Vows to Diversify and Keep Standards

Scoppetta: FDNY Can Adapt

By GINGER ADAMS OTIS

Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta last week emphasized his commitment to further diversify the Fire Department, stating that he had come to feel "very optimistic" about new hiring criteria meant to bring more minorities into the firefighting ranks.

The Chief-Leader/Michel Friang 'BEST JOB IN THE WORLD': Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta says he can maintain standards and attract more qualified minorities to work as Firefighters by emphasizing both the benefits of the job and its character.

The altered standards allow candidates with 15 college credits instead of 30 to apply. They also waive the requirement entirely for applicants with at least six months' military service or six months' full-time paid employment.

Reluctant Convert

In an interview Aug. 15, Commissioner Scoppetta acknowledged that he hadn't initially embraced the changes made by the Department of Citywide Administrative Services.

"Well, I always like the idea of additional education - I think it helps people in many ways be more successful in life," he said. "But, then I saw a chance to increase the training period at the Randalls Island Fire Academy, which gives us an opportunity to work on many new things with recruits, and so overall I'm really happy with how it turned out."

There's also the possibility that the FDNY will develop an adult education program with John Jay College of Criminal Justice for entry-level Firefighters so they could be eligible for promotional exams later in their careers. Firefighters need five years on the job and at least 60 college credits to be considered for promotion to Lieutenant or Fire Marshal.

Mr. Scoppetta said he was discussing eight potential projects with faculty at John Jay to help Firefighters get college credits once they start working for the FDNY. Those would be added to credits earned by Firefighters at the Randalls Island Fire Academy.

Scholarship Help

The department already has additional training seminars and associate programs in place for its officers - the FDNY Officers Management Institute at Columbia University, for example - and offers scholarships to members seeking advanced degrees.

"I hope that new recruits continue to think about college; I encourage them to do 15 credits or more, if possible," the Commissioner said. "At the same time, we will be doing an extended curriculum in the academy - we still don't know how long it will be - but many new training issues will be introduced."

The FDNY launched a multi-million-dollar recruitment drive to coincide with the current filing period for Firefighter jobs. Applications will be accepted until Oct. 13, and the written exam will be administered Jan. 20, according to the notice of exam posted by DCAS.

Consultant's Proposal

Mayor Bloomberg said the decision to alter the eligibility criteria was made at the urging of an outside expert hired by DCAS. That agency is currently finalizing the details of the upcoming written and physical entrance tests. A DCAS official said it would be inappropriate to comment on the structure and content of the exams during the planning stage.

Mr. Scoppetta said he doubted the change came as the result of a Department of Justice investigation into FDNY hiring practices. The DOJ's probe into allegations of discrimination was triggered by a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint filed by the Vulcan Society, an organization of black firefighters.

"DCAS says no, it's not acting because of DOJ pressure," the Commissioner said, when asked if he thought the threat of a lawsuit was a factor. "DCAS exams and filing requirements had been validated internally, but not by an outside expert, and they periodically review exams to see if things need to be changed."

'Tripled Minority Hirings'

He continued, "When the DOJ sees that we have tripled the number of minorities hired under this administration compared to 10 years ago, when DOJ sees the results of our recruitment drive and the database [of 33,000 potential candidates] that we've acquired that's 85 percent minority and 25 percent women, I am hopeful that the DOJ will say, 'Okay, maybe this is something we have to keep an eye on, but we don't have to sue." The FDNY's aggressive recruitment efforts will be followed up by an equally aggressive retention plan.

"We'll be staying with [applicants] through the whole process, helping them to train both physically and academically for the tests with mentoring and tutoring programs, and our program with New York Sports Club," said the Commissioner. "Then, after the exams, we'll be calling candidates to tell them where we are on the list, what their number is, when they can expect to be called in - we don't want to lose them to another job during that period and we recognize that it can be tough waiting, because people have to make a living."

Accentuate the Positive

The FDNY is touting its benefits as a lure for new hires - pointing out the flexible work schedule, lifetime health care and retirement pensions after 20 years of service. Mr. Scoppetta said those benefits are "embedded" for firefighters and won't change.

He also promoted the department's commitment to employee health, noting that it was tracking all of the first-responders who had been at Ground Zero for rescue and recovery efforts related to 9/11.

But he supported Mayor Bloomberg's opposition to legislation signed a day earlier by Governor Pataki that extended line-of-duty death benefits and other health coverage to ailing 9/11 rescue workers.

"Who's going to pay for it? Nobody would disagree with the intent of this legislation, but it's another example of an unfunded mandate," Mr. Scoppetta said. "The Mayor says he's in agreement, but that the state and Federal Government ought to pay for it. That's reasonable."

Critical of Chertoff

He added that all costs associated with counter-terrorism should be picked up by the Federal Government. He said Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff's recent decision to slash anti-terrorism funding to New York while awarding grants to places like Arizona and Montana "a little bit mystifying."

Washington politics aside, Mr. Scoppetta said, the message he wanted to communicate to potential recruits was something that appeared at Ground Zero the day after the Twin Towers fell.

"Someone had scrawled with their finger into the dust on a fire truck, 'Still the best job in the world,''' he said. "And that's really what it is."