Michael Smerconish | AN INJUSTICE TO THE BRAVEST

August 9, 2007

To: Michael Nutter.

Re: Honoring our finest.

Six years ago, I received a letter from a disabled fireman named Thomas Shapiro, and I wrote about him in these pages.

"What I know is that Thomas Shapiro now sits with rods in his spine and daily pain brought on by fighting a fire that posed a risk to a person he didn't know. And for his bravery, he gets 70 percent of 1983 salary," I said back then, in 2001.

I was appalled that only three months after the 9/11 attacks, when so much of our focus was on honoring the brave members of our country's police and fire departments, the city of Philadelphia could ignore the plight of one of its bravest.

Quick background: Tom Shapiro was born in West Philadelphia and raised in Frankford, where he still lives today.

He joined the Fire Department in 1969 at the age of 21. He made lieutenant in 1972, and captain only two years later. He was promoted to battalion chief in 1979, only to have his promising career cut short by injuries sustained on the job a year after that.

Responding to a routine house fire (if there is such a thing) near 19th and Chelten in March 1980, Shapiro stumbled down a flight of stairs slick with the water being used to extinguish the flames.

He landed on his back, not realizing that he was injured until he found that he couldn't kick off his boots. He had surgery for a herniated disc and spent the next 28 days recovering at Hahnemann.

Shapiro tried to return to work despite lingering pain. But two years later, he had to return to Hahnemann for another back operation, which would end his career permanently.

In 1983, it was determined that his injuries from the fall had rendered him permanently disabled, making Shapiro eligible for the injured-on-duty pension. He was entitled to 70 percent of his income in 1983, or about $2,050 a month. Some modest increases were added to this stipend: $25 in 1989 and another one-time lump sum of $1,600 given to all pensioners in response to a booming economy.

What troubled me about Shapiro's situation was the lack of a cost-of-living increase, which has put this man and others in a desperate situation. Disabled firefighters and police officers should be paid 70 percent of the current salary of their old jobs, I wrote six years ago.

Despite the passage of time, Shapiro's plight, and that of the men like him, is unchanged. Every month, this disabled firefighter must live on $2,103.92. And he was a battalion chief!

In a recent note, Shapiro wrote:

"The city, in its wisdom, equates being disabled in the line of duty . . . to retiring."

WELL, HE CERTAINLY didn't retire by choice. He'd been on the fast track in the department, and even attempted to return to work after his debilitating injury.

And while Shapiro's fight for justice has been consistent, his physical condition has proven less stable.

In 2003, he made his fifth trip to the operating room when his back collapsed. Doctors told his family that he would probably never walk again, an obstacle that he overcame through seven months of intensive physical therapy.

The additional operations have him concerned that his condition will continue to worsen. "The future is most unclear and unknown. I cannot say the same for the pain - that is known," he wrote. As his medical expenses rise, along with the cost of living, that paycheck from 1983 looks smaller every month.

Which brings me to you, Mr. Nutter. You assured us you were the true reform candidate in a crowded Democratic mayoral primary this spring.

You told us you are beholden to nobody. And en route to winning your party's nomination for mayor of Philadelphia, you promised to right many of this city's wrongs.

As we approach the sixth anniversary of 9/11, a time when there will be renewed, if short-term, appreciation for those in uniform, may I respectfully suggest that you start by honoring the sacrifice of those who literally walk through fire for the good of the public every day.

The current election has brought new hope to the city, and a fresh chance to truly honor men like Tom Shapiro.

Mr. Nutter? *

Listen to Michael Smerconish weekdays 5:30-9 a.m. on the Big Talker, 1210/AM. Read him Sundays in the Inquirer. Contact him via the Web at www.mastalk.com.