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NEW YORK (AP) The pool of candidates seeking to become New York City firefighters is more diverse than ever in the history of the department, where 90 percent of firefighters are white males, city officials said Tuesday.
The written firefighter exam, which is given every four years, was passed this year by 21,183 test-takers. Among the 4,000 top scorers who are most likely to be called up for hire, 18 percent are Hispanic, 12 percent are black and 3 percent are Asian.
The top pool of the last test in 2002 had 9 percent Hispanic, 4 percent black and 1 percent Asian.
More than 40 percent of the 29,600 who applied to take this year's exam were minorities more than double the 2002 number.
The city has launched an aggressive recruiting drive to boost diversity in the department.
Of the FDNY's 11,600 uniformed members, there are about 665 Hispanics, or 6 percent, and about 340 blacks about 3 percent. The department has just 31 women members and about 75 Asians.
"When people see a fire department that reflects themselves, they say 'Hey that could be me as well,' when in the past maybe they didn't consider it at all, or they considered it and said 'I would not be welcome there,"' Mayor Michael Bloomberg said.
Last year the city also changed the eligibility requirements for the exam; applicants no longer need college credits and can apply if they graduated from high school and held a full-time job for six months or served in the military.
The U.S. Department of Justice filed a civil rights lawsuit this year alleging that the exams discriminate against blacks and Hispanics, which has prevented the department from diversifying.
Officials said their recruitment effort was not in response to the suit, which Bloomberg said has no basis.
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