Women fighting fires in Florida: Support from colleagues is crucial
Krystyna Krakowski became a firefighter in Florida at a time when there were very few women to work beside or guide her in the service. Twenty years later, she is not only thriving but also recruiting more females into the profession.
Krakowski is one of five women at Palm Beach Gardens Fire Rescue who made department history last year by working an entire shift with no male colleagues — a feat that went viral on social media. She and her team members say they have been able to succeed thanks to both the support of the men they work with and by pushing through every challenge that comes their way.
The chain saw- and ax-wielding women note they are held to the same standards as the men, physically and otherwise, and that the public should be aware that men and women of the department work together to help people.
“I’ve worked super hard to be strong from day one,” said firefighter Julie Dudley. “I still remember being in an academy and the instructor looking at me going, ‘If you want to do girly pushups you can,’ and I was like, ‘Excuse me. No, I’m good. I got this.’ ”
The firefighters’ success is notable in a profession that is so heavily male-dominated and that has seen numerous lawsuits from women alleging discrimination and sexual harassment in fire departments across the country.
The day they worked the allwomen shift, they were encouraged and cheered on by the men of the Palm Beach Gardens Fire Rescue.
“Even our battalion chiefs sent us a message: ‘Good luck, ladies, all eyes are on you today. Show ’em what you got,’ ” Krakowski said. “It was exciting to say that every position was filled by a female . ... We played every role.
We’re capable. We’ve made it.”
It wasn’t always easy, however. Even some of the women on the history-making team had to overcome prior obstacles. In the fire department where she previously worked, Krakowski says she was the target of hazing. She said fellow firefighters awoke her with an air horn, held her down and zip-tied her hands and legs.
Kelsey Krzywada said at her first fire school, instructors were unwilling to help her when she struggled with the training because of her small size. At the second school she tried, however, “They were encouraging, regardless of your size, your gender,” Krzywada said. “They loved their career, and they wanted all of us to love it too.”
When their all-women shift went viral, most of the feedback on social media was positive, but there were detractors as well.
“We’d have people going, ‘How are you going to carry my 300pound husband out of a building over your shoulder when it’s on fire?’ ” Julie Dudley said. “Well, we’re not. And I can tell you that no man in our department is going to do it either.”
The firefighters acknowledge that the physical aspects of the job can be challenging, but they said they have learned how to play to their strengths as women rather than relying on brute force. And while there are still plenty of “good old boy” fire departments in the U.S., the women see a positive shift away from that as more young people enter.
Krakowski said she hopes to start seeing even more women join the ranks as instructors. Monica Marzullo, who was the second woman in history to work in her last department, says the presence of more women brings a sense of camaraderie.
“The guys have always had each other. They have that brotherhood,” Marzullo said. “And it’s nice, too, when you have good women that are actually interested in helping one another.”