Need some input!!!!!

[Lil'RRFD]

I am a 18.5 year "veteran" of the Round Rock FD. In other words, I am the daughter of a 19 yr true veteran of the dept. My father's dept is on the verge of integrating from an all male to co-ed dept. This will be a major change, since a lot of the 50 or so men in the dept have been with us for a long time. The majority have had little dealings with women fire fighters.

Due to this change, I anticipate a lot of changes occurring soon. I have grown up in this dept, and am hoping that I might be able to help my 2nd family in any way possible.

I was hoping that I could get some input on some of the adjustments that seem to be the hardest, for the newbies, as well as the current personnel. Any opinions on anything that could help me out with this would be greatly appreciated. I will pass any info given on to the officers of dept. I'm looking for info on housing/bathroom arrangements for existing stations that have 1 sleeping area/1 bathroom, along with any stories or whatnot about transitions and adjustments that were made, either by male or female fire fighters in situations such as this.

If any other info is desired, or if someone would like to directly contact me, ask in here, or email aggieshooter05@yahoo.com, or IM me through AIM Borntexan83 or Yahoo Messenger aggieshooter05.

Thanks!!
Kellye

[captstanm1]

It will be an adjustment for sure. You can read throughout this forum and others about changes necessary. So I wont even begin. I will just say that when my volunteer department first had a female join it was culture shock after 60+ year with none. She made it and did fine. Now there are several there.

The biggest adjustment will be on the shoulders of the female. She will be under close scrutiny....(not saying I support this...but that is the way it will be). She will have to prove that she is capable...again...I dont support that philosophy.

If she is there because she wants to be a firefighter, not because it sounds like "a fun thing to do", she will do fine.

People will have to give her a chance and work with her and train her just like they would a male who just joins. Dont let them make special rules for her that apply to her only. She should do and act just like the rest of the membership.

[ceno2749]

As a female, unfortunately, you will be scrutinized heavily.And for the record, I do not feel that women should be treated any different than a man. We are all here to do the same job.

Good luck to you !!!

[FirefighterDan]

My in old Dept. Ringwood VFC#1, the ONLY Woman Firefighter to be in the Dept. currently, now is Capt. and one hell of a Firefighter. I did not like how she handeled somethings, but every Department needs a womans touch in some areas. If any woman do not want to fight fires but be in the Aux. thats great to. I believe we are all equal in the eyes of God. If they can do the job like anyone else, wonderful we got a member. If she can't then... I fell otherwise. But I give women credit for going for the gold! My ex-g/f is joining her FD where she lives (She moved). And you know it is a Family thing as well as in my. Her mother was the first woman in Ringwood to join (her family belonged to the same Dept. that I was in) thats how I met her. Well women in the Fire Service, and others, best of luck to you all.
Stay Safe,

[trob183]

I am a Lansing Firefighter and have been for about 5.5 years. We have 9 stations and only 1 has separate bathroom and sleeping areas. In the other eight stations, we knock before entering any bathrooms and lock the door while in the bathroom. In the dorms, some stations have used the lockers to create partions between beds. In other stations, it is just open dorm full of beds. Consideration for each other is our primary rule of thumb.

[Firefightin_EMT]

I joined my department just about 2 years now, before me, there had only been one other female. She wasn't very active. Then I came along. I am a firefighter as well as an EMT on the dept.s rescue squad. It took time, but I won over all the guys. Some of them were not inviting, but, it worked out. You have to be able to be one of the guys on some levels. But, I'll tell you one thing, I have no doubt that those guys are there for me, and they know that I am there for them. As a matter of fact, I was chosen Firefighter of the year this year. First female to get that honor in our dept. And, I was absolutely honored...

As for the 'old timers', give them time and if you do your 'job', they will except you into the ranks.

[DianeC]

I was the second female to join in 1991, the first left in early 1992 since she was married to one of the ***'t chiefs and they started a family. She had put in 5 years and her brother was a member, so no one bothered her. There have been several women come and go over the last 10 years, the most we ever had was 3 and now we're back down to 2. I went away to school for three years after going to Community College and earned TWO BS's in Fire Science. I also became an EMT (we don't even have an ambulance), earned my Haz-Mat Ops, and did Firefighter I, the first in my dept. to do so since it wasn't a County standard until a few years ago. You'd think I didn't know my stuff, though, with the way I am treated. It's so bad, I don't even want to train outside of the fire academy. And it's not the old timers per se, it's the younger ones who I "grew up" with! I think their major problem is they never left home so they never quite "grew up"...... :( I do what I have to do to get by, and keep hoping and praying that I get a job out of town/state very soon!!!

[188Vollie]

As much as I hate to say it, as a female, as the others said, you will be scrutinized. My dept. had many females come and go, but none had made it off of probation. Then, 7 years ago, one came and proved herself. She is now the captain of the department. You will be breaking ground for this new department, so, while you may be "one of the guys" at the old place, you'll really be under the microscope with the new guys. And, every so often, after a new bunch of guys come in, you will be scrutinized some more. Rookies who know nothing, or people returning to the fire service will challenge or doubt your experience and abilities. Some tips... keep your relationship with the guys professional, don't date any... makes for bad feelings when you split and also changes the way some of them will look at you after you've gone through a few. Don't sweat the small stuff yet... if they pee on the toilet seat, let it go for a while. It will take time for them to adjust. Last but not least, don't give up even when the going gets tough!