LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles County fire chief said he will overhaul the agency’s hiring procedures in response to an investigation that found a large percentage of firefighters given jobs have family ties to the department.
The Times reported that Chief Daryl Osby said the reforms were needed to protect the agency’s “core values” and guard against nepotism and cheating in hiring. The changes will include a new written test for firefighter applicants and a bigger role for outsiders in the evaluation of candidates, according to the report.
“Everybody who applies to become a county firefighter will get an equal and fair shake,” he said. “We’re going to revamp our process.”
The investigation found that at least 183 sons of current or former firefighters have served on the force since the start of 2012.
When brothers, nephews and other relatives are included, at least 370 firefighters — 13 percent of the department ranks — are related to someone now or previously on the force, according to the report.
The investigation also found evidence that insiders have tried to manipulate hiring.
“It’s very disheartening and disappointing,” Osby said. “It’s intolerable too.”
At Osby’s request, investigators are reviewing five years of department emails to identify any employees who passed interview questions or answers on to relatives or other people applying for firefighter positions, according to the report.
The probe will take about 90 days to complete.
Chief Osby said anyone found to have been cheating will be “dealt with appropriately,” no matter how high the person ranks. He declined to specify punishments.
As part of the anti-nepotism policy, his staff is drafting new testing and interviewing protocols to ensure relatives of applicants “are not influencing the outcome,” according to the report.
The written test will no longer be a pass-fail exam. A portion of it will be competitively scored and the grading will be done outside the department.
Osby said he expected the changes to be in place by year’s end or early 2015. No more hiring will occur under the current system.
“We’re going to have a process that is as objective as it possibly could be,” he said. “We may not be perfect. But any compromise in the core values of our department will not be tolerated. Especially the integrity of this organization.”