Avenger of the Week | Brenda Berkman, FDNY Captain

On the morning of 9/11, firefighter Brenda Berkman was among the first responders there as the twin towers of the World Trade Center collapsed, and she spent weeks in the wreckage searching for survivors.

Soledad  O’Brien, New York Fire Department Captain Brenda Berkman, firefighter Regina Wilson and Legal Momentum's Francoise Jacobsohn at 92YTribeca’s “10 Years Later: Women Heroes on 9/11 & Beyond” in September 2011. Photo credit: 92YTribeca [CC BY-NC 2.0], via Flickr.

Soledad O’Brien, New York Fire Department Captain Brenda Berkman, firefighter Regina Wilson and Legal Momentum's Francoise Jacobsohn at 92YTribeca’s “10 Years Later: Women Heroes on 9/11 & Beyond” in September 2011. Photo credit: 92YTribeca [CC BY-NC 2.0], via Flickr.

Our Avenger of the Week wasn’t the only woman firefighter at Ground Zero, but she was the one who opened up the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) for woman firefighters as the sole plaintiff in a landmark lawsuit in 1977.

Berkman was a law student in 1977 when she became interested in firefighting and took the FDNY exam. She passed the written exam but failed the physical test, prompting her to enlist one of her professors to file a sexual discrimination lawsuit against the department, charging that the test did not match the requirements of the job. It took about five years, but the challenge was eventually successful and the physical exam requirements were revised. In 1982, 82 women, including Berkman, passed the physical exam and joined the department.

The rank and file generally were not supportive, and the legendary firehouse camaraderie wasn’t there for Berkman and the other women in the early years. At one point, she was fired for supposedly not having the physical ability required by the job, even though she performed every task required, and so she successfully sued for reinstatement. Undeterred, she continued to do the job and do it well, achieving the rank of Captain. She founded the United Women Firefighters Association, and her efforts for recognition of the women who responded on 9/11 inspired a video and a book on the subject.

Berkman received a number of honors during her career and was the first firefighter to be a White House Fellow. She used her memories of 9/11 to create a series of stone lithographs that are now part of the permanent collection at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum. As a fighter of fires and champion of gender equality, Captain Brenda Berkman is our Avenger of the Week.

 

Let’s hear it for Brenda Berkman!

 

FDNY's Captain @berkfdny is @GenderAvenger's #AvengerOfTheWeek, and her recognition is well-earned. She fought in court for equitable treatment of women firefighters and won, was a first responder at Ground Zero, and more 🦸‍♀️ #GenderAvenger https://www.genderavenger.com/blog/avenger-of-the-week-brenda-berkman