Jump to content

EMT City Administrator

Root Admin
  • Posts

    1,998
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    16

Posts posted by EMT City Administrator

  1. http://www.katu.com/news/3634401.html

    SALEM, Ore. - Some English-speaking firefighters are losing their jobs because of an Oregon state law that requires them to be bilingual.

    The Department of Forestry enacted a law three years ago that requires them to be bilingual, but this year they're actually enforcing it.

    2002 was such a devastating wildfire season, contractors were scrambling to find firefighters.

    Hispanics often filled their needs on the fire lines.

    Jim Walker of the Department of Forestry said "what we do know is 85 percent of the crew make-up is of Hispanic decent."

    But many of the Hispanic fire fighters do not speak English. Walker says the language barrier is a concern.

    Those concerns led the state to draft a new rule that all firefighting bosses speak English, and the languages of crew members who don't speak English.

    Jaime Pickering, a squad boss overseeing 20 firefighters, says the rule means "job losses for Americans. The white people."

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

    Pickering says that "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."

    While the state made the rule change in 2003, it decided to strictly monitor the law this year as Hispanics continue to fill fire lines.

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

    Manuel Franco is a Hispanic contractor for fire crews. He says he thinks the state's rule is necessary for worker safety.

    "I think that's good, because that's for safety purpose," Franco says. "If there's a rock rolling down, everybody should understand that."

    However, Manuel did say he felt the situation would improve if everyone spoke English. "We're living here. We should speak the language."

    Jim Walker ponders the possibility that all fire crew members should be required to speak English, instead of having bilingual crew leaders.

    "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.

    Both Oregon state officials and those in the firefighting business say they do not think there are 'that many' illegal immigrant workers in the fire crews.

    They say it is more a case of legal workers who do not speak English.

  2. LOCKED. Perhaps if the regulars would just report the offending post instead of participating in the bait that has been laid, it would work better. Everyone wants to jump down everyones throat and play moderator. Funny how those who quote the site rules, often forget what they are.

    It is easier for me to lock it than go back and delete everything after the first post that went astray.

  3. So.. a new guy comes here, on his first post he asks a question that is EMS related and he just is looking for clarification of something he may not have had a good grasp on in class. So we rip him up, call him names, and then crap on his school.

    Not here. Help or don't respond.

  4. Actually an on-line EMS magazine was done last year with two issues electronically published on another EMS forum by several regular contributors here.

    It is hard to get all material together and meet dead lines, etc. Not that it can't be done and would welcome it and help. Just realize the time needed to do it right.....

    R/r 911

    I am not thinking a magazine in that sense. I was thinking an area that our contributors would be able to post articles as they come up with them. Sorta like a blog, but in a more structured format.

  5. This is not going to turn into a bash EMTs thread. Those posts were headed that way, and were deleted. If you don't think that EMTs are qualified to be on the ambulance, contact your local and federal offices that think differently and tell them to make a change.

    Any further comments about my decision shall be made via PM to me.

×
×
  • Create New...