Results 1 to 4 of 4

Thread: Women in the Fire Service

  1. #1
    Senior Member bae's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    Offshore
    Posts
    11,477

    Women in the Fire Service

    I spent today running the skills/aptitude/agility testing for an open full-time paid position for Firefighter/EMT in the department. It's pretty brutal - pure strength and bulk help, but it can be conquered with skill and knowledge and technique. Endurance is a must.

    I was pretty darned pleased that a young lady was one of the top finishers during the physical part of the testing, she'd clearly busted her ass to get to that point (I've seen her just killing herself all year at the gym at the station), and her technique and efficiency were a marvel to watch.

    I'd totally go into a burning building with her. And we didn't dumb down the test so everyone could pass. This was the standard set of NFPA national-level tests.

    She was especially good at the leadership and command tests.

    I was pissed though at some of the male applicants, who were relying on pure strength and an attitude of "I'm a dude, I know how to do this" but who hadn't done their homework. I had to fail a couple of them because they did disqualifying unsafe things, especially when subjected to a bit of pressure.

    Anyways, great to see the fire service becoming less of a boys-club.

  2. #2
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Posts
    6,248
    Great to hear, and to learn a little more about who protects us. I am glad it takes brains and technique as well as strength

  3. #3
    Senior Member JaneV2.0's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Posts
    15,489
    I'm glad to hear this--and glad there was no dumbing down involved.

  4. #4
    Senior Member KayLR's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    SW Washington State
    Posts
    2,756
    If her name is Erin R. she may be my niece. She's in the field and has begun her own leadership program. forgefoundation.org
    Not-for-profit organization with progressive solutions for positive culture growth, increasing diversity, leadership development, fire service recruitment, and retention.

    My therapist told me the way to achieve true inner peace is to finish what I start. So far today, I have finished two bags of M&Ms and a chocolate cake. I feel better already!

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •