Good news and bad news about women taking on firefighting

I stumbled on an article this morning in the Salt Lake Tribune about how efforts to recruit more women into wildland firefighting jobs made by the U.S. Forest Service and former women firefighters seems to be working. While the average number of women in these jobs nationwide is about 10% (which is 10x the number I found in my research), these efforts have bumped the percentages up significantly.

What great news! It was also heartening to read other women's perspectives on why they loved their fire jobs. They all touched on the reasons why I loved my job. The camaraderie, satisfaction, excitement, being outdoors...all of it.

I jumped to the comment section of the article because I wanted to add a few thoughts about my former fire career, and how good it was to hear more women were discovering all of the wonderful things about not only a job working in nature, but one filled with excitement, prestige, satisfaction and pride.

Reading through the comments first before posting, my stomach turned. Here were men bashing women, wondering why these women wanted to be "male", or if they were just filling a "women" quota, and other derogatory statements, including references to women envying and wishing they had a certain male piece of anatomy. Exactly the same kind of crap I used to hear over 30 years ago. These guys must feel their manhood is being threatened.

When I became a firefighter, I did NOT take on the job because I wanted to be a man or to because I wanted to be better than the men; I took the job because I thought I would like the work. I loved my job, did my job quite well as a matter-of-fact, and resent any man telling me that I was trying to be a "man" for choosing that career path.

To women in men's jobs: Stick with it! Stand your ground! Please don't ever let men put you down or make you quit. Some day I hope we will no longer have to prove our abilities. May that day come soon.

Women in the Forest Service

Forty years ago, I become one of the first women firefighters for the U.S. Forest Service. Not because I had anything to prove, not because I wanted to meet men, I took this job because I thought I would love the work. And I did.

Discrimination never crossed my mind. Why would men discriminate against me? I naively thought. I was a hard worker, never complained, and felt quite proud to be part of a team. Soon though, I would discover that although the guys seemed to like me, they resented my presence. Some more than resented my presence, they denied me positions because I was a woman.

Fast forward to present time. Nothing has changed! Men still resent women in male dominated fields. This article in the Huffington Post exemplifies just how hard and degrading it still is for a woman in a man's world.

I've been told I was lucky that my Forest Service career ended after an injury, and maybe they are right. Would I have been able to tough out 40 years of harassment to stay in the field I loved? Hard to say.. But I sure commend the women who stick with it. So here's to you women in "men's jobs". Don't give up. Please don't give up.

Former woman firefighter wins 10 year court case for sexual harassment

Finally, after 10 years, Michelle Maliniak won her battle against the Tucson Fire Department for sexual harassment. It’s amazing how long this took.

Despite 21 years on the job, Ms. Maliniak never got the respect she deserved from her male counterparts. It wasn’t enough to prove she could handle the work. It wasn’t enough she worked twice as hard to prove she could handle the work. She endured sexual innuendos disguised as pranks, her car was vandalized, and offensive and degrading notes were strategically placed for her to see.

Almost everything Ms. Maliniak went through I experienced over 30 years ago. Are men still so threatened by a strong woman able to hold her own? Sad, but apparently true. No wonder fewer than 1% of firefighters nationwide are women.

For those women who take on these jobs, stay strong. Don’t give up what you love. If you do, then the men who made you quit win. Don’t let them win.

Western National Forest holds special training for future women firefighters

Maybe to encourage more women to apply for firefighting positions, the Los Padres National Forest is holding a training seminar for women only. This is interesting. The article (see link above) does not say this training will lead to a job offer, only that women will be more prepared to accept a job. At least they will be paid for their efforts should they be hired.



I'm interested to find out just how many women took the Forest Service up this offer. Also to hear from the women who accepted a firefighting job, and how they were treated by the men on their crew. The article doesn't mention if any training will be provided to help women deal with potential discrimination and sexist comments, nor the difficulty advancing in the Forest Service as a woman. I'm not trying to dissuade women from trying out for these jobs. I just wonder what the Forest Service is doing to make sure they are aware of challenges which go beyond the hard work.

Natasha Orme interviews me about my book

Natasha Ormes, "Writer, Reader and Lover of Words" posted our interview today. View here:

Author Interview: Linda Strader

Is aerial firefighting worth the expense and environmental damage?

 That's the question on the minds of Forest Service fire management officials during a record breaking fire season. Cost is a big factor, with firefighting budgets for the year long since spent.

You've probably seen dramatic shots of planes dropping fire retardant, or slurry, on wildfires. While it may look like they are dousing the flames, they are not. Slurry is a fire retardant, only meant to slow and cool flames so fire crews on the ground can get closer and build fireline. Without someone on the ground, slurry is worthless.

There are many cases where slurry is ineffective, too, such as steep, inaccessible terrain and on windy days, when it just blows away. Often, by the time the decision is made to send slurry to fire, it's too late. Slurry will do nothing to stop a raging, fast moving conflagration.

Although slurry is basically a mixture of water and fertilizer (for plant regeneration down the road), it is detrimental to fish once it gets into streams and rivers. This is another cost to consider.

It's ironic that despite all of this, the public demands more aerial attacks, believing the Forest Service should be doing everything possible to contain fires. This is the same problem with the "Let it Burn" policy. It's hard to get people to understand that sometimes fire is good, and just because they don't see planes dropping slurry on a fire, it doesn't mean there's a problem.

Fires nearing record proportions

The summer of 2015 is now considered #4 in the amount of acres burned in the past 40 years. With all of the new technology, why are fires still plaguing our forests and ranges? Simply put, because we've been putting them out for so long. True, experts blame climate changes and drought, but fire is a natural occurring cleansing Mother Nature has used in the past to keep fires from becoming major conflagrations.

Fire has an important role in forest and rangeland ecology. Without fire, some plants can't generate new seedlings. Southern California's chaparral needs fire to thrive. The answer doesn't lie in better technology, or more firefighters, or pouring more money into fighting fire. What we should be doing is prioritizing thinning practices to reduce dense undergrowth encouraged by fire suppression, and discouraging the urban/wildland interface where homes are built dangerously close to primed-to-burn areas. The "Let it Burn" policy is not new, but often ignored because the minute the public sees their forests ablaze, they want them out. Now. Fire is good, and if the fire is not threatening homes or total devastation (after all, some forest is better than no forest), then the fire should be allowed to burn under careful surveillance. This is not an easy task, but it's obvious we aren't winning the fire wars by fighting them.

Book review: Young Men and Fire by Norman MacLean

For anyone fascinated with firefighting, Young Men and Fire by the author of A River Runs Through It, is a must-read. MacLean's account of how and why 13 Forest Service Smokejumpers met their fate on the Mann Gulch Fire, August 5th, 1949, will have you turning page after page with his captivating narrative of the days leading up to the fire, the fateful day, and subsequent events.

The crew boss didn't think the Mann Gulch Fire was a big deal. Easy. They'd take their time, have it out in time for dinner.  Instead, over a dozen firefighters were burned alive or so severely injured, they later died. So what went wrong? MacLean wanted to know. He spent 14 years of his life finding out everything he could about that fire, and why so many lives were lost. He interviewed survivors, poured through Forest Service documentation, and talked to fire experts, to piece together the tragedy.

I found this book both fascinating, and emotionally taxing. Reading how these men lost their lives is chilling, and not for the weak. You will never think about death by fire in the same way again.

Reading about the bravery and sacrifice of others reminds me how much I loved my work not only because of the prestige, excitement and gratification, but because it fulfilled me in a way no other job ever has. My life had purpose.

Young Men and Fire
University of Chicago Press
October 1st, 1992

Firefighters risking their lives to get the perfect shot?

During my firefighter years, I carried a camera, but I have very few photos. What few I have weren't even taken by me, because somehow it didn't seem right to stop work to take one. Plus, I was too darned busy building line to think about such things.

With just about everyone carrying a cell phone these days, it's no wonder that firefighters are taking them on the fireline. It also comes as no surprise many inexperienced crewmembers stop to take a photo. This sounds just plain crazy to me. And apparently, I'm not alone.

The Forest Service is considering banning cell phones on the line. I agree this is a good idea. They're supposed to be working, not taking photos for  friends. Next thing you know they'll be calling friends and family to tell them what's going on.

As for the argument photos can be used for documentation and training purposes, let pros do that. Fire crews engaged in active firefighting should not be taking away from the job at hand.

Yarnell Hill fire two years later

It's hard to believe two years have past since these 19 men lost their lives. I'll never forget the outpouring of concern I received from people I'd not heard of for years, all remembering I used to fight fire, and wondering how I felt about this loss, and offering sympathy, even though I did not know anyone on this crew.

I tend to agree with Grant McKee, that instead of spending millions putting fires out, agencies should spend more on preventative measures including prescribe burns, thinning, and to some extend, letting fires burn. However, the "let it burn" policy is fraught with complications, because if these fires get out of control, they are more dangerous to extinguish and cost more to contain than if they were controlled early on. With so many homes on the edges of wilderness areas, letting fires burn is a tricky proposition at best.

Above all, if crews are going to fight fires, safety comes first. I remember something my my supervisor said in 1976 during training. "No tree is worth a life."


http://www.npr.org/2015/06/28/418194630/two-years-after-deadly-wildfire-are-there-lessons-in-the-ashes