Sacramento firefighters begin harassment training following racial discrimination claims

The Sacramento Fire Department has started implementing mandatory harassment and discrimination training following revelations that Black and female employees of the Sacramento Fire Department have been subjected to harassment, bullying and racial insensitivity in a predominantly white and male department.

Fire Department spokesman Capt. Keith Wade said that as of last week all firefighters would be required to complete a training module on preventing discrimination in the workplace. In addition, managers would be required to take additional training courses.

“We are being proactive to ensure that our firefighters, captains and all employees of our agency are trained and informed up to the standards and expectations of our fire administration,” Wade said.

He said the recent addition to the training curriculum at the Fire Department comes as a response to current and former firefighters’ concerns about a “hostile environment” within the department. The Sacramento Bee reported that former employees who are minorities said they often did not feel welcome and were targeted by colleagues and high-ranking officials within the agency.

It also comes nearly six weeks after the resignation of Desmond Lewis, a Black firefighter who told The Sacramento Bee that his experience with the department included racial insensitivity, bullying and harassment from colleagues. He said the treatment was enough for him to walk away from his “dream job.”

“This is not in response to his resignation,” Wade said, referring to Lewis “After the concerns that were shared by Desmond and others were made known, we took steps to mandate training.”

According to a November 2020 Sacramento Audit Report, just 3% of the department’s 657 employees are Black in a city where 11.3% of residents are Black. The audit also showed 10% of fire personnel are women – the lowest percentage of any department in the city.

This story was originally published March 12, 2021 at 3:55 PM.