Sleeping Quarters Help us

[afd]

Please help us our sleeping quarters have been reduced at our stations. The city has cut our sleeping quarters to make room for a woman sleeping area that is hardly ever used. We have 400 men fire fighters in our city and 6 woman fire fighters spread over the 13 stations . The men area in some cases has been cut in half!!!. At my station we have 8 men cramped in a small area and a room that holds 2 woman that never gets used and we can't sleep inside it.

Does anyone know a good osha, nfpa, or other standard that I could use to fight this with our union. I heard there is a min requirement per person for sleeping area but I couldn't find it

Thanks for the help

[Quint1Medic]

Your fire administration retrofitted stations - which weren't designed for separate quarters - with them for the women, and the guys aren't allowed to use them when the women are off duty? So who has the cooties - the girls or the boys?

[NOTE TO FIRE ADMINISTRATORS: When you build a new firehouse, go right ahead and give *everyone* her/his own bedroom, or put in cinderblock partitions. It is a BAD idea to make an adjustment that alienates the vast majority of your workforce.]

Afd, I understand exactly how you feel. There are countless career departments that have single bunkrooms (starting with mine), so you shouldn't have any shortage of proof that it works. It sounds like your administration is more interested in covering butt than making things work. Going a step further, I seriously doubt the women in your department asked for the division, unless you've had a serious gender-related problem. Have you guys thought about talking to the women? You might be surprised by the response...and your administration can't do much if the people they're "protecting" object!

[Nate Marshall]

There are 2 sources that can help you with minimum spacing. Fire Protection Handbook and Fire Chiefs Handbook. I dont think it will be easy but at least its in writing in nationally recognized books.

[afd]

Thanks for the resposes guys I think both answers will help. If anyone else know of a place I could look please let me know. Oh and your right the admin is just trying to cover thier butts and don't seem to give a damn about us