Published 05:05 p.m., Friday, April 15, 2011
If any group of workers needs to maintain a culture of mutual respect, the men and women who fight fires would seem to be near the top of the list.
In very few careers do people's lives literally depend on confidence in and the actions of a colleague.
The peril of firefighting was made painfully clear last year when two Bridgeport firefighters died in an otherwise routine house fire.
Recent allegations of a racially offensive remark in the department is disturbing.
But Fire Chief Brian Rooney acted decisively in this case, and discipline has been recommended for five people involved in the incident.
The firefighter who made the remark will be suspended for 10 days, and four officers who heard the remark but did nothing will face two day suspensions.
It's not hard to accept, either, that Mayor Bill Finch walked out of a meeting after a retired firefighter still affiliated with the Firebird Society of Bridgeport started tossing around a demeaning reference to women and then weighing it on the offensiveness meter against the racial remark.
Not really very productive.
What would be productive would be for Rooney to keep a sharp eye on behavior in the houses, where firefighters literally have to live together, and continue his efforts in diversity training.
© 2011 Hearst Communications Inc. ..
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