The Syracuse firefighters union says the city is refusing benefits to a firefighter who had a heart attack after battling a blaze.
Firefighter Bill Adsitt was denied a disability claim regarding a quadruple bypass surgery he had earlier this year. A doctor hired by the city determined the bypass an "elective procedure."
Adsitt suffered chest and back pain on Jan. 3 after several hours fighting a fire on Bellevue Avenue. He reported the pain to a supervisor, who sent him to Crouse Hospital, where he learned he was having a heart attack.
The city paid Adsitt for 30 days of leave following the heart attack. Doctors put a stent in his artery and gave him pills to relieve his blood pressure. Two doctors recommended bypass surgery.
Adsitt and the local firefighters union say the heart attack was a direct result of his work duties and demanded he be "made whole." He had the bypass surgery at the end of February, which the union said was necessary. His health insurance covered most of the expense, Adsitt said.