Only the San Francisco Chronicle's photo section would decide that showcasing a female firefighter at one of the worst fires in the city is more important than photos of the victims. Deanne Fitzmaurice, or at least her photo editors decide that "mainstreaming'' H3 Firefighter Sadie Magaly is more important than conveying the damage of a fire that killed 3 residents and hurt 11, with some jumping from windows. Photo "Mainstreaming" if you weren't aware, is an offshoot of the pernicious MSM's fetish with "diversity," namely that the media will try to "push" certain photos of politically correct minorities in positions long dominated by white males, even if she's outnumbered 100 to 1, she'll be in the shot, and not the guys doing the rescue. So, that means pictures like these "Firefighter Sadie Magaly helps with the hose at a Mission District apartment fire that caused serious injuries to another firefighter.'' Fitzmaurice must be silently cheering for Sadie, as she bravely struggles with an 1' 3/4 attack line. Actually, Fitzmaurice isn't doing Sadie any favors showing her sitting down on the front bumper, visibly wiped out after assisting on a line that she'd probably need help with controlling if her male partner wasn't on the knob and the pressure was cranked up. Veteran firefighters will also recognize that Sadie isn't even in the right position to help her partner control the line. She SHOULD be right behind him, pulling the hose down while her partner raises it and vice versa. The "SmokeEaters Gazette" the underground publication of the SFFD which has referred to female firefighters as "firewatchers'' will have a field day with that one. But more seriously, the Chronicle buries two important details in the story in its attempt to provide cover for fellow female hero, SF Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White (or maybe the Chronicle is afraid of getting a pint glass smacked over their heads if they don't give her good press?) Hayes-White, 42, has been criticized for being elevated far beyond her brief firefighting experience, which is evidenced by John Hanley, of Firefighters Union Local 798. " As the building smoldered, the head of the firefighters union raised questions about whether the response to the blaze had been slowed by the temporary short-staffing of a nearby fire station. Fire stations around the city have been closing for 24 hours on a rotating basis since July 2004 to save money. On Thursday morning, Station 6 at Market and Sanchez in the Castro, a little more than a mile from the building, was without its engine company. The station would normally have been among the first three from which an engine company would have been dispatched to handle the call, said John Hanley, president of the Firefighters Union Local 798. "Firefighters are frustrated," Hanley said. "In a fire, seconds count to make a rescue." Despite being a blue-collar locall union, IAFF Local 798 is no friend of the San Francisco Chronicle and vice-versa, considered by the pc-folks of 401 Mission as a good-ol' boy white male enclave that's resistant to "diversity.'' Actually if being "resistant to diversity'' keeps firefighters alive by not promoting inexperienced female firefighters who think cutting staffing is acceptable to save money, or as "Lt." Nicole Juratovac who evidently thinks running into a burning IDLH environment without a charged hose is a good way to impress the guys that she's got a pair. "Firefighters said the fire at 395 Capp St. in the Mission District apparently started in a burning mattress that someone dumped on a staircase. The blaze then spread through the three-story wooden building. When crews arrived just after 2:30 a.m., the mattress became a stubborn obstacle, said Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White. "Because of the bed, they didn't get much past that first-floor landing," she said. Among the injured were six firefighters, including Lt. Nicole Juratovac, who suffered second- and third-degree burns to her legs from the mattress coils, fire officials said. '' "Some firefighters reported that Juratovac, the burned firefighter, could not extinguish the blazing mattress on the staircase because the hose she was carrying had no water.'' Hayes-White said she was unaware of any problems, but Hanley said there had been trouble with the water line. "Accidents happen," he said. "Either the line got kinked or the (firefighter on the pumper engine) didn't get word" to turn the water on. '' Just how big was that mattress? And SOPs (standard operating proceedures) usually mean that the truck company carries a 5 gal. pressurized water can. And the female "Lt.'' should have realized that you don't endanger your crew by having them work without a net, namely a charged, unkinked hose. Its the job of the Lt. to call for water, why wasn't that done at the door before she made entry? Second and Third Degree burns could mean the end of her career. And a final note. While calling for a second and third alarm was smart, could perhaps this fire been avoided if SF code enforcement had done their job and ensured that illegal immigrants aren't overcrowding buildings? Or is SF's fetish for political correctness and reluctance to confront illegal immigration preventing proper code enforcement? (Editors Note: Black Shadow, if you haven't guessed is also a firefighter/EMT)