CLEVELAND — Should the way Cleveland hires firefighters go up in flames?
A News 5 Investigation found that despite decades of government oversight and legal battles to increase diversity, the Cleveland Division of Fire Department remains mostly white.
We found 74% of the department's firefighters are white. Only 13% are Black.
Cleveland added 31 new firefighters to its ranks this September. None of whom are Black.
'An ongoing challenge'
"I'm not surprised," Ronnie Dunn said.
Dunn is a professor of urban studies at Cleveland State University who has studied diversity within the city's safety forces for decades.
"There's been challenges in increasing diversity in our public safety forces," Dunn said.
Over 50 years ago, the federal government ordered Cleveland to hire more Black firefighters after Black firefighters alleged racial discrimination in the city's hiring practices. Back then, just 4% of the department was Black.
Federal oversight lasted for decades. It was terminated in 2013 when roughly 26% of the department was Black, double the percentage today.
Dunn said it is disappointing that the number of Black firefighters has significantly declined since the federal consent decree ended.
"That's an ongoing challenge we have to wrestle with as a community and a society," Dunn said.
"The fact that there might be federal oversight and monitoring initially ensures compliance in that area," he said. "But once they're [Cleveland] no longer under the consent decree relative to fire, we see that the numbers obviously have regressed."
By comparison, 25% of the city's paramedics and EMTs and 32% of Cleveland's police force are Black.
'There was racial tension'
Johnny Brewington is also disappointed that the number of Black firefighters in Cleveland has significantly dropped.
"It does hurt my heart a little bit," Brewington said.
The retired Cleveland firefighter was hired in 1981 when the fire department was under federal oversight.
He said it wasn't easy.
There were "bitter feelings" about the federal court order, known as the Headen decree, that forced the city to hire more Black firefighters, he said.
"I won't say we were split racially, but you could tell there was racial tension," Brewington said.
He spent his career helping recruit and train Black firefighters - and other minorities, including women — so they felt more encouraged and supported than he did.
"If you stay blaming and being in the victim mode, you're not going to fix it," Brewington said.
He said Cleveland's current leaders should examine and look at the process being used to hire firefighters.
"If you are going to a destination and you're going by train, the tracks are laid to go a certain way," he said. "You can change the conductor, but you still gonna wind up at the same destination."
'Critically important'
Both Brewington and Dunn said increasing diversity would help the fire department provide better customer service to residents.
"It reflects the values that people of different race and gender can bring to the community because they are fabric of that community — and it's hard to get that understanding if you're not a fabric in that community," Brewington said.
"I would say it's critically important," Dunn said. "There are obvious benefits to having a diverse fire service. It enhances public safety for all of us when our public servants and first responders reflect the communities that they serve."
"Firefighters do more than put out fires," Dunn said. "They educate our schools and our communities on fire prevention. They enforce fire safety codes as well as respond to emergencies, medical emergencies, hazardous waste emergencies — so it's a communications-driven profession, and diversity helps to improve communication."
He said increased diversity also helps build trust within minority neighborhoods and "bridges cultural and communications divides and barriers, which is essential in emergency situations — where every second counts."
Why are there so few Black firefighters?
Antoine Crews is the President of the Vanguards, the union that represents the city's Black firefighters.
Crews also said the city needs to evaluate its hiring process. He said it is highly subjective — there are no criteria for what is considered disqualifying in a candidate's background.
He also said Cleveland leaders have failed to take action to increase diversity within the fire service.
"We have to move," he said. "As we sit and stay... we are not graduating minorities into the fire department."
Cleveland Safety Director Wayne Drummond, who hires the city's firefighters, declined our request for an on-camera interview.
A city spokesperson said Drummond is working with the Vanguards to increase diversity. Below is the city's full statement:
"The Department of Public Safety is actively engaging with the Vanguards of Cleveland to attract a broader pool of qualified applicants and strengthen our retention efforts, ensuring that our fire workforce reflects the diversity of our great city."
The 'underdog'
Orlando Booker said he was one of the top applicants for the 40th class of Cleveland firefighters, which graduated this fall.
Out of hundreds of applicants, Booker said he was ranked 30th.
But when Cleveland selected 40 candidates for the class, he was not among them.
"I was hurt," he said. "I'm destined to be a fireman."
Booker also said he received no information from the city about why he wasn't selected. A city spokesperson told News 5 that Cleveland can't legally disclose why Booker did not get hired.
If the city had clear criteria about how a candidate's background should - or shouldn't - impact the decision to hire them, Crews thinks Booker would have gotten the job.
"If the disqualification criteria was in place, Orlando Booker would be hired today," Crews said.
At 5 feet 2 inches and 140 pounds, Booker said he's often been considered an underdog.
"I don't take the denial so harshly," Booker said. "I just take it as another shot to give."
He plans to apply to become a Cleveland firefighter again — and is confident he will achieve his dream.
"I am one of the underdogs," he said. "But there's always a great story about an underdog."
