Broke: Detroit Michigan To Lay Of 164 Firefighters – 19% Of Workforce – Claims It May Be Temporary

DETROIT, MICHIGAN - As Detroit continues to work through its financial difficulties, the city will lay off 164 firefighters by the end of July, Detroit Mayor Dave Bing’s office announced Monday.

The layoffs could be temporary, as the city hopes to secure a federal grant that would restore the jobs of 108 firefighters. Still, there is no guarantee the city will be awarded the grant, Detroit Fire Commissioner Donald Austin said during budget talks this spring.

“Since I became mayor, I’ve made public safety my top priority, and I’ve said I would protect the jobs of police and firefighters, but fiscal realities have made this untenable,” Bing said in a statement. “With my administration continuing to work to fiscally stabilize the city and with recent cuts to the city’s budget, we’re announcing the layoffs of 164 Detroit Fire Department firefighters by the end of July.”

Bing said he hopes that many, if not most, of the remaining 56 firefighters who will lose their jobs will be recalled as the fire department loses others through retirement and attrition. The layoffs represent nearly 19 percent of the fire department’s 881 sworn firefighters. There are also 248 EMS technicians.

Dan McNamara, president of the Detroit Fire Fighters Association, called the layoffs disastrous and said the action will force 16 fire companies throughout the city to close.

“For as long as we’ve been fighting fires in the city of Detroit, we have guaranteed that if you call us, we will come,” McNamara said in statement. “If these cuts remain, there will be times when we won’t have the necessary resources to respond. … We have a disaster waiting to happen that will likely result in not only the loss of property, but potentially the loss of lives.”

McNamara said Bing is calling for $23 million in cuts from the department, cuts that “will put its fire department and its residents at great risk — increasing response times and further taxing an already greatly reduced workforce.”

In his statement, Bing said Austin and his staff have developed a plan to maintain the highest levels of fire service by:

• Deploying engines from adjacent sectors and using newly installed GPS systems in the engines and rigs to best dispatch fire department personnel.

•Conducting thorough risks/gain analysis of interior versus exterior fire suppression.

•Continuing community fire prevention education.

“Laying off any of our courageous and dedicated public safety personnel is the last thing I want to do at this point, but I have to face this hard reality,” Bing said.

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Disgraced US Attorney General Files Lawsuit Against Jacksonville Florida – Fire Department’s Tests Written In English Discriminate Against Blacks

WASHINGTON, DC - The Justice Department sued the city of Jacksonville, Florida, on Monday, claiming its use of written tests to determine promotions in the city’s fire department discriminates against African-Americans.

The lawsuit followed a more than two-year investigation examining Jacksonville’s record of promoting African-Americans for the ranks of lieutenant, captain, district chief and engineer dating back to 2004.

It came after a separate lawsuit filed last year by two dozen Jacksonville firefighters challenging the city’s promotional process. In the lawsuit, the firefighters alleged union officials unfairly shared exam questions with white workers but not with black workers ahead of the test.

“This complaint should send a clear message to all public employers that employment practices that have the effect of excluding qualified candidates on account of race will not be tolerated,” Thomas Perez, a U.S. assistant attorney general for civil rights, said in a statement.

A spokesman for the Jacksonville mayor’s office declined to comment.

The complaint by the Justice Department alleges the exams are “not job related for the positions in question.”

The complaint said use of the tests “has resulted in a disparate impact upon black candidates” because African-Americans pass the examinations at significantly lower rates than white candidates.

The Justice Department said black employees who do pass the tests rarely are promoted since their scores are generally lower than white workers.

“At best, these tests measure only a slice of what is necessary to be a supervisor, but they stand in the way of qualified African-Americans advancing in the fire department,” the statement said.

The lawsuit also named the local firefighter’s union, the Jacksonville Association of Firefighters Local 122, as a defendant since it negotiates the terms of promotion tests with the city.

No union official could be immediately reached for comment.

Black firefighters, city and union officials in Jacksonville have been in court mediation since 2009 working to resolve decades of courtroom battles over African-American participation in the city’s fire department.

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Los Angeles California Firefighters Investigated After Taking Part In On-The-Job Porn Movie Production

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – LA City firefighters are under investigation for allegedly taking part in porn movies on the job, Cpt. Jaime Moore of the Los Angeles Fire Department confirmed to NBC4 LA.

This is the second city department this year where employees have been investigated for alleged involvement in porn movies while on duty.

In April, NBC4 LA revealed how two LA traffic cops from the LA Department of Transportation appeared in a porn movie.

LAFD insiders recently tipped off NBCLA that several firefighters allowed porn producers to use their fire engines in two adult movies that are available on one of the world’s biggest porn websites.

If participation by the firefighters is proven true, it is a violation of department policy, Moore said.

In one of the movies, shot at Venice Beach, LAFD Engine 263 is used as the backdrop by an actress performing lewd acts.

“Look at this fire truck,” says porn actress Charley Chase, as she climbs on the engine and repeatedly exposes herself. “Isn’t that nice.”

It appears that a group of firefighters are watching the movie being shot.

“I know them,” one man says on camera in the reality-style porn flick. “I’m a firefighter.”

Firefighters “set it all up ahead of time” with “the film crew” because they thought it was “good clean fun,”an insider told NBC4 LA.

In the movie, Engine 263 is parked in two disabled spots — a violation of department policy — apparently so the porn producers could use the truck.

For several minutes of the movie, the actress appears to have free access to the engine, and asks numerous passersby to fondle her.

“Look, I think we have more friends,” she says, as a group of men stop to fondle the actress.

“Zero tolerance for that,” said Cpt. Tina Haro, an LAFD spokeswoman.

Fire Chief Brian Cummings has ordered a full-scale investigation into possible misconduct by an undisclosed number of firefighters who allegedly cooperated with the porn producers, Haro said.

“The fire chief is adamant about addressing the issue, finding out what took place,” she told told NBC4 LA.

Firefighters might have a tough time explaining how their truck was used in a porn movie. Department policy says “apparatus…shall be kept in sight at all times” by firefighters assigned to it.

The policy also says LAFD employees must “operate apparatus in a way that does not compromise the reputation of the department.”

An insider told NBC4 LA “the battalion chiefs knew. Everyone at the station level knew” about the movie.

“The professional standards division is following all leads, all reasonable leads, leaving no stone unturned” in its investigation, which could take months Haro said.

That’s in stark contrast to the LA Department of Transportation, where officials learned earlier this year that two Parking Enforcement officers appeared in another porn movie, while in uniform and on duty.

LADOT didn’t launch a full investigation until the officers’ participation was revealed in an exclusive NBC4 LA report.

One officer was fired and another disciplined as a result of the city investigation. Parking Enforcement Chief Jimmy Price retired two years ahead of schedule.

The LAFD brass say they’re taking the allegations seriously.

They confirmed they’re investigating not just the firefighters from Venice, but some from another station in Hollywood.

That’s because NBC4 LA learned of yet another porn movie, where Engine 41 from Hollywood is used as a backdrop.

“Hey, turn around,” a firefighter sitting atop the truck is heard shouting to a topless actress in the movie.

LAFD officials say any employees found violating department policy by cooperating with porn producers will be disciplined.

“The fire chief absolutely will not tolerate the type of thing that might have happened in that videotape,” Haro said

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3 Baxter Springs Missouri Firefighters Fired For Looting Businesses Night Of May 22nd Joplin Tornado. Fire Chief Suspended Amid Investigation

JOPLIN, MISSOURI – Three firefighters are fired and the Baxter Springs fire chief is placed on administrative leave while an investigation is underway into the looting of Joplin businesses on the night of the May 22nd tornado.

In a statement from Baxter Springs Mayor Jennifer Bingham, she says the city of Baxter Springs upholds a zero-tolerance policy and as a city we will stand united against any such behavior.

It is unclear yet whether three unnamed firefighters were on duty at the time of the looting.

Last Saturday, Fire Chief Les Page was asked to take an administrative leave of absence.

Mayor Bingham says Page was not involved in the wrongdoings of the three firefighters. He has been with the department for nearly 40 years. In his absence Art Mallory has been named acting fire chief.

At this point Joplin authorities have not yet filed charges against the three firefighters.

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