Posted on 09/29/2007 3:43:54 PM PDT by DogByte6RER
Judge Rules for Bearded DC Firefighters
By SARAH KARUSH – 21 hours ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Friday struck down a requirement that firefighters in the District of Columbia be clean-shaven.
A group of firefighters who wear beards for religious reasons first sued in 2001 to challenge the fire department's "grooming policy." That policy was replaced with a safety policy in 2005 that held that beards are not compatible with breathing units because they make it impossible to form a tight seal around the face.
U.S. District Judge James Robertson ruled that the district did not meet its burden of proof under the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act to show that being clean-shaven is required to safely wear a self-contained breathing apparatus, or SCBA.
"Moreover, the Department has conceded that, for the vast majority of firefighter activity, a perfect seal between the face mask and the face is not required for safety," Robertson wrote. "The Department fully concedes that bearded firefighters have worn SCBA units for many years without incident."
Alan Etter, a spokesman for D.C. Fire and EMS, said he was not aware of the ruling but said the department would comply. However, he criticized the idea that a bearded firefighter would be safe. He said some of the plaintiffs had already left the department and those who had not were in non-firefighting roles.
"This fire department will never endanger the lives of firefighters, and this is essentially what this is doing," he said.
But Robertson said the district failed to show that firefighters are more likely to have a mask fit improperly if they have a beard than if they don't.
Robertson said there could be a danger with a negative pressure air purifying respirator, or APR, a lighter-weight device appropriate for longer-term use. When such devices are necessary, he said, firefighters with beards should be reassigned to other duties.
Robertson noted that the District of Columbia is the only local jurisdiction in which the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, the law under which the plaintiff sued, can be enforced.
Many fire departments bar or restrict facial hair among firefighters. In 2005, a judge in Philadelphia ruled that a firefighter could not wear a beard on the job, even though his Muslim faith calls for it.
Good point...
There should also be NO elaborate public funerals for any firefighter who succumbs to death on duty due to an ill fitted mask caused by excessive facial hair.
Also, any such firefighter should have to FORFEIT his government life insurance policy and pension for his surviving family due to the stupid decision he made for himself as a firefighter.
This is so easy it defies belief.
In (Navy) Boot Camp they put us in a room with just enough tear gas to make us choke up a little to test whether we had put on our gas masks properly and then to drive the point home they made us take off the mask and sing M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E at the top of our lungs.
No one questioned the gas mask protocol after that.
Best regards,
aLLAH may forgive you, but I don’t. I got cramps in my finger trying to scroll to the bottom of this thread.
Do the mask manufacturers go along with this judge? I doubt it. I also doubt the ROP won't turn on a dime and sue upon the first death of one of their comrades.
That one's actually pretty sad. Sikhs have been renowned fighters for 600 years. They are known for fighting to the death against superior forces, making over a 200:1 kill ratio at the Battle of Saragarhi.
In my current working class filth occupation (the 40 hour one), I need to wear a respirator to avoid VOC’s. Since I have annually grown a beard during the winter months for the last 20 years, I tried the same in my recent occupation.
Bad choice.
No matter how you try, the mask/skin seal is piss-poor and vapor transmission is quite high. For a firefighter, the risk may be deadly.
Let them have their way - in this way, new openings may be available soon to members of less radical faiths.
In my current working class filth occupation (the 40 hour one), I need to wear a respirator to avoid VOC’s. Since I have annually grown a beard during the winter months for the last 20 years, I tried the same in my recent occupation.
Bad choice.
No matter how you try, the mask/skin seal is piss-poor and vapor transmission is quite high. For a firefighter, the risk may be deadly.
Let them have their way - in this way, new openings may be available soon to members of less radical faiths.
If they are municipal employees, nothing.
First, as a safety professional you should realize that municipal firefighters are not subject to OSHA standards.
Second, it is possible to achieve a seal with a partial beard.
Everyone knows you can’t get a good seal on a self-contained breathing apparatus if you have a full beard. Our fire chief has a full beard and he simply doesn’t go within structures as he can’t pass the fit test.
And your point is what?
I said PARTIAL beard.
since when are muslims required to grow beards? This is not right.
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