Oregon's Latino Firefighters Raise Safety Concerns

SHERIDAN, Ore., July 13, 2006 — -- This tiny town is called Timbertown USA for good reason. Trucks carrying logs and plywood rumble through constantly, and clear-cut patches of land on the mountains above offer evidence of Oregon's bustling forestry industry.

With all the hauled wood and open timber, it comes as no surprise that Oregon is also home to a large number of private firefighting firms. And many firefighters working in these private firms are undocumented Latinos, a fact that has raised legal and safety concerns from federal auditors. Now the state of Oregon is working to fix the problem.

Since the government began cutting back funding for firefighting responsibilities, private contractors have charged in to fill the gap. Seventy-five percent of contract firefighting crews in the United States now come from the Pacific Northwest, and most of them are Latino.

"What we know is that 85 percent of the crew makeup is of Hispanic descent," said Jim Walker of Oregon's Department of Forestry.

Inexpensive, Undocumented Workers

Most of the firefighters earn between $10 and $15 an hour -- that's cheaper than government employees. But according to contractors, at least one-tenth of them are undocumented workers. That poses a dilemma to the contracting companies charged with putting out wild land fires.

"It's no way I can tell if they're legal," said contractor Manuel Franco who manages 200 Latino firefighters.

Franco said he's only required to look at Social Security cards or green card work permits.

"I mean, they show me the papers, and they say 'yes,' and that's the way I believe," he adds.

When pressed on whether he believes some of his workers are here illegally, Franco shrugs and says, "I don't know, I don't know."

What would happen if tough new legislation cracked down on the undocumented workers? It depends on whom you talk to about it. Bill Lafferty, director of the Oregon Fire Program, said he believed the state could find enough "legal" crews.

"I think so. I mean we're looking for 200 fully documented crews, and so far we got 162 this summer, so I'm not worried," he said.

Tom Laugle, who is in charge of a language assessment program at nearby Clackamas Community College, said local residents are unlikely to care about the legality of workers as long as their property is protected.

"When million-dollar homes are being threatened, I doubt those people [owners] care who is fighting the fire," he said.

Weighing Legal Status and Safety Concerns

This spring, a federal audit sharply criticized the Forest Service for "chronic mismanagement" of Latino crews. The report said there was "no assurance that the firefighters were properly qualified and trained, or even if they are in the U.S. legally."

Safety concerns were high on the list of problems identified by the inspector general for the United States Forest Service.

Using immigrant firefighters raises the important issue of language and communication. Understanding orders and warnings can be crucial on the fire line, and basic communication has sometimes been a problem.

"We've had safety concerns, and we've heard it from across the nation when crews were utilized," said Lafferty.

The state of Oregon, which hires the contract crews, is trying to change that.

Classes for Language, Safety Skills

At Clackamas Community College, near Portland, instructors who speak English and Spanish now test crew and squad chiefs to make sure they understand both languages.

"They need to communicate with supervisors in English and then issue orders in Spanish to firefighters, no matter what their first language," said instructor Guadalupe Martinez.

As part of the program, crew boss Isauro Torres was given five simulated tasks. He orders a hoseand pumps in English and issues safety warnings in Spanish. He passes with flying colors.

"He did very well. He's pretty much bilingual," said instructor Joe Crawford. "Excellente -- fabulous!" said Martinez.

But Alejandro Rodriguez does not fare as well. When issued commands in English, he seemed to understand but has difficulty translating the information into Spanish. Long pauses and incomplete sentences doom his fate. But he will be given remedial instruction in hopes of eventual certification.

"Is there some cleanup work that needs to be done?" asked Laugle. "Yes. Are the agencies working hard to clean it up? Very definitely."

In addition, bilingual firefighting courses are being taught, and a pocket guide is being translated into Spanish. Still, Latino firefighters are encouraged to visit nearby Prineville, Ore., where a monument memorializes 14 firefighters who were killed in Colorado's Storm King fire a few years back. In part, their deaths were due to a breakdown in communication.