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Female firefighters buck the trend

Hamilton firefighter/paramedic Heather Garcia (CQ) kneels in front of the medic unit at the Hamilton Fire Headquarters Thursday, July 9, 2009 in Hamilton. Garcia is one of Hamilton's three female firefighters.

Staff photo by Nick Graham Hamilton firefighter/paramedic Heather Garcia (CQ) kneels in front of the medic unit at the Hamilton Fire Headquarters Thursday, July 9, 2009 in Hamilton. Garcia is one of Hamilton's three female firefighters.

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Female firefighters walk the balance beam

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By Danielle Wilson, Staff Writer Updated 7:14 AM Monday, July 13, 2009

It’s been 25 years since Jennifer Mason became a firefighter, but she remembers her special experience like it was yesterday.

She went through the physical fitness test in 1983 — the only woman in the bunch — numb to the idea she could be the next Hamilton firefighter. She was pushed to apply for the position while requesting applications with the city earlier that year.

“There was 400 men and me,” Mason said.

Most of the men had dreamed of being a firefighter their whole lives. Mason never thought it was a real option.

A quarter-century later, Mason is only one of only three female fighters in the Hamilton Fire Department, and Middletown, Butler County’s second largest city, has just one female firefighter.

“It’s always been viewed as a masculine profession,” said Hamilton fire Greg Robbins, head of the department’s training bureau.

Exercises that involve carrying a 165-pound mannequin up a flight of stairs and lugging miles of water hose in full gear is not exactly most women’s idea of a good time, Mason said.

“It’s a dirty job,” smirked Mason, who has worked her way through the ranks and is now the emergency medical service coordinator for the Hamilton Fire Department.

“It’s a proud feeling” to know you’ve done what was necessary to become a firefighter, Mason said. But, “it’s not a competition.”

Putting out fires is only part of the job.

“Firefighting has really expanded over the last 20 years,” said Mary Ellen Kelley, who heads the public safety adult education program on the Liberty Twp. campus of Butler Technology and Career Development Schools.

About 80 percent of the time, fire crews respond to vehicle accidents, hazardous waste spills and other incidents where medical assistance is needed.

That’s why many fire departments are looking only for future workers who also are trained as emergency medical responders, Kelley said, which is a big component of the program at Butler Tech.

A typical class of between 20 and 30 students may only include about two women at the Fire Rescue Academy, Kelley said.

Despite the lack of female students, many academy instructors are women with firefighter jobs who teach part-time, she said.

But Kelley does expect firefighting to remain a male-dominated profession.

Evening classes at the fire academy began July 6 with no women enrolled, she said. And, as of Friday, July 10, there are no women enrolled for the fall daytime session that begins at the end of August.

Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2511 or dwilson@coxohio.com.

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