The New York City Fire Department is touting its recruitment campaign after releasing numbers Tuesday that show a record number of minority and women applicants took this year's firefighter exam.

Fire Commissioner Salvatore Cassano says more than 19,000 minorities took the test -- a 130 percent increase from the last time the test was given in 2007.

Nearly 2,000 women took the exam, which is more than the number of women who took the previous three tests combined.

"We did not just rest on our laurels after our success in 2006 campaign for the 2007 test," Cassano said. "We went out to churches, we went out to schools, we visited military installations, community centers, and set up on sidewalks throughout the city and did an incredible job of recruiting firefighters."

The FDNY held 6,000 recruiting events and spent $1 million on advertising in more than 60 communities.

A total of more than 42,000 people took the exam.