Fire departments across the country currently hire people of all races and all (two) sexes. However, for the female sex, there's that pesky biological reality that they have a much harder time kicking down doors and lifting unconscious people.
The solution?
According to lawmakers in Connecticut, come up with a plan that is sure to increase the Diversity™ and Equity™ of the fire departments!
Connecticut Democrats are working to lower the physical fitness requirements for female firefighters, saying that less onerous standards will make fire departments "more diverse."
A law introduced earlier this month in the Connecticut State Assembly would let women skip the Candidate Physical Ability Test, a timed gauntlet used by fire departments across the country. The test, which only 10 to 15 percent of women pass, requires candidates to complete intense physical tasks while wearing a 50 pound vest. It's designed to simulate the experience of navigating a fire in heavy gear — and to weed out those unable to do so.
The law, introduced by five Democratic lawmakers, would offer women an alternative test based on "revised physical standards," with the goal of ensuring that "additional female candidates" qualify for firefighter positions, text from the bill states.
Remind me never to get involved in an emergency situation in Connecticut if this law passes.
The Democrats there want to create a more diverse fire department by letting the women TOTALLY SKIP the fitness test.
Do they seriously not see how dangerous this is?
But some firefighters, including women, who have climbed the ranks of their departments without workarounds, say the bill will set merit-based hiring ablaze and potentially endanger Connecticut residents. "If you can't handle a 50 pound vest, you're not going to be able to rescue a child from a burning building," said Leah DiNapoli, a retired firefighter in New Haven, Conn.
Oh well, the kids may die, but at least we were inclusive!
"A citizen in need of rescue doesn't care if a firefighter is white, black, Hispanic, male, or female," said Frank Ricci, a retired firefighter who served as the president of the New Haven firefighters union. "They care that they can do the job. This attempt to socially engineer public safety positions will only serve to endanger the public."
Unlike in the military, where uniforms and equipment vary by gender, all firefighters wear the same gear, which weighs at least 59 pounds — 9 more than the vest used for the physical assessment. That's not including the weight of ladders, hoses, or other firemen, who must sometimes carry incapacitated colleagues on their shoulders. While a few pieces of protective gear now come tailored for women, most of the essential tools do not.
"They don't make lighter saws or ladders," DiNapoli said. "When I was there, they didn't even make female-sized boots."
The law, she added, is "absolutely insane. Either you can do the job or you can't."
Hiring someone based on merit and skill??
That sounds like some serious bigotry and extremism right there!
The bill has in committee and has not been put up for a vote yet, but it's leftist-led Connecticut, so you never know.
If I was a fire chief, I would never let these ladies go into an emergency zone. Maybe they could just drive the trucks.
On second thought...
