There have been lawsuits and pressure put on the city and the department, but only about 3 percent of the FDNY's force is black, a persistently low number in a city with a black population of more than 3 million.
But things in the department are slowly changing, thanks in part to the Vulcan Society, an organization of black FDNY firefighters who have led the charge in trying to change the face of the department.
This week, the group secured yet another victory. A judge had already deemed that the city and the department had for decades systematically denied blacks, Latinos and women entry to their ranks. The tests used during the hiring process were racially biased, courts determined, and the city was forced to develop a new test, which will be introduced for the first time in February.
