SAN DIEGO — A program in San Diego is training the next generation of firefighters while addressing diversity disparities in fire service.
Making the world a better place was at the top of the list when Luis Rodriguez thought about a career path.
He is a new recruit at the Southwestern College Fire Academy, training to become a firefighter and learning new things every session.
“It brings a lot of joy and gratitude, being able to have the skills necessary to help people that are in need,” Rodriguez said.
The program is also trying to address the diversity disparities in the fire service.
According to the Harvard Business Review, 96% of U.S. career firefighters are men and 82% are white.
Rodriguez grew up in Tijuana and San Diego and hopes his Hispanic heritage can help the community he serves.
“I’m in tune with the culture and what they need, what they may need at a certain moment and the quickness of being able to use Spanish or English at any given moment is an added benefit,” he said.
Lorraine Hutchinson leads the program and knows how important it is to have firefighters that look like all members of the community.
Now retired from a 25-year career, she was San Diego’s first and only African American woman deputy fire chief. Hutchinson remembers it never crossed her mind that she could be a firefighter until she was in her twenties.
“A coworker just asked me ‘Have you ever thought of being a firefighter?’ and I had never seen a woman firefighter in my life and that was about 1987,” Hutchinson recalls.
She says the fire service is a field traditionally underrepresented by minorities, and especially women. She’s proud there are recruits of all backgrounds and genders in this fire class and hopes to continue shaping inclusive and effective emergency response teams in the future.
“I get the opportunity to reach out to people who wouldn’t know that this profession is for them, kind of like me,” Hutchinson said. “If people can see me, then they can be me.”
Rodriguez says his choice of career path surprised his family but now they are proud to see him working so hard. He hopes he can inspire others from all different backgrounds to follow the same path.
“A big surprise for them because they didn’t know I was interested, and I didn’t know either until very late into my adulthood,” Rodriguez said. “In a sense, it’s something that brings me a lot of joy, that I might be able to help others with this career.”
According to Southwestern College, graduates of the Fire Academy, which opened in 2021, have served at local fire-rescue departments, including Imperial Beach Fire Rescue, Chula Vista, San Diego and Cal Fire.
The program boasts a 61% employability rate from the two previous academies.