There is no room for political correctness in the physical part of the firefighter exam. Not only does the candidate need to have a minimum degree of physical prowess for their own safety, but someone without the necessary skills may put the lives of their fellow firefighters in danger.
But it seems the NYFD is putting PC before safety.
Wendy Tapia failed the New York Fire Department physical test six times. Now, she's getting a seventh shot -- and the according to the NY Post, the fix is in for her to pass this time. From the report:
A woman who six times failed the physical test to become an FDNY firefighter is being given another chance — and this time, critics say, the fix is in.
“She’ll graduate, no question,” said an FDNY member. “The department doesn’t want another black eye.”
Ms. Tapia conditionally graduated the fire department acadamy in 2013 despite the fact that she failed the running test. After being sworn in, she was given five more opportunities to run the required 1.5 miles in twelve minutes. After she failed the fifth time in 2013, she resigned from the deparment and became a full-time EMS employee.
Fire Commissioner Salvatore Cassano, at the behest of United Women Firefighters, a group of active and retired FDNY women, gave Tapia another chance to pass the test on Dec. 2. [2013]But on the heels of a Post article on her special treatment, Tapia tried again early, and then threw in the towel.
Now two years later Wendy Tapia is getting another shot. Not because she's improved, but because the city has lowered its physical standards after they lost a lawsuit alleging the system was biased against minorites.
Tapia is part of a group of EMTs who were promited to the rank of probationary firefighter. She began another stint at the 18-week training academy the Monday after Christmas.
After paying $98 million to settle a federal lawsuit charging bias against minority applicants, the city is loath to face a gender-discrimination suit, sources say. Female firefighters number only 49 in the 10,500-member force.
At the end of her last Fire Academy stint in 2013, Tapia blamed her failure to pass the running test on a foot injury.
But that doesn't account for the five other times she failed the test.
At the time, UWF president Sarinya Srisakul blamed Tapia’s running failure on stress fractures in the academy — and The Post’s coverage.
“She’s small and they overtrained her,” Srisakul told the Village Voice.
The FDNY hunted insiders it suspected of leaking information on Tapia.
Lt. Elizabeth Osgood, who objected to Tapia’s special treatment, was barred from promotion for months. Capt. Paul Mannix, the president of Merit Matters, a group opposed to quotas, was forced into silence.
So it looks as if the fix is in, and anyone who objects will be silenced. What the city hasn't addressed is how they will protect an underqualified Ms.Tapia from hurting herself or the fire figthers she serves with.