Strength & Stamina: Women in the Fire Department
Early Discrimination
 Lawsuit |
Several early recruits reported that they did not experience discrimination from other firefighters, but from other places. Lori Lakshas was a member of the first pre-recruit class, dismissed because she failed the Law Enforcement Officer and Firefighters (LEOFF) medical exam. A graduate of Nathan Hale High School, she earned a degree in Urban Planning from the University of Washington, where she swam competitively. On May 20, 1976, she filed a sex discrimination suit against the Seattle Fire Department, claiming that the LEOFF medical exam was discriminatory.
 Lisa Barron |
The Office of Women's Rights examined the charge and found that the LEOFF testing was indeed discriminatory in several ways. Three women were disqualified on the basis of height when there was no height standard. No men were disqualified for this reason. Three women were disqualified on the basis of laboratory tests that showed anemia, pregnancy and a "probable thyroid adenoma." Subsequent tests by private physicians proved those results to be false. Other conditions used to disqualify applicants also turned out to be non-existent, including heart conditions, vision standards, poor teeth, and knee problems. Several women reported the doctors were very cold and rude.
 Training |
Lakshas won her suit but chose not to enter a recruit class or to work for the Fire Department. She contributed to the struggle of women to gain employment as firefighters, however, by highlighting discriminatory practices and bringing them out into the open.
In a 1977 memo to Mayor-Elect Charles Royer, Susan Lane, the Director of the Office of Women's Rights (OWR), identified the LEOFF testing as a problem, but not the only one. The attitude of the Fire Department was key. Although she acknowledged the Office of Women's Rights played a role, "the ultimate responsibility for getting women as firefighters is with the SFD. There is a clear difference between being marginally cooperative and being truly committed." The relationship between OWR and SFD was rocky at best; the Fire Department felt OWR should be more involved in the recruiting process and training program. The bulk of the cost and time for training and recruiting, the Department said, was being absorbed by SFD.
 Training |
The attention Lakshas and other women received angered many citizens. Echoing the San Diego Fire Chief's prediction, there were women who were not in favor of female firefighters. The wife of a firefighter wrote to the Chief and stated, "It is unfair to the public to put our lives into the hands of people who are only there due to sex or race…." In 1976 another woman wrote to ask the Chief to stop hiring women over men because of Equal Rights. "We cannot possibly be expected to put our confidence in these persons to save our lives when they aren't capable of passing the enrollment tests!"
 Training |
Even Beers was not immune. In response to a 1978 editorial in the Seattle Times applauding Beers' achievements, a woman wrote to complain that "Beers did receive very special treatment and advantages unavailable to white male applicants….The tragedy is not that Barbara Beers made it through with special favors…but that this kind of thing is taking place throughout the country."