Blazing a new trail: BGFD hires first female firefighters

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (WTVG) - Six new firefighters were recently hired by the Bowling Green Fire Division, three of them female, a first for the department.

“The guys haven’t treated me any different than any of the other guys, you would expect going in never working with a female before that there would be awkward moments or they just wouldn’t know what to do in certain situations, but honestly everyone’s been great, they treat me and the other female firefighters just as one of the guys and that’s what we want coming into a job like this,” said Kayla Laumann, 24, who has been with the fire department for the past six months.

On Tuesday, Laumann was training outside on the ladder truck. She had to climb the 100-foot ladder that was stretched to the sky at a 70-degree angle.

“I personally use to be afraid of heights, so, but after working with ladders, so often and climbing them, it’s a fear that I’ve gotten over,” Laumann said while looking back up at the ladder truck.

According to the National Fire Protection Association, in 2020, there were just a little more than one million firefighters in the United States, just nine percent are women.

“One of the things when we’re hiring people for Bowling Green Fire, I don’t see male or female, I see people that can do the job, and they have proven that they are more than capable of performing every task that’s thrown at them,” said Bowling Green Fire Division Chief Bill Moorman.

The firehouse, built in the early 80′s, was built when there were even fewer female fighters than now, new sleeping arrangements were made.

“I’m on one shift and Dolly is on another shift so it does work out so we’ll always have a bed open and available for a female, so it is nice, so it’s secluded, we have a door we can shut so when we need to change into our uniforms, we’re allowed to do that,” Laumann said while giving a tour of the private bunks on the second floor set-up for the women.

New hire Dolly Morgan says the firehouse is a home away from home.

“I’ve actually had some of the guys say that this, having a female on their shift and on their department is going to be helpful in those situations because sometime there are certain situations where they were like it would have really benefited to give them the comfort of having a female on scene with them,” Morgan said.

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