VTMBH Article: Body
As an unprecedented three-month recruiting drive for the next firefighter exam enters its final weeks, the Fire Department appears to be signing up minority applicants and women at a slower rate than its previous campaign.
Out of the 4,793 applications turned in so far, 75 percent are from white candidates. Hispanic, black and Asian applicants make up 21 percent of the total, as compared to 25 percent at the end of the citys 1999 recruiting drive, which was its most successful effort to diversify in decades. Three percent of this years applicants are women, which is below the 3.9 percent rate of 1999.
<b>Not despairing yet</b>
Deputy Fire Commissioner Douglas White, who took charge of the recruiting effort in April, said it was unfair to judge the campaign on early returns. Most people tend to file for the test at the last minute, he said.
The response so far is drawing criticism from advocates for greater diversity in the ranks, such as Fire Captain Paul Washington, the president of the Vulcan Society for black firefighters.
Its a disaster, said Mr. Washington. They didnt put forth a serious effort and now theyre making excuses.
In June, when this years $5.5 million recruiting drive began, Mayor Bloomberg and Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta promised it would be geared to attracting minority candidates in order to bring greater diversity to the ranks. More than 93 percent of the citys 11,000 firefighters are white, making them the least diverse uniformed force in the city. There are 28 women on the force.
In the past three months, the departments recruiters have created a database of more than 1,000 women and 6,000 minority candidates who have expressed an interest in the job, said Mr. White. He was hopeful the department would succeed in getting applications from most of them.
The truth of the matter is, nobody knows what it takes, he added. Weve never had a campaign thats more than four or five weeks long. Everyone whos already applied are the most committed people.
The citys plan for a last-minute push for applicants didnt impress Mr. Washington. Speaking of the potential applicants in the recruiting units database, he said, If they havent yet applied, what makes you think theyre going to apply? To base your hopes on that, thats not very smart.
<b>Ignored Ideas</b>
The Vulcan Society leader complained that the FDNY ignored the groups suggestions for the drive, such as following the Police Departments lead and creating a fleet of highly visible recruiting vans; visiting other cities to see how they had succeeded in attracting minority candidates; and assigning seven black firefighters to work on full-time recruiting.
Mr. White said $1.83 million of the departments recruiting budget is going to personnel costs, including $200,000 for overtime. The FDNYs recruiting office has a Captain in charge, a civilian director and two firefighters who work as full-time recruiters. Another dozen firefighters are sent to the recruiting unit as a light-duty assignment when they are injured or unable to work in the firehouse.
<b>Unwilling conscripts?</b>
The setup means most of the recruiters arent fully committed to the job, Mr. Washington charged. The light-duty firefighters, he said, are forced into this. They come and go.
There are degrees of commitment in these things, Mr. White acknowledged. Thats why at the most important events, you have the more committed people.
The recruiting staff is supported by a media campaign that includes 700 advertisements on billboards, bus stops and in subway stations. The ads feature a multiracial group of firefighters in rumpled bunker gear.
The recruiting units database shows it is reaching the departments intended audience, Mr. White said. As of Aug. 21, the database had 9,881 names, including 1,927 womennearly one-fifth of the total.
When the contacts were asked to report their race, 39.3 percent said they were black, 22.6 percent said Hispanic, 17.3 percent said white and 2 percent said they were Asian. Recruiters went to mail an application to every person in the database in time for them to apply, Mr. White said.
<b>Tougher Than for NYPD</b>
Mr. White, who was the citys personnel commissioner under Mayor David Dinkins, said the Fire Department faces more hurdles recruiting than other uniformed agencies, such as the Police Department.
The historically low attrition rate in the Fire Department, and the requirement that each candidate compete in a physical test before being considered for the job, means that candidates may have to wait up to four years to be hired, he said.
Also, the Police Department began offering its police officer test for free last year, while firefighter applicants must still pay a $35 fee by money order.
The form you fill out [for the database] is only two lines shorter than the application form. If we were offering this test for free, I would have 9,881 people already saying they will be taking it, Mr. White said.
<b>Tapping Movies, Military</b>
The deadline to apply for the firefighter test is Sept. 30. The FDNY will finish its recruiting drive by getting its message out on several new fronts, Mr. White said.
This month, 20 movie theaters in the city will display a recruiting ad as part of their pre-movie slideshow on 144 screens. In addition, a recruiting ad will run in Military Times, a newspaper with a national circulation of 340,000 and an estimated readership of one million.
The Vulcan Society is participating in the recruiting campaign by sponsoring information sessions at Vulcan Hall in Flatbush, Brooklyn, and by fielding its own volunteer recruiters.
Out of the 4,793 applications turned in so far, 75 percent are from white candidates. Hispanic, black and Asian applicants make up 21 percent of the total, as compared to 25 percent at the end of the citys 1999 recruiting drive, which was its most successful effort to diversify in decades. Three percent of this years applicants are women, which is below the 3.9 percent rate of 1999.
<b>Not despairing yet</b>
Deputy Fire Commissioner Douglas White, who took charge of the recruiting effort in April, said it was unfair to judge the campaign on early returns. Most people tend to file for the test at the last minute, he said.
The response so far is drawing criticism from advocates for greater diversity in the ranks, such as Fire Captain Paul Washington, the president of the Vulcan Society for black firefighters.
Its a disaster, said Mr. Washington. They didnt put forth a serious effort and now theyre making excuses.
In June, when this years $5.5 million recruiting drive began, Mayor Bloomberg and Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta promised it would be geared to attracting minority candidates in order to bring greater diversity to the ranks. More than 93 percent of the citys 11,000 firefighters are white, making them the least diverse uniformed force in the city. There are 28 women on the force.
In the past three months, the departments recruiters have created a database of more than 1,000 women and 6,000 minority candidates who have expressed an interest in the job, said Mr. White. He was hopeful the department would succeed in getting applications from most of them.
The truth of the matter is, nobody knows what it takes, he added. Weve never had a campaign thats more than four or five weeks long. Everyone whos already applied are the most committed people.
The citys plan for a last-minute push for applicants didnt impress Mr. Washington. Speaking of the potential applicants in the recruiting units database, he said, If they havent yet applied, what makes you think theyre going to apply? To base your hopes on that, thats not very smart.
<b>Ignored Ideas</b>
The Vulcan Society leader complained that the FDNY ignored the groups suggestions for the drive, such as following the Police Departments lead and creating a fleet of highly visible recruiting vans; visiting other cities to see how they had succeeded in attracting minority candidates; and assigning seven black firefighters to work on full-time recruiting.
Mr. White said $1.83 million of the departments recruiting budget is going to personnel costs, including $200,000 for overtime. The FDNYs recruiting office has a Captain in charge, a civilian director and two firefighters who work as full-time recruiters. Another dozen firefighters are sent to the recruiting unit as a light-duty assignment when they are injured or unable to work in the firehouse.
<b>Unwilling conscripts?</b>
The setup means most of the recruiters arent fully committed to the job, Mr. Washington charged. The light-duty firefighters, he said, are forced into this. They come and go.
There are degrees of commitment in these things, Mr. White acknowledged. Thats why at the most important events, you have the more committed people.
The recruiting staff is supported by a media campaign that includes 700 advertisements on billboards, bus stops and in subway stations. The ads feature a multiracial group of firefighters in rumpled bunker gear.
The recruiting units database shows it is reaching the departments intended audience, Mr. White said. As of Aug. 21, the database had 9,881 names, including 1,927 womennearly one-fifth of the total.
When the contacts were asked to report their race, 39.3 percent said they were black, 22.6 percent said Hispanic, 17.3 percent said white and 2 percent said they were Asian. Recruiters went to mail an application to every person in the database in time for them to apply, Mr. White said.
<b>Tougher Than for NYPD</b>
Mr. White, who was the citys personnel commissioner under Mayor David Dinkins, said the Fire Department faces more hurdles recruiting than other uniformed agencies, such as the Police Department.
The historically low attrition rate in the Fire Department, and the requirement that each candidate compete in a physical test before being considered for the job, means that candidates may have to wait up to four years to be hired, he said.
Also, the Police Department began offering its police officer test for free last year, while firefighter applicants must still pay a $35 fee by money order.
The form you fill out [for the database] is only two lines shorter than the application form. If we were offering this test for free, I would have 9,881 people already saying they will be taking it, Mr. White said.
<b>Tapping Movies, Military</b>
The deadline to apply for the firefighter test is Sept. 30. The FDNY will finish its recruiting drive by getting its message out on several new fronts, Mr. White said.
This month, 20 movie theaters in the city will display a recruiting ad as part of their pre-movie slideshow on 144 screens. In addition, a recruiting ad will run in Military Times, a newspaper with a national circulation of 340,000 and an estimated readership of one million.
The Vulcan Society is participating in the recruiting campaign by sponsoring information sessions at Vulcan Hall in Flatbush, Brooklyn, and by fielding its own volunteer recruiters.