Fire Department Retention Strategies

Future of the Fire Service- A Cradle to Grave approach to assuring future Diversity of African Americans, women and Minorities in the American Fire Service – AKA “Retention Strategies for the Future of the Fire Service-

This course explores in detail the five essential focus areas that EVERY fire department must implement to assure Diversity in the United States Fire Service. They are

Recruitment –snapshot into “best practices” utilized by a number of US cities

Hiring — A review of the Civil Service systems to explore how they work, and how they can be modified and changed to assure that those hired reflect the Diversity of the Community they serve

Retention–Once hired they can be lost to institutional pressures (intentional and non-intentional)-Retaining people of color has many organizational elements that must be identified and overcome

Promoting–An examination of strategies required to “level the playing field” to assure people of color advance in the ranks–diverse hiring boards and hiring diverse testing contractors are essential

Retire with Dignity– Many chiefs of color are subjects of character assassination and votes of no confidence- we assess the societal, health, emotional and institutional factors that affect retirement

This session utilizes and discusses 5 decades of history as to why African Americans and people of color have yet to be fully integrated into all facets of the Fire Service,

This session is responsive to what it will take to assure the “Future of Diversity”, and if the lack of implementing these 5 elements will severely hamper Diverse participation in US Fire Service for the future