It’s rare for women to be in the fire service, but that didn’t stop Kelli McNees from joining and eventually becoming the first female fire captain for the Mukilteo Fire Department.
The Mukilteo Fire Department had three new battalion chiefs and two new fire captains take an oath of office at the June 17 Council meeting. Among the two new fire captains, McNees was one of them.
McNees started out as a volunteer firefighter in 1997.
While she’s very passionate about her job now, initially, she didn’t think becoming a female firefighter was possible. However, she soon had a change of mentality.
“It wasn’t until someone told me that women can be in fire service that I wanted to join,” said McNees. “I’ve never ran into someone who said I couldn’t do it or can’t do it.”