BWI fire dept.’s hiring process questioned amid firing

Interim chief fired; Lawyer thinks it’s over decade-old discrimination lawsuit 

LINTHICUM, Md. —The fire company charged with responding to emergencies at BWI International Thurgood Marshall Airport is facing accusations of unfair employment practices after the department's first black chief was fired.

Nearly 90 men and women are trained to respond in case of an emergency at the airport, but questions are now surfacing about whether the selection process for those rescue workers is fair.

Gregory Lawrence was named acting chief of BWI's Fire and Rescue Department in November. Lawrence interviewed to get the permanent position, but instead of getting passed over, he got fired, according to his lawyer, Allan Legum.

Legum said last week that Lawrence was forced to leave the department without explanation. He said he believes it stems from a discrimination lawsuit Lawrence filed against the department when he initially applied for a job more than a decade ago.

“Chief Lawrence had to file suit in 2001 because he was denied the position as deputy fire chief. After six years of litigation, the case was finally resolved and he was appointed as deputy chief. After that, he's had problems at the department, including racial issues,” Legum said.

Jonathan Dean, a spokesman for the Maryland Aviation Administration, declined to give a reason for Lawrence's termination, telling 11 News, "As with any employee action, the MAA follows applicable rules, regulations and policies. He has been advised of his appeal rights. As this is a personnel case, I won't offer further comments."

Dean added that the 89-person department is 13 percent black and that minorities and women make up 26 percent of the membership.

The department's new chief, Victor Ferreira Jr., is Hispanic, but some still question whether the department is doing enough to include blacks. The NAACP and others expressed concerns over the recent hiring of all white men to fill nine airport firefighter vacancies.

“We think it's really a slap in the face to the residents served coming in and out of this wonderfully named airport, Thurgood Marshall,” said Nathan Queen of the International Association of Black Professional Firefighters.

Dean declined to specify how many minorities applied for the positions, but he said only 25 applicants out of 210 had the experience necessary to join the force.

The Maryland Aviation Administration emphasized that due to its small size, it does not recruit on the same scale as county or city fire departments but said it actively works to boost opportunities for minority candidates.

Lawrence is appealing his termination to the state office of administrative hearings. His lawyer said they are also considering filing a civil lawsuit.