Shabby Chic Boho When a tough job comes to mind, we are accustomed to thinking of first responders and firefighters. These professionals often must witness gruesome scenarios that most of us would shudder at the thought of.
Speaking specifically of firefighting, waging a war against acres of blazing nature is a whole different ballgame. The stress can be overwhelming as firefighters try to overcome the fear of losing their lives or comrades. The heat and smoke are a constant threat lurking against the backdrop of trapped victims and damaged wildlands.
Fatalities in this profession are sadly commonplace, though modern technologies have made firefighting safer than it was. According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), 83 firefighters died in 2023. The reasons ranged from heart attacks to strokes and traumatic injuries.
Given the scares involved, firefighting is a profession usually associated with men. Times have certainly changed since women are also joining the workforce. In this article, we will look into being a woman in a man’s world, particularly in the field of wildland firefighting.
A Profession Traditionally Dominated by Men
Let’s look at firefighting in general first. The first attempts at putting out large fires date back to the second century AD. A basic hand pump that squirted water onto the belly of the fire was introduced. This idea was reinvented in 1500 AD when over 7,000 firefighters were employed to tackle Roman fires.
Naturally, all of these were men since women at the time were meant to keep the home and children. Even when structural fires became commonplace around the early 17th century, private fire extinguishing companies hired men for the job. We are discussing an era where women could not even pursue professions like that of a seamstress or a writer, let alone a firefighter.
It was not until 1815 that we would see women step out of the calm waters that they’d been confined to all their lives. It is believed that Molly Williams, a former slave hailing from New York City, was the first-recorded female firefighter. She worked as a part of the Oceanus Engine Company.
As we move towards the turn of the succeeding century, women not only started participating in firefighting but were even elected as chiefs. Nancy Allen of the Cedar Hill Volunteer Fire Department in Rhode Island became the first-ever fire chief who was not a man.
Today, we see an increasing number of women join this profession with a passion for saving lives, structures, and nature. With the term ‘increasing,’ a comparison is being drawn to the bygone eras. This is not to suggest that firefighting as a profession has flipped over onto the female side.
Even now, 88% of the total firefighting workforce in the US includes men, with women occupying the remaining 12%. However, even this percentage seemed nearly impossible to achieve decades earlier, so that’s some good news.
Women Forged by Wildfires
Though firefighting overall is a dangerous profession, it is more so in the case of wildland firefighting. In other words, this type of firefighting can be a lot more physically demanding than its structural counterpart.
It requires carrying out rescue missions across remote terrain, hazardous environments, and heavy smoke. Wildland firefighters often need to work long hours, especially since wildfires spread quickly and are difficult to contain. In 2023, 2.6 million acres of land across the US burned in wildfires. The scenario was worse for Canada, which witnessed 46 million acres being sacrificed to the flames.
According to MWG Apparel, on-the-job hazards are serious, including entrapments, burnovers, and heat-related illnesses. One cannot deny the differences in biology between the two genders. The American College of Sports Medicine states that adult males are typically stronger and faster than women of the same age and training status.
The number of women in wildland firefighting may be less, but it is still nothing short of commendable. A lady, otherwise characterized for daintiness, sporting her women’s wildland FR shirt, pants, and other accessories, against parcels of flammable land is a sight to behold.
This is undoubtedly not how our brave female wildland firefighters see themselves. Many join the workforce to protect the environment and become another force of nature to be reckoned with.
Hotshots, Rappels, and Smokejumpers
The current wildland firefighting workforce, even with an all-women crew, can be divided into different categories. We will discuss these in detail.
Hotshots
The women wildland firefighters who became a part of this crew respond to the hottest parts of the fire. The Hotshots first came into existence back in the late 1940s. Typically, a group of 20 women is chosen for this group that responds to fast-spreading, high-priority fires.
They must work on dangerous and arduous assignments where temperatures can be extremely high and the noise can be deafening. Hotshots are rigorously trained for tough environments, even to clear vegetation down to the mineral soil so that the fire can be stopped from advancing.
Smokejumpers
The women who participate in the crew of smokejumpers must reach their firefighting areas via a parachute. Speed is the hallmark of these wildland firefighters because they form the initial line of attack against the fire.
This group aims to put out the fire as quickly as possible, even while it is spread over a small area. Depending on the size and location of the fire, anywhere from 2 to 20 smoke jumpers are sent via parachutes.
Rappels
The third category of women wildland firefighters includes the rappels who also form the initial line of attack. The only difference is that, unlike smokejumpers who jump from planes, this crew gets to their spot via helicopters.
If no safe landing spot is detected, the group would have to rappel down as much as 250 feet. The physical fitness and training standards for smokejumpers and rappels are more or less the same.
So we see that more and more women are being drawn to the flames of protecting the environment and people. The US Forest Service continues to invite applications from female aspirants in the field of wildland firefighting.
Those interested are offered online and in-person field training. Though the scales are heavier on the side of men still, women are displaying their unflinching courage and resilience in the field.
