Rescue our EMTs

The Fire Department’s order holding back firefighters from suspected coronavirus 911 calls once again puts the FDNY’s 4,100 emergency medical technicians and paramedics at the forefront, as most of the department’s work isn’t extinguishing blazes. In 2018, more than 80% of the FDNY’s 1.7 million calls were medical emergencies.

So why are the EMTs who rush to the rescue paid so poorly compared to their FDNY brethren?

Emergency Medical Services personnel are trained for medical outbreaks like coronavirus, active shooters, terror and biohazard attacks. While few jobs carry quite the stark risk of rushing into burning buildings, paramedics and EMTs are on always call, making judgments with life-and-death consequences.

Yet while EMT and paramedic base pay after five years is $50,604 and $65,226, respectively, firefighter equivalent base pay is $85,292. While firefighters have unlimited sick pay, paramedics and EMTs have just 12 days of paid sick leave annually, despite constant physical contact with sick patients they treat and transport.

The disparity means the city struggles to attract and retain enough paramedics and EMTs to meet growing needs.

Raising salaries and upping sick days cost money. Perhaps the city can pay for it in part by figuring how to halt two disturbing trends.

One, 911 calls from people who aren’t experiencing life-threatening emergencies keep growing. Two, there’s been a massive spike in psychiatric emergency calls, from 91,000 in 2013 to 140,000 in 2019. Drug and alcohol abuse calls swelled too.

Those problems demand better than an ambulance at the bottom of the hill.