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Council hearing spotlights FDNY staffing gaps, EMS pay disparities and deteriorating firehouses
Summary
At a March 13, 2026 City Council oversight hearing, Fire Commissioner Lillian Bonseigneur and FDNY leaders outlined FY27 budget plans while union leaders and council members pressed for EMS pay parity, a pilot to restore a fifth firefighter in busy Bronx companies, faster apparatus delivery and fixes to long-delayed firehouse repairs.
Fire Commissioner Lillian Bonseigneur told the City Council’s Committee on Fire and Emergency Management on March 13 that the FDNY’s preliminary FY27 budget is aimed at closing long-standing personnel and OTPS shortfalls while preserving frontline service.
“This year marks the thirtieth anniversary of the merger of EMS with the fire department,” Bonseigneur said in her opening remarks, and added that “it is time to pay them a living wage.” She reported FY25 operational counts — more than 25,000 structural fires, 1.6 million emergency medical incidents and nearly 1,000,000 patient transports — and framed pay parity for EMTs and paramedics as central to stabilizing staffing.
Why it matters: Council members and rank-and-file union leaders repeatedly warned the panel that EMS shortages are lengthening response times and that firehouses and apparatus are suffering from deferred maintenance. Union testimony and council questioning stressed that EMS retention cannot wait for long collective-bargaining cycles and that a shortfall in ambulances pushes more medical runs onto engine companies.
During the hearing…
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