The Madison Fire Department opened up their applications for firefighter positions Wednesday and included a special note encouraging women and people of color to apply.
Minorities and women are typically underrepresented in the fire service, Arthur Price, MFD division chief, said.
MFD has always tried to encourage women and people of color to apply for positions as firefighters, Price said. They even include a specific encouragement in their application announcement in order to show that the department is looking for a diverse set of applicants, Price said.
“Traditionally there isn’t a high population of minorities in this field,” Price said. “When you don’t put that out there, some people that don’t have this on their radar don’t think of this as a viable option for themselves. We want to make sure that people of color and women know that they are needed and wanted.”
Currently, there are 377 commissioned fire fighters in MFD. Out of the 377 firefighters, 42 of them are women, 47 are people of color and two are females of color, Price said.
In the recruitment process, MFD tries to reach out to a wide variety of groups in order to get the most diverse set of applicants possible. Representatives speak to various organizations and community leaders both in person and over social media, Price said.
MFD accepts applications about once every two years, Price said. Out of the applications, about 250 are set aside as potential hires over the next two years. Typically somewhere between 30-40 of those individuals are hired, Price said.
When Price joined the Department 25 years ago, he had no previous firefighting experience and has worked his way up to division chief.
“We are looking for good people,” Price said. “We want people who can handle the rigor of what we do as firefighters. We know we can teach them the technical components.”
Anyone interested in MFD is encouraged to apply, even without any past firefighting experience. Applicants are required to be 18 or older, have a valid driver’s license and a high school diploma or equivalent.
