Female Firefighter Trains with Children Close By

Firefighter Carol Walsh trains for the physical exam at home with her two children by her side. Walsh, pictured in 1982, was among the many women who trained for the new and improved physical exam from FDNY.  The exam was adapted from one that measured an unfair, unachievable standard to an exam that would test the physical ability of applicants in areas, skills, and drills that were realistic for the job as a firefighter. 

The new test, created in response to a class-action sex discrimination lawsuit, would include simulations of ladder raising, breaking barriers of entry, and dragging hoses and “victims,” and other tasks firefighters would face day-to-day on the job.

Read more on this story at the LaborArts exhibit- Women Firefighters in New York City.