More than 20 firefighters were injured battling a house fire on Staten Island last year.
Photo by Lloyd Mitchell
Four FDNY firefighters critically hurt in a Staten Island blaze last year announced Monday they are suing New York City over what they called a dangerous policy that puts firefighters and the public in harm’s way.
The plaintiffs, FDNY Lieutenant Bill Doody and Firefighters John Sarnes, Michael Guidera and Kwabena Brentuo, alleged in a lawsuit filed in state Supreme Court on Staten Island that a city policy that periodically closes firehouses for medical exams and training left them short-staffed and with a longer response time.
The four firefighters nearly lost their lives on Feb. 17, 2023, when a raging four-alarm fire ripped through a family home on Shotwell Avenue, spreading quickly as heavy winds continued. The closest firehouse, Ladder Company 167, was closed for annual medical exams when the fire occurred, lawyers for the firefighters said.
“There’s a policy with FDNY to close a firehouse when the firefighters need to go in for medical exams or training,” said Andreas Koutsoudakis, a lawyer from KI Legal Personal Injury firm representing the firefighters. “Instead of replacing them with firefighters who might be off or from another firehouse nearby, they close it. So if there’s a fire in the area where that closed firehouse is, the one that’s responding is not that one obviously because no one is there.”
The firefighters are seeking $20 million in damages and a change in the city policy to ensure faster response to emergencies.
The Shotwell Avenue blaze began as a one-alarm fire but quickly escalated to four alarms by the time the firefighters arrived.
“When we talk about the risks that these people go through, yes, they sign up for a very dangerous job, but we don’t need to make it worse,” Koutsoudakis said. “This is something that is completely within the city’s control to not add to the…
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