Common Council committee approves charter change to use gender-neutral language for Milwaukee Fire Department

The Public Safety & Health Committee voted to approve a substitute charter ordinance that replaces gender-specific language describing Milwaukee Fire Department personnel with gender-neutral terminology.

Alderwoman Zamarripa introduced the substitute charter ordinance and thanked Milwaukee Fire Department leaders for proposing the change. Milwaukee Fire Department Chief Aaron Lipsky told the committee the effort came from department members and is meant to be inclusive of women and LGBTQ+ personnel. “We have made a very intentional, deliberate, effort to make sure that everybody knows that they are welcome to be on the Milwaukee fire department,” Lipsky said.

Committee members and department officials said the change corrects outdated charter language that presumes firefighters are male and that the old phrasing could affect benefit language in the charter and related relief association rules. Deputy Chief Darren Peter Burrows described the history of women in the department and noted the first female firefighter joined in 1982; he said the charter’s wording—referring to “firemen and their wives”—no longer reflects the department’s workforce.

Supporters said the change is largely textual but has symbolic and practical effects for recruitment and department inclusivity. Multiple aldermen signed on as co-sponsors during the committee meeting. The committee recorded no objections and ordered passage of the substitute charter ordinance.

The ordinance will proceed through the council’s formal adoption process as required for charter changes; committee members asked that the Legislative Reference Bureau and the city attorney continue to confirm the charter edits’ technical accuracy.