OUTSIDE THE BOUNDARY OF THE CITY OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN, suburban Milwaukee County is served by 11 fire departments. With a population of more than 950,000 it is the 44th-most populous count in the U. S. And of those 11 fire departments there is a total of one (1) black firefighter on the rolls.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel recently did a survey and followed up with interviews and investigation and discovered this seemingly-unbalanced makeup of racial distribution among the workforces that total 600 firefighters.
Tom Kertscher of the Journal Sentinal writes:
Census figures show that nearly 12,000 African-Americans live in the Milwaukee County suburbs.
Wauwatosa Fire Chief Dean Redman said suburban chiefs want their departments to better reflect the communities they serve. The survey results, Redman said, might be what it takes to spur suburban departments to action, perhaps by collaborating to promote firefighting among minority youths.
“I think there’s a sense that we need to do this, but we haven’t found a way to do it,” he said.
Suburban chiefs say a lack of qualified applicants, and not racism, is the major reason so few firefighters are black.
What needs to be addressed, say some African-American leaders, is why the number of applicants is so small.
Mike Wright (Journal Sentinel photo by Wentz-Graf)
The lone black firefighter is Mike Wright who was hired just nine months ago by West Allis. Wright worked hard to get his firefighting “pedigree.” He tells the Journal Sentinel:
Wright first applied to the Milwaukee Fire Department, which requires only a high school diploma for firefighters. Unlike the suburban departments, Milwaukee has its own training academy and pays its new hires while training them.
Wright said he ranked only 371st among 4,000 applicants after testing for the Milwaukee fire job, so he decided to enroll in Milwaukee Area Technical College’s firefighter program.
He not only earned his firefighting and EMT certifications, but also became a paramedic, volunteered at a fire department and worked for a private ambulance company.
That made Wright a highly qualified candidate for the suburban departments. Without their own academy, the suburban departments require new hires to have at least the firefighting and EMT certifications because the departments can’t afford to pay for the training.
Wright said he thinks more African-Americans don’t work in suburban fire departments because they aren’t aware that the opportunities are good, even though more schooling is required.
He also said some of his peers express interest in firefighting, but don’t follow through.
“A lot of it has to do with will and drive,” Wright said.
As you’d expect, now that this report is coming public, the usual political adversaries are tossing their usual allegations back and forth.
Kertscher’s article is a typical Sunday report in that it is comprehensive and complete. You can read the entire ARTICLE HERE.
Hat tip to Greg F.
