In the last 20 years, the Spokane Valley Fire Department hasn’t had any women firefighters in the department. That changed this summer, when the department signed on two women firefighters as part of a group of 14 new recruits.
Fire Chief Bryan Collins said he’s been focusing on increasing the department’s diversity.
“We’ve been actively working on outreach, trying to diversify the workforce,” he said. “It’s a lot of work. It’s showing up at job fairs and college campuses. We’re making progress. It’s slow, and it’s hard.”
The problem is a lot of other fire departments are doing the same thing, Collins said. “It’s a competitive market,” he said.
The department previously had a woman firefighter who was with the department in the late 1980s and 90s. After she left no other women were hired. It made Spokane Valley Fire an anomaly, particularly among large departments, Collins said.