AFD makes progress in remodeling for women

Fire specialist Becky Rainwater has been an Austin firefighter for more than 15 years.

“I was number 13 and 14 in our training class along with another lady,” she said.

For 33 years, women have fought fires in Austin alongside men, but they haven’t always been treated equally. Until now, the facilities they’ve used at many fire stations have been anything but equal.

“The first station I was at there was only one bathroom and one shower for all of us,” she said.

Ten years after the city directed the fire department to build separate bathroom facilities for women, 11 of 43 fire stations have been remodeled.

At the 32 other stations, the men and women share facilities.

“We still have a long way to go. We have 43 stations total,” said Rainwater.

For Lt. Randy Denzer, this is an issue that affects the entire department.

“It makes life a lot easier for both of us in terms of being able to change and shower after fires throughout the shift,” he said.

Division Chief Dawn Clopton sees this as an evolution for female firefighters.

“We’re not special. We’ve been here for a while, and we want the same things,” she said.

Of the nearly 1,050 Austin firefighters, 54 — or 5 percent — are women. That does not include new Fire Chief Rhoda Mae Kerr who is not a sworn firefighter.

For some female firefighters, the working environment has improved over the years. It wasn’t always that way. In 2006 Becky Rainwater’s locker at station 25 was vandalized. She says times have changed.

“It’s over. It’s not the atmosphere of the Austin fire department. It is not typically how women get treated in the Austin Fire Dept. It was just a very unfortunate event for everybody,” said Rainwater.

With a woman now leading the department, Becky Rainwater is hopeful when it comes to equal rights for women.

“She’s made a coordinated effort. She wants to get these projects finished and make things right,” she said.

The fire department has begun the bid process for the next phase of construction. It plans to build another seven private bathroom facilities for female firefighters. After that, said Clopton the department will work on the remaining seven stations.
By Steve Alberts, KVUE News, Austin