Steve Sailer writes: Back in 2007, the Bush Administration rewarded the firemen of New York City, 343 of whom died on 9/11, by suing them for disparate impact discrimination in hiring. In 2009 a Democratic judge ruled the test devised by the city of New York was racially/ethnically biased because it presented readings on fire safety and then asked hard questions, such as: what kind of chainsaw should you use to cut through a steel door? You could pass the test either by having strong reading comprehension skills or by studying firefighting intensively.
From the New York Post:
FDNY’s new entry exam asks about everything but firefighting
By Susan Edelman March 20, 2016 | 6:06amFDNY candidates will take an entry exam that quizzes them on topics like African killer bees and on math questions such as comparing veggie chips to pretzels, but little on firefighting.
With the city planning to give the first FDNY entry exam in five years in 2017, critics say the test has been dumbed down since a judge ruled a former exam discriminated against minorities.
A recently posted preparation manual asks aspiring Bravest to practice by watching videos produced by Lowe’s hardware store on how to install a toilet, replace a sink, and lay a tile floor.
“It’s great to prepare firemen for their second jobs as plumbers,” an insider quipped. “The FDNY might as well call this the ‘Side Job Preparation Guide.’ ”
To test reading comprehension, the tutorial asks applicants to read a 1998 Tampa Tribune article, “Natural Born Killers,” on African bees migrating to the United States.
On math, it first gives tips on solving word problems, then a sample exercise showing the nutritional labels for vegetable chips, rice cakes, trail mix and pretzel twists.
The first of 10 multiple-choice questions says: “Firefighter Harris ate one cup of Fruit & Nut Trail Mix. What percentage of Saturated Fat did she have (% Daily Value)?” Other questions ask test-takers to compare the snacks for fat, carbohydrates and protein.
In another exercise, applicants read labels on bottles of aspirin and acetaminophen, then answer questions such as: “Which medicine relieves pain from toothaches?”
… The test is apparently meant to level the playing field so those more familiar with firefighting don’t have an advantage.
… In January 2010, Brooklyn federal Judge Nicholas Giraufis ruled the FDNY exams first given in 1999 and 2002 discriminated against black applicants and halted their use. The city later agreed to pay $98 million in back pay to those minorities passed over, and give some a second chance to join the department.
The city and the Vulcan Society, a fraternal group of black firefighters, devised a new exam that Garaufis approved in 2012. Of 9,400 who scored high enough to be hired, 42.3 percent were minorities — more than ever.
As I wrote in 2012:
Now, the FDNY has finally learned the lesson that La Griffe du Lion pointed out years ago: If you want to please the feds, you can minimize disparate impact (percentage point differential) of the hiring test by making it extremely easy, then hiring randomly.
The 2012 test approved by Judge Garufis was passed by 97% of test-takers.
COMMENTS:
* Any test that requires study is, ipso facto, racist.
* LA County Sheriff Dept. had a test of basic English. To pass you needed to score over 50%, if you got 51% that was just as good as if you scored 100% in the hiring process.
* I suspect elite judges think a fireman’s job involves no knowledge or smartness. That its just a matter of running into a building with a hose.
In NYC you you have 150 year old rotten wood death traps standing side by side with new sprinklered buildings that compartmentalize to prevent the spread of fire. And all the buildings that come in between with varying degrees of safety. Firefighters need to know all types of building and their particular weaknesses and strengths.
Check out this introductory manual designed to teach NYC firemen the differences.
You don’t need to be a genius to figure this stuff out but you need to have a certain level of intelligence and diligence.
* That’s what Emily Bazelon of the Yale Law School asked in 2009 in Slate. I asked in response whether she had any career advantages in law in being the granddaughter of David Bazelon, chief judge of the first district court of appeal and Supreme Court justice William Brennan’s best friend.
* Do you ever experience the sensation of overwhelming despair washing over you after you read news like this? Sometimes it helps to pretend that I’m Alice and have gone through the Looking Glass, but I can only pretend that I’m in a make-believe world for a second or two before reality intrudes.
* I’ve taken firefighting exams before (not FDNY though). From my experience, the tests tend to have these type of sections:
1. Basic math
2. Memorizing tools/knots and their functions
3. Memorizing the layout of a room
4. Memorizing the details of a fire scene
5. Reading a fire-related passage and then later recalling details
You need to have good memorization skills to do well. Especially the ability to recall images.
* If you do well enough on the test, then they’ll call you in for an oral interview. Typically they’ll ask questions about your work experience, teamwork&leadership skills, views on ethnic diversity, etc.
The oral interviewers are under heavy pressure to give generous grades to certain underrepresented minority groups and also women. If you’re black or a woman, expect to be graded very easily at the oral interviews. That’s mostly because of all the law suits involving blacks complaining about racism and women complaining about sexual harassment. FF depts are eager to hire lots of blacks and women to avoid more law suits.
If you do well at the oral interview, usually you proceed to a second round of orals. If you do well there, you are given a background check. If you pass, you get the job. Of course, even after getting the job, you have to pass through basic training.
It helps to be a military veteran too, as veterans are given a large number of preference points. In one fire department I applied to, I was told that 30% of the FFs were veterans.
* Being a large-city firefighter is a good deal.
1. Typically the base salary for large-city staff FFers (attained after a few years) is in the 90-100K range. Very good benefits, strong union, and lots of vacation too.
2. They work a one-day on, two-day off schedule. Some work two-days on, four-days off schedule. So lots of time for hobbies, relaxing, partying, starting your own band, getting a side job, etc. Even when they’re on the job, there’s a lot of downtime and fairly low stress.
3. Very generous pension (50% of peak salary after 20 years on the force). Lots of fire fighters even “double dip” by getting a 50K/yr pension and working a second job.
4. Very strong job security. Rare for there to be layoffs.
5. If you test well, you can test up into senior level positions. Some of the higher-ups in the organizations actually have considerable prestige in their local city govts.
6. For a kid who can’t enter an elite career track (finance, law, medicine, consulting) and doesn’t want to go the entrepreneurship route, climbing the ranks of a FF department can be a good option to attain prestige and power. The competition is less fierce too.
I’d strongly advise any young man to consider a career in firefighting.
* FDNY is under more pressure to hire minorities than other departments. Not only do you see lots of black and Hispanic hires these days, but even Asians and (even more implausibly) Indians/Pakistanis. They want the dept to reflect the city’s diversity. NYPD is even worse.
For a very long time though, the FDNY just hired lots of ethnic Italian/Irish guys. They were able to get away with it too. Much better than the NYPD.
* You need to add a seventh bullet point: You’ll score a hot wife.
There are a number of firefighters in my Orange County neighborhood and all of them have very nice looking (my husband says hot) stay at home wives who have large rocks on their fingers and live in pricier homes than mine.
* My relative has tried out several times for the fire department. He graduated from a ten month long course on firefighting that cost him about 16K. One thing that he told me really struck me. The male testers have to drag a dummy 100 yards weighing 180 pounds. But the female testers only have to drag a dummy weighing 120 pounds. When I asked one of his instructors what would happen in real life if a female firefighter had to drag a 180 pound person out, I was just met with embarrassing silence.
* All standards are racist. Live with it.
* I have read that firemen have far fewer fires to deal with than in times past. Smoke alarms, automatic sprinklers, OSHA regulations, etc, have made fires less common and less destructive. When it’s time to run into the burning building and pull the children out, they have to earn their keep, but you can be a dummy or a weakling and get by for a longer time than was possible decades ago.
* Whether blue collar or white collar, intelligence and work ethic make a huge difference in quality and productivity. When it comes to fighting fires that difference is measured in the number of lives saved.
* About 80% of firefighting calls are EMT-related. Only 20% involve fighting actual fires.
EMT calls still require a high degree of competence. However, firefighting departments get huge numbers of applications and hire the top 1-2%. So even if they hire minorities/women due to AA, they can get fairly competent people. Just not quite as competent as they would if there was no AA.
Firefighting is still 95% white as a profession. As it changes and becomes more diverse due to AA, perhaps competency will fall.
* I’m familiar with a few firefighters that hold two “full-time” firefighter positions in two different cities. They’re able to schedule their 24 hours on/48 hours off to allow them to do this. The earn about $70K at each job, and earn two pensions!
The firefighters have strong unions and media and over the years have been able to bamboozle the public as to how “dangerous” and busy their jobs are. The local city officials are scared of the fire unions and roll over every three years at contract negotiation time. Remember, every firefighter wage and benefit was negotiated by city management and approved by city council.
* I’m a 45-year old NYFD firewhiner with 25 years of “service.” For my dedicated “service” to the good citizens of NYC, I deserve to get paid! I’ve got bills! Alimony & child support to three ex-wives, payments on my Escalade, Harley, and speed boat. I’m juggling three girlfriends, and have some serious gambling debts. I now make close to $200K per year but deserve more! Not too bad for a high school grad who was washing cars before I got on with the NYFD. I did, however, earn my A.S. degree in “Fire Science” on the City’s dime. You wouldn’t believe how easy that was. The “instructors” were my NYFD buddies, so I passed w/ all As w/o opening a book! And that silly degree got me promoted three times to Sr. Deputy Assistant Deputy Big-Cheese Battalion Chief Indian Chief. And I still have lots of free time to work out while on the job. I’m trying to get on next year’s “Hottest Firewhiners of NYFD” calendar.
Last year I “worked” tons of OT to spike my pension and will soon start accumulating my $100K/yr pension, and I’m only 45 years old! In 20 years, I’ll be 65 (the retirement age for most of you stiffs), the 3% COLA will have doubled my pension to $200K per year! My life expectancy is 88 years, so my pension will double again to $400K per year by the time I die. It gets better; my lovely 20-year old mail-order bride will collect my pension long after I die. Her life expectancy is 90 years. She’ll collect my growing pension for another 25 years after my death! The New York City has been very, very good to me. And I know you don’t feel appreciated, but a big thank you to the NYC taxpayers. Now get back to work and pay those taxes! Oh, by the way, F.U. Pay Me!
* I also think the presence of lots of Italians and Irish makes a difference. They tend to be much “meaner” than whites in other parts of the country. They’re not much into the idea of white guilt. They fought neighborhood integration and busing much harder than whites in other parts of the country. As recently as the 80s, the east coast had overwhelmingly white housing projects.
Of course, these days, their ethnic solidarity and clout isn’t quite what it used to be.
* LSAT entrance exam for law schools and the bar exam to practice law also have disparate impact on black and latinos but no judge is striking down those practices.
Presumably because they feel it is justifiable to select for intelligence in practice of law, not justifiable to do so for firefighting.
* That was the way it was originally in the Canadian banking system as well–the late Peter Jennings of ABC News used to tell of how, since he came from a respectable Toronto family but was not himself really college material (in fact he dropped out of the 10th grade), he was encouraged to take an entry-level job with the Royal Bank of Canada, with every expectation that he had an eventual shot at upper management despite his lack of education. Finance, in the Commonwealth countries, historically simply was not seen as an “academic” field.
Oh, and that “dumb” Canadian banking culture, as David Frum would be happy to tell you, was ruthlessly realistic in its mortgage lending standards into this century. As Orwell said, some things are so stupid only an intellectual can believe in them.
* In other countries, you have to take rigorous college entrance exams in order to pass into college in the first place, and also into the major of your choice. Many countries even place students on specific study tracks years before the end of highschool, and not all students qualify to even take the entrance exams for studying law.
We can debate the pros and cons of such a system versus the American one, but I think it goes against the American ethos to tell a student that they can’t choose what they want to study. I wonder if all the Bernie Sanders supporters quite understand the major restrictions that come along with free higher education, as it’s such a different system from the American one. Or do they believe that they can do away with these restrictions and keep the system as it is now, only free?
* I remember the television show Rescue Me. It was mostly Irish and Italian firefighters, with 1 token Puerto Rican and 1 token African American.
