Who was it that said “Girls just wanna have fun?”
Albany Fire Department Apparatus Engineer Operator/Driver Christy Bengis, an 18-year AFD veteran who is one of two females to serve in that capacity, put that notion to rest when she became the first female firefighter in the department to lead an entire engine company for a 24-hour shift Wednesday.
Bengis, whose father was a city firefighter, served as a relief driver for eight years before becoming certified as an AEO in 2018. She currently serves at Fire Station 6 on Meredyth Drive.
“It’s been a privilege, as well as an honor, to work alongside both men and women I have known during the past 18 years of my career,” Bengis said in a news release sent to media by the city of Albany. “I have learned a tremendous amount and still have a long way to go.”