Dayton Fire Department recruit class most diverse ever, assistant chief says

The 22-member class is less than two months into training and has come from years of effort.

"We've had a push to increase diversity for years and the last couple years we're starting to see some major success," Assistant Chief Mike Rice told News Center 7's Molly Koweek on Tuesday.

"Firefighting is a team sport. We need to go through it for may reasons as a team, and we teach that from the beginning," he said. "And we hope that the class gels, which it has. And they get through it as a group."

Rice said the department is going to continue to climb in its diversity numbers.

And while the department is 90 percent male and there are no women in this year's recruit class, the fire department is working to correct those markers as well, Rice said.