Firefighting Crew Chiefs Laid Off Because They Don't Speak Spanish

GotZoom

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Apr 20, 2005
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With 24 major wildfires burning across the southwestern United States, fire officials need every firefighter they can get. They've done that in Oregon, but it's created another problem.

Officials are now having to lay off some of the bosses who manage those firefighting crews because the bosses are not bilingual. Many of the newer hires in Oregon only speak Spanish.

"What we do know is 85 percent of the crew makeup is of Hispanic descent," said Jim Walker, with the Oregon Department of Forestry.

The state said all bosses must speak the same language of their crew on the fire lines for safety reasons. They want to make sure that the leader of the crews can quickly communicate during an emergencey if the fire turns or if there is another problem on the fire lines.

"Our main concern is that they are safe, and they are in a safe environment, and a lot of that deals with communication," Walker said.

Because of the state's language requirement, Jaime Pickering can no longer work as a crew boss and supervise 20 firefighters. He can only manage a squad of four firefighters.

"If you have one Spanish guy on the crew, as an English crew boss, you can no longer be a crew boss. You have to step back to a squad boss, which is a demotion," Pickering said.

The state of Oregon actually made the change in 2003, after a devastating wildfire season in 2002 had contractors scrambling to find help. The state just started strictly monitoring the law this year, as Hispanics continued to fill fire lines.

"I think the (rule) is good, because that's for safety purpose," said Manuel Franco, who is a contractor for fire crews. He thinks the state's rule is necessary for worker safety.

"If there's a rock rolling down, everybody should understand that," Franco said.

But he does wish it were different.

"We're living here. We should speak the language," he said.

So why couldn't the state require that these crew members speak English? The state doesn't have a clear answer.

"If it comes down to a safety issue, and it's determined that's the only way we can have people safely on an incident, then yes," Walker said.

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/nationalnews/9413390/detail.html
 
I'm sorry, you should not be able to work at a fire deparment if you don't speak english. this is bull.
 
rtwngAvngr said:
I'm sorry, you should not be able to work at a fire deparment if you don't speak english. this is bull.

See, that's where it starts. YOU must accomodate them. It's not fair that THEY must learn to speak english properly when you can lean to speak french....I mean spanish. Holy FLQ flashbacks. :tank:
 
Said1 said:
See, that's where it starts. YOU must accomodate them. It's not fair that THEY must learn to speak english properly when you can lean to speak french....I mean spanish. Holy FLQ flashbacks. :tank:

This is really soooo unacceptable. AMericans need to stand up NOW, despite being called populists by the jews.
 
rtwngAvngr said:
This is really soooo unacceptable. AMericans need to stand up NOW, despite being called populists by the jews.


Does Oregon really have a large Unilingual population? So much so that they NEED bilingual city staff, such as fire fighters? Or is that''s like asking how many unilingual Frenchmen live in Moosjaw and can't say "fire at my house, come now" in english?
 
Said1 said:
Does Oregon really have a large Unilingual population? So much so that they NEED bilingual city staff, such as fire fighters? Or is that''s like asking how many unilingual Frenchmen live in Moosjaw and can't say "fire at my house, come now" in english?


I don't know. D or jeff may; they're from over that way.
 
I'm guessing there's probably a lot of seasonal migrant workers, maybe? There is in B.C this time of year. I wonder if not speaking french hurts their employment potential? :rotflmao:
 
rtwngAvngr said:
I'm sorry, you should not be able to work at a fire deparment if you don't speak english. this is bull.

Gee RWA, requiring someone to be able to speak english in America to get a job? Isn't that a little harsh? :laugh:

All kiding aside, America is in trouble. The direction it's going is bad, and there doesn't seem to be anybody that gives a damn, except maybe a blog like this, and all we can do is voice our opinions. I wish it carried more weight. Maybe the conservative bloggosphere should unite. It could be turned into a very powerful voting block, like the NRA, or AARP.
 
insein said:
sigh. All i can think of. I'd get mad but my anger is seeping from me with every new story of America becoming Mexico.

Not me... when the time comes, I'm going to lead the resistance. :2guns:
 

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