GOOD things about being a FFF!!

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Permalink Reply by Jennifer King on November 21, 2008 at 9:37am

Rough night Spanner! Sounds like about what we're heading into with winter about on us- all those damn portable heaters! Aching feet I TOTALLY releated to, and after 13 years I finally invested some of my own money in leather fire boots..best darn money I ever spent. No more aching feet, no more blisters on the heals after 45 minutes, MUCHO easier to drive the engine when we get up in the middle of the night.I always said I'd never spend my own money when the city provides, but I'm sure glad I did!
As far as rumors go, I'm sure everyone knows well- they're like wildfire.heck, I'm married and have heard I've slept with dozens!LOL I just laugh it off, tell 'em "yeah, but none were worth a second trip!" You definitely have to be a chic who can let things roll off ya. For the most part, I love all the 250 pain in the arse little brothers I've got. If I get mad at them, I give them the "mom" look I gave my kids when they were growing up and they get the look of terror in their eyes and say " oh no! It's the mom look!" and back down.We do have a couple of cry baby girls in the Dept. I can't figure out why they wanted to do this job if all they want to do is complain- they hesitate going in to fires, can't stick a pike pole thru sheetrock, how do they get thru state testing?? It makes me feel like I have to pick up the slack for women...work a little harder to prove we're not all like that..my guys tell me not to worry about it, that everyone would have me at their back in a fire or follow me into one, but it still nags at me when I hear them bitching about those couple of girls. Regardless- I wouldn't trade my career for anything. This IS the best job in the world, and I'm grateful everyday that I have a job I enjoy going to..take care sisters and work and play safe!!

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Permalink Reply by Brittany on November 9, 2008 at 2:18pm

Ladies, thanks so much for your congrats, they are very much appreciated! Liked the story about how "you work like a FIREFIGHTER" Spanner. That's awesome. During school, I was far from excelling at anything we did. I worked hard and got the job done, and I learned how I needed to perform a task, but I did NOT shine, by any means!! But I think what I will remember longer than the pride of graduating from 240 Fire School are the times where I got a compliment from one of my fellow classmates. One of my all-time favorite moments was when one of my classmates looks at me and said, "I have to tell you, you impressed the heck out of me. I came into this class not sure if a woman would be able to do this job, and you proved me wrong." (Now, I also want to say that I NEVER for one moment felt from him that he was thinking this throughout part of class.) He went on to tell me what changed his mind was a skill that I personally walked away from feeling like a failure. We had been doing SAR all day long, three or four scenarios, etc. Me and my partner had repeated one of the scenarios over just because we hadn't done well on the first time, for a variety of reasons. We had been wearing gear and airpacks all day long, and I was almost physically to the point of wanting to lay down and die for about an hour. We straggle back to the main building, and are told we need to line up and get ready for another challange... We were doing relay dummy drags, racing company against company. My heart is sinking to the bottom of my leather boots. I was one of the slowest people to drag the dummy, and it took about every ounce of energy I had left to drag it the last 15 feet. This gentleman told me that this was what changed his mind about women doing this job. "We were all beat, and it was tough for all of us. You never gave up, you never quit, and you did it. That's when I realized that there are lazy women just like there are lazy men."
Someday, my goal is not to just keep trying and never give up... but to actually SHINE at this stuff. To excell at this job, these skills. That I won't be classed or given encouragement merely because I tried it, but because I DID it without a problem. Okay, my turn to sit down and shut up!
Take care and stay safe, ladies!
Brittany

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Permalink Reply by Anita Shultz on November 18, 2008 at 8:31pm

Brittany, hello and try this on a dummy- I was shown this by a guy no less in my FF1&2 class. Take a short pike pole-3-4 ft. Hook the back of the SCBA and pull from the end of the handle walking backwards if you can. I can never start a chainsaw like a guy- I put if on the ground, step into the handle with my foot and use the opposite arm to start the saw. You have to pull fast and hard on the rope. I was "pulling it like a girl" according to the guys but they were right. Try it. p.s. i, too am lucky to be in the firehouse that I am- the guys are pretty good as a rule. i was a volunteer for 8 yrs and was hired as a fulltime FF 2 years ago. ttfn Anita

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Permalink Reply by Brittany on November 19, 2008 at 9:22pm

Hey, that sounds like a great idea, glad to hear you're at a good fire house Anita. Danie-- good for you, I'm glad your interest and dedication was what your guys picked up on!! Talk to you all later!
Brittany

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Permalink Reply by Keri on September 1, 2009 at 1:42pm

our department requries us to start the all our saws on the ground with our foot in the handle, that made it easier for me, but most of the guys don't like that, because they were use to saws before they joined the dept and they have a harder time starting them on the ground, so when they get frustrated because they are having trouble they pick it up. I would definitely agree about pulling it hard enough and mostly practicing it.

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Permalink Reply by Becky on June 7, 2009 at 9:44pm

Hmm, the best thing abouut being a female firefighter? WAAAYYYY too many things to list. But hey, at least you get your own bathroom...Our station has one bathroom, for everyone. But anyway, I am from a volunteer department, and one of only 2 active female members, and I'm still a probie (not for long though, next month -phwew) I do get my fair share of 'ball-bustin,' but for every girl out there, don't take it personally, the guys are just trying to prove that you can roll with them. My favorite thing about being a probie girl though, is going through the academy with majority guys. I can pull my own weight when it comes to working hard, so I loved the fact that I could perform better than some of the men. Perfect example... throwing a 16 foot ladder by yourself-so many in my class couldn't do it, and then i just pick it right up, toss it against the building and climb. You know you are a true woman when you can impress the academy instructors by doing better than the guys.

When it comes to chainsaws though, I am lost. I haven't gotten to that part of my academy class yet, but one of the guys at the station showed me once. Not like I remember.

So for any girl who has ever done anything better than a guy in your department...be proud of yourself, and start bustin their balls too!

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Permalink Reply by Holly on July 29, 2009 at 1:37am

I loved the looks on the guys faces when I accomplished the task set in front of me. At first I was given the "easy" jobs to do. I was always asked if I needed help. Now however I think they have forgotten that I'm a woman.

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Permalink Reply by Keri on September 1, 2009 at 1:52pm

I think the best part of being a fff is when the guys come to me for advice on female issues, or ask me to do something that I have a niche for because I'm a female. It's great to know that something is getting done better because I am there to influence it. The guys could have taken care of it (and have in the past) but I had a better understanding of the situation. Also, I really liked the fact that I was the smallest one around the other day because I got the fun job of crawing around an attic to check for fire hazard after a lightning strike on a house. THe guys couldn't get in the attic with all their gear on without tearing out some ceiling, but the homeowner was a lot happier that we decided I could fit and we didn't need to rip anything apart. *You would think people would make bigger attic access doors :) oh well.

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Permalink Reply by Tiffanie Pettis on September 10, 2009 at 5:37pm

omg! mee too! ---and i got to do the same thing because all the guys where too big and too tall to do most of the work at one of the structure fires we recently had. i got to do tons of stuff it was great!(including climbing in the attick and other stuff) and i showed them up because i did a few things that they didn't think i would be "capable" of doing. plus they decided to stop picking on me for being only 5'4" and small.--plus the fact that if any of them could have gotten up into the access void thing for the attick they all woulda fallen through the cealing once they got up there

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Permalink Reply by Keri on September 10, 2009 at 6:58pm

that's great! we only have 5 guys on each shift at our dept and often times less, so when my shift goes out to do a drill we often do it multiple times using only 3 or 4 guys, since that is more realistic. In drill we have all played all the roles, but we've discussed that some roles are more suited to one ff or another to make us most effective as a group, and if possible we are going to put each other into those roles. For example, I can hold a 2.5 inch hose to do exposure control a long time, but our Lt could do that a lot longer without getting tired; our Lt could go crawling around in an attic, but I will be able to move faster in the small space and get up there quicker.

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Permalink Reply by Cristina M Blanco on September 19, 2009 at 3:09pm

I have boobs! :) Serious though, it is such a cool feeling being on a fire scene and you always have your "looky-loos". You get out of the building the your rehab or rest area, taking off your gear, and you hear someone say "oh, that's a chcick!" I love it!
Women say they like men in uniform, but have you noticed that, WE MAKE THIS UNIFORM AND BUNKER GERAR LOOK A WHOLE NEW KIND OF SEXY LADIES! GO ON GIRLS, DO YOUR THANG AND MAKE UM LOOK, EVEN THE GUYS YOU WORK WITH!

I only get one time of year to prove to my guys, I really am a girl. They get use to me being "one of the guys" all year, we all cut up the same, and do just about everything together. So, at the Christmas Party, I find a sexy dress to wear, that they talk about for some time. ( I earned the name Jessica Rabitt 2 years ago, hee hee love my guys )

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Permalink Reply by Kimberly on September 22, 2009 at 9:12pm

The protech gloves mentioned earlier in the post are amazing! My dad happens to sell fire equipment so I had the opportunity to try on a lot of different types of gloves and the protech ones are by far the best for small hands!

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