Rising through the ranks

Job promotions based on seniority

Years on the job, not performance, key to advancement

By Melvin Claxton and Charles Hurt / The Detroit News

    When on duty, 59-year-old Andrew Angelucci oversees the daily operations of the Detroit Fire Department’s firefighting division.
    He makes decisions on where to deploy manpower, takes care of emergencies at firehouses and decides which companies stay open when there are not enough firefighters to staff them all.
    But Angelucci, who shares the job with less senior chiefs who fill in when he is off, didn’t apply for the position or take a test to get it. His superiors didn’t even have to recommend him.
    He became senior battalion chief in May because he was the firefighter on the job the longest — 39 years. His years of service was the only criteria for the $70,400 position.
    In Detroit, all 30 battalion chiefs, 66 captains, 140 lieutenants and 140 sergeants got their positions based on seniority.
    It is a policy fiercely defended by the firefighters’ union, but one that Fire Commissioner Charles Wilson and some top city officials blame for much of fire department’s ills.
    “This is the only organization I know in modern history that is purely a strict seniority,” said Wilson. “I don’t see how you can run a major organization and tie your total confidence on how many fires you responded to and ran in to.
    “It would be the same thing as me telling you I qualify to be chief of police because I survived 25 or 30 gun battles or made 1,000 traffic stops. I find that appalling.”
    The policy, he said, has allowed people to be promoted without proven skills.
    But firefighters say seniority is a critical element in preventing the cronyism and politically driven appointments they claim plague other city agencies, including the police.
    And they argue that those who last long enough in the department to be promoted on seniority — it takes an average of 16 years to become an officer — have acquired all the on-the-job experience needed.
    “In a dangerous field like firefighting, you need at least 12 years experience before you can lead others,” said Tom Stoll, retired chief of the Fire Department who is a strong defender of the seniority system.
    “The experience of crawling through fires and handling every possible situation is something you don’t get in books.”

Contact the reporters at churt@detnews.com and mclaxton@detnews.com.