From the Boston Globe: Thirty-seven years after a federal court forced the virtually all-white Boston Fire Department to hire one black or Hispanic firefighter for every new white employee, the department — overall — more closely resembles the multiracial city it serves: One third of Boston’s firefighters are nonwhite.

But on-the-job diversity eludes the department. Many of its individual units have become increasingly segregated by race, as both white and minority firefighters choose to work alongside their own as part of a seniority system that gives veterans great leeway to decide where they serve. Almost half of Boston’s firehouses are now either more than 85% white or more than 50% nonwhite, according to a months-long Globe review of fire department personnel and assignment records.

White firefighters disproportionately staff Boston’s busiest engine and ladder companies, which are generally considered the most prestigious postings and offer the most experience to ambitious young firefighters. In contrast, most of the least busy fire companies are overwhelmingly nonwhite, according to extensive records the department provided in response to a public-records request.