In my department, like many others, men greatly outnumber women. Some departments don't have women at all. Inevitably, women, being a minority in the fire service, calls for prejudice and descrimination. But what is the difference between a guy firefighter and a gal firefighter, except for the anatomy, of course?

Most men on my department seems to think they are much stronger (physically) than I am. Where that may be true, I can compensate with mental and emotional strength, which in turn gives me a little more physical strength to get the job done.

Any women out there in the fire service can agree with me on this. Have you ever done something that outdid a guy firefighter, like doing something faster than him, and he would just hate you for it? Competition between men and women is a huge problem that we face. The funny part about this is that most guys will brag about how they BEAT A GIRL at something. If I were a guy, that's not something I'd brag about!!

Most guys are just big babies. Now there are some "hard core" firefighters out there that won't admit they're hurt until it involves having to surgically amputate a limb, but all the others could have a little splinter in their finger and would cry and cry about it. If there is a woman that is a firefighter, however, most women would be classified as "hard core", simply because traditionally, we were brought up with a tough hide.