NYFD Lowers Entry Standards So Women Can Graduate And The Fire Dept. Can Avoid Discrimination Lawsuits
[guest post by Dana]
The New York Fire Dept. allowed a female to graduate from the Fire Academy who could not pass the critical Functional Skills Training test. As of tomorrow, Rebecca Wax will be assigned to a firehouse and assume the duties of a fireman.
Passing the FST test is critical to the safety of firemen and those they rescue:
In the FST exam, probies must breathe through a mask attached to an air tank while carrying up to 50 pounds of gear.
They must climb six flights of stairs, stretch hose lines, raise ladders, perform tasks that simulate breaking doors and pulling down ceilings, and drag dummies through tunnels with no visibility.
They must complete the course in 17 minutes, 50 seconds or less.
Despite many attempts over the Fire Academy’s 18-week training course, Wax completed the test just once — but it took her more than 22 minutes, the source said.
In numerous tries, Wax struggled and was too slow. While fit probies finish with air left in their tanks, she had to stop when hers ran out, the source added.
“She’s in the best shape of her life, and it’s still not good enough,” he said.
You know, sometimes the answer is just no, you don’t get to because you are not good enough and therefore do not qualify. And that should be okay. Because it’s not always about you. Especially in this line of work.
The fact that Ms. Wax feels she is entitled to be a firefighter is evidenced by her lack of concern for those she puts at risk because of her inadqueacy and her decision not to voluntarily step down.
So allowances were made:
Wax had a high grade-point average on her academics, which officials determined offset her FST deficiency, the insider said.
Last December, Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro told a City Council hearing on the FDNY’s efforts to recruit women that he had changed FST requirements to lower obstacles.
“We still grade the people. You can still fail it if you go beyond the time, but you’re not automatically failed from the program,” he said.
He also indicated he wanted to act before a possible sex discrimination lawsuit after the city paid $98 million to settle a lawsuit that accused the FDNY of discriminating against minorities.
“We must no longer wait for a judge’s ruling to tell us what fairness means,” Nigro said.
And of course, the whole FST test is UNFAIR because discrimination:
United Women Firefighters, an organization of FDNY women, objects to the FST test, contending it unfairly bars females.
The FST requires a much higher level of fitness than the Candidate Physical Ability Test, which applicants must pass to enter the academy.
Experts say the FST mirrors the demands of the job, training would-be firefighters to work in stressful environments while conserving their air supply.
Wax had previously received another break to join the FDNY after pleading in June 2011 for a City Council bill that raised the age limit from 29 to 35 for applicants like her who first took the entrance exam in 2007. A hiring freeze imposed by federal Judge Nicholas Garaufis in the discrimination suit put them in limbo.
“I want nothing more than to be a New York City firefighter,” Wax, then 29, had testified at a hearing.
Yeah, well I wanted to be a number of things in life, too, but for one reason or another, things didn’t work out the way I WANTED, and you know what, IT WAS OKAY. I ended up with a terrific and fulfilling life anyway. This is what being an adult is: accepting no for an answer when one is unqualified to do the very thing they dream of, and moving on to something else and making a go of it. And disappointment? Well it can make you a better, stronger and more resilient individual if you have the determination and wherewithal to carry that 50 pound weight of unfulfilled dreams and climb those six flights of stairs to catch a new vision for your life. Chuck that weight, breathe the clean air of hope, and let it propel you forward.
–Dana
Hello.
Dana (86e864) — 5/5/2015 @ 9:34 pmSelf-entitlement gone berserk.
Along with tolerance for tolerance’s sake.
And compassion for compassion’s sake.
Mark (607f93) — 5/5/2015 @ 9:40 pmI can’t wait until fat and ugly guys get to join the Rockettes and do the high-kicking thing at Radio City Music Hall. You know, ’cause discrimination or something. Yay de Blasio!
JVW (8278a3) — 5/5/2015 @ 9:50 pmFirst fatality lawsuit in …
Gazzer (c1d25a) — 5/5/2015 @ 9:50 pmOh, good. Now you can be safe in the knowledge that the person who can’t perform the actual physical tasks had a high GPA.
The damage control equipment is heavy. Unless they’ve redesigned everything to make it less sexist. But hauling it up and down ladders is hard. As is using it, especially on a hot day.
Most women can’t handle it. Just like no woman graduated Marine Infantry Officer Basic during the test period.
High GPAs just don’t count for a lot in certain situations.
Steve57 (818fa4) — 5/5/2015 @ 9:51 pmThe thing is I never thought that the fact most women can’t haul pumps and generators up and around ships as long as I can meant they couldn’t be captain.
Prisons are full of men who can do more pushups than me.
Which isn’t surprising. What else do they have to do?
Steve57 (818fa4) — 5/5/2015 @ 10:27 pmThe purpose of the FDNY is not social engineering. The purpose of the FDNY is fighting fires. If the fire fighters aren’t physically up to the job, it could cost lives.
Steven Den Beste (99cfa1) — 5/5/2015 @ 11:10 pmShe is now on the fast track to NYFD leadership. Are YOU gonna be the one to tell her she failed a Captaincy test, and so on…
Where is the sainted union on this? Their own membership is now is unnecessary peril if she is on scene fighting a fire.
Ed from SFV (3400a5) — 5/5/2015 @ 11:15 pmSo what, sez the SJW!
Steve57 (818fa4) — 5/5/2015 @ 11:18 pmShakira reminds I have a problem with the forced conversion or Yazidi men.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmJHH026X0c
Thanks, Shakira!
Shakira – Estoy Aquí
Sometimes I can be quite the dumbass.
Steve57 (818fa4) — 5/5/2015 @ 11:46 pmthe insult/rejoinder “go die in a fire” has suddenly taken on a new meaning…
redc1c4 (a6e73d) — 5/6/2015 @ 1:00 amWomen, 3%’ers, and 15%ers will wave good-bye to the white guy.
mg (31009b) — 5/6/2015 @ 2:42 am“We still grade the people. You can still fail it if you go beyond the time, but you’re not automatically failed from the program,” he said.
please to explain what this means
i think he’s saying they lowered the bar for guys too
for the fairness
happyfeet (831175) — 5/6/2015 @ 2:45 amhttp://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2015/05/the_white_experience_and_me.html
mg (31009b) — 5/6/2015 @ 3:17 amAthough I’m not one who approves of lowering standards for the purposes of
affirmative action or to head off a discrimination lawsuit, I had a thought.
How often do they have current firefighters pass this test? At what point do
firefighters become unable to do the same tasks and yet are still retained and
their performance considered to still be adequate?
If I was a taxpayer in NYC, I’d be asking these questions along with why they’re
allowing her to pass. Are these standards actually relevant? Can current fire-
fighters pass this test also? If current firefighters can’t pass this test then
this test does not demonstrate the capabilities of the current members of the
fire department.
Just as the police are at least required to demonstrate firearms proficiency yearly, then
jakee308 (49ccc6) — 5/6/2015 @ 3:57 amtoo must firefighters demonstrate this capability year to year. Or else this test
is a sham and used only to limit the potential pool of hirees.
Another shining victory for imaginary equality. This idiotic political posturing puts us all at risk. Isn’t having incompetent politicians enough for Democrats?
David Longfellow (91d5c6) — 5/6/2015 @ 4:50 amWe have a president who is responsible for the safety and security of the entire country and he is just “not good enough.” That’s affirmative action for you. affirmative action president, affirmative action firefighters. What’s the difference? What’s worse? At least the NYFD doesn’t expose the whole country to risk.
Jim (84e66d) — 5/6/2015 @ 5:15 amMr. 308 makes a very good point in comment #15 that has to be read to be appreciated
happyfeet (a037ad) — 5/6/2015 @ 6:35 amSo, when someone inevitably dies because this woman is incapable of meeting the physical demands of her job, I’m sure the fire victim’s family will be perfectly ok with it.
Just wait til NYFD sees THAT lawsuit…
BK in BR (c5605e) — 5/6/2015 @ 6:56 amMs. Wax is a terrible and misguided woman.
As I’ve said, I cannot even lift a fireman’s yellow coat; I doubt Ms. Wax can perform her ttasks wearing one.
Patricia (5fc097) — 5/6/2015 @ 7:12 amYou know, I am in the best shape of MY life. I still haven’t reached the podium of any bike race I have entered. I probably will never place, but I am not entitled to a good finish. Life works out that way.
Loren (1e34f2) — 5/6/2015 @ 8:06 amJake308#15 – The initial test is at least a proxy for future performance. The males all passed it, and if their future performance degrades, it’s still starting from a higher base. This woman failed the test in the best shape of her life, and it’s only going to get worse.
It might be better to test annually at a lower level, but in a couple of years she’ll be failing that test, too.
matt d (7b78f2) — 5/6/2015 @ 8:34 ammatt d
I understand that but it raises a point that I think needs to be addressed. The
claim by some that those who fail this test will put fellow firefighters and
citizens at risk begins to lose it’s point if current firefighters due to age or
other factors can no longer perform at that level.
And although I can see how it’s a good starting point, if they’re not testing
jakee308 (49ccc6) — 5/6/2015 @ 8:41 amthe proficiency and strength of the current firefighters with some regularity,
then they’re also putting themselves and others at risk.
All the women may have failed the Marine Corps IOC during the test period. But so did a lot of men. I probably would have, too. I have flat feet, so me and a lot of hiking (especially when I’m being timed) don’t mix.
So enlisted Marines will be saddled with a bunch of O’s of both sexes who just shouldn’t be there because they’re not up to the job. When Rebecca Wax and the NYFD get their way.
Steve57 (818fa4) — 5/6/2015 @ 9:21 amjakee308,
According to this study, the New York Fire Department requires firefighters to have periodic (every 9-15 months) medical and fitness examinations. I’m not sure what the current requirements are to get a certificate of fitness for duty as an existing firefighter compared to the test for applicants, but apparently there are standards.
DRJ (e80d46) — 5/6/2015 @ 10:16 amWow. Wait until her self absorbed entitlement mentality kills someone. It won’t matter though- excuses will be made and some poor schlub will be scapegoated for her failures. I wish I could say “I hope it never happens to her”. Unfortunately for Miss Wax, firefighting is a job where the unlikely happens every day.
Bill H (08df09) — 5/6/2015 @ 2:00 pmjake308 – They probably have required medical exams periodically, but I don’t doubt the firefighters’ union would freak right out if their members got a new requirement to run a serious test every year.
If you only get one test, it had better be a tough one.
matt d (7b78f2) — 5/6/2015 @ 2:12 pmMr. happyfeet, they are just climbing aboard with the current fad in high school education and on college campuses. You can fail the final exam in the most miserably fantastic fashion (even after the test has been suitably dumbed down), but “class participation” and “extra credit” will ensure that you still eke out your “B-” so that your student loans aren’t jeopardized.
JVW (aa050c) — 5/6/2015 @ 2:46 pmvajayjay voters
can hold pencil with that thing
leave no chad hanging
reason.com/archives/2015/…
Colonel Haiku (2601c0) — 5/6/2015 @ 4:34 pmJust another Fire
mg (31009b) — 5/6/2015 @ 4:36 pmhttp://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-05-06/massive-fire-rages-after-another-buffett-owned-oiltrain-derails-north-dakota-town-ev
Okay, they have previously set the fail time at 17:50 and she couldn’t even come close to that. I would be asking what the median time of the passing group was and how many accomplished that. And then I would be kicking her ass to the curb.
Soronel Haetir (86a46e) — 5/6/2015 @ 10:34 pmMore “Lowering the Standards” News.
http://thisainthell.us/blog/?p=59682
She’s a captain. She’s supposed to lead, which means she needs to do better than crawl across the finish line. I know that if that were a male 0-3 at BUD/S the SEALs wouldn’t let the guy pass the course.
Also:
http://thisainthell.us/blog/?p=59690
The fact is these Ranger candidates already received a lot of special treatment, as the final sentence in excerpt indicates. In addition to the physical preparation they had female observers monitoring the course.
No doubt so the Ranger instructors can’t do what they normally do. Which is what the SEAL instructors do. Ask themselves if they want this guy (or gal) on my team. Ask themselves if they’re going to be a help or a hindrance. And if the answer no they make them quit. SEALs are good at that.
They are apparently going to be recycled so they can go up with the next class. I have no idea how many times they’ll let these candidates try to pass until the Ranger instructors finally get it right and pass them.
Like Rebecca Wax, taking the FST multiple times and only completing the course once and then over the time limit. And the NYFD let her pass anyway. Or the late LT Hultgren, who should have been attrited from the Fleet Replacement Squadron for her own good but the Navy wanted a female fighter pilot as badly as the Army wants female Rangers.
Steve57 (e468ba) — 5/8/2015 @ 5:44 pm