"In this game, you've got to know the person behind you is going to have your back," said firefighter Tomi Rucker, who helped battle the blaze at the Pentagon in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
"If people don't work together, it's extremely dangerous. If I feed into that racial or gender [bias], I'm less likely to help you if you need help. I might let something happen to confirm my belief that you can't do the job because you're black or because you have breasts."
Tucker was among 110 firefighters from London to California who attended a four-day leadership seminar at the Wyndham Resort in Miami Beach. The seminar, organized by the nonprofit group Women in the Fire Service, ended Sunday. "This is an opportunity for women to network and learn from each other, and also to develop the leaders of tomorrow," said Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Capt. Maria Figueroa-Rodriguez, whose agency helped host the conference.
While women have made headway as firefighters, they still face obstacles on the job, said Jona Olsson, who gives diversity workshops nationwide as founder of Cultural Bridges.
"There's still an attitude of `She's a female, she won't be able to pull them out,'" said Lt. Pam Moore during one workshop. "It's not about brawn. It's about technique and ability."
Moore said her own father, a former firefighter, showed resistance when she joined the Wayne Township Fire Department in Indiana. He has since changed his mind about firefighting being a man's job, with a little help from his daughter.
"There's still a long way for us to go, but that's why having these seminars increases our confidence that we can progress in the fire service," said Joan Van Ness, who spends winters in Fort Lauderdale and has been a volunteer firefighter for 21 years in Cherry Grove, N.Y.
During the conference, Olsson led discussions on how to combat sexism, racism and "other isms" on the job.
"Racism and sexism are happening to real people every day," said Olsson, chief of the volunteer fire department in Latir, New Mexico. "They're happening in every fire department. Where's the fear coming from? Most of them are afraid they're going to lose their job."
Some departments need to do more to recruit minorities, Olsson said, while many others need to do more to keep those they have.
"Before joining the department I was [seen as] a human being," said Sally Harper, a commander with the London Fire Brigade and 16-year veteran. "All of a sudden, I became a number, a statistic. It was a shock to the system."
And if it's tough for a woman, it's especially tough for a woman of color, said Rucker, 41, a black firefighter in Washington, D.C., where 64 women make up the 1,300-strong fire department.
"Most firefighters are male, white and 21. When I walked in, it was a blow [to the status quo]," said Rucker, who heads an advisory committee to help mentor women."We've made a lot of changes," Olsson said. "And there's no reason we can't make it better, but it's going to take 1,000 tiny steps."
