Only two women don their turnout gear in local paid fire departments, a gender gap that's consistent with national numbers.
Both women, Janice Johnson and Emily Tapscott, work for Decatur Fire & Rescue, while the Athens, Hartselle and Moulton fire departments do not employ any women.
Those who do the hiring said women are simply not applying.
“I don’t know why we’re not getting any female applicants,” Athens Fire Chief Bryan Thornton said.
The U.S Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics says only 3.5 percent of the nation’s firefighters were women in 2017, down from 5.3 percent in 2007. In contrast, the Decatur Police Department has 10 sworn women officers out of 130 on the force, while Athens Police has one full-time sworn woman officer and three women serving as reserves.