Amy Hanifan said one of the biggest challenges women in firefighting will face is the balancing act of work, "to provide a service but also the task of making it a better work space for those we work with now, and for those coming up behind."
Humboldt Bay Fire quoted Hanifan, the Operations Chief of McMinnville Fire Department in Oregon and President of Women in Fire, on Facebook Thursday in honor of Women's History Month. HBF said it believes they shoulder that burden.
"We at HBF believe this challenge falls on us all," they said in the post. "And we are proud to celebrate and support our sisters in the fire service."
According to HBF 4% of all career firefighters are women, 11% of volunteer firefighters are women and 12% of federal wildland firefighters are women.