By Brian Virasami
Newsday (New York)
Copyright 2006 Newsday, Inc.
In an effort to attract more diverse candidates to a department repeatedly criticized for a lack of women and minorities in its ranks, the FDNY yesterday announced it would ease its requirements on college credit while increasing training time for new recruits.
In addition, a broad, multilingual publicity campaign will emphasize the benefits, accrued by firefighters, such as lifetime health coverage.
The eligibility changes and ad drive mark a major effort to diversify the department, despite some gains in attracting minorities in recent years. Nearly 90 percent of the FDNY is white, and only 30 members are women.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg, appearing at a news conference with fire commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta at Engine 231/Ladder 120 firehouse in Brownsville, Brooklyn, said the department would lower the number of college credits required from 30 to 15 to boost applicants.
No college credits are required for applicants with military service, and none will be required for anyone who has held a paid, full-time job for six months.
“What we’re doing is we are enhancing the pool, but at the same time, we are raising standards,” Bloomberg said.
“We are going to increase the training that a probie has to go though in order to get on the job. And that lets us focus the kind of education to something that’s really germane to saving lives and protecting property, the job of the FDNY.”
The publicity campaign, part of an annual $3.2 million budget aimed at attracting more diverse candidates, is titled “The Best Job in the World Has the Best Benefits in the World.”
“This campaign highlights the lesser known side of the job - that firefighters have lifelong medical coverage, flexible schedules, a pension after 20 years and significant growth opportunities,” Scoppetta said.
Capt. Paul Washington, president of the Vulcan Society, a fraternity of black firefighters that’s been critical of the city for a lack of diversity, expressed cautious optimism yesterday that the new campaign would work.
Washington, appearing at the news conference, said although more blacks may take the exam after this drive, he was concerned that far fewer are hired in the end.
“Those that take the test tend to get on the list in equal numbers, but the problem is that blacks tend to be at the bottom of the list and don’t get reached as well as their white counterparts,” he said.
Washington and others have frequently criticized the fire department for a written test they say favors whites.
Brooklyn Councilman Charles Barron, often critical of the department, said yesterday the number of minorities was embarrassing for a diverse city like New York.
He said some blacks who passed the test should be called to training.
The U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan is probing allegations of gender discrimination in the department as well as claims of discrimination.
A spokeswoman declined to discuss the status of the probe yesterday.
The city’s new ad campaign will feature print advertisements in English, Spanish, Korean and Chinese, along with television and radio spots in English and Spanish.
Anyone interested in taking the January exam can apply through Oct. 13. The written test is given every four years.
A breakdown of the department’s 11,600 uniformed members:
RACE
91% White
5% Hispanics
3% Blacks
.6% Asians
GENDER
99.7% Men
.3% Women
SOURCE: FDNY
New exam rules
Those eligible people with 15 college credits, or at least six months of full-time U.S. military service or at least six months of full-time work experience.
Past changes to FDNY’s application process:
1983: Obstacle-course test is revised after a judge rules it discriminates against women.
1992: FDNY awards extra five points to test-takers from the city.
1998: Applications drop after qualifications are raised. Candidates must have 30 college credits and be certified first responders.