Solutions such as bumping an officer out of his private room to give it to the woman can generate a similar resentment. Where this type of hostility exists, providing facilities that offer privacy for both genders becomes only half of the solution. Another common reaction to inadequate station facilities is the tendency to adapt and accommodate to them. Many women firefighters do not routinely shower at work, or they get up an extra hour early in the morning in order to shower before the men need the shower facilities. But just because a person or group can develop behaviors to cope with a situation or environment doesn't mean it's right to leave things that way indefinitely.
All firefighters deserve basic privacy, either individually or by gender, for personal functions.
Management should make it a priority to provide this. All new stations and any significant remodeling of existing stations, should include adequate facilities for a two-gender workforce. Most fire stations will stand for a half century or more. To continue to build them on old designs means perpetuating the problems fire station designers fifty years ago created for firefighters today. Although crews in many fire stations manage to cope with shared facilities, it is preferable for station design to provide privacy for both sexes in restroom, shower, and changing areas.