Fire Princess

As male dominated as policing still is in this country, firefighter is even more so.


The first known woman firefighter was Molly Williams, a slave in New York City who became a member of Oceanus Engine Company #11 in about 1815. During World War II, women volunteered and took the place of men at war. Many places had all women fire companies during that time. 


There have been volunteer women firefighters for hundreds of years in this country, but the first paid firefighter was Sandra Forcier in 1973 in Winston NC. 

With rigorous physical requirements, female job applicants and successful candidates are very limited. Most departments make requirements the same for women as they are for men, unlike police which have different physical entrance requirements for each. Of the successful applicants, less than half actually become firefighters - either they are not selected or don't finish the basic training.

According to The National Report Card on Women in Firefighting, Less than 4% of firefighters are female and only 31 fire departments have women as their top-level chief.

                                       

Ring of fire cover by Gaby Garcia

PoliceWoman101

In the late 1800's, Jail Matrons were common to help with incarcerated women and children in prisons and mental asylums. They had no arrest powers but were the forerunners to policewomen. 


On April 1, 1908, Lola Baldwin, was sworn in as a "female detective to perform police service" for the city of Portland, Oregon.¹ She was the first documented woman hired by a U.S. municipality to perform law enforcement duties. She was a commissioned officer with arrest powers but did not carry a firearm and mainly performed social work. 


In 1910, LA City Council passed an ordinance for LAPD to employ "one police officer who shall be a woman."⁵ Mrs. Alice Wells, a social worker, was hired and assigned to the juvenile division. 

Until the 1970s, women in police positions were used in social work and community service positions and largely only dealt with women and children. After Civil Rights legislation in the early '70s, patrol positions started opening up to females across the nation.  


Women Police now make up approximately 13-14 percent of all LE sworn personnel. Only about 1 percent (about 200 or so) of this nation's police chiefs and sheriffs are female.¹⁵ 

WOMEN SERVE A VALUABLE ROLE IN LAW ENFORCEMENT
Wind Beneath My Wings by Lucy Tops