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My union is about to do contract negotiations. I am trying to locate copies of full-time contract verbiage regarding pregnancy leave. I will send anyone a copy of my union contract in exchange for a copy of yours.

-- Amy G.

P.O. Box 1245
Mentor, Ohio 44061-1245

Hello. My name is Carmel, and I am writing to request assistance in beginning a career in the fire service. I am a 29 yr old African-American female and I reside in Sacramento, California.

This has been my lifelong goal that I am determined to achieve. I have met several obstacles, such as age, physical training and training programs/support. This is why I am writing. I hope that someone will respond and give me some much appreciated guidance.

I would love to attend the upcoming conference in Spring 2002 San Diego. I hope that this will bring encouragement and networking that I desire. The area in which I am located does not offer a very attainable training, yet I willing to travel if so needed.

Sincerely, Carmel

ANY HELP WOULD BE VERY APPRECIATED!!!!!!!!

What a great site! I wish I had known about it sooner, but believe me, I am spreading the word to all the women firefighters I know.

My question is this: I work for a small, paid-on-call department in northeast Illinois. I was originally hired to help out and cover daytime calls because I worked afternoons at the time. When I returned from my maternity leave, I was informed that in order to work any day shifts, I had to work an equal number of night shifts. For example, if I worked three night shifts in one month at the fire department, I was allowed to work three day shifts. Because I absolutely love the work, I put up with the change. But I really want to know, can they do that?

Any responses are greatly appreciated!

Thanks and stay safe,
Veronica

Thank you for all of your posts. I see that many women have had the same joys and frustrations that I have had as a female firefighter. I am a 34 yr. old full time firefighter/EMT (female), my fourth year on the job and as soon as I think the sexism will end -- it seems to get worse.

95% of the people I work with our terrific! BUT, there are the 5% that are very hostile to women in the fire service -- one unfortunately in our department is the union president -- the one who supposed to represent us. This has created a really uncomfortable situation. The union can be very hostile. I may need legal protection. After many years of thinking that the women who file lawsuits are wimps, I feel so differently now. Some, a small percentage, of the men in the fire service will not stop harassment until the lawyers come in. Sad, but true.

Hello everyone,

I am also glad I'm not alone out there! I've been in emergency services for a few years now and it's hard not to get discouraged by all the garbage out there. I have always thought that women in emergency services should support each other better. It seems like it is easy to get caught up in just surviving and forget to be there for our sisters.

I'm wondering if everyone has ideas on which departments will be testing in the next year or so. I'm going to do some testing in the West this fall and want to keep my eyes out for other opportunities! Also, if anyone is interested, I know of several larger departments that will be testing. If anyone wants to network regarding recruitments I'm in!

Stay safe out there,

Jill

Cosgrove-Meurer Productions in Burbank, California, is looking for female firefighters/paramedics for a new Lifetime Television series entitled
"Search and Rescue." The program is designed to profile the lives and work of women who have dedicated themselves to helping others.

We are looking for women who have stories to tell of a successful rescue or life-saving event that epitomizes the work they do; an event that has made all the hard work, harassment and stress worthwhile. Such an event might be saving someone from a burning building, reviving a young drowning victim, keeping someone alive after being trapped in a car after a devastating car accident, or pulling someone off a rooftop during a flood. Incidents that were covered by the news media are preferable, although it is not necessary that the actual rescue was caught on tape. Anyone interested in this opportunity can contact Elizabeth Meeker at 1-800-421-4519 ext 249. Shooting will commence the first week in August.

Hello everyone!

I'm a female fire-fighter from England, been serving for 7 years and just taken up post as Fairness at Work officer for my union. Would love to chat to other female f/fs to swap stories and opinions, and see how your fire service compares to mine.

Had a hard time for 7 years, and just as I think things are getting better something else happens... anyone else experienced this?

Look forward to hearing from you.

Hello.

My name is Gia and I am an Associate Editor at CheckerBee Publishing. You can visit our website at www.CollectorsQuest.com to learn more about us if you would like. We publish a series of guides to collectibles, pop culture, health and websites. We are currently branching out into pride guides and one of our first products is going to be "Proud To Be A Firefighter."

I came across this website and thought that I would post my question. The female perspective would also be extremely helpful.

As you may have guessed, I don't have much of a background in firefighting, however, I want this guide to be everything (and more) that a firefighter would look for. I was hoping that perhaps you could tell me a bit about what types of things you would like to see in such a book. I think we have covered the obvious: history, equipment, great firefighting moments in history, memorials, celebrations, the firefighter "fraternity" and the like. But what is it that you would want to read about?

I was also thinking about including things like a glossary, jokes, personal anecdotes, fun facts, fire in the movies and in music, trivia and recipes. I intend the book to be a serious look at firefighting, but also one that is a lighter, enjoyable read.

Really, I just want to present firefighters with what they would like to see. So, I would really appreciate if anyone could give me any input on what direction you think I should take. Please feel free to contact me via e-mail at gmanalio@checkerbee.com or by phone at 1-800-746-3686 ext. 1401.

Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Gia C. Manalio

Hello, I just wanted to say I am so glad I finally found this web page!!!! I am a 31 year old female fire fighter in the middle of a lawsuit (I will not go into detail on my horrible experiences) and have spent the last part of a good hour reading the archives of this bulletin board and have noticed just how NOT ALONE I am!!!! I wish I could tell you more and share the experience but it is so much like those of which I read... you all already can guess just how "accepting" this department was to their first and only female...

I have since chosen to end my employment there, and moved to a new state and am looking for a new department to work for. Anyway, am so glad I found you "guys."

Jo

I talked to many women at the conference about maternity and pregnancy policies, and need help again. We have 96 women in our department and have no maternity uniform when we get pregnant. Do any departments have these uniforms? And if so, are they hand-made, or ordered? If ordered, from where?

Lisa
Houston Fire Department

I am writing to thank all the women who responded to my request (3/3/01) to meet on my recent cross-country motorcycle trip. On June 2, I arrived home safely, having traveled over 8,600 miles, not including mileage done by ferry.

As it turned out, I only got a chance to meet one fire service woman, a
Lieutenant with the Lancaster, PA, Fire Dept., but I really appreciate
hearing from the others with whom I was unable to visit, and who sometimes went so far as to offer to have me stay in their homes! I hope in the future to go on another such trip and to possibly include some more of these visits.

I'm gradually getting together a web site with pictures and information about my trip. If anyone is interested in seeing this, please feel free to contact me.

In addition, any women in the fire service who are visiting San Francisco,
please feel free to contact me.

Cheers,

Erika Lockhart
San Francisco Firefighter
Engine 19

 WOMEN IN FIREFIGHTING: WALKING THE LEGAL TIGHTROPE

Cleveland-Marshall College of Law at Cleveland State University in Cleveland, Ohio, invites women firefighters, government officials, fire chiefs and others to a two day conference , October 11-12, 2001. Distinguished national experts will address topics of recruitment, selection and evaluation policies; post-selection training and post-hiring issues; promotions and success stories. Come and share your problems and experiences. Please contact Joyce M. Wallace, Conference Coordinator for additional information, at joycew@corecomm.net

I am helping a woman who was denied employment as a firefighter (by a department that has never hired a woman firefighter), allegedly because she had not served as a volunteer firefighter. I believe this was merely a pretext to avoid hiring her, and am looking for information about fire departments that require volunteer service in order to be hired into a career firefighting position. I would also like information about departments that had such a requirement in the past and have dropped it. Please contact me as soon as possible. Thanks,

Brenda Berkman