“Brotherhood.” That’s one word that’s used a lot around a firehouse, or when talking about the fire service.
But within these tightly-knit groups of brothers are sisters, too, scattered throughout the ranks of career and volunteer fire departments across the country.
According to the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA), women made up eight percent of the more than 1.1 million firefighters in the United States in 2018—most of them volunteer, and just over 11,000 career staff.
At Harmonville Fire Company in Plymouth Township, there are just a few female firefighters. Though they may be small in number, each of them are more than up to the challenge of protecting the residents in their service area.
“I've always been treated as one of the guys,” says Amanda Hoade, one of only two women on Harmonville’s career firefighter roster. “I didn't want to be treated differently.”
Hoade started serving in a volunteer capacity when she was 14, alongside her father.