City Councillor Annissa Essaibi George secured an endorsement on Monday from Boston’s firefighters, who promised in a statement that they “will be heard and celebrated” in an Essaibi George administration.

The sitting at-large councillor, a Dorchester resident, has also received endorsements from former Boston Police Commissioner William Gross and from the Massachusetts Nurses Association.

John Soares, president of the International Association of Fire Fighters Local 718, joined other union leaders at Florian Hall to announce the endorsement, the second that George has collected from the first-responder community during her campaign.

“Since her early days on the Boston City Council, she has demonstrated her unwavering commitment and support for Boston’s first responders,” Soares said. “We do not take this mayoral race lightly. We know from experience the significance of having a mayor who is not only understanding of the importance of public safety but respects those who are tasked with that duty.”

Essaibi George, in turn, promised to modernize fire stations and fire-fighting equipment “to ensure that [firefighters] are able to show up, do their job, protect life, and respond quickly.” She also underscored plans to expand health care benefits for Boston firefighters, saying “for those who are responding in our time of need, the City needs to make sure we are responding in their time of need.”

The Boston Fire Department has been hit hard by cancer cases in recent years and currently has two 30-year-old members suffering from occupational cancer. Essaibi George said the city should be responsible for ensuring that firefighters’ “physical health and mental health are top-notch.”

Speaking to the need for increased diversity in an overwhelming white and male department, she said that the Boston Society of the Vulcans, a non-profit composed of Black and Latinx firefighters, is the first place to start.

“There’s a lot of work that needs to be done within that program to fine tune it and make sure that it works,” she said. “We need to make sure that the kids of Boston see themselves reflected in the firefighting force.”

Boston’s fire service is 94.3 percent male and 95.6 percent white, according to the City of Boston’s personnel records. The BFD has long faced criticism from within and without for its lack of diversity and its so-called “locker-room” culture.

“I do believe together we can make sure that all of our female firefighters across the district will feel not just welcome in our firehouses but a part of the team,” said Essaibi George. “If we’re going to look to change anything in the city of Boston, we need to do it together.”

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Dorchester’s Erin Murphy, who is running for at-large council, also received an endorsement from Local 718 this week. She finished in sixth position in the 2019 election, and was the first candidate in this year’s at-large race to win the union’s support, which came in the form of a unanimous membership vote last week.

– BILL FORRY

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Michelle Wu last week picked up the endorsement of the Democratic committee in Ward 4, which includes parts of the South End, Back Bay, and Fenway. Wu once chaired the committee when she lived in that part of the city. Jonathan Cohn, chair of the committee cited Wu’s “work on climate justice, housing stability, racial equity” in making the endorsement. “She helped redefine the role of the Council and will bring a similarly proactive approach to the job of mayor,” he said.

– BILL FORRY