S.F. Fire Department Responds to Heat

City surpasses court-ordered diversity goals

BY BERT ELJERA

Photo by Jason Doiy
INTO THE FIRE: The image of firefighting is changing, says S.F.F.D. Assistant Fire Chief Bernie Lee, who joined the department in 1974, and recruiting among Asian Americans has become easier.

When Bernie Lee joined the San Francisco Fire Department in 1974, there were only four Asian Americans on the force. Now, in his 24th year of service, there are 202 Asian Americans--more than 13 percent of the 1,500-member department.

Not only that, Asian Americans now hold high-ranking positions. Lee himself is an assistant chief. Two other Asian Americans are battalion chiefs, four are captains, and 18 are lieutenants.

The department, which did not hire women until 1987, now has 117, including three women captains--one white, one Latina, and one African American.

The Fire Department has diversified its work force so much over the past 10 years that a U.S. district court judge in San Francisco recently declared that the city has met the goals and obligations of a consent decree imposed in 1988 to open the department to more minorities and women.

In terminating the consent decree and replacing it with a stipulated order, Judge Marilyn Patel, however, ordered the department to continue its affirmative-action programs in hiring and promotion.

"The San Francisco Fire Department is at the place and space where I dreamed it would [be]," Mayor Willie Brown said. "The process is institutionalized to ensure that no matter which administration is in charge in City Hall, the San Francisco Fire Department always reflects the diversity that is uniquely San Francisco."

The consent decree was signed in June 1988 as part of a settlement of lawsuits filed by minorities and women against the department for alleged discriminatory hiring practices.

At that time, the department was nearly 85 percent white, with 35 Asian Americans making up only a little over 2 percent of the work force. There was not a single woman firefighter.

"The consent decree was needed," said Supervisor Leland Yee, who applauds the department's efforts to comply with the court order. "Although I don't like the courts intervening [in administrative policy], in this case, it was necessary. Had it not been for the court's intervention, I don't think we could have achieved parity."

Assistant Chief Lee, the son of Chinese immigrants, heads the department's management services and oversees several bureaus, including personnel, administration, and investigating services.

He supervises the work of the accident review and merit advisory boards. For the past seven months he has managed the department's equal employment opportunity program, which will enforce the stipulated order.

Lee, who was born in Houston but spent his adolescent years in San Francisco Chinatown, agrees with Supervisor Yee that the consent decree sped up the department's embrace of diversity.

"It would have taken longer, or not at all," Lee said, adding that a fire department that reflects the diversity of the community it serves is an invaluable city asset.

Fire Chief Robert L. Demmons, appointed by Mayor Brown in January 1996, is the first African American to head the department. Fittingly, he was also one of the first plaintiffs in the series of federal and state lawsuits against the department that resulted in the consent decree.

As an indication of its new commitment to diversity 46.5 percent, or 47 of 101, new employees Demmons hired since 1996 were minorities, while 41 of the new hires, or 40.6 percent, were women.

Of those promoted over the past two years, 46.9 percent were minorities and 7.3 percent were women.

"When I look back at my 24 years, I see the department bringing in a large number of diverse people with bilingual and bicultural skills," Lee said.

He said these skills are particularly important since the job of firefighters has changed drastically. Instead of fighting fires, firefighters spend 70 percent of their time responding to medical emergencies.

It didn't seem like that during the holidays though. Several fires swept the city, including a Christmas Day fire in Visitacion Valley that killed a 10-year-old boy. A four-alarm fire gutted a tire shop and five other buildings South of Market the day after Christmas. Two other fires were reported elsewhere in the city.

With the recent decision by city officials to provide ambulance and paramedic services from some of the city's fire stations, firefighters with bilingual and bicultural skills are particularly important, Lee said. Firefighters are now routinely trained as emergency medical technicians, he added.

But change did not come easy at the fire department, Lee admits. "Change is not easy to some people," he said, noting that he had detected resentment against minorities and women from some long-time firefighters.

This resentment may have come from the mistaken perception that hiring standards were lowered to accommodate women and minorities, Lee said.

On the contrary, he explained, although the employment exams were changed, only those truly qualified are hired. "In the old examination process, those who get the better scores get the jobs first. It may be good in the academic world, but not in a profession that emphasizes teamwork."

He said that under the old practice, women scored low in the physical ability tests. But after educational background, language skills, as well as results in the written tests were factored in, women scored high enough to be hired as firefighters.

Physical agility and the ability to climb ladders or use a fire hose, while still important, are not at a premium now as they were in the old days of firefighting. "Things have changed so much that firefighting is no longer as physically challenging as before," Lee said.

The arrival of women firefighters also resulted in physical changes to the fire stations. There are now separate dressing rooms, restrooms, and bathroom facilities for men and women.

He added that with the advances in fire prevention, including the use of sprinklers, smoke detectors, and a tighter fire code, firefighters respond to fewer structural fires.

"They do not eliminate all fires, but they have made our job a little easier and a lot safer for citizens," Lee said.

Lee, 48, graduated from Washington High School in 1968 and then decided to become a firefighter against the wishes of his father who wanted him to be a police officer.

He said his father, like most Chinese immigrants, thought becoming a police officer was more prestigious. But he wanted to be a firefighter for very practical reasons-the pay was good and he had time to go back to school.

Lee earned an associate degree in fire science from City College, and later received a bachelor's degree in public administration from San Francisco State University.

More and more Asian Americans are showing an interest in careers in public safety; a far cry from the early 1970s when they shied away from such professions.

In many Asian countries, police officers in particular are held in low esteem because of incompetence, abuses, and corruption. Immigrants often hold on to these beliefs after coming to the United States.

Moreover, Asian parents would rather see their sons and daughters in more traditional careers as doctors, lawyers, engineers, and teachers.

"It was troubling and disturbing to me that whenever we tried to recruit in Chinatown, people just walked away," Lee said. "It wasn't something they want to become."

But with the growing favorable public image of the firefighting profession, Lee expects more Asian Americans to join the department. The pay is not bad either, he said.

A newly hired firefighter makes about $38,000 a year, which increases to $53,700 after five years. A lieutenant makes $60,000, a captain, $71,000, and a battalion chief, $85,000.

Assistant chiefs-of which there are 11-earn $98,000, while two deputy chiefs receive $115,000 a year each. The fire chief makes $133,000 a year. The department also offers excellent benefits and employees earn more with overtime.

The fire department has a cadet program that offers young people interested in a career in firefighting first-hand knowledge of the profession and the opportunity to be hired later.

Actively involved in outreach programs in minority communities, Lee said that it has been one of his greatest joys to be able to educate people about his cultural heritage.

"It's an experience I will cherish," said Lee, who plans to retire six years from now. "I feel I've been enriched. It really gives you a lot of satisfaction to be able to help other people."

Photo courtesy S.F.F.D.
Freshman Firefighter Erika Hoo gets her badge from Fire Department Chief Robert Demmons at a graduation ceremony in November. Forty-seven percent of the department's new hires since 1996 have been minorities, and forty percent have been minorities.

It may be good in the academic world, but not in a profession that emphasizes teamwork."

He said that under the old practice, women scored low in the physical ability tests. But after educational background, language skills, and results in the written tests were factored in, women scored high enough to be hired as firefighters.

The arrival of women firefighters also resulted in physical changes to the fire stations. There are now separate dressing rooms, restrooms, and bathroom facilities for men and women.

He added that with the advances in fire prevention, including the use of sprinklers, smoke detectors, and a tighter fire code, firefighters respond to fewer structural fires.

"They do not eliminate all fires, but they have made our job a little easier and a lot safer for citizens," Lee said.

Lee, 48, graduated from Washington High School in 1968 and then decided to become a firefighter against the wishes of his father who wanted him to be a police officer.

He said his father, like most Chinese immigrants, thought becoming a police officer was more prestigious. But he wanted to be a firefighter for very practical reasons--the pay was good and he had time to go back to school.

Lee earned an associate degree in fire science from City College, and later received a bachelor's degree in public administration from San Francisco State University.

More and more Asian Americans are showing an interest in careers in public safety--a far cry from the early 1970s when they shied away from such professions.

Moreover, Asian parents would rather see their sons and daughters in more traditional careers as doctors, lawyers, engineers, and teachers.

"It was troubling and disturbing to me that whenever we tried to recruit in Chinatown, people just walked away," Lee said. "It wasn't something they want to become."

But with the growing favorable public image of the firefighting profession, Lee expects more Asian Americans to join the department. The pay is not bad either, he said.

A newly hired firefighter makes about $38,000 a year, which increases to $53,700 after five years. A lieutenant makes $60,000, a captain, $71,000, and a battalion chief, $85,000.

Assistant chiefs--of which there are 11--earn $98,000, while two deputy chiefs receive $115,000 a year each. The fire chief makes $133,000 a year. The department also offers excellent benefits and employees earn more with overtime.

The fire department has a cadet program that offers young people interested in a career in firefighting first-hand knowledge of the profession and the opportunity to be hired later.

Actively involved in outreach programs in minority communities, Lee said that it has been one of his greatest joys to be able to educate people about his cultural heritage.

"It's an experience I will cherish," said Lee, who plans to retire six years from now. "I feel I've been enriched. It really gives you a lot of satisfaction to be able to help other people."

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