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Tuesday, April 24, 2007 | 
From the Office of the Fire Chief...
Fire Chief’s Press Release
April 24, 2007
"Recently, I was made aware of an alleged work environment issue occurring in one of our fire stations located in West Los Angeles.
I have initiated an investigation that involves an Equal Employment Opportunity Specialist and a Chief Officer as the initial investigators. We are utilizing internal and external resources to assist in expediting the investigation. These incidents are a top priority for my administration and I will personally be visiting both fire stations to clearly reiterate my zero tolerance policy regarding discrimination and harassment.
As Fire Chief of the Los Angeles Fire Department, I want to clearly reiterate that any form of hazing or discrimination will not be tolerated within the Department.
The men and women of the Fire Department are committed to public safety and sworn to protect the citizens of Los Angeles. We understand that it is of paramount importance that our standards of behavior remain consistent with public expectations. We value the continued support of the public and will work aggressively to maintain public trust."# # #
Media Contact:
Battalion Chief Kwame Cooper
Community Liaison Officer
Los Angeles Fire Department
14 comments:
The fire chief's first move of ordering deputy chiefs to play musical chairs did not solve any problems, it just shuffled problems around.
The tone has been set.
Yes. The chief needs to "clean house" starting from the top on down.
No evidence he's done that.
Could you tell us if the new Fire Chief is continuing the practice of passing and graduating recruits who were recommended for termination in the drill tower? Chief Mack was quoted in the audit as saying that it was done for the sake of diversity. Laura Chick's audit criticized Chief Bamatre for that and one of her recommendations was that the practice be stopped. The firefighters union had been saying all along that a lot of problems at the fire stations stemmed from that practice, due to resentment from firefighters in the field. Does anyone else have a comment about this?
Dear Anonymous 5:40,
On that matter, I can't speak for any of the persons you mention - and have no personal insight to share.
If you wish a definitive answer to personal questions, you are not only welcome but strongly encouraged to contact Chief Barry directly at (213) 978-3800, Chief Mack at (213) 978-3855 or Ms. Chick at (213) 978-7200.
If you are a stakeholder with a concern about the manner in which the Los Angeles Fire Department is operating, including in regards to the Controller's audit, we also suggest you contact the Fire Commission directly at (213) 978-3838.
While we encourage spirited but polite comments, in the interest of maintaining rightful focus, this thread is specifically about the alleged behavior of on-duty Fire Department personnel that Chief Barry alluded to in his statement.
As such, we'll encourage comments that are in specific response to that topic.
If anyone wishes to comment about any of the *countless* other topics related to our agency in a time and manner of their personal choosing, we hope they will consider this or other non-moderated and atopical forums.
Respectfully Yours in Safety and Service,
Brian Humphrey
Firefighter/Specialist
Public Service Officer
Los Angeles Fire Department
How does the LAFD train their employees as to the difference between jokes, harmless pranks, hazing and discrimination? For example, the fire dept. tradition of bucketing. Is there a penalty for that in the L.A.F.D.? What movies are to be avoided in your fire stations? Books? Does it vary from station to station? Thanks
The Mayor of Los Angeles has issued a mandate of personal on-duty conduct that has been affirmed by the Fire Commission and Fire Chief. It is the law of the land.
It falls upon the staff of the Fire Department's Training and Risk Management Bureau to interpret such policy and develop a relevant training regimen that can be applied throughout the Department.
We warmly welcome you to establish formal contact with the LAFD In-Service Training Section at (213) 485-6087 for official details of current and planned practices.
In the meanwhile, you may wish to refer to this document as a recent example of Departmental discipline.
The tradition of 'bucketing' (wetting another Fire Department member by surprise) and other 'horseplay that may lead to personal injury' , has been prohibited at the LAFD for a few years (I'm at home right now and don't have access to our archival records for the exact date). Those who violate such rules are subject to progressive discipline.
Precious few of LAFD's 104 Neighborhood Fire Stations have a workload that might allow members to watch a movie without interruption.
'Adult-oriented' materials such as but not limited to books, magazines and movies that are of a sexually expressive nature are strictly prohibited at all Los Angeles Fire Stations.
If you are in or near Los Angeles, we welcome you to visit a Neighborhood Fire Station anytime you please, or plan to join us on May 12, 2007 for our Annual Fire Service Day Open House celebration.
Respectfully Yours in Safety and Service,
Brian Humphrey
Firefighter/Specialist
Public Service Officer
Los Angeles Fire Department
In response to anonymous, regarding the reinstatement of recruits terminated in the tower, I must come to the defense of Chief Bamattre. Several of the recruits were unjustly terminated using subjective rather that objective criteria. Giving these individuals another chance in a more positive learning environment enabled them to flourish and become productive firefighters.
Anonymous 11:49,
Thanks for your comments. We do welcome a variety of personal opinions that are polite and on-topic.
All,
A generic plea that this comment brought to mind...
We would prefer if possible that statements offered by our blog visitors outlining historical fact (and inferred to be from a genuinely knowing or personally involved Department or community member) be offered with some frame of reference or identity so as assure veracity.
Respectfully Yours in Safety and Service,
Brian Humphrey
Firefighter/Specialist
Public Service Officer
Los Angeles Fire Department
To the person who said he was coming to the defense of former fire chief Bamattre, because SEVERAL (not ALL) of the recruits were unjustly terminated using subjective rather that objective criteria, yes, it is reasonable to give THOSE another chance, but not the majority of the other recruits who WERE justly terminated using objective criteria. I agree with Laura Chick. For safety's sake, PLEASE stop the practice of retaining recruits who are not able to meet the minimum standards in the drill tower! That's discrimation too!
I think you're talking about 2 different things.
1) Reinstating terminated recruits who were terminated unjustly, and 2) passing recruits who failed to meet drill tower objective minimum standards for the purposes of diversity as Laura Chick and other well-reasoned people object to. (That's discriminatory and why this topic relates to this dialogue.)
The last practice flys in the face of former fire chief Bamattre's claim that safety came first with him.
This double standard applied by former chief Bamattre and his administration is well known and resented both by training staff assigned to the drill towers, members in the field, and UFLAC. The practice has had a detrimental effect on hiring the most qualified candidates, safety, and morale, and the harmful consequences will continue to be felt and seen for years.
Anonymous 9:21,
Thanks for sharing your personal opinion, which truly needs no validation by way of the actual or perceived sentiments of others.
For the record and the benefit of many outside our vocation who read this thread... UFLAC (The United Firefighters of Los Angeles City) does not allow its general membership to speak anonymously on behalf of the organization.
If any of our readership wishes to learn of UFLAC's formal stance on a particular issue, we encourage them to call UFLAC Headquarters directly at (213)895-4006.
Similarly, we would remind anyone who reads this thread that any *anonymous* source (regardless of their particular politeness or point of view) can rarely be seen as speaking officially for anyone but themselves.
That doesn't make their concerns any less valid, it just means that you have to take what they say (anonymously) with a grain of salt.
That much said, Chief Bamattre has retired and Chief Barry is now in charge.
..and to bring us back on topic:
It is my hope that those who desire to post a reply - especially members of the community - will offer real-world suggestions and recommendations specific to how Chief Barry might handle the issues at hand... and yes, if you prefer, he's only a phone call away at (213) 978-3800.
Respectfully Yours in Safety and Service,
Brian Humphrey
Firefighter/Specialist
Public Service Officer
Los Angeles Fire Department
Bloggers interested in this topic will find UFLAC's report from the President titled "Restoring the Standards" enlightening. This is an official statement from UFLAC that gives important background related to the discussion on this blog.
UFLAC's article can be found in their newspaper - "Los Angeles Firefighter" (September/October 2005).
Los Angeles Firefighter archives
http://www.uflac.org/files/FF_Sep_Oct_2005.pdf
Thanks for the good discussion.
Anonymous 12:20,
It is indeed such source documents or a direct personal inquiry that can help people formally determine where an entity stands.
That much offered, we can return to a clear focus on exactly what Chief Barry said.
Respectfully Yours in Safety and Service,
Brian Humphrey
Firefighter/Specialist
Public Service Officer
Los Angeles Fire Department
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