Visiting firefighters show chief support

By Timothy Pratt (contact)

Friday, Nov. 15, 2002 | 10:30 a.m.

Representatives of an international group of black firefighters will be in Las Vegas this weekend to address a widening split between some members of the local firefighters union and Las Vegas Fire Chief David Washington, the first black person to hold the office.

"We have a problem with the attacks on the chief ... (and that) the impetus for the attacks have been diversity and the emphasis on diversity training," said Keith Cormier, southwestern regional director of the International Association of Black Professional Fire Fighters.

The group's regional chapters moved their annual fall meeting from Los Angeles to Las Vegas in order to show support for Washington, Bertral Washington, head of the local chapter of black firefighters, said. Sixteen regional chapter heads will hold a press conference on the issue Saturday at noon at the Las Vegas Fire and Rescue Administration building, he said.

The announcement comes on the heels of a recent vote of no confidence held by the union, which voted 214-108 against Washington, prompting union president Dean Fletcher to call for the chief's resignation.

But Washington said the turnout was only about 60 percent of the union's 550 members, and that most of the union's other members disagreedwith the vote being held in the first place.

"Fletcher said he is speaking for all members, but that's not true," said Bertral Washington, a fire training officer who is not related to the chief. "Most of the 40 percent felt that the whole deal, the whole media frenzy, is not good for the department as a whole -- so they stayed away in protest. Many of them say we need more diversity training, or different kinds of diversity training."

But Fletcher said those who stayed away should have expressed their opinions by voting, and that the issue is one of performance, not race.

"Instead of saying the chief might have made some errors, (they) have pulled the race card and I'm sure they're going to do the same tomorrow," Fletcher said.

The union head said that the no-confidence vote reflected dissatisfaction with a diversity class held in July and with comments about race the chief has made at fire department meetings.

Cormier, who is a fire engineer at Contra Costa County Fire District in California, said this sort of controversy has occurred at other fire departments before.

"As long as we have diversity in fire departments, there will be people who don't agree with it," he said.