Trial by fire

The very real dangers of DEI

The California fires, and the inability of the LA Fire Department to get them under control, have brought to light some interesting policies in practice at the LAFD. One of the main issues causing quite a stir is their focus on DEI. The top three positions in the department are all held by women, and they have had a practice of trying to cut back on “white men” in the department.

No offense to the LAFD, but there’s a reason firefighters are usually men (skin color is really irrelevant) - physical requirements. The CPAT, Candidate Physical Ability Test ©, is a standard qualification requirement for firefighters. It is a pass/fail physical trial. According to the National Testing Network website:

In these events, you wear a 50-pound (22.68-kg) vest to simulate the weight of self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) and firefighter protective clothing. An additional 25 pounds (11.34 kg), using two 12.5-pound (5.67-kg) weights that simulate a high-rise pack (hose bundle), is added to your shoulders for the stair-climb event.

https://nationaltestingnetwork.com/publicsafetyjobs/cpat_info.cfm

The events include:

• stair climb

• hose drag

• equipment carry

• ladder raise and extension

• forcible entry

• search

• rescue

• ceiling breach and pull

Failure to pass any element of the test results in failure of the test. Failure to complete the test in the allotted time (10 minutes, 20 seconds) results in failure of the test.

Tests like this are generally based on past experience and knowledge and are used to ensure that candidates and current employers are able to meet the physical demands of the job. Unfortunately, in order to meet DEI goals, departments will sometimes lower the standards, especially for women. The problem with doing so is that it puts not only the public in danger, but even fellow firefighters.

The farce of such practice was revealed in a video of the LAFD’s deputy chief, in which she said in reference to statements by others, “‘Is she strong enough to do this?’ Or, ‘You couldn’t carry my husband out of a fire,’” to which she mockingly responds, “He got himself in the wrong place if I have to carry him out of a fire.”

People take issue with this statement because, THAT’S PART OF THE JOB.

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For her, however, the job is about looking like the people you’re coming to help. In her words, “You want to see somebody that responds to your house, your emergency…that looks like you.”

I don’t know about you, but if my house is burning down and I have family members trapped inside who I can’t personally rescue, I don’t care what the firefighters look like. All I care is that they’re fit and trained and capable of doing whatever needs to be done (which means fighting the fire and rescuing anyone left inside).

The idea that people should be hired or given any preference based on anything other than qualifications is a result of brain rot. Skin color, sex, sexual preference…none of this should matter so long as the person can properly do the job. In some cases, yes, that means a job will be held mostly by men.

Contrary to modern, and especially feminist, belief there are physical differences between men and women, as has also been made clear by the men pretending to be women who are participating in women’s sports. There is a reason men who are mediocre at best when they compete against other men claim to be women and suddenly break records. Testosterone levels and pubescent development provide men a physical advantage.

As a friend who is a 28-year veteran of the NYFD said to me, “Almost every experience I’ve had with female firefighters is negative. They’re not strong enough to do what is required, in most cases. Some, very few in FDNY, actually are dedicated to working out and being a productive member of the team. Female in the next house…can’t even open a hydrant. Another, in the same battalion, can’t even advance with a nozzle. Absolutely sickening. I tell women all the time, if you really think a woman can do the job as a typical male firefighter without working out like a beast, you’re dead wrong. It’s genetics, full stop.”

We need to stop pretending that men and women are the same and that DEI is a benefit to anyone. It is discriminatory, it is wrong, and in the case of firefighting, it puts lives at risk.

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*Here is a link to the video of the deputy chief of the LAFD: https://www.bitchute.com/video/sr9zmHdoFbSW/