Firefighter Warns Of Inwood Firehouse Closures Due To Vax Mandate

UPDATE: On Saturday. Oct. 30, the chair of Community Board 12, Eleazar Bueno, issued a second statement saying the firefighter's warning had been shared by the board in error.

"The material was sent as an example of the disgusting intimidation tactics being used by several Fire Department Unions," she said.

"It should have been accompanied by the explanation you are reading now, pointing out that these tactics are shameful and endanger all of the residents of our communities. Those words were unfortunately not included with the email as they should have been."

Saturday's message continued: "As a Community Board, [we] support the vaccination and other public health efforts of the city government that we are a part of. We urge everyone eligible, especially all of our heroic first responders, to get themselves vaccinated to protect themselves, their families, and the general public."

UPPER MANHATTAN, NY — Inwood residents might not have an operational firehouse as of this weekend.

Brendan Gaffney, who claims to be a member of Inwood's FDNY Ladder 36 firehouse, wrote in a letter circulated by Community Board 12 that as "early as this weekend, you may see firehouses closed due to workforce shortages" because of the mayor's recently extended vaccine mandate for city employees.

The letter adds that "residents in Inwood may need to wait for companies in the Bronx to show up."

Firefighters, along with police officers and other city employees, have until 5 p.m. Friday to get vaccinated. Enforcement of the mandate starts on Monday.

"With over 4500 firefighters not vaccinated, this is without a doubt going to affect CB12 residents immediately," Gaffney wrote in the letter to Community Board 12. The 4,500 figure presumably relates to the whole FDNY and has not been verified.

He adds that response times will be longer for fires and medical emergencies and that he knows Inwood Engine 95 and ladder 36 is short-staffed this weekend with the possibility of closing.

"These closings could be fatal! Please help us help the residents of the CB12 and reach out to the Mayor's office and voice your concerns," Gaffney concludes his letter with.

The next nearest Manhattan-based firehouse is Ladder 45 at 515 West 181st Street, which Gaffney makes no mention of.

Here is the complete letter:

Despite Mayor Bill de Blasio downplaying the possibility, the looming mandate for municipal workers has caused worrying rumblings of mass disruptions in public safety agencies.

Throngs of FDNY firefighters and other city workers amassed outside Gracie Mansion to protest the vaccine mandate.

Data shows many departments' workers did indeed rush to get doses of the vaccine in the past week. FDNY, for example, went from 60 percent of workers with at least one dose to 68 percent in roughly a week, according to the data.

But within the FDNY there are still disparities. Firefighters are only 64 percent vaccinated compared to 74 percent of EMS, data shows.

FDNY Commissioner Daniel A. Nigro recently said up to 20 percent of firehouses could be shuttered next week once the mandate takes effect. Mandatory overtime and "mutual aid from other EMS providers" could be used to cover the missing shifts, Nigro said.

Read More: De Blasio Downplays Worker Shortfalls As COVID Vax Mandate Nears

Patch reporter Matt Troutman contributed to this report.