Earlier this year the International Association of Fire Chiefs' committee on human relations sat down to discuss what fire departments in this country were doing right when it came to diversity, specifically hiring practices and equal treatment of minorities and women in the fire service.

The consensus was that although there were a few shining examples of proactive diversity practices in the fire service — Minneapolis; Madison, Wis.; and Prince William County, Va., were mentioned — there were unfortunately far more departments still not doing it right when it came to efforts to recruit, hire and retain minorities and women.

The problem is far from being new. Dealing with human relations is a difficult subject, and the concept of diversity can be just plain frightening for some, mainly those refusing to face it. It's easier for some firefighters to discuss the technical aspects of a high-angle rescue over a hazmat spill than the physical and psychological differences in one another. But it doesn't have to be that way.

Barriers to representation

Over the last 25 years, most fire departments have begun to resemble more closely the demographics of the communities that they are sworn to protect. But the change has been slow in coming, and the reasons are as numerous as the qualified black, Latino, Asian and female applicants trying to break the class and color barrier of the nation's fire services. Two major problems are regimenting and traditionalism.

Regimenting refers to an informal system that provides the benefit of information to individuals who know someone or have a friend or relative already in the fire department where they're seeking employment. These benefits can range from a firefighter father providing career guidance to his son on what courses, such as EMT or Firefighter I, to take that may offer a potential hiring advantage to actually providing testing information, study guides for entry-level exams, or direction for and practice of physical ability testing.

The problem with regimenting is that it often provides an unfair advantage to those who have department contacts over those who don't, such as minorities and women. Past hiring practices for all businesses, not just the fire service, often relied on referrals from current employees to fill open positions. This process can create and perpetuate a homogeneous work force, which can stagnate an organization with its group-think mentality. In the fire service that often means carrying the same prejudices, discriminatory and isolationist practices over from one generation of firefighters to the next.

Another big barrier for change in an organization is traditionalism. This excuse for not diversifying can be heard in the backrooms of today's fire stations but seldom in the boardrooms of fire service leadership organizations where it belongs. Traditionalism is when an organization won't let go of its past, blames all of its problems on the present and refuses to face the future.

There is nothing wrong with a little reminiscing every now and then, but that's not what we're talking about here. Traditionalism speaks to being infatuated toward the past culture of an organization and not necessarily its operational actions. Organizations caught up in traditionalism have a tendency to remember only the good things of the past and forget or forgive the bad. This Norman Rockwell vision of yesterday makes it very hard for an organization's present and future to compete. A fire department is essentially contending against an image of itself in a contest it can't win. The firefighters knew their place and took orders better. The chief was great then. The stations were cleaner, the equipment shinier. Sound familiar?

It's like being in a relationship that you can't wait to end. After the breakup, however, all you can think about is getting back together, forgetting why you broke up in the first place and only remembering the great times you had. Then you get back together, the same problems resurface and you wonder why in the world you reunited. Fire departments caught up in traditionalism are in the same trap. If they could somehow really go back, they would be able to see that they would essentially be swapping out one set of problems for another.

An organization caught up in traditionalism often refuses to see its past faults, which may include discriminatory hiring practices. Even worse is that some departments today still fight to keep their traditional work force in tact, even at the expense of qualified minority and female applicants. Illegal modifications by some fire departments to the Candidate Physical Ability Test, making it more difficult and not following the developer's guidelines, led to a shutdown of all testing last year and a reapplication process for agencies using the evaluation. Will anyone be surprised if we learn that the impact created by these “adjustments” affected mostly female applicants?

Possible solutions

The best way to avoid regimenting is to have an all-inclusive public education and recruitment program that provides the same advantages to all individuals seeking employment, regardless of whether they have the advantage of knowing someone on the department.

Two easy ways to accomplish this are through career counseling and mentoring. Consider partnering with local high schools and colleges, as well as community civic organizations that concentrate on youth development, to provide education and necessary information for someone interested in the fire service. Additionally, fire departments and their individual members can provide mentoring to candidates recommended for additional guidance. Not everyone has the advantage of a role model at home, and some individuals just need a little encouragement and a push in the right direction.

In breaking down some of the barriers to diversity in the fire service, human relations and diversity training for officers are a must. The body of an organization will only go where the head leads it. It's essential for inclusiveness to be woven into the fabric of an organization and that the leadership buy into the concept. Most of us learn our core values from our parents, and in the workplace most of us learn values and ethics from our immediate supervisor.

After the leadership is trained, all other members should follow suit, including a segment incorporated in basic training. That training should be maintained throughout a firefighter's career, not just at one setting. The problem didn't occur overnight, and one three-hour training session isn't going to work constructively toward the solution.

Some of you may be thinking, is this really necessary? Can't we just change a few policies and issue an all-personnel letter telling everyone, “We are now a diverse and inclusive department.” Well, how often do we drill on operating our apparatus at a large fire incident; once a week, once a month? How often do we actually put that training into action; once every three months, six months, longer? Compare the percentage of our time we spend with people and all of the associated human-relations concerns to the portion of our time we train on this aspect.

With training comes education and understanding. With education and understanding comes acceptance, which fosters a foundation for change. And change is ultimately the goal. Change in the way we see ourselves. Change in the way we see others, particularly those who don't look like us. And finally change in the way we recruit, hire and retain individuals who before were not a part of the fire service culture but will without question be a major part of its future.

Those departments that have embraced and met these challenges head-on can tell you that it is a lot easier now than it was before. For those departments that have refused to embrace their community's diversity in their work force, the most difficult times are ahead. The good news is that it's never to late to start.

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Brian A. Crawford is an assistant chief and 20-year veteran of the Shreveport (La.) Fire Department, currently serving as the assistant to the fire chief. A member of the IAFC Human Relations Committee, Crawford is also a National Fire Academy resident instructor in the management science division and is currently a fourth-year participant in the academy's Executive Fire Officer Program. He holds a master of arts in industrial/organizational psychology from Louisiana Tech University, a bachelor of science in organizational management, and an associate degree in paramedic. He can be reached at brian.crawford@ci.shreveport.la.us.