[Rome2000]

I'm a fire inspector and have seen a few of the women firefighters, they were in excellent shape.

I say never lower the physical standards, but if the women pass, they should be able to join.

The bottom line why the NYFD has so few women is they never lowered the standards. Those other cities have.

[phasma proeliator]

I agree... if a woman can pass the test - then she can make it on the dept... but the vast majority of women can't pass - unless the test is "adjusted" which is dangerous,negligent, and provides grounds for a nice wrongfull death suit - IMHO.

[TrappedInLiberalHell]

I recently dated a young woman who aspires to be a firefighter. She has a chronic knee problem, and, while stronger than many women, she's not close to being as strong as I am, and I'm not sure _I_ could qualify to do this work. Incidentally, she says most firemen are Democrats. I was flabbergasted. Is that true? I didn't argue with her because for all I knew she was right. Maybe she's thinking of Fairfield County, Connecticut firefighters(that's where she lives). Anybody have figures on this?