A California fire department made history by staffing its first all-female engine crew Tuesday.
The Pasadena Fire Department celebrated the occasion by posting a photo of Engine 34 to the city's Facebook page. The all-female staffing Tuesday marked the first time that has happened in the department's 133-year history.
“The guys get to experience that every day, and as much as we enjoy working with them, and they love working with us, it’s really nice to enjoy this experience today,” Engineer Christina Terrazas told KCBS-TV.
The lineup happened thanks to a happy confluence of events. All four firefighters were on overtime for a single 24-hour shift.
“I have a year left on the job, and I’m like, ‘Before I leave, I’m gonna make sure I have an all-female crew,’ and it just happened today,” Capt. Tricia Rodriguez told KCBS.
Of Pasadena's 150 firefighters, eight are women. And at 5 percent, the department is above the national average, which is 4 percent. The department also is looking at creating a firefighting camp for girls as a way to potentially recruit female members down the road.
“We actually have females that have been promoted within the department enough to fill the seats so that we could put a complement of all female firefighters on an engine company,” Terrazas told KCBS.
