Fire Recruiting Efforts Finally Pay Dividends; Big Jump in Minority Candidates Passing Firefighter Test

Fire Recruiting Efforts Finally Pay Dividends;
Big Jump in Minority Candidates Passing Firefighter Test


Michele Maglione, who has overseen the Fire Department's minority recruiting efforts since January of 2006, believed that the secret to hiring more women and people of color as Firefighters was footwork.

JOHN COOMBS: Holding his applause. After the department's announcement Nov. 27 that this year's written exam for the job produced significant increases in both the number and percentage of minorities passing, the former grassroots activist with Citizen Action, an Albany-based social justice group, noted that she took her team of 50 full-time recruiters, as well as 350 Firefighters and Emergency Medical Service employees, to 2,600 events to encourage people to take the Firefighter exam, compared to 278 gatherings prior to the 2002 exam. They went to sporting events during what she called "cultural celebrations" as well as block parties across the city to set up recruitment tables.

'The Job Sells Itself'

"We went very specifically out into communities of color," she said. "Our belief was that this was the best job in the world with the best benefits in the world. This job sells itself. That was what we found."

The Chief-Leader/Adrienne Haywood-James A MORE DIVERSE FDNY?: Mayor Bloomberg announced Nov. 27 at Fire Department headquarters that the results from the latest written exam for Firefighter yielded nearly double the number of minorities who passed the 2002 exam. In May, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the city alleging that the 1999 and 2002 exams had a disparate impact on African-Americans and Latinos. Mayor Bloomberg, joined by Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta and Citywide Administrative Services Commissioner Martha Hirst, announced during a press conference at FDNY headquarters that 38 percent of the 21,183 applicants who passed the written exam for Firefighter administered in January were minorities. In addition, 33 percent of the top 4,000 scorers, meaning those most likely to be appointed, were minorities.

Overall, 19 percent of those passing were Latino, 17 percent African American and 2 percent Asian. That was up from the 2002 numbers, when 21 percent of the test-passers were minorities, with 12 percent of them being Latino, 7 percent African American and 2 percent Asian. Mayor Bloomberg added that 100 of the top 4,000 scorers were women. "This is a huge improvement," the Mayor told reporters, attributing the increase in part to larger scale minority recruitment efforts.

Physical Final Hurdle

The successful candidates still must pass a physical exam in the spring of 2008 in order to be appointed as Firefighters. The final list of eligibles will stay active for four years once it is established.

The exam results were issued six months after the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit, which the Vulcan Society of African-American firefighters initiated, against the city alleging that DCAS-administered written exams for Firefighter in 1999 and 2002 had a disparate impact on African-American and Latino candidates. Just slightly more than 7 percent of Firefighters and fire officers are African-American or Latino, compared to between 30 and 50 percent in departments in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and Philadelphia. The DOJ and the Vulcan Society placed the blame on the written test, which they claimed weeded out minorities. The new eligible list showed a 66-percent increase in passing females from the previous test to join a firefighting force of 11,000 that currently includes just two dozen women.

Mayor Bloomberg admitted last week that in terms of previous diversity among new Firefighters, "It certainly has not been satisfactory."

'A Dynamic Force'

But this was going to change, he insisted, noting that devoting more resources to recruitment was essential. He said the department spent $3.2 million on expanding recruiting efforts. Mr. Scoppetta specifically lauded Ms. Maglione's leadership. "She was a dynamic force in putting together the operation," he said.

Ms. Hirst attributed the increase to a change in tests, adding that tests are evaluated and altered every four years when they are administered.

"This test differed in that we tested for a broader array of abilities and their basic aptitude abilities," she said. "There's no magic to them. They include visualization, reasoning, judgment, ability to work with others, memorization, reading and writing skills."

Mr. Scoppetta maintained that increasing diversity within the department would benefit the city as a whole.

"Firefighters, you know, have a unique bond with their communities and it makes all the sense in the world that increasing diversity is only going to strengthen that bond," he said.

Proof is in the Hiring

Despite the results, Vulcan Society President John Coombs held firm that the DOJ lawsuit, in which his group is an intervening plaintiff, was necessary to reduce inequality in the department. What remained to be seen, he said, was whether the number of minorities being appointed as Firefighters will be significantly larger than those selected from the 1999 and 2002 lists.

"There was some change, but does it help? That's the real question," said Mr. Coombs. "When those individuals come out of the Academy, then we can have a press conference."

The Mayor has long scoffed at the allegations in the DOJ lawsuit, calling the litigation unnecessary and ridiculous. The Uniformed Firefighters Association attempted to intervene on the side of the city, but was ultimately denied entry in the liability phase of the lawsuit. The FDNY Hispanic Society has stayed out of the case altogether. Its leader, Lieut. Miguel Ramos, believed that the exams under challenge were fair.

UFA Holds Fire

A UFA spokesman deferred comment on the results. President Steve Cassidy has long advocated that the department increase recruiting from the military in order to bring more minorities into the ranks.

Miguel Martinez, the chair of the City Council Committee on Fire and Criminal Justice, believed that the latest test scores were a good start, but that the department should have a permanent recruiting office focusing on minority hiring, rather than a unit popping up every four years when the exams are prepared. Until the FDNY's recruiting units resembles that of the Police Department, he said, the DOJ lawsuit will remain necessary.

In response, chief FDNY spokesman Francis X. Gribbon vowed: "It no longer will be a big push every four years. It will be an ongoing effort."