Unions Have Complaints
Tale of 2 Sides On EMS Role in FDNY

By ARI PAUL

Emergency Medical Service union and management officials butted heads at a City Council hearing June 28 over the service's progress in the 11 years since it merged with the Fire Department, with union representatives claiming their members are treated like poor relations of firefighters.

The Chief-Leader/Pat Arnow PROGRESS REPORT: Emergency Medical Service Chief-in-Charge John Peruggia told a City Council committee that EMS has made improvements in recruiting efforts and response times since it merged with the Fire Department 11 years ago.

Responding Faster

EMS Chief-in-Charge John Peruggia cited improved response procedures, more aggressive recruitment and the ability to utilize department resources as positive outcomes in his testimony to the Council's Fire and Criminal Justice Services Committee.

"Response times have dropped dramatically since the merger," Chief Peruggia said.

Manhattan Council Member Alan Gerson expressed concern that Chief Peruggia did not report directly to Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta. Chief Peruggia assured the committee that the Commissioner was kept abreast of developments in EMS.

The Chief-Leader/Pat Arnow 'CAN'T BE JUST A STEPPING-STONE': Uniformed EMTs and Paramedics Local 2507 Vice President Donald Faeth, right, testified that Emergency Medical Service workers have low morale and are treated like second-class citizens in the Fire Department. At left is Thomas Eppinger, president of the Uniformed EMS Officers Union Local 3621.

Council Member Joseph Addabbo of Queens asked Chief Peruggia about the sizable difference in pay between Firefighters and EMS workers. He responded that the recent state Court of Appeals' decision granting EMS unions the right to bargain separately from District Council 37 could help narrow the pay gap of more than $20,000 for senior personnel.

Working within the FDNY allowed EMS to conduct high-level anti-terrorism training sessions, Chief Peruggia added. Prior to 1996, EMS was a part of the Health and Hospitals Corporation. Thomas Eppinger, president of DC 37 Local 3621 representing EMS officers, and Donald Faeth, vice president of Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedics Local 2507, painted a more negative picture of post-merger EMS in their testimony.

Claim Recruiting Woes

Saying that EMTs and Paramedics were treated like second-class citizens within the department, they lamented the fact that the Chief of EMS does not report directly to the Fire Commissioner, instead dealing with FDNY Chief of Department Salvatore Cassano. They also said that recruiting for EMS was weak compared to that for the Police and Fire Departments, despite Chief Peruggia testifying that EMS had intensified its public recruitment efforts in recent weeks.

Mr. Faeth, who worked as a Paramedic in the Throgs Neck section of The Bronx, told the committee that Firefighters often receive medical emergency dispatches before EMTs and Paramedics, which often led fire companies to arrive on the scene first. Mr. Faeth also noted that EMTs and Paramedics had the opportunity to go through nurses' training when EMS was a part of HHC, but now they do not.

All of this, they said, has resulted in low morale among EMTs and Paramedics since the merger.

'Just a Stepping Stone'

"We've been seen as a stepping-stone to go into fire," Mr. Faeth said.

Mr. Eppinger and Mr. Faeth also blasted a proposal to replace teams of two Paramedics with teams of one Paramedic and one EMT. The fundamental difference between the two positions is that Paramedics are allowed to administer medicine.

"Two heads are better than one," Mr. Eppinger told the committee. "Don't water it down."