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New data from the New York City Mayor’s office reveals differences in safety metrics between the city’s firefighters and emergency medical service (EMS) professionals.
The New York City Fire Department (FDNY) took control of the city’s EMS service in 1996. Union leaders and researchers have cited service, safety, and pay issues under the combined operation.
A new proposal was recently discussed at a city meeting to split the departments and establish a standalone EMS.
Several studies by Brian Maguire - an independent consultant, professor, and former NYC paramedic - found injury and fatality rates are higher for EMS professionals compared to firefighters, including within the FDNY.
Maguire examined data spanning 2016 to 2025 in the latest NYC Dynamic Mayor’s Management Report (DMMR).
The data indicated the number of service-related injuries has decreased for firefighters but remained flat for EMS professionals, and collisions have decreased for fire apparatus but increased for ambulances.
“These data indicate that safety investments and organizational attention have not been applied equitably across the department,” Maguire said.
In October, FDNY EMS Local 2507 launched a new public awareness campaign on social media with the hashtag #StandWithEMS in response to the DMMR.
The union highlighted an increase in emergency response times and rate of sick call-outs, and also noted a pay disparity between NYC’s EMS professionals and firefighters.
Local 2507 reported FDNY EMTs’ take-home pay averages less than half the cost of living in NYC, forcing them to rely on food stamps and housing vouchers - while some are even homeless.
Union leaders said this pay gap has led to a 70% attrition rate in the first five years, and they expect more than 1,500 union members - about a third of the department’s EMS employees - will leave within 12 months.
On Nov. 13, 2025, a joint hearing of the NYC Council committees on Governmental Operations and Civil Service and Labor discussed establishing a standalone EMS department, creating a “third service” alongside independent police and fire departments.
Representatives from both EMS unions and FDNY voiced their concerns for and against separation.
Oren Barzilay, president of the union representing EMTs and paramedics, said that creating a third service wouldn’t be that difficult because EMS workers already rely on a separate dispatch system and have their own station houses.
Barzilay appeared alongside Sharnice Johnson, an EMT making just over $41,000 a year who is homeless.
Anthony Almojera, EMS officers union VP and a lieutenant paramedic, said, "For decades EMS has operated without equal resources, respect or autonomy inside a structure that was never designed for modern emergency medicine. ... Creating an independent EMS agency would finally align the system with what it truly is: a frontline healthcare service, not a fire suppression unit.”
Outgoing FDNY commissioner Robert Tucker said creating a standalone EMS department “would duplicate every function that keeps the FDNY running, and worse yet would undermine the integrated emergency response system that keeps New Yorkers safe. And it would not meaningfully address the actual issue at hand: compensation.”
Tucker claimed the union’s contract negotiations are the real issue, calling for better negotiation tactics with the Council to deliver “better pay, better equipment, better working conditions and representation that puts your needs first.”
No formal vote was taken during the meeting.
Donald Halsing is the Founding Editorial Director of Work Safety 24/7. He was formerly the Associate Editor of Robotics 24/7.
Don's experience spans the supply chain, logistics, and construction industries, having worked in both warehouse operations and land surveying. He is also a professional wedding photographer with his fiancée Ashley.
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