Articles Available Online
- Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Fire Service by John K MurphyFire Engineering March 2023
"DEI training is not litigation prevention training. It is a method to train your fighters about other members of your organization." - Discrimination, Diversity, and Harassment: A Legal Primer for Fire Department Leadership by John K. MurphyFire Engineering October 2022
"This three-part article will discuss diversity, discrimination, and harassment, and what the fire department’s responsibilities are to their firefighters and the community." - What it means to really commit to a diverse and inclusive fire department by Kristopher T. BlumeFireRescue1 July 23, 2020
"Consistency and persistence of inclusive values will help the fire service leaders move beyond hollow proclamations of diversity."
More Articles Available Online
- Twists of history give rise to modern wildland firefighting among Native AmericansThis blog post from Chapman University's "Teach Me This" series has anthropologist Paul Apodaca presenting information about current Native American firefighters and the historical roots of firefighting among Native Americans.
- Roadmap to Recruiting Diverse FirefightersThis article from Fire Rescue 1 offers a list of reasons why diversity is so important, and what an emphasis on diversity can bring to a department, as well as concrete suggestions for how departments can recruit more minorities and people of color. They also highlight a specific department's efforts at doing so: Kansas City Fire Department.
- Making U.S. Fire Departments More Diverse and InclusiveThis HBR article details the ways in which US fire departments often fall short on reflecting the communities they serve, why that's a problem, and suggestions on how to fix it. Bendersky focuses on the LA and LA county fire departments, but the suggestions are applicable across the board.
- Meet The History-Making Firefighters Of First All-Women Staffed Engine Company In NYCThis video is from NBC's Today Show: Women You Should Know covers the first all-female engine company in New York's FDNY.
- Native Tribes Are Taking Fire Control Into Their Own HandsThis Wired article describes the ways in which Native American tribes are using traditional knowledge to protect against wildfires in California and the western United States.
- Be a Different Firefighter: Accepting Diversity and DifferencesThis article from Fire Engineering describes how firefighters can embrace the differences that make each of them unique, and the diversity within their department.
- Why New York's First Trans Firefighter Put Her Life on FilmThis article from Vice profiles Brooke Guinan, the first openly transgender firefighter in FDNY history, as well as the documentary film about her life. Guinan worked with documentary filmmaker Julie Sokolow to create the film.
Books Available at IFSI Library
Black Heroes of Fire: The History of the First African American Fire Company in Chicago, Fire Engine Company 21 by
This expos introduces and describes the background of the members of Engine 21. Engine 21 was Chicago's first organized paid African American Firefighting Company. The writer provides information and insight on changes from Slavery to Freedom in the African American Community and the political impact that affected change for African American Firefighters, during this period of reconstruction in America.
Call Number: TH9505.C4 .W142 2019ISBN: 9781495178306Publication Date: 2019
Firefight by
In 1919, when Wesley Williams became a New York City firefighter, he stepped into a world that was 100% white and predominantly Irish. As far as this city knew, black men in the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) tended horses. Nearly a century later, many things in the FDNY had changed--but not the scarcity of blacks. New York had about 300 black firefighters--roughly 3 percent of the 11,000 New York firefighters in a city of two million African Americans. That made the FDNY a true aberration compared to all the other uniformed departments, like the NYPD. Decades earlier, women and blacks had sued over its hiring practices and won. But the FDNY never took permanent steps to eradicate the inequities, which led toa courtroom show-down between New York City's billionaire Mayor, Mike Bloomberg, and a determined group of black activist firefighters. It was not until 2014 that the city settled the $98 million lawsuit. At the center of this book are stories of courage--about firefighters risking their lives in the line of duty but also risking their livelihood by battling an unjust system. Among them: FDNY Captain Paul Washington, a second generation black firefighter, who spent his multi-decade career fighting to get minorities on the job. He faced an insular culture made up of relatives who never saw their own inclusion as favoritism. Based on author Ginger Adams Otis' years of on the ground reporting,Firefight is an exciting blend of the high-octane energy of firefighting and critical Civil Rights history.
Call Number: TH9505.N5 .O85 2015ISBN: 9781137280015Publication Date: 2015-05-26
Fire Service Ethics by
Fire Service Ethics is the first textbook specifically developed to help fire service personnel deal with ethical dilemmas. Firefighters and fire service leaders will find benefit from this important tool to aid them in dealing with complex issues. No other profession places such discretionary burden on its practitioners as the fire service. The military, law enforcement, the medical profession, and legal profession all provide a robust set of ethical policies and guidelines to their members. Fire Service Ethics provides the foundation for creating ethical boundaries.Fire Service Ethics meets and exceeds the course outcomes and course objectives for the National Fire Academy FESHE Model Curriculum Bachelor's (Non-Core) course called Fire Service Ethics (C0303). It is also well suited for fire officer and administration development programs. Section 1 of the book is entitled Foundations. Its four chapters are intended to provide the reader with the basic understanding of ethics necessary to master the material in the succeeding three sections. Chapter 1 is recommended for all readers, as it addresses the important questions of ethical relevance to the fire service. Chapters 2, 3 & 4 are grounded in academic approaches to ethics and are specifically intended to be used in college courses. The material within the sections encourages critical analysis of ethical systems, and understanding of the basics of human behavior.Section 2 of the book is entitled Ethics on The Line. Its chapters address issues directly related to rank-and-file firefighters, and company officers. The section also deals with diversity; first as an abstract concept, and then as it applies specifically to the fire service. Section 2 is intended to serve dual purposes. First, it is designed to be included in an academic curriculum aimed at future firefighters. Secondly, Section 2 - combined with Section 4 - encompasses the majority of material appropriate for inclusion in fire service training programs.Section 3 of the text is dedicated to Administrative Ethics. The chapters within the section explore ethics issues faced by fire chiefs and senior administrative personnel. Included within the section are chapters on the building and maintenance of an ethical work culture, the ethical responsibilities associated with administration, and finally, ethics laws. Section 3 - combined with Sections 1 and 4 - is especially appropriate for officer development programs and collegiate programs in fire administration.Section 4 of the book is entitled Applied Ethics. The three chapters within the section deal with the application of ethics on the personal and department level. Included within the section are chapters on ethical decision-making, mechanisms by which unethical behavior is engaged, and a review of current ethical issues affecting local fire departments. Section 4 is universal in its application and should be used in all collegiate programs, as well as in firefighter and fire officer training programs.
Call Number: TH9158 .W36 2020ISBN: 9781284171655Publication Date: 2018-11-28
Molly, by Golly! by
This legendary tale introduces young readers to Molly Williams, an African American cook for New York City's Fire Company 11, who is considered to be the first known female firefighter in U.S. history. One winter day in 1818, when many of the firefighting volunteers are sick with influenza and a small wooden house is ablaze, Molly jumps into action and helps stop the blaze, proudly earning the nickname Volunteer Number 11. Relying on historic records and pictures and working closely with firefighting experts, Dianne Ochiltree and artist Kathleen Kemly not only bring this spunky and little-known heroine to life but also show how fires were fought in early America.
Call Number: PZ7 .O34 2012ISBN: 9781590787212Publication Date: 2012-09-01
Multicultural and Diversity Strategies for the Fire Service by
As the fire service becomes a microcosm of American society, Multicultural and Diversity Strategies for the Fire Service provides a useful tool to effectively address key issues and challenges of cultural diversity. This book provides valuable lessons on cultural competence, the value of cultural differences, and the acquisition of cross-cultural skills to be used in fire science college courses or fire academies at the city, fire-district, state or federal level. An advanced and exceptional multicultural writing team, the authors bring years of experience from positions of Organizational Psychologist, Criminal Justice instructor and State Police patrol supervisor working side-by-side with firefighters. Real world experience combined with strategies, information and tools in this progressive work will result in improved firefighter performance and professionalism.
Call Number: HF5549.5 .M5 W645 2009ISBN: 0132388073Publication Date: 2008-05-19
Sisters in the Fire: The FIRST African American Women Firefighters by
"This book features the untold stories of African American women who were responsible for integrating the US fire service. Its purpose is to honor and recognize their place in history, by telling their stories." --from the cover
Call Number: HD8039.F52 2020ISBN: 9781734584004Publication Date: 2020
Summers of Fire by Call Number: TH9118.S77 2018ISBN: 1945805668Publication Date: 2018-05-01Linda Strader is one of the first women hired on a fire crew with the U.S. Forest Service. A naïve twenty-year-old in the mid-1970s, she discovers fighting wildfires is challenging--but in a man's world, they became only one of the challenges she would face.
Burnt by Call Number: TH9118. F73 .A3 2023ISBN: 9781419763908Publication Date: 2023-05-23Burnt is a captivating and "evocative" (Erin Brockovich) memoir of trailblazing and firefighting from California's first--and only--female chief of fire protection, a pioneering woman in a male-dominated field.
Sister in a Brotherhood by Call Number: TH9118 .Sch65 2022ISBN: 9798985688108Publication Date: 2022Hired in 1987 by a large urban Fire-Rescue Department in South Florida, Cindie rose through the ranks and retired as a captain after 28 years on the force. Sister in a Brotherhood shares her story of perseverance, grit, and commanding respect.
Black Fire by Call Number: TH9118 .C73 2007ISBN: 9781596293281Publication Date: 2007-02-10Robert J Crawford was one of the first 12 black firefighter hired by the City of Memphis. He came through the ranks as the first black battalion chief, deputy chief and deputy director. This book details his experiences as a boy growing up in Memphis and as a black firefighter. This is a first hand personal experience of what black firefighters faced from a systemic manipulation to deny them opportunity and examples of tactics used to "get rid of them."
My Real Black Fire by Call Number: TH9505.N5 .H537 2022ISBN: 1639858393Publication Date: 2022-08-12I NEVER ALLOWED MY FIREFIGHTER'S LIFE'S PURPOSE TO CONSIDER ONE'S GENDER, COLOR OR RELIGION TO PREVENT ME FROM STEPPING IN HARM'S DEADLY PATH, IN THE PRESERVATION OF A LIFE UNKNOWN TO ME. LT. BILL HIGH.., FDNY
Fire Girl by Call Number: SD421.25.M46 2023 3rd edISBN: 9780982605042Publication Date: 2012-04-01From the mundane everyday station work to battling raging forest fires with near death experiences, Jan tells her story with humor and honesty of being the only girl at a mountain fire station. 100% of all proceeds of Fire Girl will go to the Wildland Fire Fighter Foundation. To see better quality and higher resolution full color photos that appear in the book, go to www.wildlandfirewomen.com There are bonus photos both past and present as well as video
Lifting the Fire Hydrant Lid by Call Number: TH9119 .F957 2019ISBN: 9781909762947Publication Date: 2020-02-27Lifting the Fire Hydrant Lid examines the more intricate difficulties experienced by minority groups and gives a voice to a profession that is seldom heard and rarely seen.
The Fire Within by Call Number: SD421,25 ,H398 2023ISBN: 9798350916713Publication Date: 2023-11-03It's been said that America's wildland firefighters have earned a reputation for being among the best wildland firefighters in the world. Historically considered a male-only occupation, women have a long and varied history in wildland firefighting documented back at least to the 1600s.
Black Firefighters and the FDNY by Call Number: TH9505. N5 .G63 2017ISBN: 9781469661469Publication Date: 2020-08-01Full of colorful characters and rousing stories drawn from oral histories, discrimination suits, and the archives of the Vulcan Society (the fraternal society of Black firefighters in New York), this book sheds new light on the impact of Black firefighters in the fight for civil rights.
DVDs Available at IFSI Library
Woman on fire by
In February 2015, the Village Voice heralded the arrival of "New York's Bravest"--Brooke Guinan, the first openly transgender firefighter in New York City. As a third-generation firefighter, Brooke has a passion for heroism that runs in her blood. Her father George is a respected lieutenant and 9/11 survivor with a 35-year legacy in the FDNY. People always asked Brooke if she would follow in her father's footsteps. But when Brooke transitions from male to female in her father's workplace, it poses a challenge not only to a "macho" profession, but also to the customs of the people she cares about the most: her traditional family.
Call Number: HQ77.7.G85 .W66 2017Publication Date: 2017