BY TANYA BRICKING
The Cincinnati Enquirer
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Troy Davenport kisses his wife Josette after pinning on her badge at her graduation ceremony.
(Glenn Hartong photo)
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When Lynn Love joined the Cincinnati Fire Division 10 years ago, she and the other female firefighter dressed in an old storage room because no other room was designated for women.
Five more women entered the ranks Friday - the most in the city's history to join as a class - bringing their number to 15 on the 784-member force.
They are testimony to the way Cincinnati's fire division has evolved since its start in 1853 as the nation's birthplace of professional firefighting.
About 63 percent of the force is younger than 40, and most have been hired since 1985. Recruits are better educated, more specially trained and more diverse than the generation of recruits before them.
Friday's graduation added 42 firefighters to the force. Nearly the same amount are expected to retire this year. The substitution is a mixed blessing.
"Youth brings new ideas to a profession that's slow to change," said Firefighter - Paramedic Love, 37. "On the other side, you lose a lot of experience."
This season's class will be District Chief Allen Boyle's last. At 52, the division's training leader is looking forward to retiring in January.
He says the loss of the division's veterans to retirement is "scary, really." He worries that the rookies will feel invincible.
"I've learned a lot of things the hard way," he said. "I've been burnt, and I've fell through floors. It's tough to talk to somebody and teach them. There's nothing you can substitute for experience."
Fire departments nationwide experience the same challenge, said George Burke, spokesman for the International Association of Fire Fighters.
One good thing is that it is a job made for young people, he said. "Firefighters tend to come on the job healthier than their peers and walk off the job less healthy than their peers," he said. "By the time a recruit gets out of school, they learn every fire could be their last."
And the profession itself has changed since veterans joined. "Seventy-two percent of our runs are medical-related," said Assistant Fire Chief John Neal, who pinned firefighter badges on two of his sons Friday. "That is the trend in the fire service right now."
The division has found that not every call needs the brute force traditionally associated with the job. The latest class' Most Improved award went to Shana Johnson, a petite young woman recruits nicknamed "Little Bit."
The five women in the class endured their share of teasing and second-guessing of their ability.
"It was a challenge," said Josette Davenport, 30, a new firefighter whose husband was in the recruit class before her. "With this being a male-dominated organization, it was hard. But it can be done." Fire Chief Robert Wright said he expects continued evolution to a division that reflects the community it serves. He is the city's first African-American fire chief, and he emphasizes recruitment of women and minorities.
He says firefighters have periodic testing to make sure they're up to the job.
Recruit training itself has increased from 12 weeks to 20 since Chief Wright joined the force. As the division becomes specialized in areas including ability to dismantle bombs and handle hazardous materials, the trainers expect competition for the next class of recruits to include education in fire science and engineering.
"Fire service in general is starting to diversify," said Firefighter Love, part of the training staff. "We're not just going to structure fires. We're Emergency Medical Service. We're anything you call 911 for."
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