This time, officials said, they will make a stronger effort to get the word out to the black community. There will be a shorter gap between the date the recruiting test is administered and the start of the first training class. And the department will use a test endorsed by the International Association of Fire Chiefs and vetted by the city department of human resources and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
``The objective is to widen the net of applicants to be more reflective of the community we serve,'' fire spokesman James Gardner said.
Mayor Martin O'Malley was more blunt: ``This is about us in city government, getting our act together.''
The city will test 1,500 applicants June 12 to fill 50 positions. Applications were available starting Wednesday at all fire stations and at the headquarters of the Vulcan Blazers, a black firefighters' organization.
The changes come on the heels of March's all-white 30-member recruit class - the first since the department was integrated in 1953. The class was chosen from a list of those who passed a test administered in November 2002. More than 800 people took the test, with 434 passing, 70 of whom were black. Last year, the same test produced a class of 40 recruits, including 12 blacks.
Insisting that an all-white class should not happen in a city where two-thirds of the residents are black, the mayor formed a recruiting and hiring committee with members from the NAACP, a black firefighters group, two local unions and the mayor's office of employment development.
The committee helped identify a test that is deemed more fair. The questions measure cognitive skills, practical intelligence, interpersonal skills and self awareness, Gardner said.
In addition, the department agreed to hold regular recruitment seminars at public schools and universities to keep a continuous pool of qualified candidates.
Starting with the test in June, monthly tests will be administered, replacing the testing that took place every two years. Those who fail will be offered free classes in test-taking skills.
``Contrary to some of the racial ugliness we hear, this is not about lowering standards, it's about improving our recruitment standards,'' the mayor said.
