" I don't think they belong there because part of the job is being able to rescue a fellow firefighter from a burning building which most women can't do given that the gear and air pack weighs close to 70 lbs. I worry about my husband's safety because I know I couldn't haul him across a clean floor in broad daylight so I doubt a 120 lb women wearing 70 lbs of gear can haul a 200 lb man wearing the same gear out of a burning building. Call whatever you want, but that's how I feel."

This is why they have training and physical fitness requirements and evaluations to become a firefighter. If the female could not meet that requirement she would not become a firefighter. I don't look the weight I am. Muscle is a heavier mass. It can exert a lot of force. Don't compare a trained female to a female outside of the trade. Besides, compare the requirement to drag a fellow firefighter to the heavy patients that nurses and caregivers have to lift or move. The patients can weigh above what a healthy firefighter does and many caregivers are small. You'll be amazed what a human can do with a small stature.