The first woman to be paid to fight fires, Sandra Forcier, was hired by the city of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in 1973, according to Women in the Fire Service, Inc., not 1974 as reported in "City’s only female fire crew fights convention," (The Peninsula Beacon, Dec. 28, 2006). Forcier, served as both a firefighter and police officer. In March of 1974, Judith Livers became the first female career firefighter when she was hired by the Arlington County Fire Department in Virginia. That same yea in August, San Diego hired female firefighters in mass.
Look for a story on San Diego’s first female firefighters in February.