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FDNY brings back fifth firefighter to engine companies

Additional firefighters were sent to different stations in December to help combat a high absentee rate

By FireRescue1 Staff

NEW YORK — After the FDNY decided to eliminate a fifth firefighter on 10 engine companies last month, they’re bringing the “fifth man” back.

NY Daily News reported that additional firefighters were sent to different stations in December to help combat a high absentee rate. The firefighters returned to their stations before New Year’s Eve.

An FDNY spokesman said the department returned the firefighters for extra support during freezing temperatures between Christmas and New Year’s.

“The UFA is grateful to the FDNY for taking a closer look at the rate and reinstating the fifth man accordingly,” Uniformed Firefighter Association president Gerard Fitzgerald said. “As we have seen multiple times over the past weeks, NYC firefighters are facing increasingly unsafe conditions serving our city.”

Five more engine companies will get a fifth man each February until 20 companies receive the additional help, according to the report.

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