Phoenix Fire Dept. honors female firefighters

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) - A group of female Phoenix firefighters, past and present, got together to celebrate their accomplishments Monday morning.

Kylee Cruz spoke with the city’s third female firefighter, who served in the 1980s. “I read an article in the Phoenix Gazette or whatever, and they were looking for female firefighters,” Mary said.

Another retired firefighter named Angie Pineda said she was a clerk at the Fire Administration building before she joined the force as a firefighter. “They were more afraid of me than I was of them. They did come around. Being the first Hispanic female firefighter in the Phoenix Fire Department--I didn’t think it was a big deal but I guess it was!” she said.

Pineda encourages any woman wanting to be a firefighter to join the Phoenix Fire Department. “There’s girls doing many great things now,” she said. Reda Bigler, a current Phoenix firefighter, said that with Valley Women’s Firefighters Society, young women are invited and mentored in the organization to get started in this career. The Society’s mission statement reads:

The Valley Women’s Firefighter Society is focused on helping prepare interested candidates physically, mentally, and strategically to be successful through the hiring process as well as a successful completion of the firefighter training academy. The VWFS strives to introduce women to careers in the fire service and assists firefighters of all ranks in their opportunities for promotion.

Today’s gathering was in celebration of Women’s History Month which happens every year in March. Tap/click here to learn more about becoming a Phoenix firefighter.

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