TRAILBLAZERS
These women held their own
— and more
BY CAROL BAKER
DAWSON
Sitting outside a local Jeffersonville ice cream shop , a young boy stops devouring ice cream to shriek in delight as a fire truck pulls up with three firefighters . The child yells , “ Look , there are three firemen coming out of the fire truck !” His grandmother corrects him saying , “ No , they are called firefighters .”
The boy questioned , “ Isn ’ t that what I said ?” The grandmother took the time to give a diversity lesson by advising the child he had just called a female firefighter a fire-man . The child seemed to understand as he ran up to meet Capt . Pam Blanchard , the second woman firefighter hired by the JFD . Blanchard was hired on April 21 , 1994 , and plans to retire in two years .
It has been a struggle for the City of Jeffersonville to obtain women applicants to enter the firefighting ranks . According to the U . S . Census Bureau , women make up 51 % of the U . S . workforce ; however , only 4.4 % are in the field of firefighting , despite changes brought on by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 .
To qualify for consideration as a firefighter , applications are accepted , and those who score the highest are interviewed . Applicants must pass a rigorous physical ( Candidate Physical Ability Test ) and mental test at the time of consideration . There are no adjustments made for any applicant . If hired , the applicant receives training in-house at the JFD Fire Academy before being assigned to a crew . There are initiatives being considered at this time to increase interest in firefighting positions for women .
Marvena Allen was the first female firefighter to be hired into the JFD . Allen was unavailable to be interviewed ; however , Blanchard , and recently retired Lt . Shannon Watterson sat down in the JFD headquarters to talk about their
36 Jeffersonville Fire Department / 150 years