Celebrating Female Firefighters and Emergency Medical Technicians for International Women's Day

It wasn’t always easy.

For generations, the fire service was — officially or unofficially — closed to women. While female firefighters did exist, they were extremely uncommon well into the 20th century.

Of course, it should come as no surprise that pioneering females eventually grabbed their Halligan bars and busted down the doors, pulled down the glass ceilings with their pike poles. Through their skill and tenacity, they have over the last 200 years firmly established themselves in the fire service.

So on International Women’s Day, we’re raising our coffee mugs to female firefighters and EMTs everywhere. It’s been an honor and privilege to work alongside tough, talented, intelligent and dedicated women who are a credit to our profession.

The women we’ve worked with have proven that gender plays no role in skill, competence or courage in the most challenging situations. Rather, they’ve brought unique perspectives into this once male-dominated industry. 

Female firefighters and EMTs have played important roles in departments across the country, in both professional and volunteer capacities, helping innovate, lead and push the fire service into the future.

And yet, women remain underrepresented.

Women make up less than 10 percent of firefighters and less than a third of EMTs nationwide. Those numbers are growing, and we look forward to seeing more women make their mark in the industry.

Meet Natalie Adasiewicz: Firefighter/Paramedic and All-Around Awesome

If you follow Fire Dept. Coffee on social media or spend much time on our website, you’re bound to see Natalie Adasiewicz.

She’s a big part of the Fire Dept. Coffee crew. And if you’re looking for an example of a woman doing amazing things in the fire service, then look no further.

Natalie checks all the boxes.

Simply put, Natalie is the real deal. If anyone has any doubts about women being able to perform the physical duties of a firefighter as well as the men, all we have to say is take a look at Natalie.

On top of everything else, she’s been doing Cross-Fit for eight years, which helps her stay strong, agile and ready to handle any call that comes in. She’s also an instructor at her local Cross-Fit gym.

She’s what you’d call a high achiever, and she is someone that we’d be proud to have by our side in any emergency.

As much as we like to brag on Natalie — because she is truly awesome at what she does — she’s not a unicorn. 

You can find extraordinary female firefighters and EMTs holding down important positions all across the country and all around the world.

We’re proud of all they do and all they’ve achieved, and we look forward to seeing their numbers continue to increase as more young women follow in the footsteps of firefighters like Natalie.