A decorated Navy SEAL was rejected by the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) because he was too old, multiple reports say.
According to the "New York Post," 37-year-old Special Operations Chief Shaun Donovan was told by FDNY he's six months and 25 days too old to join the department. Donovan passed the written exam for firefighters, scoring in the top 1 percent of nearly 44,000 candidates and passed the physical test. But because of his age, FDNY said he did not qualify.
DCAS spokeswoman Jacqueline Gold said the department does not verify ages, but leaves it up to the FDNY.
“It is always painful for the city to have to reject a job candidate, especially one who is serving to protect our country. However, the rules cannot be changed for one person,” Gold said.
Standard FDNY recruits can't be older than 29 when they apply. Military veterans can be 35 when they apply; Donovan was 36 when he submitted his paperwork, according to the report.