Women firefighters say Sept. 11 has made their profession wrongly seem all male

Boston Globe ^ | 18 Mar 2002 | David Crary

[white trash redneck]

NEW YORK (AP) The question is awkward to ask, but not hard to answer: Why were no women among the 343 firefighters killed at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11?

Numbers tell the story. Nationally, roughly 2 percent of professional firefighters are female. In New York City, women account for just 28 of 11,400 firefighters less than 0.3 percent.

[phasma proeliator]

And Heaven forbid they might have a "feminine problem".

okay - go ahead, I'm ducking...

[ctonious]

This is just an aside, but over the weekend there was a fundraiser in Seattle in which firefighters climbed 69 stories in full gear. (I think it was about 1,400 stairs). The winning time was something like 11 minutes and 36 seconds.

But what was the total whining time of the losers?

[dead]

No mention of that activity anywhere in a quick Google Search.

She's been too busy promoting "diversity" around the globe.

[Cold Heat]

Pussies!

[2Trievers]

And that one beautiful female firefighter would be so swept off her feet by a certain Provacateur who sought her out for her brains and good looks, that she would never need to work again in her life because she would be cared for by a strong, caring devoted ex-Marine. Then the FD would have not one feminine firefighter left ... so no one lives happily ever afterall ... so sad. *sniff*

[Steve_Seattle]

If this is true, this reinforces her image as a self-centered publicity hound.

[phasma proeliator]

LMAO

[Squantos]

Wonder where all 28 of the 11K + do work or are assigned ?

[dead]

All those facts were taken from various bios on the web of Little Miss "I Feel Ignored at Other People's Funerals".

(how many actual working, living, firemen have multiple press bios on the internet?)

[stands2reason]

Yeah, like the sober homeless guy they always profile who just lost his job.

[jdub]

If you're in a burning building would you prefer a.)a man that can throw you over his shoulder and run out of a builing or b.) a hundred thirty pound woman that would have to drag you out by your feet?

You know, a few years ago this exact question was raised on one of the news magazine shows on tv. They were questioning the disparity in the number of firefighters, and they showed the women failing many of the tests that a normal male would be able to pass easily such as raising a tall ladder. The feminist perspective was represented by Gloria Alred, who stated that she did not see the ability to throw a person over their shoulder and take them out to be a positive. She stated that a woman would be perfectly capable of dragging a person out, and that would be preferable anyway because near the floor was where the oxygen was. She was asked if she felt the same if the rescue involved being drug down stairs, to which she still said she would prefer it.

It really was a great show. These little women wannabe firefighters would get whipped all over the place trying to hold onto a live hose, would drop the axe when they tried the chopping test. Couldn't pull, lift or pass the other physical tests. Their position became that the tests were excessive and discriminatory because the standards were beyond what would actually be needed (doing what firefighters do every day).

What I don't understand is the sheer gall of their claims. I mean, I'm 5'9" and weigh 185. I'd have to get in way better shape if I ever HOPED to be considered much less accepted. My size alone would tell me that I'm probably not the best candidate for the job, regardless of my conditioning. Go figure.

[stands2reason]

No wonder she complained about being invisible---looks like she's used to being a celebrity!

[Psycho_Bunny]

"Lt. Brenda Berkman is a member of the New York City Fire Department...'The officials giving the eulogies would talk about 'firemen,' the 'brothers,' the 'men.' After 20 years, it was tough to take.'"

Is she all sobby and pissed about her name too? 

Why hasn't she changed it to "Berkperson"?  Or better, "Berkwoman"...."Berkchick"...?

"Berkboob" might be more appropriate.

[phasma proeliator]

"Berkboob"

HA! -- Good One!

[TrappedInLiberalHell]

While we're at it, let's come up with some PC alternatives for firemen:

Combustion Antagonists
Conflagration Control Specialists
Inferno Combatants
Flame Minimization Personnel

After all, we wouldn't want to hurt the feelings of other disasters by mentioning this one by name (fire). We must be inclusive and tolerant!

[phasma proeliator]

"Exothermic Reactionists"

[Tymesup]

Given 28 out of 11,400 are women with 343 deaths, and assuming men and women firefighters have an equal chance of dying, and that each death is independent, I come up with a 42% chance that there are no female deaths.

[dead]

bttt

[TrappedInLiberalHell]

I haven't checked your math, but it sounds reasonable. I would guess that men would have had a greater chance of dying. Because in general they can climb further up stairs with heavy gear (stronger quads, shoulders, and backs), meaning they were stuck further up in the stairwells when the building came down, and it would have taken them longer to get out once the evacuate order was given by the chief.

What we really need is data on how many women firefighters were actually present during the fires and up until the collapse of both towers. It could be zero.

[Joe Hadenuf]

Reminds me of the video tape smuggled out of the LA fire dept, where it depicted female recruits who couldn't climb over fences while in wearing full gear or even hold the fire hoses.

I understand several of the people that released the video were in big trouble.

Who do we want to responding to our emergencies?? Someone that can drag a 220 pound person out of a burning building, someone that wrestle a 250 pound murdering gang member to the ground, and not get his weapon taken from him in the process?

This PC BS is not good for our society. Its darn right dangerous to all of us.