Recent Blog Posts

As 2018 draws to a close, there is rare good news regarding taxation, as reported in Fortune magazine: according to research from Morgan Stanley, taxpayers can expect refunds to be up 26 percent over last year. Of course, to minimize your tax bill without getting a threatening letter from the IRS, it’s important to be […]

The Uniformed Fire Officers Association of New York City, or UFOA, recently partnered with digital health firm Qardio and Mount Sinai Health in a program to help firefighters monitor their blood pressure levels without having to take time off from their jobs. The partnership follows a nine-month hypertension pilot involving select firefighters who were monitored […]

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 […]

Should the New York State hate crime law that provides enhanced sentencing for attacks based on a victim’s identity be expanded to include peace officers, firefighters and EMTs? State Senator Fred Akshar of Binghamton, a former sheriff’s deputy, thinks so, and he’s proposed legislation in Albany to make hate crime enhancement happen. New Yorkers were […]

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 […]