NY Firefighter Told Bypass Surgery was 'Elective Procedure'

Although a Syracuse firefighter suffered a heart attack after battling a blaze, the city refused to pay for time off after bypass surgery.

That ruling forced Firefighter Bill Adsitt, 55, to retire last month after 20 years in the department.

In January, Adsitt told his supervisor he was having chest and back pains just hours after a fire. Doctors determined he was having a heart attack, according to Syracuse.com.

He was paid for a month of leave after the heart attack. He received a stent and blood pressure medicine, the paper reported.

Two doctors, however, recommended bypass surgery. In February, he had a quadruple bypass. 

The city, however, determined the bypass an "elective procedure" and refused to pay for the time off he needed for the surgery and recovery. So, Adsitt used vacation time and accrued sick days, according to the paper.

"It lit our guys up. Elective surgery? Who says 'I want to have a quadruple bypass?'" Paul Motondo, president of the Syracuse firefighters' union, told reporters. 

Adsitt said after the way he was treated, he's worried about his fellow firefighters.

"We're talking thousands of dollars, that I'm upset about. I'm willing to accept my responsibility, but I'm looking for present and future firefighters' well-being. What if this happens to a fellow with 10 or 15 years and the same circumstances? They don't have the option to retire like me and the city is going to fire them once they run out of sick days," he told the reporter.

A doctor noted that stresses of firefighting take a toll on the body, and declared Adsitt was no longer fit for duty, declaring him 100 percent disabled, the paper reported.

But a city-hired physician disagreed. Although he never examined Adsitt, he ruled the heart attack was from a preexisting condition.