NFPA Journal - Spring 2023 - 39

SURVEY SAYS
" I detest my wildland gear with a
fiery, burning passion. It doesn't fit
at all, the pants are uncomfortable-
they don't really give us women's-cut
pants or even an option. The men's
small doesn't fit my hips or butt so
that's a problem. The wildland gear
could use a lot of improvement. "
-WILDLAND FIREFIGHTER
them off. If that's the attitude,
of course they're not going
to make a lot of changes or
accommodations for women.
When I first started, most
stations didn't even have a
women's bathroom. "
But times have changed.
When Avery joined Orange
County Fire Rescue 30 years
ago, there were barely 10
female firefighters in the
ranks. Today, she said, there
are nearly 100, making up
about 7 percent of the department.
Nationwide, similar
trends have seen the total
female firefighter population
climb to nearly 90,000, or 9
percent of the estimated 1.1
million career and volunteer
examples-how women are not just uncomfortable
but are unable to do their jobs to the point that
it's putting them at increased physical risk-further
confirms the importance of the research. "
GROWING RANKS,
GROWING AWARENESS
One obvious explanation for most of these shortcomings
is that women have historically made up just a
tiny fraction of the firefighting workforce, a field that
has been dominated by men. As such, much of the
funding for PPE research and design-as well as the
lion's share of the associated sales-has been geared
toward men. This male-centric focus has historically
also extended to attitudes in many fire departments,
adding another layer of complication to getting
women fitted correctly, said Lauraleigh Avery, who
started as a firefighter with Orange County (Florida)
Fire Rescue in 1991 and is now its division chief for
emergency management.
" When women were starting out in this field, I
think many departments thought, 'Oh, they'll try it
out and leave,' " Avery said. " In some departments, I
even know of women whose coworkers basically ran
firefighters in the US, according to NFPA statistics.
As recently as 2017, women made up just 7 percent
of the US fire service.
" There's definitely been an evolution in understanding
that women are here to stay, " Avery said.
" Now we need to make sure that women have the
tools they need to do the job, just like men do. "
When it comes to PPE for women, however, progress
has been slow and uneven. One key step came
in 2000, when the standard governing structural
firefighting PPE in the US, NFPA 1971, Standard on
Protective Ensembles for Structural Fire Fighting
and Proximity Fire Fighting, began requiring that
manufacturers offer women-specific patterns and
sizes. Of the seven manufacturers who participated
in interviews for the FPRF study, four said they offer
specific female sizing options; the others believe
they properly outfit female firefighters through
custom sizing, the study said.
On closer inspection, though, " specific female
sizing " can be a tricky term. Researchers in the FPRF
study found that, rather than using female-specific
cuts and designs, some manufacturers' female gear
is merely sized-down patterns designed for men;
other gear-makers may use what they describe as
NFPA.ORG/
PROPERATTIRE
Watch a webinar
where Meredith
McQuerry and
Cassandra Kwon
present their findings
from the FPRF
project on female
firefighter PPE.
Read additional
recent research
on the fitting challenges
of female
firefighter PPE.
Coming soon:
Listen to the NFPA
Podcast interview
with McQuerry
and Kwon.
NFPA .ORG/JOURNAL * NFPA JOURNAL | 39
TOM COOPER/GETTY IMAGES. PREVIOUS SPREAD, ORANGE COUNTY (FLA) FIRE RESCUE DEPARTMENT
http://www.NFPA.ORG/PROPERATTIRE https://www.nfpa.org/journal
NFPA Journal - Spring 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NFPA Journal - Spring 2023
