Language gap at front lines of fires sparks safety debate

[Harold F. Schiffman]

>>From the Philadelphia Enquirer, Posted on Tue, Aug. 26, 2003

Language gap at front lines of fires sparks safety debate

By Peter Prengaman
Associated Press

SALEM, Ore. - As they fought a raging wildfire last year in southern
Oregon, members of a fire crew got word that the blaze was approaching
rapidly and that all workers needed to evacuate. They yelled the
directions to a Hispanic crew digging a fire line, but none of them
understood English. They stood, confused. Members of the English-speaking
crew ran toward the workers, waving their arms in an effort to
communicate. Eventually, someone who could translate was found and no one
was hurt.

"That's a dangerous situation," said Ed Daniels, training manager for the
Oregon Department of Forestry, who investigated the account. "Knock on
wood that no one has died" because of language barriers. The case
illustrates a growing barrier on the front lines of wildfires as more
Hispanic migrant workers rush to firefighting jobs around the West. In
Oregon and Washington, contractors who employ the majority of crews
fighting forest fires in the Northwest estimate that Hispanics make up
more than 60 percent of their crews. Many of those workers cannot speak or
understand English.

The prevalence of Spanish spoken on fire lines has prompted a safety
debate among contractors. Despite the influx of Hispanics, the Pacific
Northwest Wildfire Coordination Group, which oversees national contract
crews, has strengthened language requirements to ensure that more
firefighters speak English. On a 20-person crew, the boss and three
assistants must speak English fluently. All fire communication on the
radio must be in English. And firefighting officials are making greater
efforts to ensure that those hired on crews meet the minimum English
requirements.

Some contractors say they prefer to hire Hispanics - regardless of
language barriers. "They know how to work. They know how to use tools.
Most of them are looking for a halfway good-paying job, and firefighting
does pay a decent wage," said Jack Neuman, executive director of an
association of contracting groups that work out of Washington, Oregon and
Idaho. He said 98 percent of the firefighters in the association were
Hispanic.

Budget problems and shifting demographics also are pushing more
non-English-speaking Hispanics on to fire lines. In the 1980s, the federal
government reduced money for forestry programs, including pay for career
firefighters. Government agencies then turned to contractors, which
provided the service at lower cost. In the 1990s, thousands of Hispanics,
mostly migrant farmers, moved to the Northwest, many settling in Oregon's
fertile Willamette Valley. They are now the largest minority group in
Oregon and Washington state.

Huge fires in the West over the last few years have boosted demand for
fire crews. In 2001, the Pacific Northwest Wildfire Coordination Group
contracted 106 crews. This year, it has hired more than 300 crews, with 20
members each. Many employers refuse to hire firefighters who do not speak
English, arguing that language barriers create avoidable dangers. "Fires
are spoken in English," said Rick Dice, president of the National Wildfire
Suppression Association, which comprises 125 contracting members in
Western states.

Dice said the lack of English was usually synonymous with little
experience on fires. Emilio Coria, 29, who has fought fires for eight
years and speaks fluent English, said most Hispanic firefighters were
farmworkers who did not speak much English and did not have much
experience dousing flames. But, he said, with their background in the
fields, they are used to working hard outside.

For competitive reasons, contractors won't say how much they pay their
firefighters. They are, however, required to at least pay the minimum wage
in the state where they are based. Those willing to work up to 14 straight
12-hour days, tolerate sweltering temperatures, and risk injury can earn
much more during a busy fire season than by working on farms.

At Oregon's minimum hourly wage of $6.90, plus overtime, firefighters can
earn more than $5,000 for two months of work. Food and lodging are
provided. That compares with earning roughly $1,200 a month working in the
fields. The pay attracted Vicente Ramirez, 58, a first-year firefighter
from Mexico. After years of picking grapes in California and apples in
Washington state, Ramirez, who does not speak English, said he wanted to
make more money.

"There isn't another job that pays like this," he said. The Oregon
Department of Forestry, which oversees fire contractors for Oregon and
Washington, this year has sent home six crews before they even started
working because they did not meet the English requirements. But with
raging wildfires, insufficient state funds, and a steady stream of migrant
workers, the trend toward hiring Hispanic crews is unlikely to reverse.