Of Aurora's 446 firefighters: —18 are Black —31 are women — Only 3 are Black women.
At the Denver Fire Department, of 1,085 sworn employees, 33 are Black men and one is a Black female. The department also employs 508 white men and 27 white women; eight American Indian or Alaska Native men; 13 Asian men; 18 men who identified as other or multiracial; and 296 men and 50 women undetermined, according to department data.
The fire rescue’s efforts include targeted recruitment, focusing on more face-to-face contact with underrepresented groups in an attempt to dispel some of the historical distrust of government and encourage more people to apply, said Deputy Chief Allen Robnett. Now, she has a black and white picture hanging in a hallway in her house of her dad sitting on a bench next to his teammates in Memphis. It’s signed by Charley Pride, the singer who played with her dad before he became famous for his music.
Up until graduating from the academy, Hancock said she had no idea she would be Aurora’s only Black female firefighter. It wasn’t until people starting shaking her hand, telling her they were all waiting to see if she would succeed. Firefighter Danielle Allen, right, salutes and celebrates Lt. Kathleen Hancock’s recent promotion at Aurora Fire Station 1 on Thursday, March 16, 2023.
Allen, 28, speaks multiple languages, including Spanish and Arabic. The Princeton graduate was hired in 2018 and has recently been working to develop a language app to help firefighters communicate with people in Spanish. She’s also created a webinar series to teach non-native English speakers in Aurora how to communicate with first responders in English. And she often leads mini “history lessons” with other crew members about various populations of residents.
There are other challenges, too, when it comes to hiring women. The fire service has been a traditionally male profession and the job is considered blue-collar and physical, said Ronda Scholting, spokesperson for West Metro Fire Rescue, headquartered in Lakewood. Sixteen of its 409 firefighters are women.
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