A firefighter with more than 20 years experience has become the first female fire chief for a Maryland county's fire department.
Tiffany Green was sworn in as Prince George's County's new fire chief after the county council voted unanimously to confirm her Tuesday, the fire department announced. She had been heading the department on an interim basis since Chief Benjamin Barksdale stepped down at the end of October.
“I have had the privilege to serve this great county for 24 years in various roles," Green, 44, said after she was sworn in during a ceremony at First Baptist Church of Glenarden in Upper Marlboro, according to WJZ-TV. "However, when I started in this department in 1999, the concept of a female fire chief was unheard of. It was thought to be impossible.
"I will endeavor as your fire chief to rewrite the narrative,” she added.
During her time with the department, Green has served as a firefighter, paramedic, station commander and deputy chief, as well as headed both the high school cadet and training academy programs, according to the Washington Post. She now becomes one of 70 female fire chiefs in the country
“It takes many years to become an overnight success,” Prince George’s County Executive Angela D. Alsobrooks said Tuesday, according to the Post. “Her grit, determination and achievement show that this was no quick and easy process.”
