Division Chief Ronald Schwenn, Training Manager, Madison Fire Department

"In the first week of the academy, I can easily read the thought bubbles over the heads of some of the men when they're looking at their women classmates. ‘I wonder if she can do the job. I bet she can't do the same job I can do.' No one leaves our academy with this line of thinking.

"These probationary employees forget when they're judging each other in the way I just described that we're a team. I can't pull a 300-pound person out of a fire by myself without help. I'm wearing 60 pounds of gear, I'm working extremely hard; I'm overheating. Without help from someone else, the job's not gonna get done. So, for anybody to look at another person and say, ‘You can't do what I can do, or, you can't save me,' that's an assumption based on no facts and not really relevant to the job. The question you have to ask is: Can you be an effective member of the team that we're gonna form? And that's what training is all about. Some people can be good athletes and good team players in our profession. Some people can't. The job of a firefighter isn't for everybody. It's not about the individual. It's about how each individual contributes to a team—a team made up of men and women with different experiences, perspectives, ethnicities, etc.

"At the end of our recruit academy, we see those same classmates looking at each other with respect because we make them work together. We make them support each other. We make them do team activities. Their skills, their drills, their tests: all are about team building and teamwork.

"In Madison, we're clear about what's acceptable in the academy and what's not acceptable in the academy. What's not acceptable? Not being accepting of the differences of others, making rude comments about other individuals in the class, not helping classmates to be successful, not being a team member or a team-building member; being overly competitive in the classroom or on the training grounds, making derogatory comments, not cooperating with others. We do counsel recruits but they don't get many chances when it comes to unacceptable behavior. If they don't demonstrate correct behavior immediately after being made aware of the deficiency, they're told to not come back to the job.

"I can't stress enough how important it is to our department that we have firefighters who are supportive of each other. Good skills and test scores aren't enough. What matters more is how we treat each other and how we treat the people that call us."

Lori Wirth, Community Education/PIO, Madison Fire Department

"A few years ago, we had a class that made their motto: 16 in and 16 out. Everyone worked together. No one was allowed to struggle and no one washed out. In our most recent class, there was a conversation about doing the same."

Fire Chief Debra Amesqua, Madison Fire Department

"Fitness standards in our department are the same for everyone. We have a validated physical agility test. Members of our department can perform the same tasks as those we give candidates.

"Good, verifiable training, ongoing every day, is what creates confidence within the organization that no matter who the member is, no matter the member's gender, everybody is trained to the same high level and standards. Back that up with a culture of exercise and staying fit and ready for work and there should be no discourse or distrust about women firefighters' ability to do the job. This is the case here in Madison."