hudson144

Hats off to the the members who stepped up and researched the issue, Another Hats off to NYS civil service who stepped in and ADVISED MOUNT VERNON TO AMEND ITS TEST ANNOUNCEMENT to delete the residence requirement. This whole issue is obvious where it all started from!!! More to follow.

Hats off to the the members who stepped up and researched the issue, Another Hats off to NYS civil service who stepped in and ADVISED MOUNT VERNON TO AMEND ITS TEST ANNOUNCEMENT to delete the residence requirement. This whole issue is obvious where it all started from!!! More to follow.

Hats off to the the members who stepped up and researched the issue, Another Hats off to NYS civil service who stepped in and ADVISED MOUNT VERNON TO AMEND ITS TEST ANNOUNCEMENT to delete the residence requirement. This whole issue is obvious where it all started from!!! More to follow.

At least its not "BROOKFIELD BOUND"!

I got called around 4 A.M. but advised them I was low on Mustard and Ketchup! Couldn't take it in. lol

I got called around 4 A.M. but advised them I was low on Mustard and Ketchup! Couldn't take it in. lol

Recently I took a step to file charges against the Fire chief in Mount Vernon for "Work Place Retaliation". The Human Resource Division in City Hall has recieved paperwork in a complaint form as required by the City Of Mount Vernon Harassement Policy. Charges have also been filed with the EEOC and from what I have heard have been recieved in Mount Vernon City Hall. Being involved with "Protected Activity" with the City any form of retaliation should not be permitted according to law. I will keep you all posted on upcoming issues. As always thank you for the support! jjc

Recently I took a step to file charges against the Fire chief in Mount Vernon for "Work Place Retaliation". The Human Resource Division in City Hall has recieved paperwork in a complaint form as required by the City Of Mount Vernon Harassement Policy. Charges have also been filed with the EEOC and from what I have heard have been recieved in Mount Vernon City Hall. Being involved with "Protected Activity" with the City any form of retaliation should not be permitted according to law. I will keep you all posted on upcoming issues. As always thank you for the support! jjc

No discrimination there,Mount Vernon is a Equal Oppurtunity Employer!

No discrimination there,Mount Vernon is a Equal Oppurtunity Employer!

After much thought and some talk i have decided to write a book about the situation that I happen to be in. many of you know that discrimination has been a hot topic recently and i feel that its time for a book to be out there to send the info to all out there. Discrimination is a 2 way street and i am not the only one to be denied something because of race. Changing of standards effects all, I will tell all about my situation when it comes to the corrupt ways in MV city hall not only with me but with others in the past.It will be a tell all book and I won't hold back! "Fightin City Hall" might take some time but its in the works!

After a double LODD death with the Washington DC FD a few years ago one of the points made I believe in the NIOSH report was to put the Chief's aides back on the roster. If I remember correctly it was stated that the aides are the eyes and ears of the Chiefs which often leaves the Chief to concentrate 100% on the operations on the fireground. From working in this postion i have been in positions where I am under the direction of the working Deputy Chief who depends on me to carry out certain tasks to allow him to focus on the incident. A Chiefs aide IMO should be a firefighter with experience (knowledge of the job/dept operating procedures)and who can be trusted to carry out orders or tasks for the Deputy Chief. Just putting a guy in the car to be nothin but a driver does nothin but take away a working member on the fireground. Not that i will see it in my career but many depts have on board computors,multiple radio frequencys etc that need to be watched during the incident. The working force also needs to realize that any assignments issued to the working crews come directly from the Deputy Chief. Accountability is another big issue for the aide to be concerned with.I am sure more can be added to this.

To those of you out there who either had a chance to be hired within that 300 roster,or if you know someone who was eligible to be hired its time to "LAWYER UP"! Step up,fight for your rights.I have a phone # of an atty who might be interested in representing you! Biased questions? The case of MOCHA(Men of Color Helping All) vs Buffalo was proven that questions were not biased.The lawsuit was thrown out because they could not prove that a question was biased. Now you want to bring up biased-- because of a certain decree in place questions are deleted under a 4/5ths scoring method.As mentioned before on here, that causes a disparate impact on others because questions were deleted in favor of a certain group of minoritys. When will it end,aren't we all created equally???

Keep Jimmy in your prayers!

Take a look and sign the petition to fight to keep standards in FDNY. Merit Matters.com is a sight set up by Deputy Chief Paul Mannix of the FDNY to make all aware how the NY City gov't should fight a recent ruling by a judge to hire those who simply did not make the grade! Why do some feel that lowering standards in the FD think its ok? Are standards lowered to be a lawyer,Doctor,pilot? Please visit the sight and support the fight!

Take a look and sign the petition to fight to keep standards in FDNY. Merit Matters.com is a sight set up by Deputy Chief Paul Mannix of the FDNY to make all aware how the NY City gov't should fight a recent ruling by a judge to hire those who simply did not make the grade! Why do some feel that lowering standards in the FD think its ok? Are standards lowered to be a lawyer,Doctor,pilot? Please visit the sight and support the fight!

Take a look and sign the petition to fight to keep standards in FDNY. Merit Matters.com is a sight set up by Deputy Chief Paul Mannix of the FDNY to make all aware how the NY City gov't should fight a recent ruling by a judge to hire those who simply did not make the grade! Why do some feel that lowering standards in the FD think its ok? Are standards lowered to be a lawyer,Doctor,pilot? Please visit the sight and support the fight!

I like this:

I like this:

Kenneth McAllister-The Vulcans was not a party to the lawsuit? " Our Name was used,but it wasn't really our fight". His fight was with the City? I guess the Forged letter from the Vulcan Society President Curtis Bracy must have just appeared in city hall, and those 15 members of the vulcan Society that showed up in city hall that day were all just something i was dreaming about. The attorney for the Vulcans letter that was submitted and then re-tracted after he re-read the decree stating that the complaints filed by the Vulcans had no merit had nothing to do with the Vulcans? I don't know Mac- looks like you guys had alot to do with it all lol THE WORLD IS ROUND BROTHER! More to follow Soon!

For those of you that have been following my case I have to thank you all for the support.In the Journal News Article today some key points in this case were not mentioned just like they weren't even a consideration with the case.
1) The complaint filed by the Attorney for the Vulcan Society was withdrawn 3 days after he submitted them to the Mount Vernon Law Dept. After the Atty for the Vulcans reviewed the decree himself he realized that there was nothing in the decree that stated that the Lieutenants list will be a 2 yr list and also that the Vulcans need to give premission to extend the list. He withdrew the complaint to the law dept. Now ironically the Law Dept who was run by the city atty who at that point was the 1st Vice President of the Black Bar Association of Westchester Co. In the civil service meeting the day that the Vulcan Atty notified the City Atty that there was no merit to the complaint of the Vulcans and he is withdrawing the complaint the City Atty ordered the list to be killed with both the #1 and #2 candidates getting screwed. The city Atty at the civil mtg said there was no investigation conducted! Anyone see a problem here?
2) In the reply to the EEOC the City Atty stated that she was in no "RUSH" to promote two caucasions in fear of litagation from the Westchester Vulcan Society,sound familiar? Like a quote from the US SUPREME COURT staing that in the New Haven case "you can't hold back a list of white guys in fear of litagation alone"! So- here we stand preparing for the Appeals Court 2nd Circuit in NYC. THE FIGHT IS NOT OVER JUST STARTING OVER! LOL

Three decree's disolved in about 7 months? More to follow???
White cops get say in decades-old discrimination case
Michael P. Mayko, STAFF WRITER
Published: 01:07 p.m., Wednesday, April 28, 2010
A federal appeals court Tuesday allowed a group of white Bridgeport police officers to be heard on a proposed order to settle a 32-year-old racial discrimination case brought by black officers against the department.
It also gives the officers the ability to challenge any court action in the order that impacts their future by allowing Bridgeport to adjust promotion exams that are believed to discriminate against blacks.
But the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals panel in New York City -- consisting of Judges Jose A. Cabranes, a former chief district judge in Connecticut; Barrington D. Parker, who sits on several Yale University boards; and U.S. District Judge Carol Amon of Brooklyn, N.Y. -- didn't stop there.
The panel questioned why the 32-year-old Guardians case, which resulted in the federal court overseeing operations of the Bridgeport Police Department's dealings with black officers, is still active.
Parker, in a strongly worded final paragraph, writes: "this case was filed in 1978 ... the world has turned over many times since then. Except in highly unusual circumstances, it is the business of cities, not federal courts or special masters, to run police departments. At some point in time, this litigation has to be ended."
The panel then expressed confidence that U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton, who is presiding over the case, "will look hard for that point."
"This is a poster case for so-called reform litigation run amok," said Karen Lee Torre, a New Haven lawyer who obtained intervention for Bridgeport Police Officers Todd Hoben, Jorge Cintron, David Garcia, Mark Belinkie, Mark Graham, Martin Henue, William Reilly and James Borrico, and for Kurt Hoben, who is applying for a police officer position.
"This ruling is another positive step toward ending a racket that has gone on for decades and siphoned off millions of taxpayer dollars, all squandered on lawyers and 20 years of payments to the judge's appointed special master, an arrangement the legality of which I look forward to challenging."
This ruling comes on the heels of last summer's U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning a federal judge's decision allowing New Haven to retest fire department lieutenant and captain candidates because no blacks scored high enough to be promoted.
There are some similarities. Arterton is the presiding judge in the Guardians' case and the New Haven firefighters case while Torre represented the successful white candidates in both.
The Supreme Court decision also led to Bridgeport settling a reverse discrimination suit brought by 12 white firefighters, who challenged the rescoring of a 2007 fire lieutenant's exam, which knocked several out of possible promotions.
The Bridgeport Guardians, a group of black police officers, sued the city and its police department in 1978 claiming racial discrimination of black officers. Following a trial, Chief U.S. District Judge T.F. Gilroy Daly, now deceased, found widespread discrimination in terms of the assignment, promotion and discipline of black officers. He appointed William Clendenen, a New Haven lawyer, as a special master to oversee the treatment of black officers within the department.
Over the decades, Clendenen conducted numerous hearings and wrote several rulings critical of the department and its management. Damages, as well as Clendenen's fees, were paid by Bridgeport. A $900,000 fine was imposed against the city for violating court orders, but never paid.
"Throughout this period, the only constant has been that the police department ... has been run under the supervision of a federal court and its special master," Parker wrote.
But times have changed. The ruling points out that 15 percent of the supervisors today are black and 32 percent are minorities as compared to 1983, when all supervisors were white. Additionally, two blacks served as police chief in the past decade.
"The substance of the 2nd Circuit's ruling is an encouraging sign of an end to this protracted litigation," said Betsy Edwards, an associate city attorney. "The presence of the intervening officers in the remaining stages of this case will assist the Department in moving forward with a shared sense of unity. The city shares the 2nd Circuit's belief that `the business of running police departments is not properly left to federal courts and special masters,' and is confident that the progress that the department has made over the past year will continue and will justify the long overdue conclusion of this federal oversight."
Antonio Ponvert, the Guardians' lawyer, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Following a four-hour hearing on Aug. 6, 2008, Arterton accepted a proposed order to end the case, which includes returning authority to the chief in assigning officers to geographical areas, filling 50 percent of the vacancies in specialized units and hearing complaints of racial discrimination.
However, Arterton retained oversight of the order's implementation.

A well written article:
Less Diversity Is Needed in the Fire Service
Feb 1, 2010 By Kelly B. Jernigan
This commentary is in response to “A Matter of National Security” by Joseph B. Muhammad of the International Association of Black Professional Fire Fighters (IABFF) (Fire Commentary, September 2009). Wait, what? There is such a thing as the IABFF? Isn’t that what the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) is for? The advancement of firefighters? Not black firefighters, not white firefighters, not female firefighters, not Hispanic firefighters, but FIREFIGHTERS? Aren’t we all one in this profession?
After reading the article during lunch, I continued my daily duties at the firehouse, which included training. During training on a new piece of equipment, I ended up at the computer looking up technical specification questions that arose with our hands-on ventures. I did not find what I was looking for, but my search endeavors led me to the forums on the Fire Engineering Web site (www.fireengineering.com) regarding discrimination in the fire service. The topic was not as popular as I originally thought. I was expecting an infinite number of search results written by anyone who had an opinion on racism and diversity. However, very few of these articles were of any relevance to the fire service.
In the forums, I discovered the same type of promotional test controversy in Houston, Texas. I searched for the case and found the article “7 Black Houston Firefighters Sue, Say City Exam Biased.” Similar to the New Haven 20 case, Dennis Thompson, the lawyer for the black firefighters in Houston, argued the tests were unfair. “Firefighters trying to attain the rank of captain and above in the Houston Fire Department must take a 100-question multiple-choice test. Numerous studies show that blacks as a group do less well on high-stakes tests,” Thompson said. He also stated, “Fire departments should use cognitive tests only as a pass-fail benchmark and also should focus on performance exercises and other criteria.” (Carolyn Feibel, Houston Chronicle, February 6, 2009)
Captain Otis Jordan, president of the Houston Black Firefighters Association (HBFA), said, “We don’t do as well on these multiple-choice tests.” He also stated, “I compare fighting a fire, riding an apparatus, to playing football. Your best athlete might not be the straight-A student.” Statements such as these say to me Jordan believes black firefighters are not as intelligent as those of other races. It sounds like these lawyers and black firefighter associations are trying to prove their point by making their own race look bad. The HBFA was not affiliated with the lawsuit.
If I were black, I would be irate at this lawyer or this group for saying I am not smart enough to take the same test as other races. I know if I were involved in a female coalition and it represented me with this argument, I would definitely ask for my dues back.
I agree there are credible accusations and incidents of discrimination, many of which aren’t officially stated or do not make it past the initial grievance procedure. Some of these situations fall into the same category as the New Haven 20 “reverse discrimination” lawsuit, and the individuals involved don’t have the money or the time to challenge city government. They would rather go on and do their jobs as firefighters and hope things are improved by someone high enough wanting to do what is right for the department.
Enough on the discrimination issue. I had to finish some things around the station, eat supper, and do the daily rituals before calling it a “workday” at the firehouse. Still, I couldn’t get this situation out of my mind. After many long hours pondering the subject of the New Haven 20, Houston, and even my own fire department, I have come to this conclusion: We need less diversity in the fire service.
Yes, I said it, less diversity. Let me explain. In my mind there are two types of people in the fire service—there are firefighters and there are people who work for the fire department.
FIREFIGHTERS
Firefighters are people of all races, religions, walks of life—male and female—who live their lives for the fire service. They are the people who dreamed their whole lives about becoming firefighters or have been introduced to the lifestyle and fell in love with it. Firefighters are the ones who take the extra initiative to produce and conduct training, constantly learn new things about the fire service, and make suggestions on how to make the job safer and more efficient. Firefighters are the ones who worry about brotherhood and watching out for their fellow firefighters at all costs. Firefighters are the ones you want beside you when it hits the fan deep inside a building, when you are searching for the small child or elderly person and the smoke, heat, and fire are banked down so low it feels like your body is going to melt. Firefighters will be there with you until the end.
Firefighters, when deciding to advance up the career ladder, will study promotional materials during every spare moment. They prepare for the tests, and most do well. But if they don’t, they blame no one but themselves, knowing that even though they may not be good test takers, they should have prepared more and studied harder. And by doing this, the next time they will do better.
Even as chiefs or company officers, it shows if your heart is in the fire service. Chiefs and company officers whose first love is the fire service are the ones who know the fire department is unlike any other department in the city. The fire department doesn’t bring in as much revenue as the police department or Collections, but it is a necessity.
Fire officers who fall into this category are not afraid to ask for what their people need. They are not afraid to be the rogue avengers, to take on the city managers and convince them what the department needs to be the best and the safest. They are the ones worried about the times when we have to make split-second decisions and knowing they are the right decisions, not about the things that we can go back and look up while sitting behind a desk.
FIRE DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEES
On the other hand, you have the people who work for the fire department. These are people who saw the ad in the paper for the fire department agility test and decided maybe working for city government would be better than working at a fast food restaurant. Fire department employees are also people of all races, religions, and walks of life—male and female. These are the employees who arrive at work at the last minute, abuse sick time, and never read or study to better themselves. They are the ones who do just enough to get by. They can usually quote verbatim the policies and procedures because they often use them to their advantage to see what they can get away with doing or not doing.
Officers who are fire department employees are the ones who are more worried about proper supervisory methods and how to do paperwork. While these tasks are extremely important and must be mastered, learning how to operate efficiently and aggressively on the fire scene, in my opinion, is an art that must be learned first and foremost. We have all seen the type—officers who are great at doing administrative duties and paperwork but on the emergency scene are ineffective to the point of being inept. They are the ones who look good in the administration’s eyes because they never want to rock the boat. They never want to go against the grain to offer any new suggestions, even if those suggestions are for life safety. These officers will never stick their necks out and have to be on the defensive or give justification for having to go against policy for doing what it took to save a life.
WHICH ONE ARE YOU?
When you meet people in the fire service, you can talk to them for about 10 minutes and tell if you are talking to firefighters or people who work for the fire department. You can tell if they are genuinely interested in taking the promotion to better themselves along with hopes of bettering the department or if they are just interested in the status and the pay raise that come with the promotion.
To put it in perspective, look around at some of the females in the fire service. I use this analogy because I can’t be labeled as prejudiced if I talk about my own kind, right? Are they firefighters or just females who work in the fire department? When the alarm comes in, do they have that “Let’s go get it, guys” attitude, or do they kind of hang back, hoping someone will take the lead? Are they the drivers who, when the announcement comes over the radio, “Smoke and heavy flames visible,” you hear the engine brake kick in, or are they the ones the officer has to call into the office after returning from the call and tell them, “Slow down, we can’t do anything if we don’t get there”? Do they expect and demand to have separate quarters all their own, or do they strive to be one of the guys? Do they become sensitive when the word “fireman” is used instead of “firefighter,” or is that how they introduce themselves, only to be corrected by the public?
A firefighter who happens to be a female is the one who doesn’t care about special treatment. She expects and demands to be treated equally—not better, equally.
You can talk to Blacks, Hispanics, and all the other races and tell the same. Black and Hispanic firefighters are no different from any other firefighters. They love the job. They are firefighters first and foremost.
It’s the same situation no matter who you are. It may be different in general industry, but as much as we preach diversity, understanding differences, and equal opportunity, it all boils down to one thing in the fire service: Are you a firefighter or just someone who works for the fire department?
THE PERFECT WORLD
Imagine working for a department with all firefighters. Very few disciplinary procedures would be needed. If there were discipline, it would be for a minor infraction such as broken glass at the station from friendly horseplay. Everyone on the fire scene would know what they are supposed to do without being told, and they would know how to do it.
We would have chiefs who are looked up to by everyone because they would be in that position because they deserve it, not because they know how to dress up a resume. They would not be afraid to take on the budget committees and city councils to get the money their firefighters need to be the best fire department in the state instead of thinking it will make them look good if they can turn in extra money at the end of the year.
We would promote based on validated test scores, time in service, work ethics, past appraisals, and coworker recommendations. Promotions would not be based on diversity quotas or a friend taking a good friend to the top. In return, once people realize how promotions work in the department of firefighters, and if they wanted to be promoted, they would step up and produce all year, not just around promotion time. This is the reason we need to join together and express our desires to hire and promote individuals who are not only good employees but who are great firefighters or who are the type of officers we want to work for or strive to be like. Let’s do away with hiring employees and start hiring people who genuinely want to be firefighters.
So next time you’re thinking of becoming a member of an ethnic or gender-specific organization so you can get help with screaming, “I didn’t get promoted because of my color, gender, ethnicity, or religion,” think about what class you represent. Are you a firefighter, or do you just work for the fire department?
Kelly B. Jernigan is a 19-year veteran of the fire service and a captain on Winston-Salem (NC) Fire Department Truck 2. She is a former deputy chief and training officer with the South Lexington (NC) Volunteer Fire Department. Jernigan is a level II fire service and live burn instructor for the North Carolina Fire and Rescue Commission. She is a certified hazardous materials specialist and a rescue technician rope specialist. She was also the fire and rescue coordinator for Davidson County Community College for 10 years and has an associate degree in computer programming.

Isn't there a course out there that you take and then the Mayor makes you the Chief?

A well written article:
Less Diversity Is Needed in the Fire Service
Feb 1, 2010 By Kelly B. Jernigan
This commentary is in response to “A Matter of National Security” by Joseph B. Muhammad of the International Association of Black Professional Fire Fighters (IABFF) (Fire Commentary, September 2009). Wait, what? There is such a thing as the IABFF? Isn’t that what the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) is for? The advancement of firefighters? Not black firefighters, not white firefighters, not female firefighters, not Hispanic firefighters, but FIREFIGHTERS? Aren’t we all one in this profession?
After reading the article during lunch, I continued my daily duties at the firehouse, which included training. During training on a new piece of equipment, I ended up at the computer looking up technical specification questions that arose with our hands-on ventures. I did not find what I was looking for, but my search endeavors led me to the forums on the Fire Engineering Web site (www.fireengineering.com) regarding discrimination in the fire service. The topic was not as popular as I originally thought. I was expecting an infinite number of search results written by anyone who had an opinion on racism and diversity. However, very few of these articles were of any relevance to the fire service.
In the forums, I discovered the same type of promotional test controversy in Houston, Texas. I searched for the case and found the article “7 Black Houston Firefighters Sue, Say City Exam Biased.” Similar to the New Haven 20 case, Dennis Thompson, the lawyer for the black firefighters in Houston, argued the tests were unfair. “Firefighters trying to attain the rank of captain and above in the Houston Fire Department must take a 100-question multiple-choice test. Numerous studies show that blacks as a group do less well on high-stakes tests,” Thompson said. He also stated, “Fire departments should use cognitive tests only as a pass-fail benchmark and also should focus on performance exercises and other criteria.” (Carolyn Feibel, Houston Chronicle, February 6, 2009)
Captain Otis Jordan, president of the Houston Black Firefighters Association (HBFA), said, “We don’t do as well on these multiple-choice tests.” He also stated, “I compare fighting a fire, riding an apparatus, to playing football. Your best athlete might not be the straight-A student.” Statements such as these say to me Jordan believes black firefighters are not as intelligent as those of other races. It sounds like these lawyers and black firefighter associations are trying to prove their point by making their own race look bad. The HBFA was not affiliated with the lawsuit.
If I were black, I would be irate at this lawyer or this group for saying I am not smart enough to take the same test as other races. I know if I were involved in a female coalition and it represented me with this argument, I would definitely ask for my dues back.
I agree there are credible accusations and incidents of discrimination, many of which aren’t officially stated or do not make it past the initial grievance procedure. Some of these situations fall into the same category as the New Haven 20 “reverse discrimination” lawsuit, and the individuals involved don’t have the money or the time to challenge city government. They would rather go on and do their jobs as firefighters and hope things are improved by someone high enough wanting to do what is right for the department.
Enough on the discrimination issue. I had to finish some things around the station, eat supper, and do the daily rituals before calling it a “workday” at the firehouse. Still, I couldn’t get this situation out of my mind. After many long hours pondering the subject of the New Haven 20, Houston, and even my own fire department, I have come to this conclusion: We need less diversity in the fire service.
Yes, I said it, less diversity. Let me explain. In my mind there are two types of people in the fire service—there are firefighters and there are people who work for the fire department.
FIREFIGHTERS
Firefighters are people of all races, religions, walks of life—male and female—who live their lives for the fire service. They are the people who dreamed their whole lives about becoming firefighters or have been introduced to the lifestyle and fell in love with it. Firefighters are the ones who take the extra initiative to produce and conduct training, constantly learn new things about the fire service, and make suggestions on how to make the job safer and more efficient. Firefighters are the ones who worry about brotherhood and watching out for their fellow firefighters at all costs. Firefighters are the ones you want beside you when it hits the fan deep inside a building, when you are searching for the small child or elderly person and the smoke, heat, and fire are banked down so low it feels like your body is going to melt. Firefighters will be there with you until the end.
Firefighters, when deciding to advance up the career ladder, will study promotional materials during every spare moment. They prepare for the tests, and most do well. But if they don’t, they blame no one but themselves, knowing that even though they may not be good test takers, they should have prepared more and studied harder. And by doing this, the next time they will do better.
Even as chiefs or company officers, it shows if your heart is in the fire service. Chiefs and company officers whose first love is the fire service are the ones who know the fire department is unlike any other department in the city. The fire department doesn’t bring in as much revenue as the police department or Collections, but it is a necessity.
Fire officers who fall into this category are not afraid to ask for what their people need. They are not afraid to be the rogue avengers, to take on the city managers and convince them what the department needs to be the best and the safest. They are the ones worried about the times when we have to make split-second decisions and knowing they are the right decisions, not about the things that we can go back and look up while sitting behind a desk.
FIRE DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEES
On the other hand, you have the people who work for the fire department. These are people who saw the ad in the paper for the fire department agility test and decided maybe working for city government would be better than working at a fast food restaurant. Fire department employees are also people of all races, religions, and walks of life—male and female. These are the employees who arrive at work at the last minute, abuse sick time, and never read or study to better themselves. They are the ones who do just enough to get by. They can usually quote verbatim the policies and procedures because they often use them to their advantage to see what they can get away with doing or not doing.
Officers who are fire department employees are the ones who are more worried about proper supervisory methods and how to do paperwork. While these tasks are extremely important and must be mastered, learning how to operate efficiently and aggressively on the fire scene, in my opinion, is an art that must be learned first and foremost. We have all seen the type—officers who are great at doing administrative duties and paperwork but on the emergency scene are ineffective to the point of being inept. They are the ones who look good in the administration’s eyes because they never want to rock the boat. They never want to go against the grain to offer any new suggestions, even if those suggestions are for life safety. These officers will never stick their necks out and have to be on the defensive or give justification for having to go against policy for doing what it took to save a life.
WHICH ONE ARE YOU?
When you meet people in the fire service, you can talk to them for about 10 minutes and tell if you are talking to firefighters or people who work for the fire department. You can tell if they are genuinely interested in taking the promotion to better themselves along with hopes of bettering the department or if they are just interested in the status and the pay raise that come with the promotion.
To put it in perspective, look around at some of the females in the fire service. I use this analogy because I can’t be labeled as prejudiced if I talk about my own kind, right? Are they firefighters or just females who work in the fire department? When the alarm comes in, do they have that “Let’s go get it, guys” attitude, or do they kind of hang back, hoping someone will take the lead? Are they the drivers who, when the announcement comes over the radio, “Smoke and heavy flames visible,” you hear the engine brake kick in, or are they the ones the officer has to call into the office after returning from the call and tell them, “Slow down, we can’t do anything if we don’t get there”? Do they expect and demand to have separate quarters all their own, or do they strive to be one of the guys? Do they become sensitive when the word “fireman” is used instead of “firefighter,” or is that how they introduce themselves, only to be corrected by the public?
A firefighter who happens to be a female is the one who doesn’t care about special treatment. She expects and demands to be treated equally—not better, equally.
You can talk to Blacks, Hispanics, and all the other races and tell the same. Black and Hispanic firefighters are no different from any other firefighters. They love the job. They are firefighters first and foremost.
It’s the same situation no matter who you are. It may be different in general industry, but as much as we preach diversity, understanding differences, and equal opportunity, it all boils down to one thing in the fire service: Are you a firefighter or just someone who works for the fire department?
THE PERFECT WORLD
Imagine working for a department with all firefighters. Very few disciplinary procedures would be needed. If there were discipline, it would be for a minor infraction such as broken glass at the station from friendly horseplay. Everyone on the fire scene would know what they are supposed to do without being told, and they would know how to do it.
We would have chiefs who are looked up to by everyone because they would be in that position because they deserve it, not because they know how to dress up a resume. They would not be afraid to take on the budget committees and city councils to get the money their firefighters need to be the best fire department in the state instead of thinking it will make them look good if they can turn in extra money at the end of the year.
We would promote based on validated test scores, time in service, work ethics, past appraisals, and coworker recommendations. Promotions would not be based on diversity quotas or a friend taking a good friend to the top. In return, once people realize how promotions work in the department of firefighters, and if they wanted to be promoted, they would step up and produce all year, not just around promotion time. This is the reason we need to join together and express our desires to hire and promote individuals who are not only good employees but who are great firefighters or who are the type of officers we want to work for or strive to be like. Let’s do away with hiring employees and start hiring people who genuinely want to be firefighters.
So next time you’re thinking of becoming a member of an ethnic or gender-specific organization so you can get help with screaming, “I didn’t get promoted because of my color, gender, ethnicity, or religion,” think about what class you represent. Are you a firefighter, or do you just work for the fire department?
Kelly B. Jernigan is a 19-year veteran of the fire service and a captain on Winston-Salem (NC) Fire Department Truck 2. She is a former deputy chief and training officer with the South Lexington (NC) Volunteer Fire Department. Jernigan is a level II fire service and live burn instructor for the North Carolina Fire and Rescue Commission. She is a certified hazardous materials specialist and a rescue technician rope specialist. She was also the fire and rescue coordinator for Davidson County Community College for 10 years and has an associate degree in computer programming.