NEW YORK — An FDNY recruit is getting a third chance to pass the training academy after collecting over $81,000 for a year in desk jobs.
NY Post reported that Choeurlyne Doirin-Holder, 39, failed midway through a fire academy class in 2013 and returned to her former job as an EMT. She entered another class in 2014, but dropped out due to an injury. FDNY kept her on the payroll and she made $81,376 last year — about $26,000 more than what she made as an EMT and well more than the $39,370 starting firefighters earn.
“She was qualified as an EMT. She should have been serving the public while waiting for the next probie class, but was paid as a full-time firefighter to do office work and train on the payroll,” a high-ranking source told the Post.
A classmate called Doirin-Holder “the most pathetic specimen of physical fitness I’ve ever seen,” saying she failed to run 1.5 miles in 12 minutes, stopped to walk and got winded walking up stairs, according to the report.
Doirin-Holder declined to comment, referring questions to the FDNY.
“We don’t discuss individuals or individual cases while in the academy,” said spokesman Jim Long.
Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro confirmed in a letter to firefighter union president Steve Cassidy that probationary firefighters no longer have to pass the FST if they do well on academics and practical skills or individual tasks. Also, they can demonstrate adequate aerobic capacity on a Stairmaster machine if they fail the 1.5 mile run, Nigro said.