SHOULD you put women on a Fire Dpt. if it makes the team less efficient?

Question

-If the team's less efficient, therefore the Department itself is less efficient.

What should/would you do? Discuss.

Answer 1

Ok this is one where I agree.  

If part of the physical requirement is that a fire fighter must be able to carry a 140 lb dummy through a burning building and they only make the woman carry 90 lb then she better not show up to rescue me!

Answer 2

Not if it becomes less efficient as a result. Safety and the saving of lives must always come first.

Answer 3

I'd say just apply for the job and take your chances with the rest of us.  Personally, I'm glad they dont put really big fat people on those departments.  Yikes!  I sat next to one on a plane once and they couldnt even fasten thier seatbelt.  Can you image hauling one of those fatties to a fire and trying to get them out of the truck???  Talk about useless!

Answer 4

Of course not.  But if she is meeting the same standards as men (which most now require) then it isn't an issue.

Answer 5

If she can handle the job applying the same standards as men have to meet I have no problem with it.  If not then she's putting her fellow firefighters and citizens in danger.

Answer 6

No.  personally, I think it is madness having women as firefighters at all.  if I'm trapped in aburning building, i want a big strapping man coming up the ladder to rescue me, not some little girly.

Answer 7

The fact that the department has become less efficient is because the female firefighter is a bad firefighter, NOT because she is a woman. If she needs to be tougher etc. she should work out more. The same applies to a male firefighter who gets too fat to be efficient.

Therefore I would fire her on that basis. And hire a new firefighter regardless of gender and based on ability. Of course, men and women would have to be of the same ability. No exceptions due to gender.

Answer 8

It doesn't matter, feminists will insist anyway.  Fire departments usually put them on EMT duty, and other things that don't require much strength.

Answer 9

As long as any woman is able to meet all the requirements. I see no negative effect on efficiency. Having said that, 95% of women will never be able to reach or mantain the requirements.

Answer 10

You should only put people on the team who meet the physical and written requirements. I don't want a 115 lb. woman (or man for that matter) trying to carry me down 20 flights of stairs in a burning building.

Answer 11

You talk about the strength differences between men and women, but then I'm sure you'll call it a double standard when a woman slaps a man.

Answer 12

These days, being PC is more important than saving lives.

Answer 13

It depends. If they have to carry heavy things it might slow them down. Men are physically stronger then women and that is not a sexist statement.

Answer 14

A woman who has passed the SAME tests that a man has to pass to become a firefighter can be equally efficient, and as a result, increase the efficiency of the team/department itself.

I m over 6' and weigh over 200 lbs. When I m unconscious in a burning high-rise, I would have to be carried, or atleast dragged out of there. I dont believe any flat-foot out there could do that in-time, unless she is qualified (as in brute-force, primarily.)

There are some good opinions (ignoring the regular flaming statements), in this link. I quote a few here :

"9/11 showed the world that you need brute strength to carry a hundred pounds of equipment,up 110 stories-with no excuses or special exemptions. You need brute strength to lift heavy pieces of steel, searching for victims- with no excuses or special exemptions. Excuses and special exemptions on physical fitness requirements, cost lives."

"I'm a fire inspector and have seen a few of the women firefighters, they were in excellent shape. I say never lower the physical standards, but if the women pass, they should be able to join. The bottom line why the NYFD has so few women is they never lowered the standards. Those other cities have. "

I do admit that there are fewer women firefighting, and I have NO issues with them firefighting, provided they qualify in tests the same way as a man would have to qualify - NO lowering of standards !

Answer 15

As a former Firefighter I think I am well qualified to answer this.  I was a firefighter throughout the 80's and I recall when women were being put into service. Generally speaking they hurt us, the men had to step up and work that much harder because the women just didn't have the physical attributes to properly do the job. I'm not saying this was true for all women just most of them. The odd thing is that those women who really were capable were also singled out by the other women and treated pretty bad.

Firefighting is a very physical job, we have lowered the standards so women are better able to compete for available slots, this has placed the populace at risk.

Are there women capable of doing this job?

Yes!

Are there men who do not have the ability to do this job?

Yes!

But again generally speaking, this is a mans job, we have more endurance and more strength its really just that simple.

I

Answer 16

I don't think you should put anyone on a Fire Dept that makes the team less efficient. Whether it's a man, woman, white, black, whatever. I'm more concerned with safety and getting the job done than making the team look PC and "fair." But do I think people should be looked at as weak or less efficient because they are female - no.

Also, you can always look at people and use their strengths and avoid their weaknesses. If this is a true life situation - figure out where she can best help your team. Whether it's getting into areas you can't, assisting with survivors, etc.

Answer 17

Seriously tracy you dont understand that women are physically smaller and weaker than thier male counterparts? I think someone needs to go back to anatomy and actually read the book this time. In a case like this i would make the girl pass every singe physical test the men have to pass since these are peoples lives on the line andi bet they would care alot if the girl could not lift or drag them out of the building. However if she could perform all the tasks with equal ability of her male co workers then she would not really be a hinderance soat the point i would be ok with it.

Answer 18

My mother is a fire fighter/paramedic. You have to meet qualifcations just like the men on the team. In fact, my mother can haul a 200 lb man up a ladder and back down. She weighs about 130 lbs (5'5), but she's also all muscle.They also have regular practices to keep fit and have to take a test every year to meet standards.

It's important to have both men and women on the team, as some patients/people actually request women. Women and men bring a variety of attributes and skills to the table. I have never heard of a woman Fire Fighter bringing down the team. They all have to get out of the door on time and they all do. I think you're just not educated on the actual requirements of the job.

Answer 19

I'd recruit qualified women, that's what I'd do. The slow ones of both sexes will get left behind.

Answer 20

As long as any woman is able to meet all the requirements, perhaps there, will be no negative effect, and may be equally efficient, and because of her efficiency, increase the efficiency of the department itself as a whole? =P  Think about it!

Answer 21

there is absolutely no reason women should be singled out on jobs...if they are qualified then let them do the job.  I know alot of male and female firefighters and when it comes to fighting fires, the job knows no gender.