Study Suggests Changes for Jacksonville Fire Rescue

A task force commissioned by the mayor has concluded changes need to be made in the city's fire department and put forth 11 pages of suggestions aimed at closing a racial divide within Jacksonville Fire Rescue. The incident that sparked the investigation and the formation of the task force took place nine months ago when two black firefighters found nooses on their gear. On Wednesday, Mayor John Peyton laid out how the city will respond. The report recently completed by the task force, which was formed after a scathing study of the fire department by the city's Human Rights Commission revealed problems, recommended additional training for managers, better diversity training and more rescue units around the city. Peyton said he wants more management training and to rotate district fire chiefs around to different stations. He also said he would review the fire department's promotion process and that JFRD would actively recruit more black firefighters. To recruit black firefighters, a new high school program, which would give students college credit for taking firefighting courses, was proposed . The lack of diversity in some of the city's fire stations, some being predominately white and others being predominately white, was also addressed by the mayor. "A lot of people request assignments. We try to honor requests. Naturally, people want to be with their buddies and I think while it's nice to work with people you know, but there's a time when it's best to spread people out," Peyton said. He said the No. 1 concern was to remove racism from the department. However, members from the Black Firefighters Association said the mayor has not addressed their concerns. "There's still no mention of the removal of the fire chief or the three other people that were recommended for removal in the report," said Wanda Butler, of the Brotherhood of Black Firefighters. "That's the main obstacle. How can you put the fox in charge of the henhouse?"