Petaluma fire stations get upgrades for female employees

After a sexual harassment lawsuit, the city is making its facilities more inclusive.|

In the wake of a $1.25 million settlement in a sexual harassment suit by the city’s second-ever female firefighter, two of Petaluma’s fire stations are slated for renovations intended to accommodate a more diverse workforce.

Fire officials are working with an architect to create plans for reconfigurations aimed at increasing privacy in restrooms and sleeping quarters in the fire stations at 1001 North McDowell Blvd. and 831 South McDowell Blvd., Chief Leonard Thompson said. This year’s budget incorporates $98,000 for design work, with $150,000 for construction contracts included in the budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1.

Thompson hopes work to remodel bathroom and shower facilities and to potentially create cubicle-like rooms in dorms can be completed by the end of the year, though an exact time line will be clearer once plans are complete, he said.

Though the revamp wasn’t a requirement of the January settlement, it was prompted in part by allegations from firefighter paramedic Andrea Waters, said Thompson, who became the department’s chief in 2015. In a 2014 lawsuit, Waters alleged that she was harassed and discriminated against by her male coworkers during her six-year stint at the agency, and was not provided with private accommodations.

“We looked to improve what we have,” Thompson said, describing current facilities in the two stations as “adequate but not ideal.”

“A part of that was that the facilities were lacking, and we’re taking positive steps to address that issue. This is a very, very good thing for the future of the department. We want to address the issues that were brought up. I think we’re moving the department forward in a very positive way.”

Thompson said his agency continues to participate in regular sexual harassment training and welcomes “all new firefighters no matter their gender.”

Though Waters said in a January interview she alerted the city about the issues, officials said they were unaware of the alleged harassment and discrimination before Waters filed a May 2014 complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. In June 2014, an outside attorney retained by the city to investigate the claim concluded that Waters’ allegations were “without merit.”

“It’s certainty true that agencies are obligated to take remedial measures subsequent to alleged discrimination in the workplace and it means that it’s our duty to make sure that the next women firefighters and EMTs and other female staff joining the department are fully able to succeed and function in the department on an equal footing ... and so we wanted to address that as we always do. One of our biggest frustrations with the case is that we didn’t get a chance to do that with Ms. Waters,” City Attorney Eric Danly said.

Danly said the work will further ensure the agency is “lawful and safe,” adding that firefighters worked to bolster privacy in current conditions by hanging curtains and undertaking other projects.

“We can make it work now and we did make it work, but it will be better with these changes,” he said.

Waters and her lawyer, Deborah Kochan, did not return calls for comment.

While efforts at two stations are underway, an estimated $15 to $20 million project to upgrade the 79-year-old D Street department headquarters remains unfunded. City officials have long desired to replace the oldest city-owned building and acquired land for a new station on Petaluma Boulevard South at the location of the former Casa Grande Motel.

Upgrades to bathrooms and dorms at the headquarters would be too costly, Thompson said, but the other two stations will be sufficient for housing needs. The department currently employs part-time female EMTs who don’t require overnight accommodation, and there are no women firefighters or paramedics on staff.

Councilman Chris Albertson, who served for seven years as the city’s fire chief before retiring in 2008, said the renovations are welcome, but there’s still work to be done to meet the city’s public infrastructure needs.

“As a city council member, I am anxious to see these types of renovations and upgrades done to the buildings,” he said.

Officials are discussing potential tax measures to in part to help fund infrastructure needs, though Albertson pointed out that attempts in recent years to garner voter approval for taxes intended to generate funds for road and park maintenance fell short, a sign that voters may be unlikely to pass a tax increase for less visible repairs to city buildings.

He said he’s hopeful funding for the new station may come in the form of a federal grant or money from a federal infrastructure package.

(Contact Hannah Beausang at hannah.beausang@arguscourier.com.)

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