Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Monique H on November 28, 2009 at 4:24pm

If you're on the engine crew height and weight can affect your performance if you don't adapt and Truck/Tower operations will be a bit more challenging for those of shorter stature.

Permalink Reply by anna m mills on December 22, 2009 at 7:32am

i think that height and weight are with the fire and ems crews dont matter. you most def need to be in shape because any call will wear you out. i am small and have been able to get into places that these other guys can only watch. its the funniest and coolest thing that i can crawl into cars and small spots int he house that no one else can, but that will stop the minute i am not longer phsyically able to do so,, i have been around for 23yrs and have a lot of respect but the minute i cant do what is needed or asked that is gone... make no mistake...dont need to pack on the pounds but strength and endorance is the key..
enjoy being a female in the this world and embrace it we are not males and there is always something that needs to be done on a fire ground and ems field...i am living proof..just dont comopare yourself to them.just do it!!!!!!

Permalink Reply by Elizabeth Firestone on January 15, 2010 at 9:20am

I havent found it to be a problem on fire calls only EMS. If your partner is taller or shorter than you trying to handle stairs or even larger patients can be tricky

Permalink Reply by Tina Noles on February 5, 2010 at 10:29pm

Exactly. I couldn't have said it better.

On another note, I'm still in some major training right now at my 100% volunteer station but I understand. I'm short (5'3"). And I'm heavier than I need to be....by a LOT. But I'm working on it. The guys (yes, I'm the only woman) at my station are really good about working me up to stuff. Pushing me just to where I need to be and then about 5 minutes longer! lol

Well said, Naomi.

Permalink Reply by Fabulous Heather Days of Summer on February 6, 2010 at 12:18pm

I actually found my height and weight were to my advantage in many situations - based upon the theory of "as a team we maximize each others strengths and compensate for each others limitations." Since I was one of the smallest, and most agile:
- I was the one who did the confined space rescues. I am not embarrassed to sing nursery rhymes on scene.
- I was the one crawling into the crushed vehicles doing patient care and protecting patients while my colleagues cut the vehicle apart around us.
- I was often the first person to scale the fire truck to run the deck gun or pack hose. I became the Queen of packing hose - LOL. I love climbing up and down on the fire truck . . . and I love packing hose. Win-win.
- I was able to get twice as much time from my SCBA as the men - no matter their age. By the time my male counterpart had emptied his air pack, my pack was still half full. I would need to have two turns on my air pack for every one turn that the men took alongside me.
- I found that my ego never really got in the way, I was comfortable directing traffic, or monitoring the rehab of firefighters, of babysitting the property owner for health and safety while on scene, as well as all the more physically aggressive (manly) tasks. I notice sometimes the men feel uncomfortable with some tasks, such as monitoring the water and food intake of their male colleagues, when there is manly work like interior fire fighting or pump operator work to be done. I see everything as equally important - and since one of my chiefs died from a heart attack on one of our scenes, I feel proud to have every role, especially monitoring the health and welfare of my colleagues. Interestingly, I found that the men are less likely to argue with me, as a women, when I tell them that they need to drink or eat, or take a break. Plus, I am friends with all of their wives, so they know the women talk about everything "in the family." And yes, the wives ask, "did you eat," and yes, I often heard the men say, "yes, Heather made me eat and drink on scene." My chief would also come find me when I was running hose line or something and ask me to go work alongside firefighters that he was concerned about - monitor, while we work. This was especially true, when firefighters got injured - because we all know the firefighter does not want to leave the scene mid-call.
- And while the men on my department were very gentle with patients/victims, there were still times that the woman's touch created a different mood and was needed to soothe and create a level of internal safety. Such as: I have been to several house fires and a car accidents which were really domestic violence fights run amuck or a property owner was skating on the edge of a heart attack as he watched his building burn down - being female was a strength that none of the men on scene could compensate for :-) I can relax the anger and fear of both men and women, sometimes agitated men would be annoyed by the male firefighters trying to calm them down.
- And my last thought, if there is room on scene and you are limited on staff, I found a handy trick when running exterior hose line - depending on the size and shape of the building, a firefighter who is running hose line may not move much from their general physical location for quite a while (hours). I found that if you need to run hose line ALONE, looping it around on itself once will disperse some of the weight (allowing you to bear less weight), increasing your personal agility, allowing you to focus your attention on managing the nozzle direction and stream. As I write this, I remember one 4 story building during which I actually sat/kneeled on this same hose loop, running hose line alone, for 3 straight hours, just pivoting my body and nozzle direction. [Damn, that was a long fire - and we were so short staffed at that fire - and several people were badly burned and someone died in that fire, taking us another 24 hours, post fire, to find and dig her remains out.] (interestingly, that was a day, the men were doing patient care, while I was firefighting).

Just some examples, where my gender was a strength in the situation.
I am proud to be a female firefighter / EMT of 10 years - serving in any and every way !!!

Permalink Reply by Lani on February 6, 2010 at 1:07pm

Tina, keep it up girl! I too am 5'3", and am on the decline in weight...it's not been an easy road, but it's worth it!

Being short though does have it's disadvantages, I can't reach the roller doors on our 4x4 engine when they are fully up, I can't always open the hood on one of the older engines during truck checks...I don't like having to ask for help on that kind of stuff, it's sort of embarrassing. However, I can fit into little spaces and don't mind the confinement so that is advantageous :)

Permalink Reply by Tammy on March 24, 2010 at 1:02am

Heather,
It sounds like your department, not to mention your community, is very lucky to have you!!! Reading your post brought tears to my eyes just remembering some of the situations I have been in during my (almost) 13 yr volunteer career. Congrats on all your accomplishments and I wish you the best of luck in the future! Take care, be careful and stay safe out there sister...~Tammy

Permalink Reply by Patience Ryan on March 7, 2011 at 5:51am

well...I had my first experience on a fire scene where my height put me at a disadvantage just last week. I started the call on a RIT team off the 3rd in pumper/tender. That went great. Where I had problems was when I was sent to retrieve the scoop shovels off our truck when overhaul started. I found them in the cabinet in their slot/hook under just enough tension I couldn't get them off the rack. The hook they were on was just within reach above my head, but just far enough away I couldn't get the right leverage to get them off. The officer who had sent me for them came over and made a comment to the effect of 'a little short for that, are you?' as he got them off the truck with no trouble at all. I am not by any means the shortest person in my fire district male or female. But I am, at 5' 4", the shortest in my station. My weight (190lb) has on a couple occasions been an advantage. At least twice I've been at the nozzle (during training ex) when the hose has been charged and accidentally over pressured. They're darn hard to control like that though. I figure, fully turned out and packed up I weigh a good 250lbs.

Permalink Reply by Kate on March 14, 2011 at 5:41pm

lol i'm almost 6 ft. myself and with that i've seen it be more adventageous than anything because it helps you literally measure up to guys in the fire dept. if i was 5'1 and 100 lbs, i'm sure i would die under the weight of the gear.

Permalink Reply by Jessie Pollard on July 12, 2012 at 12:40pm

I try to think about what jobs would I be best at or how I can do the same job as a big guy a different way. I'm 5'6" and 115 lbs.; I'm waiting to be thrown through a window or put into a tight space one day. I'm also a volunteer; we can't specialize so everyone has to have some idea of how to do every job. So when the big guys sleep through the pager or can't get away from work you gotta bulldog your way through it.

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