The Big Apple’s largest municipal union is blasting city officials for sliding 82 firefighter trainees into EMT jobs — blowing past hiring lists and allegedly leaving certified candidates in the dust.
District Council 37’s Local 2507 — the union for FDNY EMTs and paramedics — accuse the FDNY and Mayor Adams of violating civil service law by appointing fire cadets to provisional EMT roles without exams or having ever applied for the job.
“These 82 people wanted nothing to do with EMS,” said Local 2507 president Oren Barzilay. “They applied to become firefighters.”
The cadets — part-time city employees — concluded a two-year training program in May intended to boost diversity in the FDNY. But after graduating, they weren’t placed into the Fire Academy.
Instead, the city enrolled them in EMT training that began June 16, according to a Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit.
Fire Commissioner Robert S. Tucker, who is named in the suit, publicly addressed the decision at the cadet graduation — saying the move would help keep cadets on the payroll, give them union protection and prepare them for eventual firefighter training.
“I thought it is in their best interest to become full-time employees of the FDNY, to go into a union, to get a raise, to get benefits and to begin to be trained as EMTs,” Tucker told families.
“One day, maybe they’ll thank me. Maybe they won’t.”
But Barzilay said only 69 cadets reported for EMT training — and most don’t plan to stick around.
None of the cadets took the EMT civil service exam or appear on the city’s official hiring lists, the lawsuit, filed on June 13, claims. Meanwhile, Barzilay said hundreds of certified EMT candidates remain on standby.
Some cadets are expected to join the Fire Academy in October, while others could stay in EMT roles for up to two years, Tucker said in his remarks.
“They tell us straight to our face, they don’t want to do this,” Barzilay said. “Once they graduate the EMS Academy, they’re going straight to the Fire Academy.”
Barzilay also raised public safety concerns, warning that pushing through trainees who don’t want to be EMTs could lead to mistakes on the job.
“If they’re not in it 100%, people can get hurt,” he said. “Lives are on the line.”
The union president also warned the move could signal a larger shift.
“It seems like they have an agenda to cross-train future firefighters into EMTs and paramedics — which ultimately would lead to the dissolvement of EMS,” he said.
A spokesperson for the FDNY said they are aware of the lawsuit and declined comment on ongoing litigation.
