Author Archives: Charles E. Snyder III

Charles E. Snyder III is a thirty-two year veteran of the fire service who currently on hiatus, having served in many positions as a firefighter, chauffeur, instructor and chief officer. He is also a Pro-Board Certification Evaluator for the state of Pennsylvania, a published author, a public speaker and recently completed the FEMA-EMI Professional Development Series. Mr. Snyder is currently working towards a Bachelor’s degree in Fire & Emergency Management. For more about Mr. Snyder, visit his website, www.CharlesESnyderIII.com

Community, Diversity and Your Department

But just as I was surprised by the positive feedback, I was also taken aback by some of the not-so-positive comments that I received. It would seem that some equate diversity as a means for giving someone a “free ride” or even reverse discrimination. The most common view was that it was simply a political ploy to appease the masses while discarding or at least skewing job requirements in favor of someone else simply because they were female or of a different ethnicity.

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Fire Porn and Fire Service Public Image

Picture if you will the L. A. Police Department posting images and videos of the Rodney King incident. Or maybe imagine FEMA sporting "EMA porn" taken during Katrina in New Orleans on their website. Now imagine the public outcry that would occur if say LAPD made a music video out of the Rodney King beating with the soundtrack of Pat Benatar singing Hit me with your best shot or FEMA posting a video of the Katrina disaster images to the soundtrack of Scorpions singing Rock you like a hurricane. Two very extreme examples I admit, but just as questionable. In both cases, someone would end up with an express ticket to the unemployment line.

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