FDNY union rallying for 5th firefighter on engines as Mamdani, NYC Council plan budget

Supporters of a proposal to add a fifth firefighter to New York City fire engines will rally Monday to get the Mamdani administration to reverse FDNY cuts in place since the Bloomberg era.

FDNY union leaders will be joined by City Council Speaker Julie Menin and families who survived fatal apartment fires in their push to fund a fifth firefighter for roughly half of the city's engine companies.

Funding for a fifth firefighter is currently limited to the FDNY's 20 busiest engines.

The rally will begin at 12:50 p.m. at FDNY Engine Company 7 / Ladder Company 1 / Battalion 1 on Duane Street in Lower Manhattan. 

It comes as Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the council start negotiating the next city budget. Menin wants nearly $92 million allocated to the expanded FDNY staffing. 

"Having a fifth firefighter can help to extinguish a fire, and it really makes it safer both for communities to prevent deaths and it's also safer for the firefighters as well," Menin said.   

Supporters say the stakes are high after 51 people died so far this year in fires across the five boroughs -- nearly double the amount at this point last year. 

So far, 2026 fire deaths include a 1-year-old baby killed in a Bronx apartment this month and three people killed in another Bronx fire in April. 

Andrew Ansbro, president of the Uniformed Firefighters Association, said adding a fifth member to engine companies would help improve rescue operations. 

"It'll stop single-alarm fires from becoming multiple-alarm fires because we can knock it down faster," Ansbro said. 

In response, an FDNY spokesperson told CBS News New York, "The Mamdani administration looks forward to continuing conversations with the Council regarding a fifth firefighter pilot proposal." 

Most FDNY engine companies were reduced from five firefighters to four during the Bloomberg administration. Efforts to restore the staffing level have repeatedly come up short.