About one-fifth of New York City’s firefighters were unavailable to report for duty on Nov. 1, most of them because they weren’t in compliance with the city’s COVID-19 vaccination requirement. The fire department (FDNY) suspended training and maintenance and still ended up understaffed, though it maintained that operations hadn’t been affected.
As of Nov. 1, when the mandate for city workers went into effect, about 23 percent of the city’s 10,000 to 11,000 firefighters remain unvaccinated. Many of them likely applied for medical or religious exemptions and wouldn’t have faced being put on unpaid leave while their applications are pending. Yet many of them, it appears, have chosen over the past several days to take medical leave.
The usual 7 percent medical leave rate jumped to 20 percent as of 10 a.m. on Nov. 1, FDNY Assistant Chief Richard Blatus testified during a city council hearing.
As a result, the department is about 2,300 firefighters short, according to Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro.
“We know it’s related to a protest against the mandate. It’s obvious,” he said, calling the behavior “unacceptable.” Consequently, 18 out of 350 firefighter units were out of service, he said.
The FDNY would usually have about 20 units out of service on any given day from firefighters getting physicals or training or because of equipment maintenance. All those activities have been suspended to make up for the staffing shortage, Blatus said.
“Many units are understaffed,” Nigro said, urging firefighters to get the vaccine and get back to work.
Blatus said that the department’s operations haven’t been affected, and no firehouses have been closed.
