SPRINGFIELD — Sparks are flying in the effort to recruit more female firefighters, particularly in rural fire protection districts with decreasing numbers of volunteers.
“With the aging of the fire service, especially on the volunteer side, firefighters are not volunteering like they were 40 years ago,” said John Swan, fire chief for Colona and past president of the Illinois Firefighter's Association. “We are struggling for retention and recruitment, not only on the volunteer side but also on the paid side.”
National Fire Protection Agency data shows that career firefighters are more common in urban areas while most rural areas rely on volunteers to operate their fire protection services, with 65% of firefighters being volunteers.
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Swan said as department's struggle for retention of service members, they are starting to increase recruitment efforts for women to ensure that districts are protected.
“It seems like we wait until we get into a war before we start recognizing the women on the other side that can very much contribute to the success of the fire service,” Swan said. "Without (women), we would be really struggling, and that’s happening all around Illinois and this country. Realizing that we need both sexes to be able to do our jobs out there, to protect lives and property.”
National Fire Protection Agency data shows there were 676,900 volunteer firefighters in 2020 in the United States, with 72,400 of them being female. The agency also reports that there were 364,300 career firefighters in 2020, with 17,200 of them being female.
One of the primary obstacles for women to enter the fire service is the candidate physical ability test, which was designed for male body types.
“We’re a lot shorter, mostly, than men and our body strength is better in other areas than men,” said Paula O' Driscoll, president of Fire Service Women of Illinois. “So, we are just working on trying to help people (with) what they need to do as far as exercise, nutrition to be able to pass the test. Not change it in any way, just be able to help women pass it because of our body type.”
The test includes multiple stations that require participants to swing an ax, crawl through confined spaces, pull hose, use a pole to pull down ceilings, and use a stair stepping exercise machine while wearing a 75-pound weighted vest.
Swan echoed sentiments that the long held stigma of women being unable to serve in the fire serve because they are unable to perform the agility test is incorrect.
“They can meet those standards,” Swan said. “The physical strength might be a little different between women and men, but they can adapt. I’ve been in the fire service for 45 years, and there was this mindset that women could not contribute to the success of the fire service, and that was completely wrong.”
Organizations such as the Fire Service Women of Illinois encourage females to enter this field and provide training to assist women in fulfilling testing requirements. O' Driscoll said that she wants to encourage women who are not in the fire service to ask questions about how they can get involved.
Measures have been introduced in the Illinois General Assembly to assist in making the fire service industry more accessible to women by ensuring that women have access to family leave.
House Bill 3908, introduced by state Rep. Katie Stuart, D-Edwardsville, would provide six weeks of paid family leave to firefighters. The measure has been referred to the rules committee.
Other efforts being taken to incorporate more women into the field include renovating firehouses to include female dorms.