| Description: | This report presents the findings of three case studies which were conducted across sixteen Metro Fire departments in Seattle, Washington, Austin, Texas, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The project set out to test the hypothesis that the “hero” culture of the fire service increases the risk of injury and loss of life of both firefighters and community members when working with multicultural communities. The report also examines the perceptions of firefighters in their ability to meet the needs of multicultural communities, how multicultural communities perceive fire fighters’ ability to meet their needs, and what specific safety risks could be reduced to firefights and community members if firefighters had greater multicultural awareness and were better reflected in the community. A series of interviews and testimonials accompany report and are available to view in streaming format as are the finding from a survey which examines the racial composition of 108 metro fire departments. |