NEW YORK â Five graduates of the FDNYâs Fire Cadet program say the department abandoned them after two years of training to become New York City firefighters.
In interviews with NBC New York, they allege FDNY Commissioner Robert Tucker reclassified them as EMS trainees just before their two-year contracts expired, then issued termination letters, a move they call a rushed switch and a broken promise.
âIt was either become an EMT or resign,â Shamar Greene, one of the terminated cadets, told NBC New York. âWe never signed up to be EMTs.â
Juan Osorno, one of the terminated cadets, said he was deeply disappointed, believing the department had broken a promise to him and others. His termination letter cites failure to clear a required medical exam for the new EMS Trainee title, which he contends happened only because the reclassification was rushed and he couldnât secure the exam in time.
âWe had two weeks to do a whole medical process that usually takes 3 months,â Greene told NBC New York.
FDNY says 15 cadets received termination letters after graduating this summer, while 68 secured clearances to take temporary EMS Trainee roles; 45 of those have since joined the October Fire Academy class.
Commissioner Robert Tucker defended the reclassification, arguing the prior administrationâs cadet program was poorly timed because contracts didnât align with an academy start date.
âThe two-year contract that these cadets entered into didnât coincide with the start of the fire class, and so there was going to be a gap,â Tucker said. âAnd in that gap, they were all going to be terminated.â
Former Commissioner Laura Kavanagh called the cadet âgapâ self-inflicted, saying the program had contingencies to avoid it and urging Tucker to revisit the terminations, suggesting he was misled by opponents of the initiative. Tucker didnât address her directly, saying the reclassification preserved jobs for most graduates, though some were cut for not meeting new requirements.
The Fire Cadet program was designed to diversify FDNY ranks by creating an alternative path into Probationary Firefighter School, per the departmentâs DEI report. About 62% of FDNY firefighters are white, versus 31% of NYCâs population, FDNY and 2020 Census data show. Itâs unclear what recourse the 15 terminated cadets have; several say theyâre weighing legal options.
Was FDNYâs last-minute EMS reclassification of cadets a smart stopgap or a broken promise â and how should the department fix cadet timing going forward?
