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Most firefighters are good, decent people
By adamg on Thu, 08/28/2008 - 9:12am
Maybe Kevin Cullen has finally returned from his extended summer vacation and is going to start writing thoughtful columns about life in Boston, like today's column on putting a year's worth of woes for Boston firefighters in perspective. One can hope, anyway.
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Bad at math
In his latest masterpiece of investigative journalism, Kevin Cullen rises to the defense of the embattled firefighters of Boston. "Most of them, the vast majority of them, are a pretty idealistic bunch," he writes. "...They take their role as public servants seriously....let's keep some perspective here: There are 1,555 firefighters in this city. How many do you think are corrupt?"
Well, gosh, Kevin, that's an excellent question. If they weren't destroying public records, and if they would simply consent to drug testing, we might be able to answer it accurately. But let's take a stab at it anyway, shall we?
For the past several years, about half of our chiefs have taken injured-leave pay for at least part of the year. But since the lists only partially overlap, over the course of several years, the total number of chiefs involved is even higher. Some of those injuries are certainly genuine, but unless there's something very different about Boston than every other major city, most are not. So we're left with the inescapable conclusion that most of the supervisors in the department are either unusually injury-prone, or frauds.
Then there are the pensions. Since 2001, there have been 102 disability pensions granted to those filling in above-grade since 2001. It turns out that it's much more dangerous to sit behind a desk of someone senior in grade in this department than it is to enter a burning building. Almost all of those claims are probably fraudulent - either injuries incurred at the ordinary pay-grade that weren't reported until filling in, or injuries that were entirely faked. There's some overlap, but over just the past three years, there were 123 accidental disability pensions. That's more than twice the national rate - so roughly 60 of those claims were probably fraudulent. In all, it seems we're talking about well over a hundred fraudulent pensions, probably close to 150. The equivalent, in other words, of 10% of the payroll. Now Kevin, is that really just a few bad apples?
But what about the other 90%? Well, that's just the pensions. In an average week, some 200 firefighters are out on tax-free injury leave. Some go on to file for pensions; many return to work. But since the rate and the length of the injury leaves are also much higher than national averages, we're talking about hundreds more firefighters who would seem to be, charitably, taking advantage of a generous system.
But that still may not add up to a majority. What about the rest? The good Irish fellas that Kevin hangs out with at the pub? (And let's be blunt - the department is an Irish boys club, unrelentingly hostile to women and minorities, lagging far behind those of other cities.) Well, at the very least, the others turned a blind eye to claims they knew were false. It may be tough to blame them for that sort of loyalty. But the rot goes deeper than that. Since injuries require witnesses, many of the firefighters who stayed on the job swore falsely that they'd seen injuries they hadn't. Without their active cooperation, the worst of the scammers never could have succeeded.
I don't disagree with Kevin that these guys are heroes. I could never do what they do, day in and day out. But the sad truth is that there's no contradiction between performing your duty selflessly and at great personal risk, and breaking the law - the Roxbury tragedy a year ago ought to have driven that home. There's no reason a firefighter can't perform heroically for decades, and then decide to defraud the taxpayers and retire on a disability pension to which he feels entitled, even though he's not. And if Kevin had bothered to review the evidence (or performed some simple arithmetic) before rising to the defense of his pals, he might have noticed that the department is actually chock full of cases of fraud - and full of everyday heroes. More often than not, they're the same guys. I honor their sacrifice, praise their service, and deplore their willingness to line their pockets at the taxpayers' expense. I really don't see the contradiction there. I'm not sure why Kevin does.
More Math
A typical US firefighter retires at 55 and dies at 65.
That isn't a lot of legitimate pension checks to collect.
There needs to be more accountability in the pension system, and the disability system needs to be more flexible for those who might eventually be able to return to work. However, there does need to be more attention paid to the stresses of the job - physical and psychological - that are leading to early death and disability, and likely contribute to the kinds of drug abuse that are surfacing. Denial and moralizing won't solve these problem. Accountability and appropriate options for prevention, treatment and assessment of injury and illness and drug abuse will.
Fair enough, although I
Fair enough, although I wouldn't characterize the condemnation of fraud as 'moralizing.'
If pay or benefits for firefighters are inadequate, the solution is to increase them through the collective bargaining process, not to claim them through fraud. If stress, injuries, and job-related hazards are shortening life-spans, then those things need to be addressed proactively. (I would think, frankly, that changing the booze-soaked culture of the department would be a very good place to start. And yes, counseling and treatment are at least as important as testing in that regard.)
But there's a regrettable tendency here to blame the system. It's almost as if the defenders of the department are arguing that the opportunities were just too irresistible - how can we fault the firefighters for defrauding us when we made it so easy?
Yes, there "needs to be more accountability in the pension system." Yes, "the disability system needs to be more flexible." But where, SwirlyGrrl, is your concern for personal accountability and honesty? I blame Menino for failing to fix the system. But not every broken system leads to this sort of wholesale and widespread abuse. That takes a broken culture.
The "Game the System" Culture
Massachusetts has a culture where "gaming the system" is valued, and it seems to be considered a perk in public service, rather than a problem. If everyone around you is doing it, that's okay, right? There is a general cultural attitude in these parts of "you can't make me" and "look what I got away with". Look at how people drive and how they get all entitled and angry if they are behind somebody who is stopping at yellow lights and crosswalks and not speeding. Why would firefighters be any different?
Believe me, I'm one of the last people to think that this sort of thing is okay. My dad was a civil servant for nearly 40 years and his attitude and his coworkers' attitudes were very different. Then again, the general culture was much more one of "following the rules is my civic duty" rather than "following the rules is for children and chumps".
for the record, there are two of us
not that I disagree with much of the post but we're making this way too complicated. Best practices benchmarking with other states/cities could go a long way. (I'm still waiting for a plausible reason why 49 other states have been able to get along without mandatory cops at construction sites, for example). Start withholding Federal Homeland Security $$ for those cities that piss it away with stunts like magical above-grade injuries, while charging people with mail fraud.Bogus pensions don't reward good guys, it trivializes their contributions.
JEEBUS H FRIGGIN...
OK, I was going to scrape and prime the front porch, but decided to go online...so here goes.
Jeebus H Christ what an asshat poster is.
First of all, I guess from esteemed poster (cynic) that the BFD is all Irish drunks. "The good Irish fellas that Kevin hangs out with at the pub? (And let's be blunt - the department is an Irish boys club, unrelentingly hostile to women and minorities, lagging far behind those of other cities.)"
Give me a friggin break (please don't tell me I can swear here or you will get an earful.)
Of all the issues that has befallen the BFD in the past year, has the issue of sexism been raised? I don't recall it. Has the issue of racism been raised? I dont recall it. Is Kevin Cullen an Irish drunk? This is stated by poster. Maybe Cullen should consider a libel lawsuit.
He cites the "half of our chiefs" article:
boston.com...disability_backlog_costs_city/?page=2
Fire Dept. disability backlog costs city - The Boston Globe, which goes on to state (from the article) , "One of the district chiefs, Fraser said, asserted that he had hurt his back while moving a filing cabinet at Fire Department headquarters."
This story seems to have evolved, in the Globe, into something like "picked up a file". So, did he pick up a file, or move a cabinet? Inquiring minds want to know.
Next point, "If they weren't destroying public records,". Well. Interesting. The Globe claims there is an "investigation in the investigation" about missing files. Then the cited article states, "But if thwarting the federal investigation of disability claims was the motive behind the files' disappearance, the officials added, it was a futile attempt; copies of all the files subpoenaed by federal authorities had already been made and turned over to the FBI."
So, give me a break. It is common knowledge that the files were copied. Out of 1755 files (I think I read that in the Globe), three are missing. But not really missing, we have copies. Just what the hell is the true story here? More importantly, if the FBI isn't giving the Globe the info (and they probably aren't) who the hell is?
Next issue: "But what about the other 90%? Well, that's just the pensions. In an average week, some 200 firefighters are out on tax-free injury leave." Yup, it happens. Most injuries are short term, we get kicked about then get back to work. I question your figure of 200, but that's beside the point. Tax free injury leave is workmen's compensation. ALL employees of ALL companies get that. Workmen's compensation is unearned income (compensation, hence tax free) paid to a worker that is injured on the job. Um, reporters that work for an employer get it too.
"I don't disagree with Kevin that these guys are heroes. I could never do what they do, day in and day out. But the sad truth is that there's no contradiction between performing your duty selflessly and at great personal risk, and breaking the law - the Roxbury tragedy a year ago ought to have driven that home. There's no reason a firefighter can't perform heroically for decades, and then decide to defraud the taxpayers and retire on a disability pension to which he feels entitled, even though he's not."
The Centre St firehouse appreciation cookout for the community scheduled for Friday was cancelled by the FD brass. Too bad, the guys put a lot into it, both money and time wise.
You can draw your own conclusions why the brass canceled it, but I think they were under orders.
"breaking the law - the Roxbury tragedy a year ago ought to"
Um, not a Roxbury tragedy, a West Roxbury tragedy. Any local would know that.
Your rant is just a hired hit piece. You, sir are nothing more than a hired gun. Probably got paid to write and post it.
D
Missing files - pretty simple, really
The real files that belong in the file cabinet are missing. Someone had made copies of the files for their own use, hence "copies". But, the original file folder is missing. Not that complicated, really.
"Most firefighters are good, decent people":
I know I'm late in responding, but while this:
may very well be true, unfortunately, the bad apples don't have to be in the majority to present a problem. Often enough, a minority of bad apples is all it takes to taint the whole barrel, if one gets the drift.