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by claiming they are intentionally driving up response times for political reasons, the heads of the unions are vehemently denying the allegation.
In a letter to the top firefighter unions, the Uniformed Firefighters Association and the Uniformed Fire Officers Association, Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta says firefighters are putting the lives of New Yorkers in danger by intentionally driving up response times.
"I'm just going to quote from one of their directives," Scoppetta said on NY1's "Road to City Hall" Thursday night. "'UFA and UFOA have been trying to get the message to all chauffeurs and officers for the past several months. Apparently our message is getting out: response times are climbing.' Is that not an indication that they intentionally want response times to climb?"
Scoppetta says union leaders are telling their members to stop at all red lights and stop signs, rather than just slowing down.
The commissioner says the unions are trying to get leverage in their bid to increase staffing levels. Scoppetta also says the unions are getting back at him for disciplining a truck driver that slammed into a car last year, killing a civilian.
“It's in retaliation, and it has the potential to be very dangerous if this trend continues,” said the commissioner.
While it had been a regular practice for some time, rules allowing firefighters to go through red lights as long as they slow down were put in place after a deadly crash involving a firefighter back in July. The crash was caught on a surveillance videotape. The firefighter was disciplined and afterwards, Scoppetta instructed all members of the department to drive more safely.
The mayor backed the commissioner up Friday, saying it’s not the job of the two unions to dictate policy.
“Number one, they shouldn't be setting regulations. That's up to the commissioner and the city to set the regulations,” Bloomberg said on his weekly radio show. “Number two, they've been giving misinformation to the firefighters. This is a very few people with an agenda trying to slow down and hurt this city."
Union leaders say Scoppetta is looking for someone to blame for the increased response times of 18 seconds to structural fires and 23 seconds to medical emergencies. The unions say that's because the city is focused on reducing accidents and because six firehouses closed last year.
“The fire commissioner is clearly under pressure from City Hall. He needs somebody to blame, and he's blaming me and [UOFA President] Pete Gorman, and it's outrageous,” UFA President Stephen Cassidy said Friday.
“The one thing that people of this city do not need is a yes man for the mayor running the Fire Department,” said Gorman.
The union has also been battling with the city over a recent decision to reduce staffing in engine companies from five firefighters to four, saying that the reduction in staff is causing burnout.
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