VIDEO: The issue of paid parental leave has boiled to the forefront of public discussion around the Wichita Fire Departmentโs contract negotiations. Despite Sedgwick County Fire and the Wichita Police Department both receiving paid parental leave within the last two years, WFD has to rely on accrued sick and vacation days. Longtime firefighter for WFD Marci Pearsonโs post on Facebook Sunday brought the issue to the top of discussion. โIt is a โbrotherhood,โ but I feel like I belong, so that part has never been an issue,โ Pearson said.
According to WFD leadership, just 10 of their 488 firefighters are women, or roughly two percent. That number, Pearson argues, is partially due to her departmentโs lack of paid parental leave. She says that for any mother, recovering after giving birth is a physically challenging process. But for firefighters like her, going back to work means hopping back on a rig.
โItโs especially difficult trying to get back into firefighting afterwards,โ she said. โI made sure my husband set up a camera right by the crib so when weโd get up in the middle of the night to go on calls, I could get up to make sure my baby was okay.โ
A mother of three, she gave birth to her youngest son eight years ago while firmly entrenched in her career as a firefighter. To get time off, she says she had to use almost all of her sick and vacation days. โImagine having three children, one of them being a newborn at home, and having no time in case your kiddo gets sick,โ she said.
