Several of the FDNY’s busiest engine companies across all the boroughs are finally getting one more firefighter.
As part of a contract agreement between City Hall and the Uniformed Firefighters Association last summer, the department has added a fifth firefighter to five of the most swamped engine companies throughout the city — something the union has been clamoring for since 2011.
“During our contract negotiations this summer, one of the most important things on our agenda was trying to get a fifth firefighter for our engine companies,” UFA President Stephen Cassidy said Tuesday. “It is such an important safety measure, especially for those engine companies that operate alone.” The added firefighters began their tours of duty at Engine 65 in Midtown, Engine 42 in Mount Hope, Bronx, Engine 283 in Brownsville, Brooklyn, Engine 324 in Flushing, Queens and Engine 158 in Mariner’s Harbor, Staten Island on Feb. 1. The FDNY’s own studies show that engine companies equipped with five firefighters can “get water on a fire twice as quickly,” Cassidy said.