The Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority is making good on its threat to get rid of fire and rescue workers and police officers who flunk physical fitness tests.
Police Lt. Billie C. Rose, a platoon commander with 19 years at RDU, was fired in March because she couldn't do enough push-ups and was too slow on a 300-meter (328 yards) run.
Officer John Benanti, a 12-year veteran who trained RDU police recruits, met the standards for push-ups and a 1.5-mile run. But Benanti struggled with his weight for a long time, he said, and never hit the mark for sit-ups and the run. He is one of two who quit before he could be fired.
"I understand that police officers do need to be fit," said Benanti, 39, of Angier. "But to lose a job - to be terminated or forced to resign because of that, after years and years of service - I don't think that was the correct way to go about it."
Police officials, fitness trainers and RDU administrators say they don't know of another agency that has fired an experienced officer or fire-and-rescue squad member because of a poor fitness score.
"A lot of departments talk about doing it," said Glenn R. Jones, Charlotte's police and fire fitness coordinator. "But when push comes to shove, it's unusual to see somebody follow through with firing somebody."
Emergency response agencies all have similar standards for recruits - but they have different ideas about keeping workers in shape.
Like other employers trying to curb health costs, RDU has stepped up its emphasis on employee wellness. Fitness testing for police, fire and rescue workers started in 1996. Those employees were told in 2007 that merit raises would be postponed for those who could not meet an evolving standard.
In 2008, they were told they could be fired. That year, 11 police employees and 10 fire-rescue workers failed the test several times. Rose was one of them, and she says the pressure was intense.
"It wore my nerves out because I was struggling with it," said Rose, 45, of Lillington.
Some are exempt
Donna E. Waters, RDU chief since 1999, was among the officers who faced a high-stakes retest in 2008. In a News & Observer interview at the time, she spoke candidly about the challenge, and cheerfully about her determination to pass the test.
Later, RDU administrators decided to exempt Waters from the test requirement because she's strictly an administrator, not a front-line officer. Two other administrators - the assistant police chief and the emergency services chief, Jimmy Thompson - were excused for the same reason: Waters and Thompson could not be reached for comment.
RDU adopted a battery of four tests designed by the Dallas-based Cooper Institute. Cooper says its tests have been validated by law enforcement agencies across the country as good measures of key job requirements.
"I may need to get from one point to another point very quickly," said Cleon Umphrey Jr., RDU administration director. "I may go into a hostile situation or an engulfed aircraft. Do I have the endurance, do I have the strength to carry out those types of efforts?"
RDU administrators set passing standards relatively low when they decided they would fire emergency responders who flunked.
Cooper compiles scores for 180 agencies that use the four tests, which measure strength, stamina and speed. RDU requires police, fire and rescue workers to equal the scores turned in by the bottom 20 percent of their colleagues nationally.
Where Cooper recommended 25 to 34 push-ups and 30 to 38 sit-ups, RDU required only 12 push-ups and 22 sit-ups. RDU's minimum running times are 77 seconds for 300 meters (328 yards) and 16 minutes 31 seconds for 1.5 miles.
"Our thinking was, let's not set those standards so lofty as to where our current work force couldn't attain them," said James Witherspoon Jr., RDU safety officer.
On-the-job training
RDU encourages - and sometimes requires - fire and police employees to exercise during their paid working hours. The airport authority provides workout rooms, dietary and wellness experts and personal trainers.
The affected employees - about 48 in all - must pass each of the four tests every year. Each worker gets four chances during the year.
Witherspoon and Umphrey said the tests and workouts have strengthened morale.
But a couple of employees, one on medical leave, are in jeopardy of losing their jobs unless they pass the next time.
Passing rates have improved, with Rose the only one of about 30 to take the test and fail in March.
"It's humiliating," said Rose, whose scores had improved over the past two years. "It's not fair to measure a person's overall performance by just one or two sections of a physical fitness test.
"... I've been an excellent employee. I have the evaluations to show it."
John E. Combs, who teaches fitness trainers at the N.C. Justice Academy in Salemburg, said he appreciates what RDU is trying to do.
"I certainly applaud them for taking fitness seriously," Combs said. "Departments doing this now are few and far between. Ultimately, a lot of agencies don't want to have to fire people."
