19-year-old becomes first paid female firefighter for Town of Pulaski

Nineteen-year-old Madison Phillips is one of the newest members of the Pulaski Fire Department.

[@ScottCooperDeeDooper]

Keeping the comment section open is a bold strategy, Cotton, let’s see how it plays out.

[@exshenanigan2333]

came to see the comments. I'd just dislike and leave without watching. that's my strategy for closed comment sections.

[@dammitdan83]

TBH, comment sections are fucking stupid. Who gives a shit what some rando’s opinion is? It drives people to make ridiculous statements for the likes. KZbin sponsored dopamine hits.

[@baronedipiemonte3990]

Good for her. I became a paid volunteer (volunteer who's State certified, paid by the run 4 times a year) at age 19/20. After a few more years the Spectre of politics raised it's ugly head so I pursued other things. Good luck to her. It's not about gender , but heart and performance !

[@isbjornen7418]

Exactly! It's about performance. Plenty of men would out perform this girl. In fact they would destroy her.

[@lmcb8447]

​isbjorne7418: Exactly it's about performance!! Some female firefighters definitely have crushed other male co-workers, they could even destroy them. Yet you seem to ""conveniently"" forget that. If they passed the Sam's test as men they are as equally qualified and capable.

[@isbjornen7418]

@@lmcb8447 BS! You'll always find a man that will perform better than the woman. Stop lying to yourself.

[@LionsideDisciple]

Fantastic. I bet she can almost break a door down and even carry someone under 50 lbs., too!

[@Parker-zq2yl]

You know she has to pass a test like every other firefighter? She didn't get in there just because she's female. She worked hard to get there

[@cbee5568]

I think she knows someone.

[@losfromla1480]

The whole story was about how she knew literally everyone there. She was the fire station mascot, so now they're wasting a firefighter's salary on her

[@napalmstickylikeglue]

Yeah basically Daddy passed her through a fire academy and got her a job.

[@harleylinnX]

@@losfromla1480?

[@ChronicGamer420]

R.I.P in advance

[@skimask5049]

ok cool so it had nothing to do with her being a female.. just about all who you know

[@kevinsmart2165]

Why can't it just be a commentary on her abilities to perform the job well instead of making it some feminist gender issue? "Breaking barriers in a male dominated field."? The only "barrier" is that females don't gravitate towards jobs like this. They dominate other fields, such as nursing and teaching. That's fine. But feminists are like "ha, she really stuck it to those male firefighters." when in reality, sane people don't care who is in the position, as long as they are qualified and able to do the job.

[@dammitdan83]

Spoken like someone who has never wanted to follow their life’s passion but has been prevented from following it because of societal gender norms. Pulaski is a backward place, I’m sure her struggle was/is/will be real.

[@isbjornen7418]

The thing is, if the best performer always would be hired, there wouldn't be any female firefighters.

[@TheMonkdad]

Congratulations Madison. Stay safe.

[@vkitty4743]

If it's my life or my family please send the men up for us. Sorry not sorry. Little girl

[@imsnowedn]

cool job, nice to get paid to not run into fires. they will never, ever be aloud to let a young woman run into a fire. no fire company ever will let a family lose the child bearing woman in a fire or dangerous rescue. ever.

[@jasonwilliams3223]

Women go into fires all the time...

[@imsnowedn]

Never seen one sent into an active fire. My captain told me he needs swinging dicks to send the blaze because if it goes bad there is no loss. At least in PA the fire company is liable for a huge lawsuit if a woman loses a baby or fertility due to exposure to dangerous chemicals. My chief could have been lying, but can't think why he would.

[@westlinnstreets2349]

What????

[@dammitdan83]

The white knight has spoken, everyone

[@Carter-zj9cw]

Congratulations! What a great accomplishment!

[@SpclOps20]

She only got the job because of her father. Lord knows how many other more qualified candidates were turned away so he could hire her. Your tax dollars hard at work!

[@Hardawayfits]

😅 oh well

[@Antonchigurh_]

But what can she deadlift?

[@thewhorenextdoor8268]

Sexist, they don't need to dead lift or carry anyone,

[@Oedipussy_Monkey]

@@thewhorenextdoor8268 wtf?!?!? A firefighter needs to be able to lift and carry really heavy objects including a person

[@hammers7475]

​@@thewhorenextdoor8268 ????

[@mattkennedy6115]

@@thewhorenextdoor8268 in what world do fire fighters not carry people?

[@I.Odnamra]

@@thewhorenextdoor8268 wot?

[@colinpovey2904]

I am from Arlington, VA. It had the first paid pro female fire fighter in the USA, back in the 70's. She retired as a Chief.

[@napalmstickylikeglue]

So she got her job because she has personal ties and not based on her qualifications? Yeah that'll save lives. 🙄 I'd like to see her fireman carry a 250 lb person with all of her gear on.... During a actual fire. Then I may be impressed. Knowing how to be a firefighter/emt is a much different thing than actually having to be one.

[@jan_phd]

Women don't care if another woman can lift them out of a burning building, ONLY that they can make a firefighter's paycheck. It's ALL about the money with Feminists.

[@BenKlassen1]

Great, but she can't carry as much as a male. Fact.

[@barrymccokiner2779]

Bet you wouldn’t be caring about “breaking barriers” if your house was on fire and she showed up to carry your family member out then couldn’t. “Break barriers” with a less serious job, people could die

[@matthewviramontes3131]

Are you assuming she can't carry someone out of a fire? Just because someone is thin (or female) doesn't mean they can't lift.

[@plutosforest]

She can drag someone out. Also, carrying someone out of a burning building is not an everyday occurrence. When it does happen she should have plenty of other people respond and help.

[@losfromla1480]

@@plutosforest so, your saying she can't do it. I'll pass, please send the burly firefighters to rescue me and my family.

[@johnathanwebb6127]

The biddel physical exam for firefighters is no joke. If she passed it then she is fit for it. I couldn’t pass it.

[@user-hf8zv7qw4l]

​​@@johnathanwebb6127They lower the standard so she passed. If you cant do it, this girl cant do it either.

[@mikemike4973]

i dont understand what's so special about this

[@Nervegas]

I've been in the fire service for 18 years with one of the largest departments in the country. I am now a truck capt and have a female probie on my crew. She had been a field hockey player in college and got bit by the firebug somewhere along the way. She works twice as hard as the rest of my crew, and despite being smaller, I have yet to see her fail at anything physically. I do not dumb down training or give anyone a free pass. The amount of misogynistic nonsense in the comments is astounding and its very obvious none of them have ever stepped foot in a firehouse. It is surprising to me it took this FD so long to hire its first paid female FF. We have had females among our ranks for decades, and they have served with distinction. Our department has used the same physical standards for the last 40 years, anyone who makes it through the academy can do the job, our cadres make sure of that.

[@ryanjensen2584]

You are talking about a one in a million girl bud… cool… but not realistic for all women.

[@trevorjensen2706]

Yeah, the comment section is definitely filled with haters. Let them hate, it just shows their character.

[@jed-henrywitkowski6470]

A female FF in NY was passed despite failing PT multiple times. In short, a male in her shoes would not have passed. Your in denial if you think that concerns that she's a diversity hire, is unfounded. I think if anything there's some nepotism going on. As son of former official of one of the biggest and ruralst counties in the US, I've seen it first hand.

[@napalmstickylikeglue]

Nobody has a problem with a woman firefighter. There are many capable women firefighters. The problem is when a woman becomes a firefighter and earns her position simply because of her family connections. Fact of the matter is she's tiny. There's no way she's going to be able to drag a 250 lb person to safety through a fire with all of her gear. Sure she might have been able to do it in a controlled environment during training but training and real life are completely different things. I don't want to see an innocent civilian's life lost or even a firefighter's life lost because she couldn't properly do her job.

[@Nervegas]

@@napalmstickylikeglue She grew up around the fire service, I'm sure she understands the physical aspects of the job. My point was my probie is all of 120lbs soaking wet on a good day, yet she consistently exceeds expectations in regards to physical ability. A lot of firefighting is about technique and endurance, not brute force. She can run circles around several of my senior guys. Take a look at any paid dept in this country and I can guarantee youll find way too many overweight and out of shape firefighters. She is significantly more likely to be able to drag your ass out than any of those dudes. Unless you've got a fair share of good working jobs under your belt you have no pony in this show because you have no clue what its actually like inside a fire or what it takes to do this job successfully.

[@jcraigshelton]

Female firefighters have been around for 40 years, folks. There’s probably some male nurses at your hospital too.

[@BillDownhill]

All those times male nurses were physically weaker and needed another male or a strapping female to help them out.

[@losfromla1480]

When the field of nursing was invented, it was envisioned as a job for males. I believe the field was incepted in India. Males were seen as being more compassionate, therefore more suited for the job. Also stronger and therefore physically able to help the enfeebled.

[@napalmstickylikeglue]

Sure they have been around for years.. and many of them got their positions and only retain their positions because of their gender. It's reverse sexism. How many of those women firefighters have actually been able to perform the job the same way and mail has been able to? Men and women are built different and pretending that isn't a fact is very dangerous.

[@broeheemed32]

Can't wait to see the story "First Female Newscaster To Dress Professionally Instead Of Like She's At A Fashion Show". I expect I'll be waiting a long time.

[@dsom6221]

Lol. All they have is their looks. Lord knows they don’t research anything they report on. And I’m talking about both male and female “reporters”.

[@broeheemed32]

@@dsom6221 - I'll tell you what - it's always a laugh to see them going on about a story of "equal rights" with their tits falling out of their wide-open tops while their male counterparts are in their mandated "suit-and-tie-up-to-their-neck" man uniforms.

[@dianeroshong3991]

Your pronunciation of the city is incorrect. It’s a shame she’s the first female that’s ridiculous in this day an age.

[@foodboy179]

She was hurt today and put on desk duty for the rest of her career. Just joking!!! good luck!!!

[@georgeburdine5660]

I'm an old white guy that grew up in the Pacific Northwest, which was logging and fishing industry dominant. There was a reason these industries were male dominated. Now I'm old and live in a big city. The males are college educated and lean towards femininity, and the women watch way to much TV, most of which is really pretend. The more this country pushes this nonsense the more we need immigrants. The more you push this nonsense, the more you need stuff manufactured in china. The more you push this nonsense the more prisons you need to build and use that to assist in your local economy. The more you push this nonsense the more wars you have with foreign countries. Can't we just all get along and work together.

[@chris_h1990]

That's awesome! She is paving the way for future women to follow in her footsteps.

[@srf2112]

My relative became the first female firefighter in California and I believe the country in the early 80's. Yes she was a firefighter (suppression) then moved into a Fire Marshall position (prevention) later. That's 40 years folks. That shows just how far behind parts of this country are in evolving.

[@ryanjensen2584]

Far behind at evolving? So when every profession is 50/50 male female then we have made it? Give me a break man… a few women are gonna be good firefighters but it’s always going to be male dominated… just the facts.

[@BillDownhill]

You ever work with women in a physical job? It's infuriating. They always get the physically easier jobs while getting paid the same. And if you ask the feminists, that's not enough either. She should be getting paid more, because more women choose not to work at all and lower the average income for women, somehow justifying increased wages.

[@srf2112]

@@BillDownhill Yes sir I have. I'm a lifetime tradesman and I've worked with women in the field often. Brute strength is useful at times but intelligence, competence at your job and emotional maturity are much more important factors. Women beat men at these way more often than not and it's not even close. This is from 30 years of running work.

[@BillDownhill]

@@srf2112 buuuuuullshit. Women spend more time gossiping about everything and react with emotion on an order of magnitude more than men. Not just in my work, but in general. AOC crying in front of a fence, Lori Lightfoot having emotional outbursts at every press conference. They're children with paychecks. And that still doesn't change the fact that women get paid the same for doing easier work. I've offered to do their jobs, but they can't do mine so I'm always shafted. Seriously, you have a better chance of making me believe Lia Thomas is a woman.

[@napalmstickylikeglue]

Yeah and how many firefighters had to pick up her slack during that time. I'm guessing she was moved to fire prevention because she couldn't hold the standards of the job. In fact these days they actually have private companies that are fire suppression/prevention. You literally are only required to have a pulse to do that job.

[@trevorjensen2706]

It's actually pretty cool to see some grown men on this comment section having absolute fits about a lady being a firefighter. Cheers, gentlemen, she was qualified by working her ass off just like the other candidates. If a lady being a firefighter pisses you off simply because she's a lady, you might want to look at all of what she did to become a firefighter. I'm sure she would smoke many of you in the physical tests.

[@davidcooke8005]

Keep simping. Maybe someday a girl will touch your fireman.

[@losfromla1480]

Ah was qualified by knowing everyone at the station and being friendly. They should have made her a janitor and phone operator.

[@napalmstickylikeglue]

Maybe it's because men who know what they're talking about don't want to see innocent people lose their lives because a firefighter who only got her job because of her personal connections couldn't do the job. Ever thought about that? Maybe just put away your progressive thinking and your accusations of sexism for a few minutes and look at the whole picture.

[@user-hf8zv7qw4l]

And you approve this? Look at this thin 19 yr old girl, do you think she would be able to lift or save people's lives?

[@isbjornen7418]

😂😂😂😂😂 Dave chapelle would be impressed by your performance.😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@user-cw8ej4gd3v]

Good for her- but at the same time I would not want her to run into a burning building to lift my 220 pound 5’10 man body and drag me out. Hopefully she only does administrative or support stuff.

[@mervunit]

What would you be doing in a burning building? EZ fix, don't be in a building when it's on fire.

[@gahmivolka6582]

@@mervunit Well seeing as how "Shit happens" Who knows maybe he was rushing to escape the fire. Tripped on a carpet and smashed his head on a door knob and was knocked out. There are thousands upon thousands of reasons why your comment is just absolutely dumb.

[@losfromla1480]

@@mervunit lol. So, the solution to weak-sauce firefighters is to not need them? I like the way you think!

[@napalmstickylikeglue]

No she needs to be able to perform the job like any other firefighter. If she's not she needs to be released from employment and replace with someone who can.

[@jamesdesanders5618]

Hopefully she doesn't have to drag a full grown man out of a building!!! I applaud you but good luck!!!!!

[@olli.1717]

You can see Pulaski’s dark, historical side of hate coming out in the comments.

[@ozzydiggs]

What is going to happen when she has to carry a 200lb man out of a burning building while wearing a fireman's suit with an oxygen tank on her back? If she wants to answer phones or make dinner for the crew then that is fine but sending her out on a call when lives are in danger is going to backfire. The fire department will go broke because they went woke.

[@dammitdan83]

Answer phones or make dinner… Should she be barefoot, as well?

[@yasminlayloni9111]

@joesar5879 how are you a lieutenant but you're too scared to turned your @'s off when you say something risky LMAO

[@JoelBulger]

Go head girl 👏

[@aarongeorge5012]

She wouldn’t even be able to break a door 😂

[@hsuehhs1]

I bet she can.

[@triggeringusingreality4934]

Hope she has energy at the end of the day to make me a sandwich 🥪

[@dandan7973]

And a BJ

[@ssj2camaro21]

Ok? And? It's 2022 already

[@slammedek6452]

this isnt something new or special sorry.

[@michaelgill387]

I can gaurntee money she cant do have of the things the men can. This scream "your a driver or pump operator and nothing more"

[@tsquad_hotties2505]

Hi brittny you remember the girl was in front of you when I was blowing my ballon

[@vampyrew0lf]

'Pew-laskee'...lol

[@jamaicafox]

Yikes

[@mflance7197]

Most fire women are in there getting passed around

[@losfromla1480]

Lol.

[@bryannicholas2130]

Lmaoo

[@bh4833]

You can always tell which men are insecure by their comments lol.

[@napalmstickylikeglue]

You can always tell who doesn't know the difference between insecurity and genuine concern that people may lose their lives or get hurt over this progressive stunt.

[@user-hf8zv7qw4l]

Youre just hurt the comments are speaking the truth.

[@yasminlayloni9111]

​CONTEXT:this guy--> joesar5879 said this ("then that means they also lowered it for you men too because if women had to take the male standards there would be no women in the fire service im a lieutenant in the fire service and usar and when i first joined in 2004 we had the cpat test we switched from the cpat to the biddel test the men have 9 minutes and 31 seconds to complete the biddel test the women have 15 monutes 31 seconds and only have to complete 8 out of 11") then turned off his mentions lol okay first of all its 2024 not 2004, times changed and there are a lot more safety measures, and let me get this straight. They lowered the standard for the MAJORITY of the people who apply aka men for the 5% minority of women who apply?... Lmao? that's what you think happened??.. that the entire city and government decided to "just lower the standards" for 95% of all candidates applying?💀 so you think this idea of lowering the standards for 95% of candidates went through everyone at the NFPA's heads and they all collectively agreed on putting lives at risk, wasting money time and resources to accommodate the 5% of women who make it in? that's what you think happened? also how are you a lieutenant but you're too scared to turn your mentions on after saying something risky there's NO WAY you're talking