EMS Deserves More
EMS is the tail that wags the dog.
Most emergency calls are EMS calls, not fire calls. EMS workers deserve fair pay and the right to speak out on matters of public concern.
How FDNY Gags EMS
At the time of the EMS/FDNY merger in 1996, FDNY directed their public affairs department to restrict media coverage of EMS incidents so that EMTs and Paramedics and their life-saving work would not be in the public eye so as to reduce the profile of EMS. This restriction has remained in place to the present day.
Here's the way the news USED to cover EMS in the City of New York.
Is there a gag order that prohibits you from talking about issues of public concern, like EMS staffing, burnout, and deadly delays?
Fund the work people call for.
Firefighters put the wet stuff on the red stuff. We all know that. But mission creep has made EMS a part of their lives. Why? There simply aren't as many fires, or as much fire hazard, as there used to be. That's because people no longer smoke in bed, because fire suppression sprinkler systems are now standard in multiple dwellings and office buildings, and because of fire resistive construction.
But let's not take anything away from the FDNY. They are a victim of their own success, and that's an honorable place to be. Anyone who reads a pictorial book like Alex Donchin's First Due, or who has interviewed our New York City firefighters, as I have, can't help but be impressed by their skill and dedication.
But let's face it: today's FDNY is resting on the laurels of past glory. The War Years are over. The Bronx isn't burning any longer. But the fire suppression budget is outsized compared to EMS, the tail that wags the dog.
Most emergency calls are EMS calls, yet EMTs and Paramedics are not paid the same as Firefighters. This campaign calls for shifting funding from firefighting operations toward EMS, with increased support and higher salaries for EMS.
EMTs and Paramedics have the right to speak out on matters of public concern, a right the EMS union has established. This campaign supports them in using it.
EMS Parity Plan Funded by 18% Cut to Fire Suppression
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Why does EMS get short shrift? Today, a New Yorker has more of a chance of dying under the wheels of a subway train that he does of dying in a fire. Yet medical calls continue to rise as the population ages. But EMS may be perceived as mainly serving poor New Yorkers and tourists. Wealthy residents now have the option of concierge medical practices that come with their own dedicated EMS ambulances. And property protection remains paramount: in New York, real estate is king. That may be why fire suppression gets the lion's share.
The EMS/FDNY transparent consolidation (merger) did not go well. It's still not going well.
Reports and field photographs will be added when provided.
