FA-128/January 1993 A Handbook on Women in Firefighting The Changing Face of the Fire Service Federal Emergency Management Agency United States Fire Administration This document was scanned from hard copy to portable document format (PDF) and edited to 99.5% accuracy. Some formatting errors not detected during the optical character recognition process may appear. The Changing Face of the Fire Service: A Handbook on Women in Firefighting Prepared by: Women in the Fire Service P.O. Box 5446 Madison, WI 53705 608/233-4768 Researchers/Writers: Dee S. Armstrong Brenda Berkman Terese M. Floren Linda F. Willing Disclaimer This publication was prepared for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s U.S. Fire Administration under contract No. EMW-1-4761. Any points of view or opinions expressed in this document do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the Federal Emergency Management Agency or the U.S. Fire Administration. In August of 1979, the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) convened a “Women in the Fire Service” seminar in College Park, Maryland. This seminar brought together a group of fire service leaders and others to discuss the relatively new phenomenon of women -- perhaps 300 nationwide -- employed as firefighters. Today, women in firefighting positions have increased to approximately 3,000. As a result of the symposium, the USFA in 1980 published a document called The Role of Women in the Fire Service. The publication summarized the issues discussed at the seminar, presented the participants’ recommendations and personal insights into many aspects of women’s work in the fire service, and described existing initiatives and resources in the area. Also in 1980, two manuals were developed as a result of seminar participants’ recommendations. The first, a joint project of the USFA and the International Association of Fire Fighters, was a resource directory identifying fire departments that employed women and/or had experience with recruiting, testing and training women firefighters. The second manual, Personnel Management Handbook: Managing the Entry of Women and Minorities, focused on legal issues, management commitment, recruitment strategies, and the development of entry-level physical fitness standards. The fire service has experienced many changes in the twelve years since the publication of these documents. Some important issues have been resolved, and new ones have moved into the limelight. The number of women working as career firefighters and officers has increased tenfold; some fire departments’ suppression forces are now ten percent female or even higher. Several fire departments have employed women firefighters for almost two decades, and many have promoted women upwards through the ranks to district chief and battalion chief positions. Other departments, even large ones, have yet to hire their first women firefighters. The challenge in the development of this document has been to provide a resource useful to all fire service personnel. This new handbook, The Changing Face of the Fire Service, updates the information contained in all three of the earlier documents and reflects a decade of experience and progress. I encourage you to read the handbook from start to finish. The topics reflect important issues of our day. The handbook will serve as a valuable resource to anyone seeking guidance in areas affecting the integration of women into fire suppression positions. We all benefit from a fire service that is inclusive of women at all levels. USFA is committed to promoting an environment where women and men can work harmoniously and productively together to protect our communities. I believe the information contained in this handbook is an important step in achieving that goal. Olin L. Greene U.S. Fire Administrator Introduction. ....................... 4 Women firefighters in the 1990’s ...............6 Tradition, change and women firefighters ....... 9 Recruitment ....................... 10 Entry-level physical testing .................27 Firefighter training .................... 38 Policy development .................... 42 Reproductive issues .................43 Child care ..................... 48 Firefighter marriages and anti-nepotism policies .....49 Firefighter hair standards ...............50 Station facilities ...................53 Sexual harassment. ....................56 Cultural diversity training ................. 67 Ongoing support ..................... 71 Protective clothing fit and safety .............. 74 Bibliography ....................... 81 Appendix 1: Summary of EEO law .............84 Appendix 2: An FEP agency finding (on a fire department entry-level physical test) ..........87 Appendix 3: Resources .................. 91 --3-- Why a manual on women firefighters? Fire may know no gender, but people do, and it is the fire chief’s job to manage people much more often than he or she manages fire. Women and minorities are forming an increasing part of the workforce and the labor pool. Fire service managers in the 1990’s have an opportunity to attract the best of that pool by creating a work environment that welcomes the participation of all. Facilitating teamwork in a culturally diverse fire department may be the biggest challenge currently facing fire chiefs. Those who are not prepared to manage a diverse workforce may find that the workforce is managing them instead. It’s not enough just to say, “We’ll hire anyone who meets our standards.” How are those standards set? Can they be justified? What happens to someone who “meets the standards” but faces a barrier of hostility and opposition from co- workers? What support systems are available for workers who are not part of the dominant group? Simply having policies in place that appear to be neutral, or are applied equally to everyone, does not necessarily create equal opportunity. Altering the identity of people in a fundamentally unaltered workplace can leave the door open to friction, miscommunication, and a host of inequities that can result in poor performance and a loss of teamwork. Despite repeated claims that “We don’t want to reinvent the wheel,” fire service leaders continue to ignore the critical lessons learned in other fire departments over the years. The ideas and resources in this handbook have been drawn from the experiences of fire departments across the country over nearly two decades of women’s involvement in career-level fire suppression. They are offered to all those in the fire service, career and volunteer alike, who wish to see a smooth transition to a gender- integrated workforce, and to be a progressive and pro-active part of thechanging face of the fire service. This book is particularly created for, and dedicated to, fire service managers. The chances for that smooth transition ride on their commitment and hard work. --4-- How to use this handbook The purpose of this document is to help the fire service manager cope with the firefighting workforce as it changes from an all-male environment to one that includeswomen. The handbookoffers guidance and suggestions from people who have experience and expertise in the areas that affect women’s integration into fire suppression ranks. It takes a wide perspective, and, as is appropriate with personnel issues in general, offers choicesand options more often than single “right” answers. The authors hope they have created a guide that, in calling on a wide range of resources, can be useful to a wide range of needs, whether that means one woman firefighter wanting to know where she can find a pair of gloves that fits, or a fire department management team seeking an overview on gender integration issues. The Changing Face of the Fire Service attempts to answer the most frequently asked questions about women in firefighting. It focuses specifically on the issues of recruitment, entry-level physical testing, firefighter training, maternity and reproductive safety, hair-length standards, fire station facilities, sexual harassment, cultural diversity training, ongoing support, and protective gear and uniforms. Each issue is explored from both legal and practical standpoints. In the area of policy development, sample language has been included in some cases. Where it was felt that existing policies would quickly become outdated, guidelines for policy development have been substituted for specific language. Sources for obtaining up-to-date samples of policies are included in the “Resources” section of the manual. The handbook has two specific limitations. Although it has been reviewed by several attorneys, it does not consider the requirements of most state or local laws and regulations. And, while the information in the manual was up-to-date as of mid-1992, many of the legal issues in question are subject to change. The handbook is not intended to be a substitute for qualified legal advice, which should be sought before implementing policies that have legal implications. The Changing Face of the Fire Service was prepared under contract to FEMA by Women in the Fire Service. It was made possible only with the assistance of dozens of individuals from fire departments and other agencies throughout the country who provided information and shared their valuable insights. For this assistance, the researchers and writers of this document offer their sincere thanks. --5-- As we enter the last decade of the twentieth century, more than 3,000 women are at work in career-level fire suppression positions on 650-plus fire departments in the United States, with hundreds of counterparts