"You Girls Should Stay Home and Raise your Mans Kids"

[bybymarty]

News Flash
The Leader of the Old Regime of the Boston Fire Dept. has retired. Comm. Martin Pierce retired on 3/1/00. Now maybe there might be an oppourtunity to increase the number of female firefighters on the BFD from 12 of 1800 to maybe 15. I think maybe some of the politicans in the City of Boston should find a new Commissioner who will spend time bringing the dept out of the 19th century, and not waste all of his efforts on trying to destroy other city agencies to save firemens jobs and justify the existence of an outdated overstaffed racist and sexist agency. The BFD local is still angry with the city about removing the box tappers and putting radios in the firehouse as well as getting rid of the horses. Now 718 wants to take over the city EMS.

BFD over 100 years of tradition uninterrupted by progress.

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EMS Professionals
Experience the Difference
Experience is the difference

[bfd1071]

Hey **** bag...
Do you have a clue what you are talking about in any subject? Inorder to hire any females they need to take the test, and they should pass the test. Do you know how many women are on the BFD list? I can tell you this.....not to many. Then because they have to live in the city that limits us again. But we are racist because we do not hand out promotions like BEMS does, you know, who kisses *** the best.

Have you been into a firehouse lately? Let me guess, you sit in the front seat and hide when you pull into the fire house for fuel. You are a gutless coward.

We still have the old tappers for boxes struck. It's funny how you come out after Marty leaves. Dont talk about tradition until your profession is around long enough to have one.

[FyredUp]

Seems to me to be another case of sour grapes by EMS. As soon as the FD wants to integrate EMS the antagonists come out of the woodwork. If the current EMS in Boston was working so well the topic would never have come up. I haven't heard of the taxpayers having to wait for 10 or 15 or 20 minutes for a fire department response. But I guess that doesn't matter, protect the EMS kingdom at all costs.

By the way, when was the last time an EMS person raised a 40 foot bangor ladder or dragged a charged 2 1/2 down a smoke and heat charged hallway or had to chop a hole in a roof or any other of the physically intense jobs we do everyday? Oh yeah, I forgot they stand outside in those circumstances and wait for us to bring the victims to them. So, I guess from that viewpoint (standing outside) no physical standards are needed.

I am not at all opposed to women in the fire service. In fact another post in this forum asks for help in recruiting them. But I will not set different standards for them or anyone else. And if you read the posts on my question, they don't want different standards either, as long as the ones in place are fair and job related.

And before I get attacked as being just a volly from the sticks, I am also a career firefighter on a medium sized city department. Our EMS is part of the FD and in fact our EMS crews are first in on alot of fires.

[This message has been edited by FyredUp (edited March 02, 2000).]

[EXJAKE]

Hey FyredUp you sure are! Did you see the other post by this person?

It was in EMS General Forum. It was a beut.
It made criminal accusations against the Boston FD and flamed the hell out of Marty Pierce.

Some of us answered it and then complained to the web master about it. I hope you saw Gonzo's reply you would have loved it, bfd1071 would have too. It was such a work of art.

This person has changed the signature to usc1amndmnt and reposted calling us all communists and telling us to leave the country. ROFLMAO !!

I think we can expect this person to come back in disguise, so look for it!

http://www.firehouse.com/interactive/boards/uploads/devil.gif


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Good Luck and be careful out there,EXJAKE http://www.firehouse.com/interactive/boards/cool.gif



[This message has been edited by EXJAKE (edited April 18, 2000).]

[Captstanm]

You should get a life! There are a lot of women out there that can perform and do perform at a level higher than some men! Are you afraid of women in the Fire Service because they can't do the job or are you relly afraid that they may show you up or you may have to work for them?????

[Gin]

Hey guys (and ladies)... speaking as a female firefighter, I'm all for women in the fire service - IF they can hack it. This job is tough, double standards for physical fitness are unfair AND dangerous. I'm all for a rich tradition, and new ideas. If women want to be in the fire service then they should work hard. God knows I've had to. BFD is a wonderful dept... I've met some of you. All I'm saying is open your minds and arms to QUALIFIED (key word), dedicated, and motivated females. We can be part of a strong tradition. Fellow sisters... you have your work cut out for you - nothings worth it if you haven't earned it. God Bless.

~G

[siren-seiren]

YYAAWWNNNNNNN!! What a boring subject. What a OLD subject! For those men who can't get over change, GET OVER IT!!!! Move on, get a life, accept, enrich (do you see a pattern here?)
enough said

[fuego]

I work for a pro dept of over 1000 members.
about 5% are female. I could care less if the person I'm working with on any given day is male or female or of any given race or religion. I have worked for, with and had people working for me that fit any catagory you can name. I count all of them as friends.

I believe that if you make the test job specific, impartial and let any and everybody who wants to take it, then let the best people be hired.

The problem it seems is when our Fire and Police commission do that they get majority race males. In order to fill the desired quotas the tests are adjusted untill the numbers wanted are achieved.

About three years ago all female applicants were simply integrated into the general list for hireing. Then through attrition our department needed 5 more females to keep it's 5% quota. They dug them out of the general list. The first was at number 260. By the time they had five they had gone to the eight hundreds.

Our lists generally have three to four thousand applicants for a two year list that hires between one hundred and one hundred and fifty people.

I don't like the lowering of standards for anybody, female, minority, military, resident, you name it.

Anyone is welcome but good golly when the job gets tough it gets VERY tough and if your not up to it mentally or physically you and or your crew will pay the price.

I wouldn't be able to sleep at night if I had gotten my job through a socal adjustment rather than unbiased merit.

It would be a diservice to my community, my crew and my family. That's who suffers should I fail to perform my job in a crunch.

[FFCherylG]

Hey Gin,

I have a couple of questions for you.... I am a firefighter for a Houston suburb... My family all is in Pensacola and have considered moving back there... What commission holds the Florida Firefighter certification/commissioning? In Texas it is the Texas Commission on Fire Protection. I have searched the web trying to figure it out, but to no avail. My question is, if I decided to move back there, would I be able to challenge the Florida State Test... fire and medic... or would I have to attend a Florida Fire Academy and start all over? I should be taking the national registry medics test this summer, then I know there is a reciprocity, but do not know on the fire. Could you please help me out, or could you tell me who I would need to contact at PFD for this information and info and your next agility test, etc. Any help would be greatly appreciated..... By the way, what station are you at? Last time I was there I stopped by one of the stations and traded patches and shirts.

Thanks so much for any help.
http://www.firehouse.com/interactive/boards/uploads/fireman.jpg

[Gin]

Hey Tex!

You can contact the Florida State Fire College in Ocala for info on your state cert. As far as I know, if you're state certified in another state you can take Florida's written and practical exams to challenge the state cert. As for the paramedic... if you're nationally certified you challenge Florida's written exam. E-mail me for more PFD info.

Good luck!

Gin

[This message has been edited by Gin (edited March 20, 2000).]