Opinion

The expanding FDNY: Larger rookies, low scores

The Issue: The new class of FDNY recruits, and the record number who are failing the physical test.

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As a former EMS paramedic who went on to be appointed to the FDNY, I read “The Fat Has Hit the Fire” with interest (March 3).

The Bronx was burning when I became a fireman. I worked out every day so I’d be able to fight fires.

Carrying an obese patient down a six-story walk-up isn’t easy, but it doesn’t compare to donning 100 pounds of equipment, running up six flights and then operating high-pressure hose lines, forcing doors, pulling down ceilings, opening roofs and rescuing unconscious victims.

Firefighting is a very arduous task.

Medics can be a valuable asset in the fire service, but they must put in the effort to show up prepared.

The FDNY is at least a 20-year career, so if they can’t do the job now, how will they manage in 15 years?

Not being prepared is unfair to the citizens who are paying them, and presents a danger to their fellow firefighters.

Robert Reeg

Stony Point

I am a recently retired chief from the FDNY.

To read about the failure rate on the physical portion of the training program and the dropout rate at the training academy is sad.

The people of New York deserve better. The firefighters in the field deserve better.

They have the right to know that new firefighters who get hired can do their job. They protect not only the people of this city, but other firefighters, as well. If one gets in trouble, he should be able to expect that others can help him.

These problems occur because of judges who have no knowledge of the fire service and what is required to be a qualified and professional firefighter. All they care about are numbers and racial breakdowns and what is politically correct. Believe me, when you are trapped at a window with seconds to survive, you are not looking at the color of a person’s skin or their gender. You just want to be saved by the most qualified. Jerry Esposito

Southold

At the rate at which this class of firefighters is regressing, the victims of a fire will more than likely end up throwing the firemen over their own shoulders and carrying them down a ladder to safety.

George Najarian

Brooklyn

This is what happens when judges who are people of the spoken and written word try to assert their influence into life-and-death training — an area in which they have no working experience.

Judges should try to understand that certain measurements, which may on the surface look discriminatory, are necessary for overall public safety.

I want the best-qualified person to save me from a fire, not someone who got his job by judicial edict.

Tom Dilberger

Belmar