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FDNY Officer Wins Suit To Get Promotion
- Thread starter mikeindabronx
- Start date
I will relate my own personnel story of which some members here are already aware of.
I grew up in Bridgeport, Ct and my father was a firefighter there. It was my goal to become a Bridgeport Firefighter and follow in my fathers footsteps. My father was my role model and I wanted to be just like him. At one point he was awarded the Bridgeport Fire Depts Highest Medal for saving the life of a fire victim in a vacant building.
I had many friends in that department. Many of them also had sons who wanted to become Bridgeport Firefighters.
In 1974 the job announcement finally comes out that both myself, my brother, and "BFD151" (also a member of this site), plan to take the test. Classes are given to prepare anyone who wants to attend them. The only thing is, these classes are in Bridgeport's Most Dangerous Neighborhood. But that doesn't stop us.
The Three of us take Bridgeport's written test. The results come out and not enough minorities score high enough and a two year lawsuit takes place.
Meanwhile I had also taken a test in a place called Norwich, Ct, about 75 miles from Bridgeport. As the Bridgeport lawsuit carries on, I get the Norwich FD job offered to me. It isn't really what I wanted but my father tells me "if they open the door - you gotta walk in". So I did.
Meantime, I get married and buy a nice home.
An agreement is reached in Bridgeport after I have about a year and a half on the job. I can't leave now - so I stay.
In the end, it was a very good move that now, I have no regrets. I didn't get the Bridgeport job but in time my brother and my buddy "BFD151", whose father was also a Bridgeport Firefighter DID.
Of course Bridgeport saw a lot more work than I did. I think during their busiest month, maybe the late 80s, Bridgeport, with a population of about 140,000 - Squad 5 (now called Rescue 5) caught 108 working building fires. My brother was a Lt on that rig at the time.
I grew up in Bridgeport, Ct and my father was a firefighter there. It was my goal to become a Bridgeport Firefighter and follow in my fathers footsteps. My father was my role model and I wanted to be just like him. At one point he was awarded the Bridgeport Fire Depts Highest Medal for saving the life of a fire victim in a vacant building.
I had many friends in that department. Many of them also had sons who wanted to become Bridgeport Firefighters.
In 1974 the job announcement finally comes out that both myself, my brother, and "BFD151" (also a member of this site), plan to take the test. Classes are given to prepare anyone who wants to attend them. The only thing is, these classes are in Bridgeport's Most Dangerous Neighborhood. But that doesn't stop us.
The Three of us take Bridgeport's written test. The results come out and not enough minorities score high enough and a two year lawsuit takes place.
Meanwhile I had also taken a test in a place called Norwich, Ct, about 75 miles from Bridgeport. As the Bridgeport lawsuit carries on, I get the Norwich FD job offered to me. It isn't really what I wanted but my father tells me "if they open the door - you gotta walk in". So I did.
Meantime, I get married and buy a nice home.
An agreement is reached in Bridgeport after I have about a year and a half on the job. I can't leave now - so I stay.
In the end, it was a very good move that now, I have no regrets. I didn't get the Bridgeport job but in time my brother and my buddy "BFD151", whose father was also a Bridgeport Firefighter DID.
Of course Bridgeport saw a lot more work than I did. I think during their busiest month, maybe the late 80s, Bridgeport, with a population of about 140,000 - Squad 5 (now called Rescue 5) caught 108 working building fires. My brother was a Lt on that rig at the time.
Bulldog
Bulldog
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Glad to hear the lawsuit has a positive outcome! I sincerely hope he still stands by his original letter. All hiring and promotions should be based on "qualifications" and not anything else. Setting up special criteria to "overcome" past problems does nothing but promote future problems and mean that qualified candidates do not get hired today. That leaves a great disservice to the individuals as well as the community as a whole.
Well said