Part of the problem, fire officials say, is an influx of older fire recruits. Since 1987, a change in state law has prevented the Fire Department from enforcing a regulation capping the age of recruits at 32. Some of the older recruits have been injured, said Fire Commissioner Martin E. Pierce Jr., who has been unsuccessful in his efforts to get the Legislature to restore the age cap. Despite the reduced number of fires, firefighting is a stressful and dangerous profession, and many of the injuries are legitimate, say fire officials. But the system is also loaded with incentives to stay off the job.
Firefighters make more money on injured leave, earning their entire salary tax-free.
Injured firefighters who might be well enough to work a desk job, but not fit enough to work on a fire truck, remain on leave because the city's contract with the firefighters' union prohibits so-called modified or desk duty. Pierce said he hopes to change that policy in negotiations. Some district chiefs are frustrated with the number of injuries, saying privately they suspect many firefighters are abusing the system. But until recently, the department did little to monitor injured workers or develop plans to return them to work. In addition, there are no fitness programs for firefighters after they complete a one-year probationary period.