What's available from WFS?

Membership and periodicals

With your WFS membership, you will receive a subscription to our two periodicals: FireWork and WFS Quarterly. Individual memberships are offered at several levels, beginning at US$40 a year ($45 to addresses outside the U.S.).

FireWork is our news bulletin that comes out six times a year, containing timely information about women in firefighting and rescue work. WFS Quarterly, published four times a year, expands on these themes in depth and with a broader scope.

Please note that all memberships paid for by fire agency check or purchase order are considered institutional memberships and are due at the rate of US$50/year.

Information packets

Packets containing collections of articles and other information are available on several important topics. If you are interested in ordering multiple copies of these packets, contact us for bulk discounts.

• Recruitment and orientation information for women firefighter candidates. Our recruitment brochure and orientation packet provide helpful information for the woman who is considering, or just entering, a firefighting career. Fire departments also find this material useful in recruiting women into firefighting jobs. A sample copy of the brochure is free on request; the packet is $6.00 ($5.40 to members).
  
• Reproductive safety / maternity issues for fire suppression personnel. The packet contains reprints of several articles on developing maternity and parental leave policies, on the Pregnancy Discrimination Act and subsequent related court decisions, and sample fire department maternity policies in use around the country. A one-page flyer providing basic information on firefighting and pregnancy is available free on request; packets are $6.00 ($5.40 to members).
  
• Physical abilities testing information packet offering guidance on entry-level and incumbent testing for firefighters. It includes information on the legal background to such tests, national trends in testing, how to assess the effectiveness and fairness of your department's test, and responses from a survey of firefighters about incumbent testing. Packets are $10 ($9.00 to members).
  
• Sexual harassment information packet containing material on how to develop anti-harassment policies (including sample policy language), what to do if you are sexually harassed, the officer's role in stopping harassment, and the legal background on sexual harassment. Packets are $9.00 ($8.10 to members).
  
• EMS information packet containing a collection of articles on EMS issues within the fire and rescue service. Topics include juggling the dual roles of firefighter/paramedic, addressing the human needs of EMS patients, and questions about safety issues that may affect women who work in EMS. Packets are $5.00 ($4.50 to members).
  

Other items:

Model orientation manual. New firefighter recruits start their jobs with a lot to learn. While some of this information is taught in recruit school, some of it isn't. Much of the learning about how the fire department really operates, and about the informal rules of station life, only begins once the recruit has been assigned to a fire station. To make sure all personnel start out with the same access to this information, your fire department should have a written guide to station life: customs and traditions, written and unwritten policies. WFS' "Model Orientation Manual for New Firefighters" is intended to help fire department personnel as they draft such a guide for their department. 37 pages long, it is $10 a copy.

Female firefighter recruitment video

Women at Ground Zero: Stories of Courage & Compassion

Real Heat: Gender & Race in the Urban Fire Service

To order the above items, please print out a copy of our product order form and mail with your payment. VISA and MasterCard orders may be handled by phone or fax.

And, yes, we have shirts and other goodies!

Denim shirts and t-shirts

Bumper stickers

Firefighter puppets

Donations

Donations of any size are always welcome, and enable WFS to carry out its many projects and activities, including making this website possible with no advertising. Women in the Fire Service is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, so your donation is tax-deductible in accordance with IRS regulations.