Firefighters

Even after 17 years, we still have a lot to learn about the negative health effects experienced by 9/11 first responders. A recent study exploring the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, for first responders sheds some light on just how much danger these heroes are in. The study found that first responders with […]

Even in this era of intense partisan fighting, Democrats and Republicans agree on the importance of protecting the people who risk their lives to protect us. This commitment became law with the passage of the Firefighter Cancer Registry Act, which will help us understand why firefighters experience such high rates of cancer. Recently signed by […]

Uniformed Firefighters Association of Greater New York President Gerard Fitzgerald approved of Mayor de Blasio’s recent decision to return the fifth firefighter to 15 engine companies throughout the city. But, according to the UFA website, he stressed that “it’s time for the City to reinstate the fifth man citywide.” As Fitzgerald sees it, all engines […]

Two sons of FDNY firefighters who recently died from 9/11-related cancer have joined the ranks of the department after graduating from the Fire Academy in April. According to a report in the New York Daily News, Terence Pfeifer, son of Ray Pfeifer, and Christopher Froehlich, son of George Froehlich, were among 311 graduates honored at […]

The Ruderman Family Foundation recently released a white paper on Mental Health and Suicide of First Responders, which states that firefighters and police officers are more likely to die by suicide than in the line of duty. The study supports this distressing assertion with recent statistics: “In 2017, there were at least 103 firefighter suicides […]

Our modern world can put an inordinate strain on firefighters, EMTs and other emergency responders, with seemingly limitless calls for their service locally and around the globe. But, unfortunately, society hasn’t quite grasped what we must do when a rescuer needs rescue. In an article published on EMS1.com, authors Jana K. Tran, Ph.D., staff psychologist […]

After a record-setting 2016, when civilian fire deaths were the lowest in 100 years, FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro announced the bad news for 2017: that fire deaths in the city had increased by 25, to a troubling total of 73. According to a post on Firefighternation.com, “In December alone, there were 26 deaths — the […]

In September 2017, the New York Daily News reported that the family of firefighter Thomas O’Brien was considering a lawsuit to compel the FDNY to recognize their ancestor’s death in 1935 as a casualty in the line of duty. Some weeks later, on the website The Sandpaper.net, Mr. O’Brien’s grandson Arthur O’Brien wrote in detail […]

We know it’s hard to get anyone excited about a new auto insurance law. But this time, the law is so important, and the impact that it will have on firefighters is so significant, that we think there is good reason for members to take notice. Our firm was part of the lobbying effort to […]

What You Need to Know About Your Right to Pension Reclassification To all retired firefighters and fire officers: After months of lobbying, the NYC Fire Pension Fund has implemented an important change that will help dozens of retired FDNY members who were awarded WTC-disability pensions for PTSD. Any member who was granted a WTC-disability pension […]