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.)