As many organizations in the city and beyond prepare to honour Black History Month, Toronto Fire Services for the first time will recognize it in a visible way throughout February.
Frank Jones, an eight-year firefighter with Toronto Fire Services, will see a specially designed Black History Month decal the next time he heads out on Station 132’s pumper with his colleagues on B platoon.
“It’s very important and I think sometimes when you recognize and support, specifically a group that is not of the majority, I think you’re sending a very direct message and it’s also telling the people of Toronto that, you know, we support and we represent,” Jones said.
Jones is one of half a dozen Black firefighters who collectively have been advocating for action and a more inclusive workplace. Over the past year, they have been having direct conversations with Toronto Fire Services Chief Matthew Pegg and his deputies as part of a confronting anti-Black racism initiative.
“We ran a series (called Hear Our Voices) where people would talk about their lived experience and in doing that, we actually did a summary and we let some of the senior management listen in on some of those conversations. From that, we had some action plans that were developed and those action plans led to having decals put on the truck,” he told CityNews during an interview after finishing an overnight shift on Tuesday.
“It was very, I think, empathetic for some of the senior management to be able to listen to those conversations that allowed them to make some changes and make an effort to recognize and support.”
“In [speaking with Pegg and senior managers], I think there becomes an understanding and when there’s an understanding then there’s a little bit more empathy, and then more action can come from that as opposed to the kind of the periphery stuff that a lot of people do.”
The decal, which was developed over several months, is going to be on all 124 fire trucks and potentially it could be expanded to smaller vehicles used by supervisors and managers. Its colours have particular meanings.
“The [red] represents and connects the people of African descent and also for liberation that was shed over the years, the black represents those who affirm and connect with the African flag and the green represents growth and the fertile lands of Africa,” Jones said.
However, the work of inclusion goes beyond the truck. He said the group of firefighters he works with is about acting as a support group for each other while externally making sure young, Black applicants can realize their professional aspirations.
“Representation matters, so when I or any other of the Black firefighters are out there on the job, it’s important that the public sees us and it’s really important, especially in our own community where young potential firefighters see us, that’s probably the greatest outreach program and the less expensive outreach program is seeing a Black firefighter on a truck so they can aspire to be one,” Jones said.
“We really try to make a really tight-knit community so that if something does happen to one of us or someone we know somebody that’s applying to the job, then we really all focus in and do as best we can to help that person throughout the whole process.
“We’ve seen some really, really good results with a lot of the guys coming on we’re getting to guys before they actually get to the interview, and it’s really allowing us to connect with them.”
He said the group has also worked with prospective job applicants who self-identify as Black to do pre-interviews, adding the hiring process can be lengthy and potentially costly with certifications.
“We really try to give them a lot of confidence that, ‘You’ve made it this far, now give a thousand per cent to make it that just extra step because it is difficult.’ I mean, you’re getting thousands of people that are applying for only a small amount of spots for Toronto Fire and if one of them happens to be a Black firefighter then fantastic,” Jones said.
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CityNews spoke with Pegg to ask about the points Jones raised and the advocacy he and others continue to do.
“There have absolutely been very, very candid and very honest discussions about what feeling supported looks like and about just sharing lived experience,” he said Tuesday morning.
“I will tell you that what I appreciate so much is the fact that I am surrounded and I have access to this group of people who are willing to be candid, are willing to tell me the truth and I think most importantly are willing to tell me when we don’t get it right.”
Pegg said after the discussions with Jones and others over the past year, there was a desire to see “very tangible, very visible” support for the Black community in Toronto and Black firefighters.
“This has been a long time coming and frankly, this is an example of something we haven’t got right in the past, but I’m excited about this year and I think it’s an important step,” he said, referring to the new decals.
“I could not be more proud of the decals that are now located on the truck … I know that I will spend the next month or so being proud every time I watch one of our trucks drive by.”
When asked about what outreach efforts are being made to prospective Black applicants, Pegg said a 2016-2017 Toronto Fire Service transformation plan identified a need for an inclusion strategy.
“Since that time, we have been working really hard too. We’ve evolved our recruitment process, we [have an] increased focus on community outreach and we’ve seen some really amazing results from that,” he said.
“The recruit class had just started this week, 104 new recruits in the fire academy, has a self-reported diversity rate of more than 35 per cent, so we’re doing better. We’ve got a long way to go.”
Pegg went on to say the recruitment and application processes have been “completely revamped.”
“We’ve looked critically at the minimum qualifications. We’ve completely restructured the interview questions. All with the same purpose and that is to identify any systemic barriers that are there and eliminate them, and then really being focused and committed as a team through that recruitment process to make sure that we are that we’re valuing and we’re respecting and we’re making these careers as accessible as possible,” he said.
“(It’s) all in support of one overarching goal that is very important to me, and that is that we become an even more inclusive workplace and an even more supportive workplace and we’re doing a good job of that. We’re not there yet. This is a lifelong journey, but we’re doing better.”
On the financial side, Pegg acknowledged the costs of becoming a firefighter and the barriers that go with that. He said Toronto Fire Services has reordered parts of the process to ensure applicants can do the aptitude and medical tests before committing to further education and training, “knowing that you have a reasonable prospect of being successful before you go and commit the amount of money.”
Meanwhile, as Black History Month begins on Feb. 1, Jones said he hopes it will foster conversation and inspire people to take individual actions of support throughout the month and beyond.
“Educating yourself, take that moment and maybe talk to somebody that you really don’t talk to. Understanding how sometimes maybe they feel or how the same thing that might happen to another firefighter may reflect differently on two different people,” he said.
“Black History Month is something that we all see, but you know it’s something that really we all should be taking a regular effort in our lives to allow that inclusivity.”