STLFF12's Blog

Hope everyone has taken notice of the picket at St. Louis Fire Department Headquarters today. There are roughly 30 officer positions open (Captain and Battalion Chief) since 2004. As months and years go by that number is growing, by way of injuries and retirements. Fire Chief Sherman George feels that the test given was racially biased because there were a larger number of whites that passed and are ranked higher than black firefighters. Yet, there are still blacks who tetsted well. Whites don't even account for the majority of the top ten. I believe its an african american who is at the top, there is a female, several whites and more blacks who round out the top 10. The chief doesn't want to promote because of the numbers of the test. He says that some of the people on the list are not qualified, yet scored hgh enough to be in line for a promotion.  Some cite nepotisim as the root of the problem. I foressee it as another attempt to stop progress. If you followed your father to work for 20 years or so, you begin to learn the job quite well, even before you start. So god forbid you already have a head start and have knowledge of the job than others before you test. My father was a firefighter and I knew the job quite well before I ever went to the academy.

For years now, in these vacancies have been people who are not captains or battalion chiefs (actors). In some cases entire districts (example natural bridge and points north) on certain shifts do not even have a bonified captain on a fire truck, which per district is 6. In some instances, someone with as many 2 years on the fire department is making decisons on rescue and tactics and in-house personnel matters which relates to that fire house and it's men. It's not safe for the firefighters or the citiizens who are protected in the city to have people who may not even be qualified for the position(s) to be making those decisions. Which by the way, there is NO compensation or benefits to being an acting Captain or acting Battalion Chief.  It's only a matter of time that someone will get hurt or killed because of the lack of experience of the "Actors" on the scene of fires or accidents.  Tension is high, safety is not number 1, otherwise these people on the list would have been promoted. It's an agenda by the chief and a firefighter racial equality group to hold up progress and sacrifice safety so that more minorites hold higher positions.  Also with the 30+ vacancies on the fire side, there is almsot 30 openings for EMT's and Paramedics on Advanced Life Support Ambulances which the Fire Department operates. Again, with all of the tension and unfiarness, well qualified people have left the city for other jobs and qualified applicants stay away because of all the bad press.

This issuse is not like MoDot or Metro having minority groups fighting because there is not enough minorites on the job to build road or set of tracks, but this is life safety, my safety,  YOUR safety. It's all being compromised because some feel it's not fair that people who fairly passed a test (federal court ruled that the test is valid) have to wait until all court actions and appeals are exausted and the chiefs hand has to be held to sign the paperwork to allow the city to go along with the promotions.

I'd like to thank those who have supported the firefighters and have seen what the true issue is. They have listened to the local media for information. Supporters can see the lies submitted in papers such as the St. Louis American who caters to african americans ans refuses to publish the responses from white firefighters and even african americans who side with the REAL fire department union in getting these well deserving people their promotions. The paper always draws with a racial pen to stir the pot and to get african americans fired up in an attempt to get more people on their side, even if it for the obviously wrong reasons.