09/13/2026
WE ASKED FEMALE FIREFIGHTERS: CURTAINS OR DOORS?
During the June 15 City Council meeting, Mayor Paul Koomar raised concerns about providing doors on firefighter dormitory rooms, specifically referencing the possibility of female firefighters joining the workforce in the future.
The Mayor stated that there could be “other factors down the road with female firefighters,” adding:
“Down the road, if I should have a mixed workforce, I don’t want to have to deal with potential issues.”
So rather than speculate about what female firefighters might want or need, we asked them.
We reached out to a group of female firefighters from across Ohio and asked for their perspective on sleeping quarters in fire stations. The group then polled its members:
CURTAINS OR ROOMS WITH DOORS?
🚪 Rooms with doors: 171 votes — 89%
🪟 Curtains: 22 votes — 11%
The numbers were overwhelming, but the comments explaining why were even more informative.
Female firefighters described doors as providing important privacy, personal safety and dignity in a workplace where employees eat, sleep, change clothes and respond to emergencies together during extended shifts.
One firefighter explained that she sleeps in gym shorts and may need to change quickly into EMS pants for a middle-of-the-night medical call. Having a door gives her privacy to do that.
Another described previously working in a bunkroom with curtains. While she was completely undressed and changing clothes, someone slammed the main bunkroom door, causing the air movement to blow her curtain open.
Another firefighter described dealing with male coworkers who would “accidentally” enter curtained sleeping areas when women were inside or otherwise behave inappropriately. After that department remodeled its station, female firefighters were specifically asked whether they wanted doors. They unanimously said yes.
One firefighter put it simply: “There is no argument for [curtains] in my opinion. If given the chance to decide, door it is.”
Another explained that she had dealt with a coworker whose behavior made her uncomfortable. With a door, she could place a doorstop behind it while sleeping: “Peace of mind is priceless. I will always be proactive and not reactive with my safety.”
Doors can also matter for pregnant and nursing firefighters. One firefighter who is currently breastfeeding explained that she pumps throughout her shift and would feel uncomfortable knowing her entire crew could hear her through a curtain. Another specifically pointed to the need for a private space where nursing mothers can pump without coworkers walking in.
And some firefighters noted something even simpler: doors provide privacy, reduce noise and even help when coworkers snore.
The responses we received were remarkably consistent.
Female firefighters do not view doors as creating a problem in a mixed-gender fire station. They overwhelmingly view doors as part of the solution.
Modern fire stations are workplaces, but for firefighters working extended shifts, they are also places where employees sleep, change clothing and attend to basic personal needs. Providing individual sleeping quarters with doors offers privacy and security regardless of gender—and may become even more important as fire departments recruit and retain a more diverse workforce.
When discussing what female firefighters might need in the future, perhaps the best place to start is by listening to the female firefighters already doing the job.
193 firefighters responded.
89% chose doors.
11% chose curtains.
They told us why. We should listen.
