Stirrings at the L.A. Fire Dept.

Is it possible there’s a fresh breeze moving through Los Angeles Fire Department headquarters these days? Well, maybe.

Last week’s developments most certainly didn’t clear the air around the department. A new report--one with a strong same-as-it-ever-was flavor--says that women and minorities still feel isolated and locked out of top posts. It also says that the department’s internal complaint-reporting process is, in effect, a joke.

According to the anecdotal study, most men in the department, with the exception of African Americans, are skeptical of the validity of bias and sexual harassment charges. Also, women and some minority members were said to feel that they are labeled as unqualified and have jobs only because of affirmative action. And, finally, the report recommended changes that have been called for again and again over the years.

So where’s the fresh air? Well, it was Fire Chief William Bamattre who actually commissioned the independent study on harassment and discrimination within the department.

Bamattre’s unlamented predecessor, Donald O. Manning, didn’t just deny the veracity of a city personnel study that found many of the same problems back in 1994; he was in charge when an internal investigation subsequently, and unabashedly, found no merit whatsoever in charges of bias and sexism. Later, Manning was forced to admit that the internal investigation had been, well, a joke.

And there’s another marked difference that bears watching. Bamattre seems to have embraced the latest report, acknowledging to reporters that it reflects a department where little has changed despite the harsh spotlight on racism and sexism. Bamattre told reporters that he views the report as a tool for change that “identified the illness. This is a prescription for a cure.”

That’s fine, as far as it goes. But it also shows how far the Fire Department hasn’t come.