Each day, throughout the month of March 2021, I have featured on Facebook a total of 31 exceptional women in the fire and emergency services field in recognition of this 2021 Women’s History Month. My purpose was to commemorate, encourage, and celebrate the vital roles of these women in both the fire service and American history. I would like to acknowledge and congratulate not only those I profiled, but also the many thousands of women in the fire service that I didn’t individually feature. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) estimates there were a combined 1,115,000 career and volunteer firefighters in the United States in 2018. Of this total number of firefighters, 370,000 (33%) were career firefighters and 745,000 (67%) were volunteer firefighters. Also, in 2018, a total of 93,700 of these firefighters were women (15,200 career and 78,500 volunteers). Data identifying the significant number of women who work in the fire service but in positions other than sworn members is not available. It’s important to note that fire service women have faced difficult challenges and obstacles along their way, and in some cases, still do. Bottom line, there is a great deal of work left to be done in recruiting, managing, and retaining women in fire departments and throughout the industry as a whole. The fire service is better for having women within our ranks and in various roles, and their leadership and representation is vital to our continued success and improvement. I really only had two reasons for doing this project. First, I believe that the history and levels of leadership provided by women in all aspects of the fire and emergency service community is substantial and deserves public recognition. Secondly, I hope young girls and women somehow gain access to these profiles, and as a result, become interested in pursuing the fire service as a career. The many responses I’ve received, and the hundreds of comments the women themselves have received, have been nothing short of amazing! 2
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