Although St. Louis Fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson says nearly two dozen firefighters passed the test and have what it takes, they've been stripped of their ranks and returned to previous positions.
The axe was dropped by city officials.
The fairness of the promotional test is the nucleus of the issue, according to Fox 2.
Last May, 17 firefighters who'd been waiting in the wings for promotions and the pay hikes that go along with them sued the city.
Acting Captains Jessica Jackson and Licole McKinney, who were among those involved in the suit, had been previously featured in a city report about female accomplishments.
Although a new new promotional test started this past fall, there was a shortage of expert assessors to tally a firefighter’s final score, the station reported adding that there is no word when the testing will resume.
The chief voiced his concern to a federal judge last spring that if the promotions didn't hold up, the department would not be meeting NFPA standards of one supervisor per engine.
