ST. LOUIS – St. Louis Fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson warned a federal judge last year that the political battle over firefighter promotions could knock his department out of safety standards.
And the latest move by City Hall may have done just that.
Many firefighters have been stripped of the titles awarded to them by the chief, including two women who were featured in a report for female accomplishments last year.
In March 2023, promotional testing prevented the women from receiving a pay that matched their hard-earned promotion to ‘acting’ captains.
Now, they’ve been stripped of that title and are among around 20 other individuals who have been sent back to their original positions.
Jenkerson said there is no disputing they’ve earned the promotions, as he told a federal judge in April 2023 that they passed the test and have what it takes.
At the center of this controversy is a decade-old battle over whether the promotional test is fair. A new promotional test started this past fall but failed to be completed due to a shortage of expert assessors to tally a firefighter’s final score.
The Department of Public Safety hasn’t answered when the testing will resume. The stripped promotions of those who originally passed the previous test come from a reported City Hall directive.
The promotion of the two women firefighters would have tripled the number of women supervisors within the fire department if it weren’t for the reversed decision.
The consequences could mean the St. Louis Fire Department no longer meets National Fire Protection Standards. Chief Jenkerson warned in his federal testimony last April that without the latest promotions, his department would not meet the standard of one supervisor per fire truck.
The Department of Public Safety will not be commenting on the subject, citing the long-standing litigation.
