December 3, 2004 -- Even though the Fire Department has begun cutting the number of five- firefighter trucks, services at the FDNY aren't being reduced, Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday.
"The FDNY isn't cutting any services today whatsoever. These are brave men and women and they will respond the way they always have done and put out the fires," Bloomberg said.
Under terms of a 1996 contract agreement with the Uniformed Firefighters Association, the FDNY can cut the number of five-person engines from 60 to 11 when the absenteeism rate climbs higher than 7.5 percent.
There are 197 engine companies in the city and most - 137 - have four firefighters per truck.
The absentee rate now hovers at 7.53 percent, spurring the administration to reduce manpower.
Stephen Cassidy, the UFA president, said his members are out on approved medical leave for injuries sustained while fighting fires.
"City Hall and the department are deliberately misleading the public that firefighters are calling in sick in record numbers," he said.
He claimed firefighter fatalities increased 500 percent when the FDNY reduced staffing levels in 1991.
