Working on the Line Pat went through the initial training in 1980, and then officially became a firefighter in September of 1981. Her father was still working as a full time firefighter at the time she began her work with the fire department. Pat had a talk with her father, before she began, where she told him: "This is my job!" Pat never wanted any form of special treatment because of the fact that she was a woman or that her father was a firefighter of high rank. She wanted to do the job just like any man would. Pat entered the job as a Johnny. A Johnny is a low ranking, or new firefighter who is given all the harder, manual, unsavory jobs. Throughout her time on the line Pat was consistently driven by the constant push of her superior: "He rode me like an old saddle." This gave Pat the strength to keep at it every day. Working on the lines, however, presented many challenges for Pat. The first and foremost of these was her upper body strength. Pat expressed how difficult it was to keep in peak physical form, which the job demands. It is a firefighter's own responsibility to maintain the high physical standards. If a person does not remain in top form, they will be grieved and must meet with the captain for reprimand and could even, in extreme cases, be dismissed. Pat, in order to keep her upper body strength, followed a rigorous exercise regimen. This routine consisted of two to three hour workouts every day, in addition to her actual work hours. Pat expresses, however, that the emotional strains were much more significant in the long run. Working on the line, Pat has seen many tragedies unfold in the aftermath of fires. To this day, she can vividly recall street names and numbers where these unfortunate incidences occurred. Pat recalls one incident of a mother who perished clutching her two children. Pat, along with her male colleagues, had an outpouring of grief. "Guys cry too, they can't help it. Everyone tries to do everything and then to lose a person, it's tough," Pat explains. With these emotional work experiences, in addition to working 180 days a year, a family within the department develops. A trust and camaraderie between the firefighters forms. Other tragedies have occurred within her fire department. Outside support does not usually enter into the department when tragedy strikes. They must work with each other in order to comfort in times of despair. "I pulled the first guy back on the tip. And when I did, I hit the stairwell and turned my knee to pull him back. When I did the fire came over our heads, from what I was told. And the guy in front of me got his ear singed." When asked if she had ever been injured on the line Pat relayed two specific stories. Pat was holding the line with two other colleagues when the line was pulled back. The first man had realized that they had gone past the fire and had begun to pull back. As Pat moved backwards, she had caught her leg in the stairs and ended up twisting her knee. This was not a permanent injury; she only faced two weeks of recovery time. The second injury came during one of her daily workouts. She had dislocated her shoulder lifting weights. Dislocating her arm has taken away her ability to lift her arm up past her ear. Everyone has images of a typical firefighter... a well built man, covered in soot. There are specific guidelines to physical appearance that a firefighter must follow. One of the most important criteria for Pat, as a woman, to follow was that her hair could be no longer than collar length. The guidelines were created with the male firefighter in mind. The guidelines included such provisions as certain lengths for mustaches, no beards, and collar length hair. Although Pat's hair was not long at the time, it took time to get use to pinning her hair up daily. Today's firefighters get away with breaking these rules. The advent of another female firefighter to the force has created a need for change. Pat has always pinned up her hair to make it appear to be short... at work she never wears her hair down. She feels that it is her duty to make sure that it is pinned up. Exceptions have been made, and new equipment has been provided to better suit those serving the line. A woman who is currently serving the line had to have a special facemask made in order to fit her face and prevent particle inhalation. As the times change, so does the need to update guidelines. Despite all of these struggles, Pat's hardest struggle has been balancing her career with raising her daughter. While on the line, Pat had to miss some important events in her daughter's life. On her daughter's first day of kindergarten, Pat had to work and could not get the day off. Although Pat's mother took pictures to mark this special event, Pat still feels guilty for missing it. As her daughter grew up, Pat began to see a need to be there for these special events, so she made the difficult decision to leave the line.

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