Undoing Our Own Efforts at Hiring Diversity with Trisha Wolford

 

Are you tired of hearing about diversity in the fire service yet?

I’m going to assume you are.

The question is, why, in 2018, almost 2019, are we still talking about it?

My guest on this show has an interesting theory:

The hiring process brings in more diverse probies, but then the training process homogenizes them all over again.

In short, the fire service gets the people of different backgrounds it wants, then undoes the whole thing once those people are in.

Here to explain how and why this can be avoided is Trisha Wolford.

Trisha is an assistant chief with the Spokane, Washington Fire Department. During over a decade in the fire service, she’s also worked for Montana and Maryland fire departments. She’s a member of the Executive Fire Officers Section’s Board and chair of the IAFC’s Professional Development. Committee.

Trisha’s article: Are we killing our own diversity?

Trivia question:
Accidental exposure to fentanyl or its OD victims is likely to be fatal, true or false?

Answer:
Accidental exposure to fentanyl or OD victims is NOT likely to be fatal according to the American College of Medical Toxicology. Stories circulating about sudden death or medics and firefighters becoming ill after skin exposure haven’t been validated with evidence. The usual PPE gear with protect you, experts say.