5,000 White Males Barred From Taking L.A. Firefighters Exam : Hiring: City is limiting applicants because of federal consent decree signed in 1974 to increase the number of minorities in the Fire Department.

More than 5,000 white applicants for firefighters jobs will not be permitted to take today’s exam to join the Los Angeles Fire Department because of a federal consent decree aimed at increasing minority representation on the force, city officials said.

About 8,000 people are expected to flock to Fairfax High School to take the Civil Service test, the first one offered in four years.

Those who have been blocked, predominantly white men, are criticizing the process as being unfair. They have been threatening lawsuits, calling City Council members for aid, and planning to picket outside the test site.

“My son has 2,500 volunteer hours with the Fire Department,” said Nicole Minitello of Woodland Hills, whose 20-year-old son, Frank, will not be permitted to take the test.

“He works for an ambulance company and is a certified (emergency medical technician). He wants to become a firefighter so badly but he can’t. He’s the wrong race.”

City officials say their hands are tied by a 1974 agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice that mandates that half of those hired be black, Latino or Asian American to compensate for historical inequities in hiring.

The decree was amended in 1981 to allow officials to limit the percentage of white applicants in order to achieve the 50% minority figure.

Because city budget problems resulted in a long delay in hiring, there is a large number of applicants. Among whites men, only those who applied for the test before the middle of 1989 are eligible--while all minority applicants who applied before today’s test date will be admitted to the exam, according to Faye Washington, the city’s general manager for personnel.

“We agree that it is unfortunate that (some talented) candidates . . . are not able to take the firefighter exam each time it is given,” Washington said in a memo. “However, the city is obligated to follow the dictates of the consent decree it approved and signed.”

Whites who are not eligible for today’s test will be put on the list for the next test, although that could be years away.

Whites make up about 63% of the estimated 3,000 city firefighters, down from about 96% in 1975. Whites make up about 45% of the city’s overall work force.

The consent decree does not apply to women, who are also underrepresented on the force. There is a separate but equally controversial effort to boost the hiring of women, including a special paid exercise program designed to assist female applicants with the physical abilities test.

The firefighters’ union, United Firefighters Local 112, has received more than 50 calls from white male applicants seeking the union’s assistance, officials said, adding that they could offer little help.

“The union doesn’t have any standing on this,” union President Ken Buzzell said. “These applicants are not city employees. We can be sympathetic but that’s about all.”