Refuge Notebook
Peninsula Clarion Article
Dated
6 April 2001
International Conference of Fire Service Women
by Alicia
Duzinski
I recently had the pleasure of attending
the International Conference of Fire Service Women in Atlanta, Georgia hosted
by Women in the Fire Service (WFS). WFS started back in 1982 as an organization
of 200 women firefighters scattered throughout the nation. Since those early days
WFS has grown almost 600 percent, with over 100 women firefighters joining annually,
as well as supportive male firefighters, fire departments, college fire science
programs and other institutions contributing to overall membership.
WFS
produces two newsletters and provides resources on recruitment, physical abilities
testing, sexual harassment and discrimination, and other issues important to fire
departments and wildland fire agencies. They also provide advocacy for women fire
fighters on a national level.
The biennial conferences are educationally
valuable and lots of fun. The first afternoon we were treated to tour of the Martin
Luther King National Historic District and a special talk from a minister who
marched and preached along side Reverend King during the civil rights movement.
We also toured the first fire department in Atlanta and got a historic perspective
on fire history in the city.
During the opening ceremonies, we were treated
to a full firefighter parade with a bagpipe band and flags for each country represented.
Firefighters traveled from New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Taiwan, the Netherlands,
Germany, Canada, and from all over the U.S. It was fascinating to talk to people
from other countries and to see what techniques and strategies they used to fight
fire.
Teresa Edwards, five-time Olympic basketball champion, was the keynote
speaker. She related how firefighting required exceptional teamwork and strength
of character, very similar to playing world-class basketball. She also said that
in any situation you are only as strong as your weakest link, and that by working
together and mentoring we work to maximize our strengths.
Once the conference
got underway we chose from multiple seminars with a wide variety of topics important
to both wildland and structural fire fighting. I attended sessions about firefighting
opportunities overseas and learned about fire programs in Indonesia and Russia.
Other seminars discussed recruitment, physical fitness, leadership and supervisory
roles, giving constructive feedback, creative confrontation and mentoring. There
was also a full day recruitment fair where wildland and structural firefighters
demonstrated to possible recruits how they shine in their different fire environments.
I attended a forum for wildland firefighters and it was such a rewarding
experience to be in a room full of female firefighters. Usually there are just
a few of us in fire camp and it is so rare to have so many women in one place.
We learned that no matter where we come from we all have similar concerns, issues
and a common love for our jobs.
For me the most powerful session was about
internalized sexism – basically how as women we are taught to behave a certain
way from the time we are little girls. The class leader asked some very pointed
questions about how we thought of ourselves and interacted with others; then demonstrated
how this is all learned behavior and that boys are actually taught to be different
than girls. The leader also showed how these self- actualizing stereotypes can
be quite harmful both personally and professionally in a male- dominated work
environment. The saddest things about this seminar was when the leader asked who
in the class had ever been sexually harassed, assaulted or discriminated against
at work, and almost every single person in the class raised their hands. I believe
that as women firefighters we have made great strides to progress in gaining the
respect of our male counterparts. However, if in a room of 40 women almost everyone
had experienced these problems, then we still have room for improvement. The leader
was quite helpful in giving us the tools to deal with future problems in constructive
ways. The most important thing to remember is that no matter what, male or female,
we are firefighters who need to work together to survive in this potentially dangerous
career.
Overall the WFS Conference provided an excellent opportunity to
network, build friendships and learn about how other agencies and fire departments
deal with the issues facing firefighters in the new millennium.
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Alicia Duzinski is a Fire Program Technician at the Kenai National Wildlife
Refuge. She spent most of last summer working on wildland fires in New Mexico
and Montana. For more information about the Refuge and to read previous Refuge
Notebook Articles, visit the KNWR website at http:// Kenai.fws.gov
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