Molly Williams It is important and appropriate to acknowledge the person who is historically recognized as the nation's first woman firefighter. Her name was Molly Williams, and to learn about her, we need
to travel back in time to the 1800's in New York City. Although it is widely accepted that she was the first woman in the United States to serve as a firefighter, it is important to note that the decision to do so was not Hers’ alone. You see, Molly was a black woman, and she was also a slave. Her master/owner was a wealthy man named Benjamin Aymar, who was a member of the city's volunteer fire department. He was part of the Oceanus Engine Company 11 located in Lower Manhattan, and he would regularly take Molly along when he went to the firehouse. While at the station, Molly was expected to clean the firehouse, cook meals, and maintain the heavy water pump as well. Over time, she became very interested in this critical piece of equipment and decided to learn how it functioned and how to operate it. The water pump was so heavy that it typically took several men to pull it through the streets of New York when responding to a fire. According to the documented story of Molly Williams, she was responsible for taking care of Aymar's eight children at his residence, as well as her additional duties of caring for the men at the firehouse. One day, in 1818, while Molly Williams was at the firehouse with Aymar, several of the firefighters had become very ill and were bedridden with what was a deadly flu. Suddenly, the alarm sounded, but the firefighters (all men) were too sick to respond to the fire. Molly decided to respond to the scene alone, pulling the water pumper along with her. It's important to remember that this was a heavy hand-pulled water pumper, but while still wearing
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