Firefighters

In September, a solemn ceremony in Bethpage, Long Island honored FDNY firefighter William Tolley, who died in the line of duty last April. Tolley was recalled as an American hero and memorialized with a sign at the intersection of Crestline and Acme Avenues that reads “F.D.N.Y. Firefighter William N. Tolley Way.” But six months after […]

What happens if a member of the FDNY is injured at work as a result of defective equipment? Suppose, for example, that the SCBA fails, or a thumb gets crushed by the apparatus door that has a new and hazardously placed handle. Is the City of New York liable to the firefighter for any resulting […]

Mike Barasch and Ret. Deputy Chief Richard Alles (now Director of 9/11 Community Affairs at Barasch & McGarry) present anonymous client’s donation to Commissioner Daniel Nigro, Dr. Kerry Kelly and Chief James Leonard One of our firefighter clients was recently given an award from the Victim Compensation Fund for his multiple WTC-linked cancers. Thankfully, he […]

What happens when an officer directs an FDNY engine company chauffeur to stop his rig in a bad spot — say, just over a rise on the Cross Bronx Expressway — and a firefighter is struck by a passing car while getting out of the rig? Or if, contrary to internal rules, one member of […]

Mike Barasch spoke at a press conference highlighting the health crisis facing firefighters and the entire 9/11 community due to their exposure to World Trade Center toxins. Listen to the show:

As this blog has explained many times before, there are special laws in New York to protect cops and firefighters injured in the line of duty. Principally, that protection comes from General Municipal Law 205-a for firefighters and GML 205-e for cops. The two statutes are almost identical. With some refinements, they provide cops and […]

Today, August 18, 2017, marks the 10th Anniversary of the Deutsche Bank fire that tragically took the lives of our client, firefighter Bobby Beddia and also firefighter Joseph Graffagnino. We take this time to remember both heroes, along with the hundred other members of the FDNY who were injured in this blaze that started when […]

Post-traumatic stress disorder among surviving firefighters was a much publicized topic in the months and years after the September 11 terrorist attacks. Many FDNY firefighters, who felt the shock, grief, and emotional devastation of losing 343 of their own to a single event, developed acute and persistent symptoms of PTSD. Now, more than 15 years […]

On January 9, 2017, Mayor Bill de Blasio and Fire Commissioner Daniel A. Nigro announced a historic achievement for the Fire Department of New York: the 48 deaths by fire in New York City for 2016 was the lowest annual total recorded since 1916. The department also saw the largest annual decrease in the number […]

We applaud the New York State Senate for unanimously passing a long-overdue bill aimed at protecting firefighters who perform emergency medical services. The bill, which has been sent to the Assembly and is expected to become law, makes it a misdemeanor crime if a person intentionally interferes with a firefighter performing care on a sick […]