial step in saving lives."