The Charlotte Fire Department is approaching its hiring process a little differently.
In August, after he was named the department's interim chief, Pete Key said among the challenges he hoped to address was a lack of diversity. On Saturday, for the first time in recent years, the Charlotte Fire Department held an open house for interested applicants. Current firefighters walked interested applicants through the process. Officials said they wanted to give recruits every opportunity to succeed.
Apart from the normal procedure, applicants were given the option to practice the cadet physical ability test and ask questions.
For current staff, it was their first opportunity to interact with potential recruits.