The outright stares of 1981 are thankfully long gone, but it is still a novelty being a woman at the National Fire Academy. Everywhere, that is, except in the fire courses. The course I taught had no female students in it at all, and the others running concurrently had one or two at most, among twenty-plus men. Likewise, there are relatively few men or women of color attending NFA programs. The people who run the National Fire Academy are aware of this, and in fact the problem was part of the incentive to create the new diversity course that debuted at the IAFC's Fire-Rescue International in Kansas City in August.
Inclusion is valued, but tradition dies hard.
Another factor contributing to the homogeneous makeup of many classes is that, increasingly, NFA courses are aimed at senior fire officers, where women and minority men are least well represented. Many other courses have similar admission standards. Since NFA courses are much more in demand than they were in 1981, the academy by necessity must choose among applicants, and hierarchy of position is one criterion. Still, opportunities exist even for firefighters to have the Emmitsburg experience. Elective management courses may also be open to those at a variety of ranks.