LAFD suspends recruit program amid controversy

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Quote from the LA Times:

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, responding to a barrage of criticism about a Fire Department hiring system that eliminated thousands of qualified applicants, announced Thursday afternoon that he is scrapping the process.

"I have determined that the Fire Department's recruiting process is fatally flawed," Garcetti said in a statement. The mayor said he made his decision after he discovered that Fire Department "staff organized special recruiting workshops for LAFD insiders."

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-lafd-recruit-hiring-changes-20140320,0,5614238.story#ixzz2wohpzgu8

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I love how people try and justify that there's some wrong doing when new recruits are related to present FD members. After all wasn't and isn't our Profession one of Tradition? Maybe LAFD should start recruiting in South Central to boost the number of "Crypts" and "Bloods" on their Job! Now the poison is hitting the West Coast! Gotta Love this Social Experimenting!

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That's just scratching the surface of the problems. I would say it's an equal opportunity screwover. Here's just another snippet of another issue with this hiring process:

"Gone in 60 Seconds"

At 8 a.m. on April 22, the onslaught of physical fitness certificates came via email and fax, but also from those who had lined up at the city’s downtown personnel office to get their forms stamped.

An overwhelming majority would be quietly eliminated from consideration not because they weren’t qualified, but because their paperwork wasn’t deemed to have arrived within the first 60 seconds.

The Times has reported that thousands of candidates who passed the written test were disqualified for the recruit class now in training because paperwork showing they had taken a physical fitness exam did not arrive within a 60-second filing period last spring.

City officials said they later decided they would advance only the 965 who got in that first minute to interviews and set the rest aside to avoid having to evaluate thousands of submissions.

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That's just scratching the surface of the problems. I would say it's an equal opportunity screwover. Here's just another snippet of another issue with this hiring process:

"Gone in 60 Seconds"

Seth did they mention the racial breakdown of these candidates disqualified?

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Seth did they mention the racial breakdown of these candidates disqualified?

I was wondering that myself, if it was used as some sort of diversion, smoke screen. Having the candidates they or the city wanted by pretending with the 60 second rule. However, a LOT of people from all different races and sexes were disqualified, and only 965 out of 6,500 made it within the minute. The only stat I've seen is that 24% of the applicants who made it through were related to someone in the LAFD, mostly upper ranks.

I must say, being familiar with the department, the hiring process is VERY screwed up. A Captain teaching at the Academy got demoted for not giving a female recruit preferential treatment. In contrast, Los Angeles has a very high population of African-Americans, Asians and Hispanics, and a lot of them actually want to be a firefighter. They attend prep sessions, perform well on tests, and score high on the oral boards. They alsohave college degrees, solid work histories, and spotless backgrounds. There are some that are bilingual, which is a very good skill to have in a city such as LA. And many to most of them are passed up. Long story short, if you don't want the job, you're not going to get it. But if you do want the job.....good luck!

It should also be noted that LAFD, for numerous years, mainly in the 50's, segregated black firefighters to specific firehouses, did not let them go to the academy, and barred them from promotions. A lot of these firefighters were veterans returning from World War II. The firefighters were referred to as "stentorians". I got to meet one at the LAFD museum, and what a great guy here was. He was proud to be a member of the department, and it was astounding what he went through, from fighting in World War II overseas and receiving several medals, and then coming home to be a second-class citizen.

Disclaimer: Regardless, I think LAFD is one of the best fire departments in the world operationally.

NOTE: To even apply to LAFD, you must have beforehand your CPAT certificate ($150 and good for only one year), have a valid EMT certification, pass a preliminary background check, and a clean, valid CA drivers license. You must be height and weight proportionate. Also, LAFD is a VERY strict old-school department.