March 24-30, 2005

city beat

Firestorm

Razor's Edge: Curtis De Veaux refuses to follow the Philadelphia Fire Department's "grooming directive" to shave his beard. Photo By: Michael T. Regan

Is a Muslim firefighter's suit a case of religious freedom or basic safety?

by J.F. Pirro

If the city of Philadelphia gives Curtis De Veaux an inch, he says he won't ask for a foot.

In fact, the Engine 44 B-platoon second-year West Philly firefighter says he couldn't grow his beard down to his belly button even if he wanted to. His curly facial hair wouldn't reach that length.

But De Veaux also knows if he shaves, he's asking for irritation, facial scarring and puss-filled bumps. He has a skin condition common among African-American males called pseudofolliculitis barbae (razor bumps). If shaven, his facial hairs grow inward.

For that reason — and also because he is a Muslim who recently became more devout — De Veaux says the city should waive its requirement that he shave in accordance with Philadelphia Fire Department's Directive 13 about grooming.

"I don't really have a big beard at all," he says. "It went unnoticed for a while."

The city insists its Mr. Clean rule is not only about maintaining a consistent image, but also safety and liability. The squabble has left De Veaux, 25, suspended without pay since Feb. 3 pending an April preliminary injunction hearing in City Hall before Court of Common Pleas Judge Annette Marie Rizzo.

De Veaux's attorney, the ACLU's Mary Catherine Roper, says his case will be the first to apply Pennsylvania's Religious Freedom Protection Act of 2002, which says a government rule or policy cannot substantially burden an individual's religious expression unless there's a compelling reason, and the rule or policy is the least restrictive means for achieving its goal. In other words, the city might not be able to tell De Veaux, "Our way or the highway." It may have to strike a compromise.

On March 1, Roper bargained for a temporary injunction which has kept the city from outright terminating De Veaux, who has also filed a civil suit against the city seeking a permanent injunction to prevent disciplinary action, and to cover back pay and the cost of litigation.

Ron Augustyn, the Fire Department's deputy commissioner for administrative services, says the issue rests "solely with safety," although he declined to elaborate. "Directive 13 talks about safety. That's our directive," he says.

Stephen Miller, the deputy divisional city solicitor recently assigned to the case, did not return calls for comment. Roper says the case may have been reassigned, but she didn't know to whom.

At the hearing, Alexander Santora, a retired 40-year veteran of the New York City Fire Department who has served on the safety committees of the National Fire Prevention Association for 30 years, is expected to testify that De Veaux can serve safely with a beard because respirator equipment has changed. Today, so-called positive-flow respirators pump a clean tank of air into the firefighter's mask, Roper says. No toxic fumes enter the mask as with older negative-flow respirators.

"You don't need a perfect seal anymore," she says. "You only need an adequate seal."

Santora will also testify that as long as the mask collapses and air is flowing into the mask, the firefighter is protected. "The equipment has changed, but the Fire Department hasn't rethought" its directive, Roper says.

Early last summer, De Veaux says he became more devout to his Islamic faith, which dictates a man must grow his beard. It's one way a practicing Muslim man distinguishes himself. Although not equivalent, women also cover their hair with a khimar as a show of modesty.

The first day Michele French, a nine-year Philadelphia Fire Department member now in the fire prevention division, reported for fire-academy training wearing her khimar, she says she was told it was a safety hazard. She asked permission from her husband, Tyza French, to not wear the khimar at work. He consented.

"It would be more my choice now" because she's since separated from her husband and only fights fires in an overtime capacity, "but I've always done it this way, and I'm comfortable" not wearing it at work, she says. "With Islam, you want to do what the religion requires you to do, but I also understand a job with the Fire Department requires a responsibility to follow a dress code."

De Veaux says he's made a conscious choice, as have other Muslim city employees who have decided to comply with city policy.

"It's not that I don't want to be a team player, but I believe this is my right," he says. "A man is only as free as he's willing to struggle to be — so this is my stance."

On Oct. 4, De Veaux wrote a memorandum asking the city for an exemption from the grooming directive. On Dec. 4, the city asked for validation from his doctor, Society Hill Dermatology's Dr. Susan Taylor, and his religious leader, Imam Asim Abdur-Rashid of Masjid Al-Mujahideen, his mosque at 413 S. 60th St. in West Philly. De Veaux produced those documents Jan. 17.

From there, he says there were several take-a-hint "shave-or-go-home" confrontations from fellow fire personnel and an appeal through his union.

"My advice to him was, 'Shave and keep your job,'" says Bill Gault, vice president of the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 22, which represents 4,000 active and retired members of the Philadelphia Fire Department. "You can't give up a $50,000-a-year job. You can't afford to lose that gig."

On Feb. 2, he was told if he reported for the next day's evening shift at the station located at 34th and Haverford without shaving, he'd be suspended without pay. When he reported unshaven Feb. 3, which ironically marked the second-year anniversary of his hiring, Deputy Chief Matthew McCrory took the threatened action.

De Veaux says that at a Feb. 14 meeting, the city issued a "notice of intention to dismiss," effective in 10 days. Signed by Commissioner Lloyd Ayers, it cited a "disobedience of orders." At the meeting, the city rejected the union's grievance and upheld its actions, but extended the dismissal date to March 3, or 30 days from his suspension date. On Feb. 27, he met with the ACLU.

For months, De Veaux says his name's been posted on what he called the "P-drive," a Fire Departmental Internet chat-room site. He's been labeled a "rebel" and a "rookie." He says there was rumor of a lawsuit before there was one.

"In a fire department, you get a lot of guys who are totally against change," he says. "The Fire Department has traditionally been a racist department long before even I was on it, and firefighters do like to gossip."

De Veaux says stubbornness comes with longevity, and most fire personnel serve much longer than his two years. He's watched other firemen get "punished." A couple years ago, he says a porn-on-TV ring was broken up at one city station. Firefighters were scattered around the city.

Now, he says he knows he might never be a firefighter again.

"Sometimes you're right and you still don't win," De Veaux says. "I'm hoping and praying this gets worked out. My belief is in my God."