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Permalink Reply by Fireyladd - Retired Chief Sharp on July 24, 2009 at 2:27pm

Haleigh, first of all I see respect for you as a girl and thats good. You will earn their respect as a firefighter as time goes along. Unfortunately for you this is a common occurrence that has nothing to do specifically to you. It has happened in ours and I am sure that you are not alone in how you feel. You just need to keep on showing up and working hard to earn their respect. The different treatment is there for your protection from something stupid happening that would ultimately hurt you. As I said, keep working hard and show them that your not just a girl but one of the crew. Good luck! You can do it.

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Permalink Reply by haleigh. on July 24, 2009 at 2:44pm

thanks alot for commenting me back on this one (:

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Permalink Reply by John Rulli Jr. on July 24, 2009 at 2:54pm

The shorts thing is wrong! Are you underage? That might be the reason you can't spend the night and have a curfew. My department lets our jrs at the firehouse till 11:00 durring the summer and 10:00 durring the school year. We have a SOP that no one can be in the station between 2a and 6a unless on a firecall or fire dept event. But I would take your issues to a company meeting and bring to the body how you are being treated. I wish you the best of luck!!!

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Permalink Reply by DOWNS290 on July 24, 2009 at 3:07pm

I am in charge of the JRs at my station and they have differnt rules than the rest of us. As far as being a girl thing I am sure they are not doing it to be ignorant they are just trying to protect you. I know when I was a JR I was always very taken back because I couldnt do certain things and I had friends in my grade in highschool could but thats because they were FF's and i was just a JR. My advice to you is to keep going to calls and training, keep learning, and keep your eyes and your ears open. You will earn respect from them by knowing your stuff and sticking with it. Good Luck

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Permalink Reply by FF Nick on July 24, 2009 at 3:20pm

Alot of those things have important factors behind them as well. We don't allow the women to stay overnight either, 3 of us are paid by the fire district and work 24/48 schedules in a volunteer dept. Our other halfs weren't to keen on the idea of ladies in the fire department staying with us when we are by ourselves most of the time over night. I don't see why shorts would be an issue as long as they are BDU/duty type shorts unless there's been an issue with you wearing shorts that were deemed a little shorter than short lol. Like Chief William said, it is an unfortunate situation that is has to be that way, but it's the only way to proctect you and the fire dept as a whole from a potentially ugly situation. I have the most respect for a lot of the women in our dept (some more than the guys!) Just remember to keep workin hard and you'll earn the respect of everyone soon enough.

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Permalink Reply by Jessica Travis on July 24, 2009 at 4:36pm

do the other juniors have a curfew? amd you not bein allowed to sleep over is a liability thing... but the shorts thing is wrong... it happens in my firehouse too... us girls aren't allowed to wear tank tops and the guys are... its not right but i wanna be a firefighter so i have to deal with it i guess

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Permalink Reply by Paul Stoops on July 24, 2009 at 7:05pm

This is my boyfriend's page and he was on but I wanted to reply to this. Being a female you should NOT have limitations as to when you have to leave the station unless you are a junior member, at which point ALL junior members should have the same limitations male or female. As for what you are aloud to wear, you should be aloud to wear shorts just like the rest of them. Being a female does make some guys uncomfortable about being a member of a fire department, but to discriminate against you because of your gender is illegal. You might want to bring that up to the department and tell them that it is bothering you.

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Permalink Reply by Jim Ladewig on July 24, 2009 at 7:26pm

Haleigh, its sounds pretty unfair on how they have singled you out do to your gender. There is a real lack of professionalism. You are being penalized for the fear that there could be an incident between you and other firefighters. If there are others who feel uncomfortable for you being there, or other family members who dont like the idea of you being there, than that should be taken up with them, not putting you at a disadvatage. We had the same issue when we hired our first female. Certain firefighters didn't like the idea of a female at the station because they could not dress or act the same at the department, and were catching flack from there wives or girlfriends. I say stick with it and don't give up. Talk with the chief and eventually the may come to there senses. Good Luck.

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Permalink Reply by Tim McDonnell on July 24, 2009 at 7:40pm

Just like all the guys are aloud to spin the night at the department, but I am not at all.
At my station we have separate bunk rooms for male and females. Does your station have one or two bunk rooms? Because if there is just one, I can understand the point of protection issues as stated above.
The guys can wear shorts during the summer, and i'm not aloud.
Maybe you could come up with something such as "if I wore shorts that are this long..." because the "short-short" kind may be unacceptable.
I have a curfew there witch is nine o'clock pm. And it just bothers me because it makes me feel like I am not treated the same.
I also think that has something to do with department regulations.
I personally do not think you are crazy. but give it time. Trust is not given, it is earned.

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Permalink Reply by Becky on July 24, 2009 at 7:45pm

Well, my first question for you is...how old are you? If you are a minor, then some of the stuff you say is happening, like the curfew and spending the night, would be understandable. If you are not a minor, (and I'm going with the assumption that you are not) then the spending the night thing really is a liability issue. I can understand why they wouldn't want a girl spending the night with a bunch of guys. There was some small issues with me staying overnight at my staion with the guys, but when it was realized that nothing would happen, it was ok. As far as you not being permitted to wear shorts, take it up with the one who says you can't. Don't wear tiny little shorts around the station. If you explain that you will wear decent shorts, they might be ok with it. Or even go with capri pants or Bermuda shorts. They are less hot to wear in the summer than long pants, but should be acceptable.

Trust me, I understand that being a girl in the house is different, and you might get treated a little different. But if you are having problems with anything, the best advice anyone will give you will be to follow your chain of command, and mention the problems to whoever handles them at your station. Good luck, and stay safe. And always be proud to be a female in this service. Don't let them get you down.

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Permalink Reply by Keegan Allen on July 26, 2009 at 8:41pm

i agree with most ppl that have commented on this issue. No junior should be aloud to stay at the fire house and the curfew thing should be enforced for both male and female. The shorts things is something you need to bring up at your next meeting and just ask that and say that if they allow the guys to wear it you should be able to where it as long as they are a certain length and things like that. So just stay in there and keep your head up high and show them you can do this and stay safe out there~!!!!!!!

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Permalink Reply by Ben "Batman" Barry on July 26, 2009 at 9:02pm

it depends what is your age. my dept does not let jrs or anyone sleep over. as far as i know the females are not under a different dress code. we treat them the same way as the guys. and a curfew at 9 thats early.

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