Today in DFD History – May 16th, 1977
Detroit Fire Department accepted it’s first applications for female firefighters. In September 20th of that year, Harriett Saunders, Sandy Kupper and Theresa Smith graduated from training academy and were assigned to E-21, E-32 and E-55.

As you might imagine, this was a very conterversial move for the department. Many people believed that women would not be able to perform the duties necessary as firefighters. Wives of many Detroit Firefighters expressed concerns over the lack of seperate sleeping quarters and bathroom facilities.
Opinions about the abilities of female to perform in the field still vary. It’s been 36 years since the first ladies were hired in Detroit. Many have come and gone. Many left Fire Operations for jobs in Divisions, and some have stayed.
The ones that stayed in the field have often earned the reputation of being as tough or tougher than some of the guys. They have earned respect, sometimes from their toughest critics. It wasn’t easy, but firefighting isn’t easy regardless of your gender.

Questions:
What has your experience with female firefighters shown about the ability for females to perform firefighting duties?
If you are a female firefighter, what do you think the biggest challenges for women in the fire service are today?
On March 28th 2014 we changed the comment system we were using. Unfortunately it did not import existing comments. The following are comments posted prior to the change:
Posted by
Larry Zakrzewski on May 16, 2013 at 9:28 AM said:
At first I was a bit optimistic, but then I could see that they can do the job
At first I was a bit optimistic, but then I could see that they can do the job