FDNY Unfair Testing Article

[gaelicfirefighter]

http://firstinengine.blogspot.com/2008/01/...ble-hiring.html

[FormerEMSLT297]

And this suprises you WHY ?????????????????

[Richard B the EMT]

Richard B, the EMT says

This is what appears on that link posted. I reserve judgment until sometime later, as I am in the FDNY EMS

FDNY USING QUESTIONABLE HIRING STANDARDS

Letters to the Editor

Sound the Alarm on Fire Test

To the Editor:

Much exuberance accompanied recent announcements regarding the results of the FDNY recruitment program, and many facts were presented to support claims that it, and the written test it led up to, were very good things.

I would like to present some facts which were not trumpeted but which the people who may have to work with the firefighters produced by this test, as well as those who will be (ostensibly) protected by them, deserve to know.

I will also include some of my opinions (which are not necessarily those

of the FDNY) since opinions, as opposed to objective and cognitive

knowledge, were so highly prized on said test.

There were 195 questions; 105 of them were subjective (therefore

illegitimate) and 87 of those 105 accepted more than one answer. This was an opinion poll, or a guessing game; not a test. In addition, DCAS did not explain beforehand how it would score this test, leading to suspicion that it wanted to be able to "cook" or manipulate the answers to achieve a desired result.

Why else would 45 percent of all questions have more than one answer? I'll tell you why - FDNY sources stated after the test "that the test was a way to have as many applicants as possible pass" and that "the idea is to get as many candidates to pass as possible and then let the extended training period weed them out." I'm sure that candidates who spent a great deal of time, money and effort preparing will be very happy to hear that; maybe they should sue for fraud. LINK

Political correctness has come to the FDNY like a tidal wave. In an effort to achieve a Fire Department that looks right, liberal city administrators have set out to lower hiring standards, an effort that will eventually destroy the Department and cost people their lives.

The letter to the editor is by Paul Mannix a FDNY Deputy Chief. This is highly unusual because most guys in his position have no interest in speaking out on such a controversial and sensitive subject. Anyone who does is usually branded a racist immediately by critics in order to destroy them and their credibility.

The problem here for those critics is that Deputy Chief Mannix is not someone who can be so easily dismissed. There is intense competition for promotion in the FDNY like most fire departments. Usually only the best advance. So in order to become a Deputy Chief you have to know your stuff. If a guy like Chief Mannix is speaking out we should listen to him. It takes an incredible amount of intestinal fortitude for someone in his position to speak out. Even though he is a Deputy Chief he will still be subject to retaliation for expressing his views. Such are the ways in the highly politically charged and politically correct environment of the U.S. Fire Service. More often than not these opinions are expressed by retired members who are safe from retribution.

The Fire and Emergency Services like the Law Enforcement are not your normal jobs. Many liberal politicians and administrators wish to see them as just that, any other job. They don't realize or are indifferent to the facts that these jobs require people who are willing to place their personal well being in danger in order to accomplish their mission. This requires that you place your faith in your co-workers who you must depend on to perform their job in order for you to come out alive. Like a police officer summoned to back up another at a car stop. Only when that police officer knows that someone has his back can he safely focus his attention on the subjects in question. Likewise a fireman who is manning a hose inside a fire must have total faith in his pump operator. If the pump operator loses water because he is inept and a product of low hiring standards then the nozzle man will be burned up and victims not rescued.

Some people just aren't cut out to be cops or fireman. Their life's talents lie in different directions. But somehow there are those people who think they "have a right" to those jobs regardless of their talent. Thats where we run into big problems. Those people bring multitudes of problems that cause breakdowns in teamwork or mission assignments. Those breakdowns inevitably cause greater property loss and in the worst cases death of members and civilians. This translates into millions of taxpayer dollars wasted just so we can look the part.

We see the same thing in promotions. While promoting people in any profession is always controversial, it becomes even more so in a job where you are leading people directly into harms way. There is simply no room for low standards in hiring or promotion in law enforcement or emergency services. Unfortunately we are constantly forced to play the cards we are dealt. We can't afford this kind of nonsense. Hats off to Chief Mannix. No guts, no glory.