June 9, 1977

Pat's dream comes to an end after vote

       When Pat McDaniel began her probationary period as a White River Township Volunteer firefighter last year, she began writing a journal of sorts. “My dream has come true,” read the first entry. Last week Mrs. McDaniel made her last entry in the diary. “The end has come,” it said. “They voted against me.” In a vote last week, the fire department members rejected Mrs. McDaniel’s application to become a permanent member of the fire-rescue squad. She said, it was one of the biggest disappointments in her life adding, “I don’t think they realized how much it meant to me.” Firefighters at White River Township are placed on a one-year probationary period, then reviewed at the end of that time by fellow firefighters. The vote is secret ballot, and the individual firemen are not required to state the reason they are voting against a prospective firefighter. “I could say it’s because I’m a woman,” Mrs. McDaniel said, “but I really don’t know for sure.” She noted that there has been resentment among some firefighters because she has been able to take more training classes. Some firefighters’ wives have also shown disapproval of a woman on the department.

         Reluctant to comment on the matter, Fire Chief Bob Wehrman would only say that “it’s going to take a long, long time before a lot of departments will let a woman on. Ours isn’t the only one,” he noted. Mrs. McDaniel stated the Wehrman and Assistant Chief Joe McAllister have been very supportive of her attempt to become a White River Township firefighter. “I don’t want to give them bad publicity,” she said. “They’re very dedicated, but there’s nothing they can do.” As a matter of fact, she said, all of the men on the department have been helpful in helping her learn the proper procedures for fire and rescue runs. “My whole year on, they were decent to me to my face and on fire runs,” she noted. “Nobody ever treated me badly and they helped me during training and on one ever tried to endanger me,” she said. “They’ve been fair to me in that way.”

         “I am bitter, but I am hurt too,” the fledging firefighter said. “I don’t want to give out bad publicity for the department because some of the guys are dedicated to the community and the department. I don’t want to cause bad publicity,” she stated. But, she hinted that other of the firefighters let social concerns over-ride when it came to admitting a woman to their fold.  “They resented it because I was so active,” she feels. Last month she made more fire and rescue runs than any other person on the department. “Some of the guys felt threatened by me,” she commented. Mrs. McDaniel is now concerned for the department’s available manpower. “Now there are only three or four firemen available during the days to make runs,” she noted. “I could’ve gone out on any of the runs,” she lamented. While Mrs. McDaniel would be allowed to submit another petition for another year one-year probation period as a White River Township firefighter, she is dubious about such a move. “I would just have to be voted on all over again,” she noted. However, she needs to put in another year as a firefighter before she can be certified as a State Fire Instructor- a goal she set earlier this year because it would upgrade the White River Township department. She has thought about checking into requirements for joining the Perry Township or Greenwood Departments, but she feels, “this (the vote) is going to follow me when I go to another department.” One of only four women firefighters in Johnson County, Mrs. McDaniel began taking fire and first aid training classes in the hopes that she could join the department before she was ever accepted.

         “I always wanted to be a fireman when I grew up,” Mrs. McDaniel said in an earlier interview. Her father was one of the founders and was first chief of the Castleton fire department near Indianapolis and her brother is a member of the Washington Township (Indianapolis) Fire Department. Her husband, Dave, has been a fireman in Indianapolis and White River Township for a total of 12 years. He is presently the inspector for White River Township. When the family moved to Johnson County six years ago, Mrs. McDaniel joined the White River Township fire auxiliary two years before her husband joined the force. During her one year probationary period as a fireman, Mrs. McDaniel has made more than 200 fires and rescue runs for White River Township. She recently completed 81 hours of instruction to become a certified emergency medical technician and is in the midst of taking courses at Whiteland to become a certified second class firefighter. She was one of the initiators in starting a countywide women’s fire auxiliary group.  (Reprinted with permission of the Daily Journal)
 
   

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