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Ricci Don’t Lose That Number!

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That number would be the number assigned to Frank Ricci’s reverse discrimination lawsuit recently heard by the U.S. Supreme Court (07-1428 & 08-328).

 

Why should this matter, you say?

 

Well for TWO very important reasons: 1) Frank Ricci is a New Haven, CT firefighter and 2) One of the justices (Sonia Sotomayer) who denied his appeal has just been nominated by President Obama to replace the retiring David Souter.

 

We have had many discussions on promotions criteria, leadership, qualities of officers and recognizing who’s best for the job. Many feel that it should be based solely on the most qualified as determined by testing. Many have dismissed diversity initiatives as unnecessary in today’s liberal society. Still, others believe that we are not quite there yet and hiring based on ethnic quotas to achieve equality is still necessary.

 

Please note that while this lawsuit has been going on, the officer positions have been left open and are currently being filled by “acting” officers; some who FAILED the promotions exam!

 

I find it easy to say that everyone should be treated the same and that’s because I am not prejudice or bigoted in my thoughts. In my mind, race/color/religion should never factor into the equation. But, because of our country’s history, fail safes had to be put into place, even at the expense of other race/color/religions. And to me, THAT is discrimination. If we have to discriminate against one group to eliminate discrimination in another group, then we haven’t stopped it; we have perpetuated it. And that is wrong on many levels.

 

In the case of Frank Ricci and 20 other New Haven firefighters; they took a promotional exam in 2003 for (7) Captain positions and (8) Lieutenant positions. Based on the results of the testing, no African-Americans would have been promoted, so the Civil Service Board threw out the tests, because they feared a lawsuit by the African-Americans and Hispanics.

 

It’s interesting to note that the top (15) scores for the Captain’s exam were achieved by (13) whites and (2) Hispanics and the top (15) scores for the Lieutenant’s exam were achieved by (13) whites and (2) African-Americans.

 

So, Frank Ricci filed a lawsuit, based on the idea that he was not promoted because of his race.

The decision by the Supreme Court should come by the end of June.

 

The decision should have a precedent-setting impact on the use of racial quotas for filling positions; then using it for promotions.

 

And as I said; testing should determine the best candidates; period.

 

TCSS.

Art

Posted by chiefreason on May 26, 2009 • Filed under: My Size Up • Tagged: , , ,

Cultivating a Civilized Approach to Safety

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In Tim Sendelbach’s most recent editorial in the June edition of FireRescue found here http://www.firerescuemagazine.com/fromtheeditor/sendelbach_JUNE2009.html, he speaks to the very essence of effectively “selling” safety to the fire community.

 

With this editorial, I feel that FireRescue’s editor-in-chief clearly establishes the mission of the magazine. His very last statement-“It’s our responsibility to stand strong, unite and make OUR safety PRIORITY No. 1”-emboldens every one of us to take our safety personally!

 

Safety isn’t accomplished by reading the owner’s manual on a piece of equipment. It isn’t accomplished by appointing someone as your “safety” officer. It isn’t accomplished by reading from a list of “dos” and “don’ts”. It isn’t accomplished by putting on a bright yellow vest. It isn’t accomplished by bitching about wearing said vest. It isn’t accomplished by simply saying “be safe” at the end of every meeting. It isn’t accomplished by chance.

 

It can only be accomplished if a specific set of safety guidelines are written, implemented, then enforced EVERY DAY! It will NOT happen any other way.

 

Many are drawn to the fire service because of its “romanticism”; a “good vs. evil” scenario.

 

Bull McCaffery walking from the inferno through the doorway with a young child wrapped by Bull’s right arm in the movie “Backdraft” lends itself to the melo-dramatic side of what we do. And the funeral at the end caps an untimely end to Bull’s career, but the fire never got him! We get it!

 

But, when you watch that movie, you can also see a lot of risk-taking. Was it for “dramatic effect” or was it an accurate depiction? Only the film’s technical advisor knows for sure!

 

Many of us operate under a risk assessment policy that says “risk a lot to save a lot”, but we also understand that it is a very carefully calculated one as well.

 

Firefighters are NOT an asset or a commodity where their personal safety is at risk. Therefore; it is unacceptable should they be seriously injured or die in the line of duty.

 

We don’t risk death because the public “expects” it. That, I’m afraid, is where we are caught up in the romanticism of what we do.

 

No one that I have ever spoken to on the subject have said that they “expect” us to die to save their property. At least; they wouldn’t admit it.

 

But, WE-the fire service-have promoted this notion for decades. We have gone into structures for years without regard to their structural integrity, because “that is what we do”. Getting inside and fighting the fire on its turf is easier but not necessarily “better”.

 

In fact, just recently, it was stated that we have put ourselves first and the citizens that we have sworn to serve second. Another said that we should risk “everything” for our citizens.

 

Why? Because it’s “expected”?

 

So as not to create another controversy, suffice it to say that I believe that we can serve our citizens, reduce the number of LODDs and integrate safety into everything that we do.

 

Why can’t we simply treat safety with the same respect and urgency that we do for confined space, technical rescue or hazmat and apply that attitude to the firefighting component? Look at all of the safety requirements of the components that I mention and I have to ask why we can’t do the same for driving apparatus, wearing seatbelts, sizing up a building and fire conditions and yes; even our wellness/fitness.

 

While we argue for better presumptive illness legislation, we continue to clog our arteries with fatty foods and fill our lungs with the smoke from menthol Marlboros.

 

We are not “fighting the beast” or “slaying the dragon”, but it IS a little more complicated than simply “putting the wet stuff on the red stuff”. We need to inject the safety components into mitigating the chemical chain reaction caused by heat, fuel and oxygen.

 

We can do so while fulfilling our mission to our citizens and doing it as safely as possible.

 

And Tim nailed it in his editorial.

 

Following the 16 Life Safety Initiatives is an excellent place to start!

Posted by chiefreason on May 22, 2009 • Filed under: My Size Up • Tagged: , ,

Who Represents YOU?

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A few years ago, an East Coast friend and I were lamenting out loud that we didn’t have a national organization that REALLY represented the silent majority in the volunteer fire service.

 

Now; I want it understood that, if some of you who are reading this served on committees at the national level of the National Council on Fire Blah, Blah, Blah; this is NOT directed at you. I don’t need anymore hate mail for a while. But, how many of you who have worked for a fire service organization at the national level ever saw more than 20% of surveys returned? I rest my case. There IS a silent majority of firefighters in this country.

 

So, my friend and I floated the idea and were amazed at how many others felt the same way. What was done in jest was catching traction. I mean; there was some serious chatter about creating a new, national organization that would listen to us, work for us and become our strong voice for issues that were not being addressed at the national level. (Sidebar: it is noted that many organizations have addressed personal safety to varying degrees). An example could be a lack of programs for things like college tuition credits, property tax breaks, retirement benefits, annuities, etc. for people willing to volunteer their time in their communities. And let’s face it; we have a President well versed in community involvement, don’t we?

 

It was getting more and more evident that organizations were getting together to discuss “issues”-real or imagined-and would argue about the pecking order and the seating chart, who would get credit for the “plan” and most importantly, who would pick up the tab for the conference then and the program down the road later. Oh and make sure that your participation finds its way into your resume for future consideration of another organization that you intend to single-handedly rescue! (Sorry; I’ll put the sarcasm away).

 

I have always held that providing fire service to communities should be an intimate, local issue; from deciding what type of fire protection, to funding for it, deciding who should be on the fire department and to provide a grievance process for when expectations are not met; expectations of the fire department and the community being one and the same.

 

Let’s be honest here; how many of you KNOW what your community expects or are your expectations what you THINK their expectations are?

 

How many of you operate under the don’t ask/don’t tell or my favorite what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas mantra and especially for the “bad” stuff?

 

In summary, how many departments FEAR getting their communities involved because of that whole “control” thing?

 

We want to be called “heroes”, but will run like our hair’s on fire if they have reason to call us “convicts”…and there’s been a “few” of those times lately, hasn’t there?

 

We want their money, but we want it with no strings attached. Our reasons for wanting it should be good enough, right?

 

What would your public’s reaction be if they found out that you had been sneaking up their taxes, but have never applied for a grant?

 

Does your best efforts measure up to your community’s yard stick? Or does we did our best still cover it?

 

Does parking the rig out front while you sweep out the truck bay define your training program?

 

Now that I have your attention, let’s get back to fire protection as a local issue.

 

 

Until FIRE Act came out, I was fully prepared to work within our local boundaries for funding, but I soon realized that the “redistribution” of my tax money wouldn’t benefit us locally, so we started applying for grants.

 

We are 1 for 7. For (5) years, the Peer Reviewers told us that we didn’t need a new truck, so we gave up and went for SCBAs. We GOT that grant, but then they told us last year that we didn’t need the compressor to fill them!

 

What’s my point, you ask? Simple; we DO need a truck, so we applied for and received through our state a zero interest loan for its purchase.

 

And that compressor that we don’t “need” will be purchased at some point with money from fundraisers.

 

Funny, isn’t it? We all receive those emails in BIG, BOLD ALL CAPS that says WE URGENTLY NEED YOUR HELP when they are wanting a piece of legislation passed for their special interests.

 

Do you believe that it’s all in OUR interest? If you do, then click your heels together (3) times and say “there’s no space for our foam” or something like that.

 

So, the moral of this story is: You represent YOU! If you wait for someone else to help, you will find yourself in a hole… and look who’s throwing the dirt on you!

 

Create relationships in your community, your county and state government. Know your politicians. They’re the ones asking for donations to “take back government”; whatever that means.

 

How will you know if you’re doing enough?

 

Easy; the mayor will be following you on Twitter and your state rep will be calling you by your first name.

 

But, we STILL need a national organization that thinks like we do!

 

TCSS.

 

This article is protected by federal copyright laws. No reproduction of any kind is permitted without the expressed permission of the author. This article is published under The Adventures of Jake and Vinnie© umbrella.

Posted by chiefreason on May 18, 2009 • Filed under: My Size Up • Tagged: , ,

The Adventures of Jake and Vinnie© – Episode #30

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A Taste…A Smell…A Memory

 

It was late evening and Vinnie was busying himself around his house, but he kept thinking about Eddie and Missy. And the blood-the damned blood-taste in his mouth. So far, he has brushed his teeth TWICE, rinsed with mouthwash, ate a whole tin of cinnamon Altoids and was on his fifth beer.

 

But the taste was still there! Or was it? Maybe Vinnie just THOUGHT that he could still taste it; that sickening, metallic and rotten taste of blood.

 

Vinnie knew it all too well. As a kid, he would get nosebleeds if someone even LOOKED at his nose. And his dad would always make him tilt his head back and the blood would trickle down into his mouth and throat, gagging him to the point that he would convulse and throw up.

 

But this was worse! He was tasting someone else’s blood and not just any someone’s blood, but his friend’s blood. He couldn’t think about that or at least, he tried not to. He sat down in his Lazy Boy and closed his eyes.

 

The phone rang.

 

‘Vinnie; it’s Mom. Something terrible has happened. You have to come home right away.’

 

‘What is it, Mom? Are you all right?’ asks Vinnie.

 

‘Not really, but it’s not me; it’s your father.’

 

‘But, I can’t just leave, Mom. I got finals coming up. If I don’t take them, I’ll fail all of my classes’, protests Vinnie.

 

‘Vinnie; listen to me. I really need you here. Please come home NOW.’ Anna Cappaletti is crying hysterically and a man’s voice comes on the phone.

 

‘Vincent; it’s Father Torrelli. Your father has passed away. Your family needs you here. Please come to them.’

 

‘Father Torrelli; how did it happen? I got to call my professors. Maybe I can make up my finals. It doesn’t matter. Tell Mom that I’m on my way’, says Vinnie.

Vinnie hangs up the phone, but misses and the phone falls on the floor. Vinnie is in the closet, grabbing his suitcase and throwing whatever clothes were lying around his room into the suitcase and he’s out the door of his apartment.

 

He gets into his car and as he’s pulling out of the student parking lot, he’s calling his roommate on his cell phone.

 

‘Jack; it’s Vinnie.’

 

‘Dude; I’ve been trying to call the room, but the phone’s been busy. You been having a phon-a-thon with  Heather again?’ kids Jack.

 

‘Shut up and listen to me. I got a family emergency and I’m headed home…’

 

‘But Vinnie; what about finals?’ asks Jack.

 

‘I need you to call my advisor and tell him that my dad died and I had to go right home,’ says Vinnie.

 

‘Vin; he ain’t gonna believe it. He’s probably heard that one a million times,’ says Jack.

 

‘This is no bull, Jack…’ and Vinnie starts to choke up with emotion.

 

‘I’ll take care of it, Vinnie. You just have a safe trip and I’ll see you when you get back. I’m sorry about your dad. Give your mom a big hug for me,’ says Jack.

 

‘Thanks, Bro. I owe ya,’ says Vinnie.

 

Vinnie has a 4-hour drive ahead of him; plenty of time to prepare for when he sees Mom, he thinks.

 

But she never told me how Dad died. Bet it was a heart attack. Dad was a heavy smoker, liked his meat rare and to exercise, he’d get into the car and drive to the Dairy Queen for his favorite-a Peanut Buster Parfait!

 

Maybe he was killed in a car accident. Dad had a lead foot and his eyesight and hearing wasn’t what it used to be. Probably got hit by a train. Lots of railroad crossings around there without crossing gates. Bet he tried to beat a train.

Was he killed while trying to thwart a robbery? Maybe he was at the bank and someone tried to rob it. Maybe some punk grabbed a purse and Dad tried to stop it and was shot. Dad always fought for the underdog. He’d stop the car and offer assistance, if he saw a car broke down on the side of the road. He wouldn’t pick up a hitchhiker, but he’d stop if it looked like someone needed help. Did it cost him his life?

 

Vinnie was crying. His mind was going a mile a minute! He looked down at the speedometer and he was going 85! He slowed down to the speed limit and put in a Green Day CD. Maybe that would help to get his mind right.

 

He called Heather. They didn’t have a real serious relationship, but they did a lot of things together. It was more of a ‘friendship’ than a ‘relationship’, but they cared a lot for each other. Neither had ever said to the other that they ‘loved’ them. Pretty uncomplicated, really.

 

‘Heather? It’s Vinnie. I’m on my way home,’ says Vinnie.

 

‘Is anything wrong, Vin?’ asks Heather.

 

‘Yeah; Mom called and said that Dad died,’ says Vinnie, starting to break down.

 

‘Oh, Vinnie; I’m so sorry. I woulda gone with you,’ says Heather.

 

‘No; you need to take finals. It’ll be OK. I just didn’t want you to think I was kidnapped or something,’ says Vinnie, trying to lighten the moment.

 

‘Vinnie; I want to be with you. You shouldn’t be making that trip home all by yourself. You need someone to keep you company. I feel so bad,’ says Heather.

 

‘I’m doing OK. I got my music and it’s a straight shot, so don’t worry. Just study hard for finals, so you can be a big, bad senior next year,’ says Vinnie.

 

‘Can I do anything while you’re gone?’ asks Heather.

 

‘Yeah; make sure that Jack gets a hold of my advisor and explains the situation to him. Maybe he’ll believe it coming from you,’ says Vinnie.

 

‘Vinnie; you shouldn’t worry. Dr. Garrett has no reason to doubt you. You don’t lie, ever,’ re-assures Heather.

 

‘Thanks, Heather. I gotta stop for gas. I’m on fumes. I took off so fast that I forgot I needed gas. I’ll call you from home,’ says Vinnie.

 

‘Take care, Vinnie. You’re in my thoughts,’ says Heather.

 

It’s starting to get dark and a light drizzle has started to fall. Vinnie turns on his wipers and there is an irritating squeak.

 

Jesus; Dad told me to get new wiper blades the last time he drove my car, Vinnie says to himself.

 

Man; it is going to be so strange not havin’ Dad around anymore. I always thought I’d be with him when it was his time to go. This wasn’t supposed to happen like this! He was going to be there when I graduated from college. Smokin’ cigars and drinking keg beer to celebrate. Walking around with his chest out, proud to be my Dad.

 

God; I can’t take this! Why does it have to hurt so badly?

 

Vinnie is crying, shaking and feeling a little light-headed. But he can’t pull over; he has to get home. An on-coming car flashes his headlights at him.

 

Damn; I don’t have my headlights on. How long have I been driving like that? He turns his headlights on.

 

His cell phone rings and it makes his heart jump out of his chest!

 

‘Vinnie; where are you?’

 

Vinnie recognizes his big sister, Lisa’s voice.

 

‘Leece; I’m 20 miles away. How’s Mom doing?’ asks Vinnie.

 

‘Pretty good, under the circumstances. Doctor tried to give her a sedative, but she wouldn’t take it. I’ll be outside when you get here. There’s something that you need to know before you go into the house,’ says Lisa.

 

‘Can’t you just tell me now, Lisa?’ pleads Vinnie.

 

‘No; I want to hold onto you when I tell you,’ says Lisa.

 

‘Lisa; what’s the big secret?’ asks Vinnie, now feeling a bit angry.

 

‘Just get here, Vinnie. I want to tell you in person,’ says Lisa.

 

Lisa is standing outside in the front yard by the driveway, smoking a cigarette.

 

Before Vinnie could get out of his car, Lisa was running to him. She reaches through the window and touches Vinnie’s face. Her eyes are red and swollen from crying.

 

‘Vinnie; Dad shot himself.’

 

It hit Vinnie like a ton of bricks and he laid his head on the steering wheel.

 

Someone is shaking him.

 

“Vinnie? Vinnie!

 

Vinnie looks up. It’s Jake!

 

“Man; you look like hell. You OK?” asks Jake.

 

“I’m not sure. What day is it?” asks Vinnie.

 

“It’s been Tuesday, all day, Dude,” says Jake. “You want a beer?”

 

“Yeah; let’s go to Artie’s,” says Vinnie.

 

“I’ll drive,” says Jake…

 

The Adventures of Jake and Vinnie© is pure fiction. Any similarities to the people, places or situations portrayed in the continuing saga are purely coincidental. The Adventures of Jake and Vinnie© is the intellectual property of Art Goodrich a.k.a. ChiefReason. It cannot be re-produced in any form without the expressed permission of the author.

Posted by chiefreason on May 16, 2009 • Filed under: The Adventures of Jake and Vinnie • Tagged: , , ,

Was It Smoke or a Misunderstanding?

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Below is a link to the news story as posted by our WebChief:

 

http://www.firefighternation.com/forum/topics/obama-proposes-significant-afg#firegrants

 

In light of the recent turn of events or in this case, a downturn, I have quoted a portion of a speech that President Obama delivered in January of this year:

 

Taken from January 8, 2009 speech: …Finally, this recovery and reinvestment plan will provide immediate relief to states, workers, and families who are bearing the brunt of this recession.  To get people spending again, 95% of working families will receive a $1,000 tax cut – the first stage of a middle-class tax cut that I promised during the campaign and will include in our next budget.  To help Americans who have lost their jobs and can’t find new ones, we’ll continue the bipartisan extensions of unemployment insurance and health care coverage to help them through this crisis.  Government at every level will have to tighten its belt, but we’ll help struggling states avoid harmful budget cuts, as long as they take responsibility and use the money to maintain essential services like police, fire, education, and health care…

 

Through out President Obama’s campaign, he voiced his strong support for public safety-fire, EMS and police.

 

Once elected, he again-without prompting by special interests or anyone else-voiced his unmitigated support for public safety.

 

The “impression” that I got from his statements were that; even in an economy that was struggling, we needed to continue essential services and look elsewhere to cut budgets. Again; this is what I took his statements to mean.

 

So, I either misunderstood or President Obama has since changed his position with regards to cuts to public safety.

 

With regards to the AFG program, it appears as though we are going to see increases in SAFER, USFA, SHSGP and UASI grants, but what the majority of departments in this country uses-the FIRE Act portion-seeing a 70% CUT in funding. Even with the increases, it is still 56% below the money that was requested in 2008.

 

So, my sub-discussion to this blog is: why would we give billions to the failing auto industry whose employees, at the very least, would have a long vacation from the assembly line, while drawing unemployment and sub-pay benefits and receiving re-training for at least two years, compliments of the U.S. Taxpayer. The UAW gets 55% ownership in Chrysler that they will sell to the highest bidder and then take the money and pay for retirement and medical benefits for their workers.

 

WHAT? But if someone else buys the UAW’s stake, then won’t we be dealing with this again, unless the buy-out includes non-union or open shop language? In other words; will the buy-out language stipulate that the UAW will be the bargaining agent for the workers?

 

And this is private business that we are talking about.

 

What about the public sector-US?

 

Fire stations are closing. Firefighters are being laid off. Reduced staffing is raising risk. Smaller, initial response crews are causing delays waiting for back up. Equipment is becoming unsafe, because there is no money to repair/replace it. Retirements aren’t being filled.

Overtime to cover openings is causing stress and fatigue in firefighters.

 

In many areas of the country, cuts to FIRE Act are going to affect EVERY segment of the fire service.

 

From volunteers to career; from fire prevention to fire suppression; from PPE to wellness/fitness; from new truck to apparatus replacement and of course, the topic of this blog; the SAFER grant program.

 

Why SAFER? Because, even though the money is increasing, there will be issues of retention of programs once the grant is awarded and received. What happens after the five years are up and no new money to continue funding the manpower is found? I think we know the answer.

 

Let’s face it; it is difficult to create new revenue streams, unless you have recently discovered that your city is sitting on top of vast gold reserves.

 

Either you are barely getting by or just trying to survive. Public safety must continue to provide services unfettered and uninterrupted…

 

Even if the President won’t back his words with action and encourage Congress to fund public safety at levels to insure that services will see no change from what it has always been: the best in the world.

 

TCSS.

Posted by chiefreason on May 8, 2009 • Filed under: My Size Up • Tagged: , , , ,