WEST ALLIS, Wis. (SPECTRUM NEWS)--A Wisconsin fire department is moving towards more diversity in its fire house in hopes of paving the way for the fire service.
Inside the West Allis Fire Department you will see men and women of many different backgrounds. One thing they all have in common, is a love for serving their community.
"This is the best job in the world. In my opinion there is no better job than this," West Allis Fire Department Mobil Integrated Health Department Director, Armando Suarez Del Real said.
For Deputy Chief Michael Wright, leading a team of diverse men and women is something he's always hoped for. He was the first African American firefighter in West Allis and now, he's moved up to Deputy Chief.
"When I first got here I didn't even realize that I would be the first black firefighter or anything like that. I really just wanted a career, I really just wanted a job and to be successful and I wanted to have a good living. So coming in to it, I didn't even know that until someone told me," West Allis Fire Department Deputy Chief, Michael Wright said.
Little did he know all of his hard work and determination would pave a path of diversity for many others just like him in the department.
"For him to be in the position that he is, it’s great for the community. It’s not just comprised of one nationality one color. When we go to these PR events at schools you see little kids that are white, black, brown and they need to see someone that looks like them in order to believe that they can do that position as well," West Allis Fire Department Firefighter, Chris Williams said.
It's an evolving trend that firefighter Logan Ballering has seen firsthand while growing up watching his dad in the fire service.
"As time goes on it definitely has been becoming more diverse, which in my opinion is great. It's important because the public can relate to the fire department that serves them and for us to be similar in that sense. So the fact that the fire department is diverse like the community we serve, it's important," West Allis Fire Department Firefighter, Logan Ballering said.
Their goal is to hold diversity to a higher standard and create a new normal in this day in age.
"We're not bucking tradition but we're not accepting it as the norm. We are looking outside the box to be cliché and looking at alternative methods of providing a serve for the tax payers that we are responsible for," Suarez Del Real said.
At the end of the day no matter the color of their skin or where they came from these men and women are family, a fire family.
"It's not an exaggeration when everyone says that the people on the fire department are your second family," West Allis Fire Department Firefighter, Nicholas Batts said.
