BY
THOMAS TRACY
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Wednesday, January 3, 2018, 8:10 PM
The FDNY is getting its “fifth man” back.
The department has decided to bring back a fifth firefighter to the 10 engine companies that lost them last month.
The additional firefighters had been pulled from these houses and sent to different stations in early December to combat a soaring absentee rate, officials said.
Those firefighters were returned to their stations right before New Year’s Eve after a review showed the absentee rate included firefighters with 9/11-related illnesses who may be on permanent disability.
Once those with 9/11 illnesses were removed from the daily sick leave tally, the absentee rate dropped, allowing the reassigned firefighters to go back to their stations, Uniformed Firefighter Association President Gerard Fitzgerald said.
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