Pittsfield may have a monopoly on female police officers, but many of the smaller towns in Berkshire may soon have female firefighters.
This opportunity is being supported by Francis B. Mahoney, a regional wildfire administrator, who plans to organize groups of trained housewives to serve as the “first line of defense” against a wildfire outbreak that lacks men.
It’s not that men are lazy or less willing to put out fires than women, Mahoney explained, it’s that in many small towns they can’t work during working hours because they work outside the city.
But the hostesses are at home almost all the time, so if a forest fire breaks out in their area, they can be contacted immediately.
On Sunday, Mahoney and three deputies from the Berkshire County Forest Fire Patrol selected the village of Glendale, which already has an unusually active female firefighter assistant, for what he hopes will be a series of targeted attacks on women.
After the men loaded the canvas tank and the hand pump, the women took turns spraying water through the forest hose, starting and powering the pump, and rolling up the hose for storage after use. They also learned about Indian tanks, earth-moving tools, and methods for fighting various types of forest fires.
Eleven women attended the course: Mrs. Ann Peters, Mrs. Corinne Cooper, Mrs. Doris Schneier, Mrs. Dorothea Miller, Mrs. Gladys Burrows, Mrs. Francis Antoniazzi, Mrs. Margaret Schneier, Mrs. Barbara Cooper, Mrs. Helen Miller, Mrs. Rhoda Raleigh and Mrs. Helen Beebe.
Glendale Volunteer Fire Brigade foreman Lester Green and her husbands watched with interest. During the summer, Foreman Green and former Foreman Robert Adams instruct the ladies to operate the Glendale Pump Cart.
Warden Mahoney’s plan is for the women to take action against wildfires at an early stage to prevent them from spreading as much as possible. When the male reinforcements arrive, the ladies can go home if they don’t want to stay.
From a medical standpoint, Mahoney said, smokers “will serve in an emergency – until a doctor arrives.”
Jeannie Maschino is a community news editor and librarian for The Berkshire Eagle. She has held various positions at the paper since 1982 and joined the newsroom in 1989.
Post time: Oct-31-2022