Fire Commissioner Daniel A. Nigro Announces Results of Recent Firefighter Exam

November 13, 2017

Fire Commissioner Daniel A. Nigro announced today a record-setting number of people took the recent Firefighter exam (46,305) and – for the first time ever – people of color comprised a majority of the test takers (26,018, or 56 percent). Also, more women took the test than ever before (4,181) – more than twice as many compared to the 2012 exam (1,948).

“Our unprecedented recruitment campaign has succeeded in drawing interest in a firefighting career from more young men and women than ever before,” said Fire Commissioner Nigro. “And our goal to expand and further diversify the applicant pool by attracting more women and people of color has also achieved record-breaking success.”

The following data lists results from the 2012 firefighter exam and the recent 2017 test:

Ethnicity 2012 Exam 2017 Exam % Change
Asian 1,315 2,032 + 55%
Black 8,192 11,409 + 39%
Hispanic 9,580 12,337 + 29%
Native American 178 240 + 35%
Unknown 0 4 0%
White 22,896 20,283 -11%
TOTAL 42,161 46,305 + 10%
 
Gender 2012 Exam 2017 Exam % Change
Women 1,948 4,181 + 115%
Males 40,213 42,124 + 5%
TOTAL 42,161 46,305 + 10%
 

The $10 million firefighter recruitment campaign included staffing more than 10,200 events throughout the city during the 18 months prior to administration of the exam; more than 1.7 million email communications to applicants; 150,000 phone calls to interested recruits; 14,771 applicants attended an FDNY in-person tutorial session; and 8,600 people downloaded online tutorial material to help them prepare for the exam. (The computer-based test was administered to applicants during September and October at multiple testing locations throughout the city.)