SI Advance – July 08, 2015
by Eric Bischoff – Special to the Advance
This letter is in response to Mr. Vinny Colverie’s letter to the editor of the Advance (“End FDNY pension abuses,” June 23). I would like to clarify many misrepresentations about firefighters that were depicted in Mr. Colverie’s letter.
Being a New York City firefighter is an extremely dangerous profession. Firefighters in the five boroughs have the daunting task of protecting trillions of dollars worth of real estate, and the lives of over eight million people, and additionally, millions of tourists and visitors that come to our city each year. NYC is the most densely populated city in the United States, and houses the tallest buildings in the country. We are the number one terrorist target in the country. Yet the city is thriving, and is considered the safest large city in the United States. Thank you, FDNY!
NYC firefighters are the best trained in the world, and are required to train every single tour that is worked. NYC firefighters responded to an astonishing 519,798 number of emergencies last year. The busiest year in the 150-year history of the department. The FDNY is on track to far surpass that number in 2015. These emergencies include water rescues, explosions, car wrecks, train derailment, building collapses, medical emergencies, extrications, confined space rescues, hazardous material spills, boat rescues, plane crashes, elevator emergencies, and, oh yeah, fires.
The NYC Fire Department has suffered 1,144 line of duty deaths since its inception. Far more than any other occupation in the city. It was not that long ago when the Fire Department organized the greatest rescue and evacuation effort in the history of the United States, while sacrificing 343 of its own souls on Sept. 11, 2001. Studies have shown that NYC firefighters have an average life expectancy of over eight year less than civilians. NYC firefighters are three times more likely to develop cancer than civilians, and are twice as likely to have an autistic child.
Aggressive firefighting procedures are critical to protecting life and property in New York City.
It is the moral obligation of New York City to provide real disability benefits to our firefighters. When the tone alarm rings, and duty calls, no firefighter should ever have to worry about who is going to take care of their family if they are injured or killed while doing his or her job.
One last thing, Mr. Colverie, I have never I once heard a New York City Firefighter call themselves a hero. It is the people of New York City that they help and save, that do that for them.
(The writer is Staten Island trustee of the Uniformed Firefighters Association. He is a Tottenville resident.)
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