Milwaukee Keeps Recruit Standards
While working to increase the hiring of members of minority groups, the Milwaukee Fire Department has maintained the employment standards necessary to continue its level of service.
Recruiting for the position of fire fighter is advertised extensively and applications are accepted by the Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission. After applicants are screened through a series of basic, job-related, written, physical, medical and oral examinations, the fire department receives a list of applicants to be appointed in the order that their names were placed on the list.
Many qualified minorities
A consent agreement with the Federal Court indicates that we have to hire two minorities for every three majorities, which we have done for the last few years, and I hasten to add that our department has many qualified minorities who have proven their abilities at the Training Academy.
During the 12-week training courses, many recruits, both majorities and minorities, realized that fire fighting was not for them and chose to resign. Others had to be told that they didn’t qualify because of a lack of physical strength, mental ability or just plain fear of the job.
There is nothing in our training program that is not required in fire fighting.
To justify my position of being against the lowering of standards just to include persons who otherwise could not qualify as members of the fire service, I offer the following:
The loss of lives and property are already at such staggering figures now, that to dilute our services by lowering standards would be disastrous.
Seek capable work force
The fundamental purpose of standards is to help ensure that the qualityof candidates entering the fire service will provide a working force capable of meeting the challenges of the fire fighting profession. It must be recognized that modern technology has brought with it increased hazards to this profession, and members of the fire fighting force must be better equipped to act in various types of emergencies not only to provide adequate fire protection, but also for their own safety. It is difficult to arrive at standards which are realistic in every area of demand. Therefore, it is our firm belief that we cannot afford to penalize the community by adopting standards which will not meet anticipated demands. The record of performance should indicate that past and present standards serve to furnish the caliber of personnel required.
I consider it dangerous to tamper with an important municipal service, particularly if that service is closely allied to the safety of the citizens and the protection of their major investments—their homes and their jobs.
Standards, then, must be realistic. The profession of fire fighting, like any other profession, cannot afford to be a shelter under whose umbrella social ills are expected to be cured. There is an important and necessary job to be done, and any individual weakness affects the total performance.
What are these prime standards or requirements? Mental capabilities merit a high place. A fire fighter must assimilate knowledge and have the ability to retain that knowledge without benefit of reference to a textbook at the scene of a fire. He must react according to situations and circumstances, but not mechanically.
Physical strength essential
Physical capabilities must rate with mental capacity. In spite of progress from a technological standpoint, fire fighting remains to a great degree “physical.” Strength and endurance are more than an asset—-they are essential and basic requirements.
Aligned with the physical is the medical. Generally these go hand in hand, but in rare instances people have medical disabilities, or potential medical problems, which would materially affect either their performance or their availability. We cannot afford to carry members who might have an inordinate amount of absences due to sickness. We cannot afford to have members who cannot endure the normal risks of the fire fighting profession, such as exposure to cold, heat, smoke, etc.
Closely related to these qualifications is the character and the performance history of the applicant. Members of the fire department are daily exposed to many temptations, particularly in the area of valuable goods which are unprotected. It is relatively simple for anyone at the scene of a fire, where everyone except the fire fighters are evacuated and the doors are open to all rooms, to pick up valuables of various types, money, jewelry, etc. Therefore, from this standpoint, a fire fighter must be able to withstand extraordinary temptations.
Characteristics desired
In addition, the community type of living which is common to the profession demands that there be also a community of interest, a spirit of cooperation and harmony. It is almost axiomatic that fire fighters must share in more than the workload because there is a built-in interdependence which comes to the surface in a crisis. There is a requisite that fire fighters work in pairs, known as the buddy system. When entering a burning building, or any hazardous area, we have to follow a strict rule: “Two shall go in and two shall come out!” These pairs are not always the same. Therefore, it is totally different than two people working on separate machines in a factory or two at separate desks. These are two people who share equally in responsibility and in their own safety. ‘Phis indicates a peculiar makeup into which other accepted norms, such as loner, exhibitionist and grandstander, do not fit.
It is our firm belief that any movement should be to strengthen standards. We hesitate to do this because we do not want to outlaw deserving and potentially capable applicants who are fringe cases.
First of all, let’s consider age. The age requirement in Milwaukee is a minimum of 19 years and a maximum of 29. We must view fire fighting as a career profession. We don’t want to encourage people to use the fire department as an interim activity or even a stepping stone. Therefore, from a minimum standpoint, young people aged 19 should have their feet on the ground and know that fire fighting is for them. If, on the other hand, they decide that one or more facets of the job is undesirable or intolerable, they are still young enough to make a change and embark on another career. A lower age might place a burden on the instructors and officers, who require a degree of stability not ordinarily found in persons under the age of 19. There are certainly exceptions to the rule, but we must deal with the average, not the exceptions.
Age limit reasons
As to maximum age, the first consideration is that fire fighting maintains a maximum physical requirement throughout the years. Even an officer must be in condition to perform strenuously in most instances, although perhaps not always to the extent required of fire fighters. However, we must recruit initially for all levels, and the standards must take into consideration the fact that a definite percentage of recruits will continue as fire fighters throughout their entire career.
There is a considerable expenditure in money, time and effort to train a recruit. The community has a right to realize a return on that investment. This is done by amortizing that expense over the years of service in an individual’s career. There is also the benefit of a person’s experience over the years. This is diminished if the individual can no longer perform up to minimum standards due to age. Again, we agree that all people do not age at the same rate, nor are they the same physically, mentally and otherwise at the same age. Therefore, we must base the maximum entry age on the average experience.
That is why there is a built-in factor under our new pension law, which limits service to age 62. There is also an inducement to maintain a lower average age in a fire department by permitting retirement at age 52. Our city would certainly not agree to the cost of such an early retirement if it did not feel that a certain number of people have lost their effectiveness by that age and certainly should not be allowed to serve after 62. If the entrance age limit were raised, it would materially reduce the productive years candidates could be expected to return to the city for its investment in their training and experience.
However, experience shows that applicants at the maximum age limit are few and they are at a disadvantage in competing against younger candidates, particularly in the physical tests and to some degree in the written tests. By age 29 most people have found their niche in the economic world.
Mental qualities
Mental capabilities are primarily considered in the written test, although the oral exam may probe into this area to a limited extent. We grant that no particular written test yet devised is perfect, nor that any accurately gages the potential of an applicant in a field as broad as fire fighting. However, the test does tend to weed out those incapable of absorbing written and oral instructions, both at the training school and in the fire station. The written test is general in nature and certainly well within the capacity of a high school graduate.
We have found that many who fail the physical exam do so because they have not made proper preparation. They have not trained adequately. This is particularly true of candidates over 25 years of age, who often have discontinued participating in active sports. Some expect to get in shape in a week. This cannot be done. This is an area in which an educational program can help many who could meet the standards but fail to do so because of a lack of adequate preparation.
The physical standards should not be changed. We need candidates who have strength, endurance and some degree of speed. We need candidates who have coordination. We need candidates who have no medical disabilities that affect their physical performance. The various tests in the physical exam are all designed to measure an individual’s capability to perform certain functions of the job. These standards must be retained—and at the same level of proficiency.
Medical advice follows
We have great faith in the competence and judgment of our medical staff. The present standards have all been adopted upon the advice and guidance of our physicians, who know and understand our problems and requirements. They continuously study these standards and have not hesitated to make recommendations for changes where they are indicated. We feel these standards are realistic and have a firm foundation in our records on sick leave and injury leave. It must always be kept in mind that our sick leave provisions are fairly liberal and become costly when invoked. We know that all citizens would want maximum control exercised at all levels, and the medical exam is certainly the beginning.
A police record reveals the type of person we are dealing with—if one has respect for the law, driving habits, and social conduct, particularly in the area of moral behavior. The importance of giving the police record full value in the oral exam cannot be overemphasized. Our experience has shown that candiates with poor police records often continue to be problem cases and constitute our greatest disciplinary factor. The fire service is hardly the place for rehabilitation of people with criminal backgrounds. The temptations are too great.
The work habits of people, even of youths of 19 with limited time on a job, reveal much as to their potential and acceptability for the postion of fire fighter. We must of necessity maintain high standards of punctuality, reporting for work, obedience to orders, self-discipline, reliability and the other attributes which are involved in a good workman. Unfortunately, we do not always get a full picture, most often because many places of employment do not require close surveillance over employees. But in many cases we get an insight into the type of employee the prospect is, and we should take full advantage of this knowledge in either accepting or rejecting the applicant. This should be particularly true in a labor market in which the city has a surplus of applicants.
Height and weight are part of the medical exam. With respect to weight, this is a judgment of the medical examiners, and the tendency is to make allowances for underweight if there are compensating factors. On the other hand, the doctors are inclined to look unfavorably on cases of overweight because of the physical demands of the fire service.
The standards for height have undergone major changes recently. Medical examiners consider height only in proportion to weight in determining physical fitness.
Considering the safety of fire personnel, no one in the service should ever be allowed to wear a beard or sideburns that interfere with the seal of a mask or fit of a helmet, and hair must never be exposed to flame.
These are the standards of the Milwaukee Fire Department. They are considered to be essential and minimal requirements by those of us who have many years of exposure to the great hazards and physical demands of the fire service.
There is absolutely nothing in the recruitment examination, in the necessary and essential required standards, nor in the training course that is biased or discriminatory because of a person’s sex, race, color, religion or national origin.
Must continue search
We must continue to conduct an active search for women and persons in minority groups who meet the application requirements and encourage them to compete for appointment. I mention only women and minority groups because I’m sure the others will continue to apply on their own. Despite all the publicity by the Fire and Police Commission and the active participation of fire service personnel, for some reason, certain groups are not being reached.
I have stated many times that we would welcome thousands of women and minority applications, which would then enable us to fill our federally required quotas with qualified personnel.
Fire fighting consists basically of using heavy hose lines, raising ladders, and handling ventilating tools such as axes and pike poles. It follows then that persons who desire to pursue fire fighting as a career and who are aware that they have shortcomings in their physical ability should become involved in physical fitness programs to overcome their weaknesses.
To maintain a highly rated fire department, the standards cannot be lowered to enable applicants to meet them. The applicants, themselves, must be raised to meet the standards.
