CA Firefighters Investigated over Inappropriate Card

The Alameda County Fire Department is investigating a group of firefighters who sent a Lunar New Year card in which they wore bamboo hats and appeared to act out racial stereotypes.

Appropriate action will be taken after the investigation is concluded, said Richard Valle, president of the Alameda County Board of Supervisors.

“The Lunar New Year card created by Alameda County Firefighters was unacceptable, and we are disappointed,” Valle said in a statement. “We pride ourselves in the diversity of our County, we are all created equally and as such, all of our communities deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.”

The card was offensive because firefighters wore ethnic Asian clothing and depicted them as being too short to reach a fire ladder, said Carl Chan, vice president of the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce.

“They are saying we are not capable, that Asians are not capable of doing this job,” he said. “When I first looked at (the card), I did not think it was true. When I looked at it, I felt very sad. I would not expect this to be happening in our county, which is so diverse.”

Alameda County Fire Department Chief David Rocha said the card is “inconsistent with our values and the respect we demand our employees demonstrate toward the communities we serve.”

The card was made by Fire Station 22 firefighters and was not a fire-department-sanctioned card, said Aisha Knowles, a spokeswoman for the fire department.

Chan was first alerted to the card by a reporter several weeks ago. He said Rocha told him that the card was sent to other fire stations within the county and not to the public. Chan did not know when it was sent.

The Lunar New Year, or Chinese New Year, was on Feb. 5 this year.

Oakland Council member Nikki Fortunato Bas condemned the fire department’s depiction of Asian Americans and called on the county to take action.

“The racially offensive card from the Alameda County Fire Station shows that the County has hard work before it to create a work environment and workforce that is centered around equity, fairness and respect,” she said in a statement. “We called on the County to fully investigate and take action.”

Chan said he’s met with Rocha several times since this incident and has expressed to him that the department needs to do more than just investigate the incident.

“Should they do an assessment on the hiring practices?” Chan said. “How do they handle these types of complaints? We don’t want this to happen again to the Asian community and all communities. So I think education and training is absolutely necessary.”

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