By Susan Abram
Daily News
MARINA DEL RAY, Calif. — Four L.A County supervisors donned Wonder Woman headbands Tuesday in support of a motion that would upgrade a Marina del Rey fire station with bathrooms and sleeping quarters for female firefighters.
The supervisors’ action also cast a spotlight on a broader issue of why so few women work as firefighters in the county fire department, and why fewer than half of all stations offer separate bathrooms and sleeping quarters for women.
The board’s four female members wore the golden tiara associated with the Amazon warrior princess.
Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, the only man on the board, abstained from donning the accessory.
The five board members pressed Los Angeles County Fire Department Chief Daryl Osby during the morning meeting on recruitment efforts.
Of the 2,866 firefighters currently working in the department, 45 are women. That’s less than the national average, which is 2 percent, Osby told the board. Also, of the 172 stations, only about 50 have restrooms and dorms for women, Osby said. By comparison, all 106 Los Angeles city fire stations comply with laws regarding the accommodation of women, Peter Sanders, a spokesman for the department said. Also, women make up about 100 of the 3,250 sworn personnel or just over 3 percent, according to the LAFD, which hopes to increase the number to 5 percent by 2020, Sanders said.
“Remodeling our fire stations to accommodate both men and women is progress, but it is an empty gesture if we do not actually hire women as firefighters to staff those stations,” said Supervisor Janice Hahn, who authored the motion for the Marina del Rey station upgrade. “A majority of fire stations cannot even accommodate women. We can and we must do better, and I think my fellow Wonder Women on the board agree with me.”
Osby agreed with the board’s concern and said when he became chief in 2011, one of his goals was to diversify the department. However, the agency came under heavy scrutiny after an audit released in 2015 found more than a dozen county fire employees improperly circulated oral interview test questions and answers from qualifying firefighter exams in recent years between 2007 and 2011.
The audit was conducted at the request of Osby and involved a review of millions of Fire Department email records as well as examination materials for test administrations and found that family members of high-ranking captains benefited.
“Since I’ve been the fire chief, we’ve had one fire department examination,” Osby said during the board meeting. He said that exam didn’t yield enough women recruits.
“The department needs to do a better job of diversifying,” he noted.
The department provides services for 58 cities and 4.1 million people across the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County.
The next examination is in August, Osby said and the department plans to meet with the women in the department to talk to them about their concerns.
“We’re completely revamping our firefighting recruitment efforts,” he said, adding that a report will be presented to the board in August.
The board unanimously approved Hahn’s motion for the upgrade of Fire Station 110 in Marina del Rey, which will cost about $900,000. The project would include designing and reconfiguring restrooms, dorms and other work to comply with American Disabilities Act requirements.
Meanwhile, the board also approved a $29.4 million agreement for a pair of custom-modified military helicopters to help bulk up the region’s aerial firefighting fleet.
Under the agreement, the county would lease two Sikorsky S70i Black Hawks for 10 years, then have the option to buy them. Fire officials have said the helicopters can easily siphon 1,000 gallons of water and swoop into hard-to-reach areas to help battle raging wildfires.
Copyright 2017 Daily News
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