Fire Department Seeking Asian American Applicants

The Los Angeles County Fire Department will hold seminars throughout Southern California in April to boost the number of Asian Americans applying to the department, which is hiring for the first time in seven years.

Only 54 of 2,400 firefighters employed by the county Fire Department are of Asian ancestry.

As a result, an informational seminar for prospective applicants is scheduled tonight in Gardena. It will be held 7 to 9 p.m. at the Nisei Memorial Veterans Hall, 1962 W. 162nd St.

“We really want to be sensitive to the community,” said Deputy Fire Chief Darrell Higuchi, the department’s highest-ranking Asian American member.

“We want the department to reflect the community it serves. . . . It’s really only fair.”

Fire officials have taken several steps to spread the word within the Asian community that the department is hiring, said Kerry Yim, a firefighter specialist who has been working on the recruitment effort.

Those include contacting Asian-language newspapers and sports groups and scheduling seminars at Asian churches and community centers.

The department has about 100 slots, Yim said.

For information, call (213) 881-2411.