Is it hot in here or is it just the firefighters?
The drive toward gender equality in the FDNY will now include its calendar — and the 12 beefcake hardbodies that make up its pages have finally met their match.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, you are about to see the softer side of the FDNY.
For the first time, the department will have both men and women in their annual Calendar of Heroes, the department announced Thursday.
One side of the reversible calendar will have men and the other will have women, officials said. It's also the first time that FDNY paramedics and EMTs are included.
"It's pretty cool that we're doing it together," said FDNY EMT Michelle Campbell, 30, who poses in bunker gear and a tanktop in front of a mobile CPR unit. "We're both equally strong. We all save lives. It's pretty cool to get a heartbeat back when someone flatlines."
"I think it's an awesome opportunity for all of us," she said
Firefighter Jackie-Michelle Martinez, a 10-year veteran of the department who is also the women's outreach coordinator, said that the calendar shows that "the FDNY is made up of a whole group of people."
"Women are multi-faceted," said Martinez, who was photographed wielding an axe. "We're strong … we're motherly … we have our soft sides. But the calendar is not taking any of our strength away. It only enhances it. It's a powerful thing for young girls passing by to see strong women that can do the same thing as a man and still be feminine."
The FDNY announced that it was opening the calendar to EMTs and paramedics last fall. EMT Matthew Herzog — who was feted after he helped deliver a baby in an Uber car outside the Lincoln Tunnel — immediately signed up. After several shoots and call backs, he was selected to become Mr. August.
"It was a great experience," he said. "I got teased a bit by the guys, but it was a wonderful opportunity."
Proceeds from the calendar, which is now on sale at www.FDNYshop.com will go to the FDNY Foundation, a not-for-profit organization that promotes fire safety education FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro said.
"(It's) the first calendar the Department has produced which truly represents all of our heroes - the men and women who risk their lives as firefighters, EMT's and paramedics every day to keep New York City safe," he said.
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