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The Fire Lines # 1 - 2012
Lieutenant Richard A. Nappi, 47, of Engine-237, died on April 16, 2012 as a result of injuries sustained wile operating at Brooklyn Box 3-3 0717. The fire, which broke out at 1:00pm, consumed about 30,000 square feet on the second floor of a two-story warehouse at 930 Flushing Avenue. It took 120 firefighters to bring the three alarm fire under control at around 4 p.m. Eight other firefighters were treated for injuries.
Lt. Nappi was directing the operation of a hose line when he complained of dizziness, afterward collapsing. He was pulled from the building by members of L-112 and suffered cardiac arrest en route to Woodhull Medical Center where he died at 3:30pm. His death marks the first firefighter fatality in the line of duty at an active scene since August 2009. Lt. Nappi joined the FDNY in 1994. He was promoted to lieutenant 4 years ago and transferred to E-237 in 2007. He was not on duty on September 11, 2001, however, while assigned to his firehouse on Duane Street, he worked at the World Trade Center site. A Bronx native, he lived in Farmingville, N.Y and leaves his wife Mary Anne, and two children -- a 12-year-old daughter Catherine, and an 11 year-old son, Nicholas. Please keep Lt. Nappi and his family in your prayers.
The Bloomberg administration launched the new "Unified Call Taking" (UCT) system in May 2009 to modernize the 911 emergency call system. However, the City did not modernize its definition of response times accordingly. The City is still not counting the significant time that a "911" caller spends with a 911-UCT operator, who now conducts the interrogation of the caller, thereby artificially reducing FDNY response times. Consequently, true response times under the UCT system have increased, not decreased, as the City contends. In addition, the safety of both firefighters and the public has been compromised because the information being relayed by the 911 UCT operators to the fire dispatchers is often inadequate or incomplete.
Despite these facts, since 2009, Mayor Bloomberg, and Commissioner Cassano have used these artificially lower response times to justify the elimination of the 5th firefighter from 60 engine companies, and to threaten the closure of fire companies. Last year, the FDNY reported that the following 20 companies were slated to close: Engines: 4, 26, 46, 60, 157, 161, 205, 206, 218, 220, 233, 284, 294, 306, 328, and Ladders: 8, 53, 104, 128, 161. As part of its annual attempt to close firehouses based on these artificially lower response times, the City announced in its proposed 2012-13 fiscal year budget that it once again plans to close 20 units.
In addition to the City's threat to close firehouses, the Department continues to threaten that 24-hour mutual privileges will be suspended if medical leave levels increase to an annualized 7.5%. Since February 7, 2011, the UFA has had a grievance pending that challenges the legality of this policy. The City has filed a Petition claiming that the UFA's grievance is not "arbitrable". The case was held in abeyance, but since the Department renewed its threat to suspend mutuals in the May 1, 2012 Departmental Order, the UFA's labor attorneys are requesting that the Union's grievance be put back on the calendar.
Medical leave rates are calculated on headcount. Currently, headcount is dramatically reduced thereby forcing firefighters work more overtime. The math formula that the Department uses to calculate the percentage of firefighters on medical leave fails to include overtime. Consequently, the medical leave percentage rises as the headcount continues to decrease. The operational policies of the Department (reduced staffing of 60 Engine companies, lower headcount, and UCT) have essentially created an environment where rising medical leave percentages are unavoidable. The Department is in effect saying it can penalize all firefighters by suspending mutual privileges because medical rates have risen, even though its policies are creating more injuries and its method of calculating medical leave is statistically flawed.
With regard to UCT, since June 2011, there have been eleven (11) hearings on our UCT safety impact proceedings (jointly filed with the UFOA) before the Office of Collective Bargaining (OCB). Ironically, after the City's disastrous response to the December 2010 blizzard, the Bloomberg Administration commissioned an independent review of New York City's "911" system by a consulting company known as Winbourne Consulting, LLC. The authors have generated a report titled the "911 Call Processing Review". During the January 2012 hearings, the UFA/UFOA requested all documents concerning the "911 Call Processing Review". The City refused to provide the documents. The Board of Collective Bargaining does not have authority under the New York City Collective Bargaining Law to compel the City to produce documents.
Therefore, the UFA filed with the NY Supreme Court asking for a Court order for the City to produce the requested information. On February 29, 2012, NY Supreme Court issued a judicial subpoena compelling the City to comply by March 30th with UFA Discovery Requests for the UCT Study documents, and additional information that the City refused to produce. On the day that the City was supposed to produce all drafts and versions of the UCT "911 Call Processing Review" consultant's report, the City filed a motion to quash the February 29, 2012 judicial subpoena that required the production of the documents.
The UFA opposed the City's motion to quash. On April 9, 2012, the New York Supreme Court agreed with the UFA and denied the motion. Specifically, State Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron agreed that the "911 Call Processing Review" should be released because it is relevant to firefighter and public safety, and he ordered the City to turn over all drafts of the report by April 16, 2012.
The Judge delivered a sharp rebuke of the City's attempt to withhold this information. Justice Engoron said "I very much believe in an open government. I believe in transparency," He further commented that the Bloomberg Administration's attempt to withhold information was comparable to the Nixon/Watergate scandal. "Public safety is at stake," he added. "The city's argument that all we have now is a draft proves too much. Ten years from now we could have [a more-complete report]...but meanwhile, fires are still happening."
On April 13, 2012, the City appealed the denial of its motion to quash the Judicial Subpoena to the Appellate Division, First Department. In response, the UFA filed a motion with the Appellate Division to require the City's appeal to be processed in a dramatically expedited manner. If it is not expedited, the appeal could drag on for months. Delays in obtaining these materials will greatly impact the UCT case from going forward. It could also impact the roster staffing case. As I've said above, the City has been using inaccurate response times to argue that it could close firehouses and reduce staffing on 60 engine companies in communities throughout New York City. The City's Herculean effort to prevent the report from being turned over to us seems to indicate the likelihood that the content of the "911 Call Processing Review" will support our position and bolster our case.
We are grateful to Judge Engoron's ruling that mandates that the City turn over the "911 Call Processing Review". The Judge made clear what we have been saying all along: firefighter safety and public safety are connected. As I said in a New York Times interview: "If your house is on fire or a member of your family is having a heart attack or stroke and the fire department shows up in six minutes they should not be able to report they were there in four minutes because of an accounting gimmick. Everyone knows seconds count."
The City's fiscal year begins on July 1, 2012, and it presented its preliminary budget on May 3rd. Surprising no one, the City Hall spring ritual of proposed firehouse closings has once again come into play. In the past few years, we have received overwhelming support from the City Council and intend on working closely with them, and other elected officials, to ensure the continued operation of community firehouses. Information about rallies and other events will be posted on the UFA HOMEPAGE.
As always, stay safe!
Stephen J. Cassidy,
President
