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Is firing a veteran firefighter for incompetence that unusual? That’s the headline of this post about the termination of a long-serving Austin Fire Department firefighter because of this line in the article by Patrick George and Tony Plohetski on The Blotter at statesman.com.
Bob Nicks, president of the Austin Firefighters Association, said the firing marked the first time to his knowledge that a firefighter has been terminated for incompetence.
According to the article, the firefighter let go is Andrea Mote-Yale, who was fired Tuesday by Chief Rhoda Mae Kerr. The reporters cite paperwork they’ve obtained about the performance of Mote-Yale indicating the firefighter failed tests, did not take responsibility for her performance and that officers did not have faith in Mote-Yale’s abilities.
Previous deficiencies included being removed from calls due to poor fitness, becoming flustered and shutting down during incidents, improperly treating patients on three occasions, and requiring “constant supervision” despite her training, the memo said. Other firefighters refused to trade shifts with her due to safety concerns, the memo said.
“This is not a decision I made easily or without thoughtful consideration,” Kerr wrote. “But I simply cannot, and will not, put firefighters’ or citizens’ lives at risk.”
Nicks, the union president, was concerned that in this case Chief Kerr was using standards set for new firefighters and applying them to veterans without working with the union in setting a “reasonable incumbent standard”.
Read entire statesman.com article
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Also on STATter911 …
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- Termination letter for career firefighter is signed by 13 of his colleagues. – January 21, 2012
- Tampa fire investigator who had gun stolen twice is promoted to fire marshal. TV station confronts fire chief on Milton Jenkins’ record. – January 14, 2013
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“New Firefighters” “Old Firefighters” What is the difference, and there should not be two standards. You can either do the job or not.
I gotta agree with you on that John. We had a guy that we used to take bets every shift on “what he would claim” went wrong with, his equipment, conditions inside, got lost, got “injured” on a fire, thing inside didnt feel right. The last straw was when i was driving and he left my lieutenant and another guy on the line when the fire intensified and claimed that “his life was more important than theirs”. That morphed into an airpack failure. (I checked it and it was fine) but it was one of those fires that the chief of department happened to be at and saw the entire thing and placed him and the airpack in his car and left the scene with him. The next day there was a hearing after the PFA and he got to tell his side and quit afterwards. we all thought he would sue but i found out years later that he was shown the documentation and after that he resigned
Giving the boot to a firefighter is not an easy task and i dont care if its a guy or gal because i have worked with gals that kick A$$. Its about ability and if you cant do it, its time for you to go sell insurance
Sounds like she should have made it to “veteran” status. We all know the type…. Shoulda been flushed on probation but makes it through the cracks over the years. I’m sure there is an empty desk for her somewhere.
I am sure the reason she was kept so long is because she was a she
Hey they were just cutting the fat….I bet it serves notice to all other guys that are there just collecting a check.
I think the chief is being sexist firing a woman ———oh wait — the chief is a woman — never mind
We had a firefighter like this in our department. She would freeze on fire scenes, had no confidence in her abilities, and firefighters would bump her out of trucks because nobody trusted her abilities. The problem was she was the only female on the department, and the department heads felt that if they fired her she would sue the department. It was really a catch 22 for our department until she left for another job.
We’re on the job at full capacity and competence. The standard applies to all of the firefighters from the probie to the veteran. We cannot have a double standard or the “look the other way” for an incompetent firefighter. We’re depending on each other for our skills and abilities. If you cannot do the job then you need to leave. Chief Kerr make a great leadership decision. Employment as a firefighter is not a welfare potion if you cannot do the job. Stay competent or leave. No double standards.
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Fantastic.!!!
Too often public service folks think they are bulletproof if they can
get thru probation or attain tenure.
Of course the featherbedding unions will not like it but I’m sure the
taxpayer will appreciate real professionals responding to their needs.
This need to happen much more often.!!
(You know who I’m talking about…)
It’s not the unions fault for defending her, they can be held liable in court for refusing to back her case. I’m sure they agree with seeing her fired. Hopefuly this individual will lose their appeal and not return to work.
We have 3 females on our department. We are busy and run enough fires to become comfortable with working with each other and knowing what to expect from other guys or girls. That being said, the female on my shift, whenever we get a fire, always takes the longest to get her gear on, walks to the rigs, gets off the rig at the fire and goes and looks for someone to talk to about the occupant rather then pulling a line and making an attack. She can’t reach the hose on the truck and she is barley strong enough to walk in her full gear. It is an absolute shame that our residents are relying on someone like her to save them. Best part, she believes she is a good firefighter and should be promoted to LT. God help us all!
I have had a female probie assigned to me that barely made it out of the academy. When she arrived in the co. I drilled her on how we operate in the co. and she didn’t like having to prove herself. I told her that if she noticed the guys on the shift were drilling with her. I also told her that I owe it to her and the rest of the crew to address problems and correct them. Anything short of that I was setting her and the others up for failure. Consistency,honesty and a belief that everyone wants to succeed. be safe.
It’s not a male/female thing, black/white thing, or straight/gay thing. If you cannot do the job, you need to leave the job.
I really wish people would be more careful in how they speak to reporters. This may be the first time someone is fired for incompetence, per se. This is surely not the first time someone has been run off as a result of incompetence or some specific incompetence-induced failure.
When you say things like that you are just providing inaccurate soundbites for people who hate public employees and unions.
Y’all should work for Cal fire.
Incompetence gets promoted.
Rhoda hould be fired!