Females still make up less than 10% of the U.S. fire service

QUINCY, Mass. – Recent media coverage has highlighted women assuming leadership positions in the fire service as well as filling rank and file roles, but the number of female firefighters in the United States remains relatively low, according to the U.S. Fire Department Profile released by the National Fire Protection Association.

The news comes at a time when The Los Angeles Times reported that one of the nation’s largest fire departments will fall short of their 2020 female hiring goal; the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that women have surpassed the number of men working in America by more than 100,000.

The new NFPA report provides an overview of 29,705 local and municipal fire departments in the country and estimates that, in 2018, only 93,700, or 8%, of the 1,115,000 firefighters in the United States were female. More specifically, 15,200 or 4% of career firefighters and 78,500 volunteer firefighters, or 11%, were women.

Comparatively, 13% of police officers or detectives were female; 21% of paramedics or EMTs were women; and 20% of the U.S. military is made up of females, with each branch surpassing the number of females in fire uniforms. Women comprise 20% of the Air Force, 19% of the Navy, 15% of the Army and almost 8% of the Marine Corps.

The good news is that women in various parts of the country are taking lead roles and getting recognized in their communities.

Tonya Hoover was appointed in early February to the second highest fire position in the country – deputy U.S. fire administrator. The nation’s top female fire leader is responsible for the training of more than 100,000 first responders annually via the National Fire Academy; the National Fire Incident Reporting System which documents and analyzes 27 million fire department emergency responses a year and USFA’s fire prevention, public information and public education programs.

Tiffany Green, from Prince George’s County, Maryland, recently became chief of the largest combination career and volunteer fire department in the nation.

The top three fire leadership positions in Decatur, Georgia, are held by women.

Fire shifts staffed completely by females are generating attention from the Bay Area of California to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Brockton, Massachusetts.

“Today’s fire service plays a critical role in protecting people and property from myriad challenges. That role is enhanced when we prioritize the hiring and promotion of diverse candidates, including female firefighters, to be reflective of our communities and the overall US labor pool,” Amy Hanifan, president of Women in Fire, which provides education, support and advocacy for fire service women, said. “It is refreshing to see positive signs of change in the fire service, and promising that there is a desire to cultivate even more change in the future.”

For more information, visit http://www.nfpa.org. All NFPA codes and standards can be viewed online for free at http://www.nfpa.org/freeaccess.

Submitted by National Fire Protection Association.