Do these guys ever stop?

[Guest]

From Firehouse.com

FDNY Elite Unit Chucks Woman

BRIDGET HARRISON  

Courtesy of New York Post

The first woman to join an elite FDNY unit — who was transferred amid complaints of sexual harassment — caused resentment in her firehouse because the men thought she didn't have the build to carry heavy equipment and disrupted living conditions, FDNY sources said yesterday.  

Adrienne Walsh — a firefighter for eight years — joined Queens-based Rescue Co. 4 earlier this year, but lasted just a few tours before returning to her former unit, the sources said.  

Her presence at the rescue company disrupted the way the "well-oiled machine" had worked, they said.  

Charges were filed against several members of the squad, including its commander, Capt. Joseph Callan, and members of Engine Co. 292, which is also quartered in the Woodside firehouse, after Walsh complained to friends that she had suffered abusive and sexual telephone calls and comments.  

Walsh's complaint was filed in June with the FDNY's Office of Equal Employment and Opportunity, which brought the charges, a Fire Department spokeswoman said.  

"Disciplinary measures against these members are pending, and the department will not comment further on the case," the spokeswoman said.  

Steven Rabinowitz, a lawyer representing Callan, said he is contesting the accusations that Walsh was mistreated by the captain.  

Walsh, a winner of three FDNY fitness awards, transferred to Rescue Co. 4 in February, the sources said.  

They said some men in the firehouse felt Walsh could not handle the squad's strenuous physical training, and they were antagonized because the firehouse had to be rearranged for her.  

Walsh shared a bunk room with the men, but she was given a separate bathroom that required her to walk through the men's locker room, sources said.  

Walsh, who is now stationed with the West Village's Squad 18, is currently in special training in Alabama. She said she preferred not to comment except to say she has an unblemished record in the FDNY, including 21/2 years in elite units.  

"That should speak for itself," she said.

Sorry guys, maybe you missed the 80's, 90's and new millenium, but the fire service is no longer a "he-man woman-haters club."

If she can do the job, respect that!!!! Its tough enough for a man, but for a woman to have to do it under the added benefit of neanderthals, God bless her!!!!

[Guest]

Hey chrome.....although you have a right to your own opinion and I respect that......but unless you know the whole story, there's no need for name calling. [-X Also,

If she can do the job, respect that

Like I said...theres alot you don't know!!!

[Guest DADAY]

My thing is how come when it comes to physicals, why are women given easier tasks? Are they gonna do an easier job with the dept. Are they not expected to be able to do the same work? so why different standards. If someone wants to be a firefighter, they should be willing and able to do the same as a man, no doubt.

[Pudge3311 5]

daday49,

when it comes to the physical agility, or the cpat, I dont believe that there is any differentiation between men and women. Both are expected to do the same job on a fire scene, so there is no gender differentiations as far as i know.

[Guest DADAY]

but look at many other physical agilty tests, in general women are given less of a task. Does that mean they should do less of a job. Dont get me wrong in no way am i saying that women CANT be firefighters. I;m just saying that they should have to do the same physical standards as a man, do i want a woman who only had to do a portion of what i did with me, NO. So what happens when, god forbid, i go down, is she gonna say i can only carry a protion of you?

[Pudge3311 5]

daday49

I wholeheartedly agree with you. If I go down, I want someone there who had to go through what i went through, not someone who got there by doing less. Its not fair to the rest who could pass the lower standard that is used for some, but not all.

I think you will eventually see many lawsuits pertaining to this topic when it comes to police and fire jobs in the future. With woman crying for equal rights, men are going to start crying foul, that they are held to higher standards. If the women cant meet the mens standard, then the standard is going to have to be lower, offering more people an opportunity. Its only a matter of time till someone misses the mark, while a female gets on the job, but wasnt held to the same standards.

I have no problems working next to any female who is qualified for the job, but those qualifications should be the same, regardless of gender.

[DOC22 1]

but look at many other physical agilty tests, in general women are given less of a task. Does that mean they should do less of a job. Dont get me wrong in no way am i saying that women CANT be firefighters. I;m just saying that they should have to do the same physical standards as a man, do i want a woman who only had to do a portion of what i did with me, NO. So what happens when, god forbid, i go down, is she gonna say i can only carry a protion of you?

Dammit Jeff, you're built like I am. If either of us go down it'll take a lot more than that to carry us!LOL

[WAS967 97]

Harassment agony of Bravest woman

http://nydailynews.com/front/story/263809p...9p-225895c.html

Elite smoke-eater blasts back: 'I'm no quitter'

BY FERNANDA SANTOS

DAILY NEWS POLICE BUREAU

The veteran firefighter who allegedly was hounded out of her trailblazing

role as the first female Bravest in an elite rescue company is speaking out

- declaring, "I'm no quitter."

In her first interview since administrative charges were filed last week

against an FDNY captain, eight other fire officers and a firefighter who

allegedly harassed her, Adrienne Walsh said she was heartbroken to leave

Queens' Rescue 4 after 32 days.

"The fact that I'd never walked away from anything in my entire life, but I

walked away from this firehouse after just a month, should speak for

itself," 37-year-old Walsh told the Daily News in an exclusive interview.

"It should be a sign that something is not right."

Walsh, who abruptly asked for a transfer from the coveted unit in June, did

not file any formal complaints against her alleged tormentors. But a fire

chief in whom she confided alerted officials, spurring a probe that led to

the charges filed last week.

A source familiar with the complaint said the firefighters at Rescue 4

refused to speak with Walsh at the Woodside firehouse, ignoring even

job-related questions.

Anonymous phone calls were made to her home, and she was the subject of

firehouse whispers that she was not fit for a spot on the vaunted rescue

team, the source said.

"It's the oldest trick in the book to say, 'She isn't here because she can't

do the job,'" Walsh told The News. "It's a big smoke screen to hide

inappropriate behavior."

"This is something that has to stop, if we want to right the wrongs that

happen to women in the Fire Department," added Walsh, one of just 29 women

among the 11,000 New York's Bravest.

After a six-month investigation, FDNY Captain Joseph Callan, who was in

charge of Rescue 4, was involuntarily transferred to Division 6 in the

Bronx.

Disciplinary action is pending against him and the nine others facing

administrative charges.

A lawyer for the Uniformed Fire Officers Association strongly denied the

allegations.

Walsh, meanwhile, has returned to Squad 18 in Greenwich Village, where she

worked before joining Rescue 4.

She said she never intended to file a complaint against the firefighters who

allegedly harassed her, let alone talk publicly about what happened.

But Walsh said she decided to speak out to set the record straight: She left

Rescue 4 because of the treatment she received, not because she could not

handle the work.

"I have almost eight years on this job and an unblemished record," she said.

"I'm not an inconvenience. Women on this job are not an inconvenience. We do

our job, we are professional, we are qualified and we are proud to serve the

people of New York."

"If some good will come out of this, it is that it will make it easier for

the next person - male, female or whatever ethnic group they're from," she

said.

"Opening this department, that's what this is about. Homogeneity doesn't

work," she added. "Heterogeneity works."

Walsh, a U.S. Coast Guard reservist, joined the FDNY in 1997 and worked in

lower Manhattan, downtown Brooklyn and Crown Heights, Brooklyn, before

joining Squad 18 in October 2002.

As a member of Squad 18, Walsh remains the only female firefighter assigned

to a special operations company, whose members are trained to respond to

building collapses, hazardous-materials spills and confined-space rescues,

among other challenging tasks.

"I don't see myself as a trailblazer or a crusader," said Walsh, who has

earned two FDNY physical fitness awards. "I do this because I enjoy it."

Walsh pointed out that she has made many friends on the job and earned the

respect of many others. Since news of the alleged harassment broke, she has

received countless calls from firefighters offering support.

"It's important for the city to know that there are a lot of good men and

women on this job who will truly go out of their way to help each other,"

she said.

"That's the Fire Department I know, the department I work for and the

department I hope people come to join."

[WAS967 97]

http://www.irishecho.com/newspaper/story.cfm?id=15762

FDNY captain charged with harassment

By Jill Sheehy

jsheehy@irishecho.com

An FDNY captain has been involuntarily removed from his Woodside firehouse

due to administrative charges that he and 10 other FDNY members harassed a

female firefighter, according to several published reports. Captain Joseph

Callan Jr. was transferred to the 6th Division in the Bronx from Rescue 4,

an elite company where special training prepares members for unique

assignments.

Adrienne Walsh, 37, was the first female firefighter to land at one of the

city's five elite-ranking rescue units. There are only 29 female

firefighters on active duty in the ranks today.

The FDNY has declined to release the names of the other people involved in

the case, but nine of them are ranking officers. There is one firefighter

implicated.

Walsh left her post at Rescue 4 earlier this year after only a short time

with the company, but not before mentioning the alleged harassment on the

job to a chief at the firehouse, which shares space with Engine 292.

The chief forwarded her statement as a complaint to the Office of Equal

Employment Opportunity, which then launched an investigation that resulted

in charges being drawn up.

The charges are currently being reviewed, according to a FDNY source who

declined further comment.

It is not clear whether if the harassment was sexual in nature.

Firefighter Walsh is now at Greenwich Village's Squad 18, where she had been

prior to transferring to Rescue 4.

Rescue 4, considered one of the city's most elite firehouses, is a haven for

firefighters with special skills used in all types of rescues. They lost

seven members on Sept. 11.

Callan's father, Joseph Sr., is an assistant chief with the FDNY and

commander of the Bronx.

Calls to the Uniformed Fire Officers Association were not returned by press

time.

[Guest]

Whatever really happened out there will never be known. At least not all of it. However it's interesting that a woman with eight years on the job, and not a lot of special skills, got into a rescue company ahead of the LINE of people who are better trained, and more experienced than her.

Also I completely agree that women should be held to the same standards as men, across the board. I go down, pick me up, not a portion of me, and not for less time than me.