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Updated: 11:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 22, 2011 | Posted: 6:45 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 22, 2011
By Lucas Sullivan
Staff Writer
DAYTON — The 80-year-old woman gasps for air as she drags her oxygen line along the floor of her east Dayton apartment, past firefighter Mike Spencer.
The broad-shouldered, black firefighter towers over the elderly white woman with emphysema who is barely 5-feet tall and 100 pounds.
Spencer, 41, helps her downstairs to a waiting ambulance like he was taking his own mother to the hospital.
His tender touch is not unusual for firefighters at Dayton Fire Department Company 18, housed in the fire station at 207 S. Smithville Road. What is unusual is Spencer is one of just six black firefighters, including Chief Herbert Redden, out of about 300 firefighters in the entire department.
DFD’s diversity has continued to worsen during the last 20 years as blacks who felt empowered to serve their community during the civil rights movement of the 1960s have retired, but have been ineffective in passing the torch.
A U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit filed in 2008 also found the city’s hiring practices, such as job experience requirements, discriminated against minorities.
Nearly two years later, the diversity of both the fire and police departments has continued to decline as the city has been unable to hire candidates while spending nearly $600,000 to overhaul its testing, recruiting and hiring practices.
Of the more than 650 police and firefighters employed by the city, less than 40 are black, despite Dayton’s black population estimated at about 62,000.
Spencer said race doesn’t usually matter to people in need of emergency help, like his elderly patient in need of oxygen.
She made no mention of it and even thanked him through her oxygen mask. But Spencer and his fellow white firefighters at Company 18 said his presence at some tense scenes that involve black residents have helped defuse situations.
It’s hard for Spencer and others to pinpoint why more blacks aren’t firefighters.
Frustrated largely over practices by insurance companies denying claims to needy patients, Spencer walked away from a successful accounting career in his early 30s because he wanted something more rewarding.
Spencer recalled seeing a firefighter on North Main Street “and I stopped and asked him a few questions. I remember myself asking, ‘Man running into a burning building? I don’t know if I can do that.’”
Redden said he wanted to be a firefighter since he was about 12 after watching firefighters battle flames that destroyed a neighbor’s home.
“None of them were black,” Redden said.
He and Redden said more blacks don’t apply largely due to a lack of knowledge about what firefighters do and lack of parental support.
“These kids today I think care more about themselves than serving their community,” Redden said. “We also have a lot of individuals who are unemployed, and they should seize the opportunity to work for their local government. It’s not a bad paying job, either.”
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2494 or lsullivan@DaytonDailyNews.com.
When: The deadline to submit applications is 4:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 24.
Where: You can find applications at jobs.cityofdayton.org or at the Civil Service office, 371 W. Second St., Suite 231.
Requirements: Must between 18 and 35 years old, earned a high school diploma or GED and have a valid driver’s license.
What’s next: The civil service exam is scheduled for April 2.
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