Sponsored message
Logged in as
Audience-funded nonprofit news
radio tower icon laist logo
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
 — 
See All Episodes
Subscribe

Hey, LA listener!

Download our app for the optimal streaming experience

Apple Store logo Google play logo
  • Listen Now Playing Listen
  • Listen Now Playing Listen
AirTalk

LA County Fire Dept. damage control over cheating, nepotism

By AirTalk Staff
Published Mar 19, 2015
A Los Angeles Fire Department inspector leaves the MGM Tower (L) in Century City after a woman was trapped in an elevator when a 7.2-magnitude earthquake hit the US-Mexico border region, on April 4, 2010. The powerful 7.2-magnitude earthquake rocked buildings as far away as Los Angeles and was felt in a wide area in the two countries. The Los Angeles Fire Department has responded to an increase in automatic alarms and stuck elevators and was checking transportation infrastructures, large places of assemblage, apartment buildings and power lines from the ground and the air to ensure safety.The temblor was forceful enough to move buildings in Los Angeles and San Diego in southern California, as well as in Arizona. AFP PHOTO/Mark RALSTON (Photo credit should read MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images)
A Los Angeles Fire Department inspector leaves the MGM Tower (L) in Century City after a woman was trapped in an elevator when a 7.2-magnitude earthquake hit the US-Mexico border region, on April 4, 2010.
(
MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images
)
Listen 8:15
LA County Fire Dept. damage control over cheating, nepotism

Firefighters who cheated on LA County Fire Department (LACFD) tests could be fired or suspended, in a new proposal from Daryl Osby, Chief of LACFD.

He made the announcement as thousands of aspiring firefighters took a new test yesterday that arrived in Brinks armored trucks in Pomona to underscore the added scrutiny. Last year, an LA Times investigation into nepotism at the department revealed evidence of cheating on at least nine different tests that had been circulated among employees. They included exams for fire captains and tests for driving and emergency medical skills.

The earlier Times investigation found the county department had hired at least 183 sons of current or former firefighters since the start of 2012. Now, Osby says current LACFD staff will be prohibited from aiding the hiring of any family members or friends. (Similar malfeasance has occurred at the Los Angeles Fire Department [LAFD], which has spurred ongoing reforms.)

Is it certain that cheating fire fighters will face discipline? How will the department whittle down thousands of applicants?

Guest: 

Daryl Osby, L.A. County Fire Chief