Lack of Diversity Not on Merits
Myths About FDNY and Race

By KEVIN JAMES

Battalion Chief Paul Mannix's "Constructive Suggestions" in his Aug. 4 letter illustrate the cultural myths underlying and perpetuating the FDNY's lack of diversity.

For potential candidates, his suggestions are insulting and smack of paternalism. First, he implies the firefighter composition of 93 percent white males is due to natural selection from a level playing field: Minorities and women don't know they have to study and train for exams; unable to take responsibility for their failures, they're just waiting for a free pass.

Buddy System At Work

Second, he ignores the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's finding that the written entrance exam indicated a disparate impact on black candidates because it was not professionally validated. A civil service test irrelevant to screening for the best-qualified favors those who historically perform better under the arbitrary standard. It functions as a preference for white applicants and the status quo rather than indicating merit or providing equal opportunity.

This de facto affirmative action for white candidates continues with the investigative process. The social network of support for the status quo recalls one former fire commissioner's by-passing candidate screening for the son of his chauffeur. He was subsequently admitted into the job despite his pleading guilty to methamphetamine and pot possession. According to the Daily News, he was kept in the job even after police found cocaine in his vehicle, and was suspended in 2005 for his involvement in the Bronx firehouse sex scandal.

Around the same time the former commissioner was exercising his executive privilege, several black firefighters were wrongfully disqualified by the candidate investigations unit. They were admitted only after the Center for Constitutional Rights filed EEO charges against the department. Multiply this pattern by several decades and you begin to get the picture.

Tension Between Forces

Technically, the Fire Department is diverse, but the minority representation is concentrated in entry-level Emergency Medical Service positions. The rapid turnover in their ranks speaks to dramatic disparities in pay, advancement, and working conditions. In a force almost 50 percent minority, there are no black EMS chiefs, a position attained only by appointment.

A former UFA president was horrified by the thought of Emergency Medical Technicians crossing the floor. Soon after his son became a firefighter through the EMS cadet program, he filed suit to prevent EMTs from taking promotional exams to Firefighter. To the department's credit, it ultimately prevailed, but the attitude in the field remains. According to another Daily News article, hostility between EMTs and firefighters in a shared Far Rockaway facility escalated to the point where a wall was built between the factions.

The institutional racism and occupational bigotry infesting the department are not insurmountable, but require a thoughtful approach such that the best candidates are selected and the cultural biases mediated. Alternative entry into the department is essential. EMS parity is one route, as well as apprenticeship programs of the mettle used to open the door to the predominantly white father-son trade unions in the '60s and '70s.

Just as the Supreme Court has found diversity a valid consideration in law school admissions, public safety considerations admit an equal if not greater demand for diversity among emergency responders. New York City will be best served by a fire department that reflects and is drawn from the communities it serves. Such interests are not served by a ranking fire officer perpetuating hurtful stereotypes and myths of merit and civil service equal opportunity.

Mr. James is a Retired Supervising Fire Marshal and a Vulcan Society member.