A Times Herald survey of every St. Clair County fire department found that of the 406 firefighters in the county who are fully trained or are training to be firefighters, 29 —or 7 percent — are female.
A National Fire Protection Association report estimated that in 2018, 93,700, or 8 percent, of the approximately 1.12 million firefighters in the country were female.
While most staff who are trained as firefighters are also licensed as medical professionals, seven fire stations employ staff who only have medical licenses. Of the 16 medical first responders, emergency medical technicians and paramedics in the county, 10 were female.
Except for Memphis Fire Department, every department has at least one woman on staff or who is training to be on staff. Memphis Fire Chief Justen Diaz said the department has employed women firefighters in the past. The department recently employed two women firefighters who either moved or took another job, he said.
RELATED
Pittsburgh (PA) Aims to Hire More Women and Minority Firefighters
