Historical Note
The Civil Service Commission was established in 1896 to oversee the
Civil Service Department, which administered the City's personnel system,
including the fire and police forces, laborers, inspectors, and clerical,
electrical, and library workers. The commissioners classified city services and
employees, coordinated and administered physical, medical, and competence
examinations, dealt with appointments, promotions, and removals, and conducted
investigations in the event of an employee appeal. In 1979, the City's
personnel system was reorganized with the creation of a Personnel Department
independent of the Commission. The Commission was reorganized with jurisdiction
to hear employee appeals relating to demotions, terminations, suspensions,
certain lay-offs, and violations of personnel rules.
In 1979, a three-member Public Safety Civil Service Commission was
created to deal with personnel issues in the police and fire departments. The
Commission's duties include classifying positions in each department, preparing
and giving examinations to prospective employees, hearing appeals, and making
rules for appointments and discharges.
In 1975, Seattle Mayor Wes Uhlman and the City Council ordered the
Seattle Fire Department to begin hiring women as firefighters. Seattle
Personnel/Civil Service, the Fire Department, and the International Association
of Firefighters began recruiting women and minorities for firefighting work.
However, of 45 women who applied, only nine were able to pass the physical
examination, and none of the seven who entered the recruit class completed the
program. Physical ability and mechanical ability were cited as "deficiencies"
that made completion of the training difficult for women recruits. Personnel
and Civil Service created a Pre-Recruit Firefighter Program which would involve
both physical training and mechanical education; the program, beginning in
January 1977, was intended to prepare women recruits for further training as
firefighters.
The Fire Department administered the program, while Personnel and Civil
Service provided support. Dr. T. Lee Doolittle of the University of Washington
prepared a physical training program; training took place at YMCA facilities
and was supervised by YMCA staff. Covered in the mechanical section of the
program were plumbing, electricity, and lumber, as well as hoses, ropes and
knots, and ladders. Two of the three women enrolled in the initial pre-recruit
training program resigned; the remaining recruit, Bonnie Beers, completed the
program in 1977. Beers went on to complete recruit training and became
Seattle's first woman firefighter; she became a lieutenant in 1981 and a
Battalion Chief in 1996.
Throughout 1977 and 1978, recruitment of women continued and the
pre-recruit program was further refined and developed.
Content Description
Correspondence, memoranda, reports, and news articles relating to the
recruitment, training, and physical testing of prospective women firefighters.
Includes reports of Dr. T. Lee Doolittle, a consultant from the University of
Washington, concerning the effectiveness of a strength development program for
women pre-recruits. Some training materials and schedules are included in the
records. Also included are some materials relating to the Minority Pre-Recruit
Firefighter Program.