Fire Department hopes to add more minorities, women to ranks

By Ian Koski
Managing Editor

Under the banner “Heroes Wanted,” the city has begun a multi-million dollar advertising campaign to beef-up the ranks of minorities and women in the New York City Fire Department.

“As we rebuild the Fire Department, we are committed to filling its ranks with qualified men and women who represent the city’s different communities,” Mayor Michael Bloomberg said last week. “The FDNY offers challenging and fulfilling career opportunities and we encourage all eligible New Yorkers to apply to become part of New York’s Bravest.”

The advertising campaign will cost an estimated $2.7 million, but the city will not be footing the bill. Multi-cultural marketing and communications company PASS is doing the work pro-bono. “With New York City in its current fiscal crisis, we are proud to be able to offer the FDNY our services to help strengthen its ranks, particularly in underrepresented communities,” said PASS co-founder Peter Arnell.”

“This is going to be an intensive outdoor campaign targeting young adults between the ages of 18-28,” co-founder Steven Stoute said. “We will saturate the city with ads on bus shelters, billboards and telephone kiosks in high-traffic, ethnically diverse areas.”

Potential candidates can file for the Nov. 23 written exam from July 1 to Sept. 30. To be eligible, candidates must not have passed their 29th birthday by July 1. Applicants can call (718) 999-FDNY, or (718) 999-3369.

For more information, visit the Fire Department's web site.