Experts: Bias in the Firehouse is Still Commonplace

Death threats. Timed Bathroom visits -- for women only. A stolen bathing suit soiled with a coworker's semen.

Experts say bias in the firehouse is still commonplace, despite federal laws against harassment and discrimination.

"It is 2012, but we still have a lot of issues out there," said Jeanne Pashelek, president of the International Association of Women in Fire and Emergency Services. "It ranges from verbal abuse to physical assault to rape."

At least 10 firefighters who still or once worked for Davie, both men and women, have filed complaints with the EEOC alleging discrimination -- prompting a visit fromU.S. Department of Justice officials.

Two years ago, Miami Beach firefighter Marlenis Smart filed a sexual harassment lawsuit in federal court. A jury awarded her $700,000 in March.

Smart, a mother of four from Miami Shores, says her bathing suit was splattered with semen and hidden in a locker, her bra was hung in the firehouse bay and she was called "stupid bitch" to her face.

"In 2012, to read this stuff is going on is unbelievable," said Mike Teslar, a California firefighter who regularly attends industry conferences and monitors hiring and harassment trends. "In Dallas a couple years ago a chief got caught ejaculating into a woman firefighter's coffee cup. It's going to cost the city money. They can either spend it training or they can spend it defending all these lawsuits."

Teslar said some fire departments are a "throwback to the 1960s," when female firefighters were not welcome in the firehouse.

At the Davie Fire Department, supervisors timed Linda Stokoe's daily bathroom visits before terminating her in 2009. Her male colleagues were not subjected to the same treatment, according to her lawsuit.

Stokoe's lawsuit also says the fire department's leaders said they did not think women belonged in the fire service and said women were second-class workers because they might get pregnant.

Federal investigators ordered Davie to rewrite its policy on how it treats pregnant firefighters after one woman lost her baby when her supervisor refused to let her go on light duty until her second trimester.

Herminio Lorenzo, former fire chief for the Broward Sheriff's OfficeFire Rescue and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, has seen his share of hazing and discrimination claims.

Lorenzo advises today's fire chiefs to address problems head-on rather than playing a game of duck and deny.

"You have to set the tone and make sure that things are happening the right way," Lorenzo said. "But it's a lot easier said than done. The job is demanding physically and emotionally. And sometimes [the firefighters] have to blow off steam. Sometimes they go too far and you have to rein them in."

If the chiefs won't do it, sometimes the courts will.

"I don't care if it's UPS or the fire department," said John McNamara, president of the Broward County Council of Firefighters. "If the leader acts a certain way, the subordinates reflect that. I think it does start from the top down."

Female firefighters dealing with harassment can turn to their union representative, a lawyer or the International Association of Women in Fire and Emergency Services.

"We get inquiries on a regular basis, once a week," said Pashelek, the group's president and a battalion chief in Lincoln, Neb. "There has to be zero tolerance. You can't treat people this way. It's illegal."

Teamwork is especially important in the fire profession, where sabotage can be fatal.

"It is very important that you do have that trust and camaraderie knowing that everyone you work with on that team is competent to perform," Pashelek said. "So that when you do get a call, you know they have your back. You have to have that trust."

Smart, the Miami Beach firefighter, says someone marked up a photo of her and two other firefighters with the words "Next fire last fire" and placed it in her bunker gear bag in August 2008. They drew an X over her face and wrote the word "liar" under her face. She took it as a death threat.

On Monday, she was still working in an office doing data entry.

"No one wants to work with me," she said. "They say if something happens, they're not going to have my back."

The city's attorneys are seeking to get the verdict overturned or win a new trial.

If that fails, they plan to appeal.

Miami Beach fire officials declined to comment.

"I don't want anyone to go through what I went through," Smart said. "My worst nightmare was walking into the firehouse and worrying that I'd go into the fire and these guys wouldn't have my back. People look up to firefighters. But in reality, I have been working with monsters."

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