Firefighting is often considered a man’s profession, but there are women in the fire service. The truth is women have been in the fire service for over 200 years. It is widely believed that the first female firefighter was Molly Williams, a slave from New York City who became a member of Oceanus Engine Company #11 in around 1815.
Another name in the conversation of first females of the fire service is Lillie Hitchcock Coit. Ms. Coit was a San Francisco heiress who was made an honorary member of the Knickerbocker Engine Company #5 as a teenager in 1859.
As war in Europe began to rage and the young men of the United States were called to serve the numbers of women in the fire service grew exponentially. The great women of this great nation had to fill the role of firefighter as well while the men were at war. And many grew to love the fire service.
More than 6,500 now hold career firefighting and fire officer’s positions in the United States, with hundreds of more in Canada, Great Britain, and other countries throughout the world. Among the volunteer and paid-on-call fire and EMS forces in the United States are perhaps 30-40,000 women firefighters. Those numbers don’t include the thousands of EMT’s and Paramedics. The history of these women and their fore mothers is long and proud, and continues to be written.
At Fire and Axes we salute all the women of the fire service both past and present, August is dedicated to you. Continue doing what you do. You have proven this isn’t a mans job. It’s a paid / unpaid profession for both men and women. Male or female, it’s the fire that burns inside you.
So for all my brothers and sisters out there reading this. Be safe, and watch out for each other.
We all go home!
Until next time,
Captain K