Portland firefighters ordered to remove flags
03/25/03
STEVE SUO
Portland Fire Bureau officials Monday ordered U.S. flags removed from downtown fire engines, concerned that their presence might provoke dangerous confrontations with antiwar demonstrators
"This policy will continue until we no longer have sustained close contact interaction with protesters and demonstrators," Deputy Chief Gary Warrington wrote in a memo to the city's three downtown companies.
"Protesters have threatened our personnel and are burning flags in the street," the memo said. "We do not want extremists attacking our apparatus or our personnel."
The order immediately proved incendiary with firefighters, who angrily complained.
"Taking the flag down hits a lot of nerves with a lot of people," said Tom Chamberlain, president of the Portland Firefighters Association. "It's part of our uniform. There's a lot of pride that goes with being a firefighter."
Chamberlain said union officials would seek compromise guidelines that would protect firefighters while allowing them to display the flag under some circumstances.
The flag first became a major hot button in the bureau after the Sept. 11 attacks, which killed hundreds in the New York Fire Department.
Like many civilians, members of Portland fire companies spontaneously began flying the flag from rearview mirrors and other parts of their trucks. But some firefighters, sensitive to protocol, thought that particular presentation of the nation's colors was improper and irreverent. Top bureau officials, including Warrington, debated the issue, researched etiquette and issued a policy explicitly allowing flags on trucks.
But Thursday, fire crews were on hand for a downtown sit-in that featured several flag burnings. Warrington said he decided to issue the new policy Monday after talking to some of the crews working that night.
Quickly, the phone calls began. One civilian questioned his patriotism. That hurt, Warrington said.
"My position is not, 'We should bow to those people, we should be worried about them, we should let them win,' " Warrington said. "That is not it at all."
"I absolutely want to stand up and support the flag," he said. "All I was trying to do was keep our members from being put in harm's way."
Peace activists were no happier with the decision than firefighters.
"There are many people who oppose this war who are classic patriots who revere the flag as a symbol of freedom and democracy," said Will Seaman of the Portland Peaceful Response Coalition.
Seaman said he wondered whether the bureau's real intention was to foster, rather than defuse, tension between firefighters and marchers.
By the end of the day, the firefighters' anger had tempered somewhat.
Chamberlain, the union president, said he respected Warrington's intent and said some crews working at last week's protest told him, "Things could have turned ugly." In fact, a fire commander on the scene ordered flags removed that night.
03/25/03
STEVE SUO
Portland Fire Bureau officials Monday ordered U.S. flags removed from downtown fire engines, concerned that their presence might provoke dangerous confrontations with antiwar demonstrators
"This policy will continue until we no longer have sustained close contact interaction with protesters and demonstrators," Deputy Chief Gary Warrington wrote in a memo to the city's three downtown companies.
"Protesters have threatened our personnel and are burning flags in the street," the memo said. "We do not want extremists attacking our apparatus or our personnel."
The order immediately proved incendiary with firefighters, who angrily complained.
"Taking the flag down hits a lot of nerves with a lot of people," said Tom Chamberlain, president of the Portland Firefighters Association. "It's part of our uniform. There's a lot of pride that goes with being a firefighter."
Chamberlain said union officials would seek compromise guidelines that would protect firefighters while allowing them to display the flag under some circumstances.
The flag first became a major hot button in the bureau after the Sept. 11 attacks, which killed hundreds in the New York Fire Department.
Like many civilians, members of Portland fire companies spontaneously began flying the flag from rearview mirrors and other parts of their trucks. But some firefighters, sensitive to protocol, thought that particular presentation of the nation's colors was improper and irreverent. Top bureau officials, including Warrington, debated the issue, researched etiquette and issued a policy explicitly allowing flags on trucks.
But Thursday, fire crews were on hand for a downtown sit-in that featured several flag burnings. Warrington said he decided to issue the new policy Monday after talking to some of the crews working that night.
Quickly, the phone calls began. One civilian questioned his patriotism. That hurt, Warrington said.
"My position is not, 'We should bow to those people, we should be worried about them, we should let them win,' " Warrington said. "That is not it at all."
"I absolutely want to stand up and support the flag," he said. "All I was trying to do was keep our members from being put in harm's way."
Peace activists were no happier with the decision than firefighters.
"There are many people who oppose this war who are classic patriots who revere the flag as a symbol of freedom and democracy," said Will Seaman of the Portland Peaceful Response Coalition.
Seaman said he wondered whether the bureau's real intention was to foster, rather than defuse, tension between firefighters and marchers.
By the end of the day, the firefighters' anger had tempered somewhat.
Chamberlain, the union president, said he respected Warrington's intent and said some crews working at last week's protest told him, "Things could have turned ugly." In fact, a fire commander on the scene ordered flags removed that night.
