South Carolina Fire Chief Falls Short In Bid To Bring More Diversity To His Department

When Mike Blackmon took the helm as the city's fire chief two years ago, he pledged to work hard to recruit more women and minorities.

But today, the department is as homogenous as when he started.

Although it has grown, the percentage of women in the department has dropped from 8 percent to 5 percent. The percentage of minorities has remained at 7 percent.

Of 18 new recruits who start work this week, one is a woman. All are white.

City leaders say they are excited about having fresh blood in the department but disappointed in their inability to recruit more women and minorities.

They said they tried to get the word out but realized too late that they had not done enough.

"We missed an opportunity," Blackmon said.

Blackmon said the department used newspaper articles and TV news segments to recruit women and minorities. Job positions also were posted on the city's Web site as well as in firefighter publications.

The department hired a few interested minority and women applicants last year, but the numbers were not enough to overcome those leaving the department during that time.

Blacks make up 6 percent of the department's 103-member staff.

The department employs one Native American, and there are no Latinos on staff.

The percentage of blacks and Latinos in the department remains the same as when Blackmon started in 2002. At that time, there were no Native Americans on staff. Women made up 8 percent of the work force.

According to the U.S. census, blacks make up 37 percent of Rock Hill's population and Latinos make up 2 percent. Experts say the population of Latinos is higher, but many do not respond to census questionnaires.

Women make up 54 percent of the city's population. American Indians make up less than 1 percent.

Blackmon said creating a Fire Department that reflects the community is a mission in which he believes strongly. He said having a well-rounded department brings fresh ideas and earns the community's trust.

"When we go into a neighborhood, we want them to see some of everybody on these trucks, so we can be more receptive to their needs," Blackmon said.