Female firefighters in Central Texas are proud to be role models, improve representation

When Battalion Chief Ashley Brackett began her firefighting career 10 years ago, none of the men at Travis County Emergency Services District No. 12 had ever worked with a woman.

After she joined the agency as a firefighter, she said, they didn't know if she could do the job and were worried about how to act with a woman on the team. But as she put in the time and effort, she said they realized she was "more than capable of keeping them safe on a fireground."

"Within our own department, the cultural shift was getting some of those senior guys, with firm beliefs in tradition, to understand that just because you are a woman doesn’t mean that you don’t have what it takes to be in this field," Brackett said. "Breaking gender roles has been the name of the game all along. There are men in the world that would never be able to handle the demands of this career."

In Central Texas, there are still just a handful of female firefighters, many of whom never work a shift with another woman. Despite the low numbers, they say the women who came before them knocked down many barriers, and they are proud to serve as role models and to work to improve female representation in their departments.

According to a report by the National Fire Protection Association, 17,200, or about 5%, of all firefighters in 2020 were women.

The Austin and Pflugerville fire departments have a higher percentage of women, with 7.5% and 10.3%, respectively. Travis County ESD No. 12, which serves 95 square miles of northeastern Travis County, has six women, while the Round Rock Fire Department has four, or 2.9% of its firefighters. At the Georgetown Fire Department, which, like many, also provides ambulance service, there are two female firefighter/paramedics. At Lake Travis Fire Rescue, the department has three women out of 100 firefighters.

Being the only woman in her training class to become a firefighter is what motivates paramedic Victoria Piedra to do better as she works to prove herself. One of 10 female members of the Georgetown Fire Department, Piedra, 24, said her male counterparts make up for that by creating a welcoming environment and by not judging her based on her gender but rather her work. But she said she is very aware that she might not work with another woman while on a shift.

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"I was a little discouraged because I know that I was going to be the only female a lot of the times," Piedra said. "But I feel like I just adapted, and I made sure that I made my presence known."

Austin fire specialist Sara Coon, 39, said that as a woman you have to accept that you are going to be one of a few female firefighters. When there is more than one woman in a station, she said, it is great to have someone who understands and relates to the issues you might be going through as a woman.

"Some of the smaller departments around here only have one female," she said. "I can't imagine (being) the lone wolf that no one understands or gets."

Austin Fire Department spokesperson and firefighter Rachael Lewis, 33, who has worked with the department for four years, said there has been a culture shift, and that women going into a male-dominated profession is now more socially acceptable. According to the Austin Fire Department, 92 of its 1,228 firefighters are women.

Lewis said many departments now have uniforms made for women and bathrooms specifically for them. She said there is a slow but steady increase in the number of women, and that as more join, there will be less judgment.

"The women before us really paved the way for women firefighters being accepted into this culture," Lewis said. "Now we are given a space to be seen as equal. We're given a lot more space to be taken seriously."

Georgetown firefighter and paramedic Priscilla Coffman, 31, has been working for the department for seven years and was the third woman the department had ever hired. Coffman said that when she started, the men were a bit wary and did not know how she would react to them or to the demands of the job. But she said the male firefighters now do a good job of not treating her and the other women differently and of helping make everyone feel like family.

"After I showed that I can do work and I'm not afraid of doing work and putting in the hours, I think then they accepted me as a sister," she said. "It's just overwhelmingly better."

Physical demands won't slow them down

Carrying ladders, hoses, 70 pounds of gear and someone else's body weight can be physically demanding, but the female firefighters said those challenges can easily be overcome by learning new techniques that help those with smaller frames.

"Anybody can do this job as long as you're willing to push yourself," Coffman said. "To me, it doesn't matter if you're male or female, (as long as) you can do the job."

When it comes to lifting heavy stuff, men can rely more on their upper body strength. The women said they have to learn to use quick motions or hold a ladder or person in a different position.

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Coon said she learned to overcome the physical challenges because at the Austin academy, women who had graduated would come in to help. She said what she learned she now teaches at the academy to help the next generation.

"Having the women before us that would come up and pull us aside … that makes a world of a difference," Coon said. "I teach a lot at the academy, and so being able to pass that on is really helpful (for them)."

Amy Hansen, 29, has been a firefighter with Travis County ESD No. 2, also known as the Pflugerville Fire Department, for four years. She said that when it came to the physical challenges, she struggled with finding ways to get the job done without having anyone to teach her. Once she figured out how to carry a ladder or a co-worker in a way that worked for her, she said, the rest was easy.

A matter of earning respect

Juliana Barajas, 26 a wildland firefighter with Lake Travis Fire Rescue since 2021, said gaining the respect and trust of the public as a woman can be challenging. She said when looking for answers, the public will usually approach her male counterparts. When she explains that she is the crew's supervisor, she said, they still have doubts.

For Round Rock Fire Department driver Misty Walden, 29, the biggest challenge about being a female firefighter is earning respect from those in the station who might have an archaic view of women. Walden is one of four women in the department, the most it has had since 2014.

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Walden is serving an acting lieutenant while the lieutenant at the station is out on maternity leave. She said that when she started, it was hard making tactical decisions while driving to a scene that the men under her supervision would accept and respect. Now, she said, it's easier as she knows they respect her because she has put in the work.

"If you really work hard, anybody can do it," Walden said. "You just have to be willing to put yourself out there and get uncomfortable so that you can get better."

Advantages of being a female firefighter

Women can have advantages over male firefighters, from being able to access a small entry point to often having a better bedside manner. Whenever they have to answer a call involving a pregnancy or a child in Georgetown, Piedra and Coffman both said they know they can make that person more comfortable than their male counterparts.

"A dude's mentality, I have come to learn, is solve the problem, do it, leave," Walden said. "(Women) are like, 'Do you need anything else?' Or 'let me help you,' in a nurturing kind of way."

Zulema Dominguez, of Travis County ESD No. 12, said she can connect with female patients in ways her counterparts cannot.

"I take pride in being able to go on a scene and make that female comfortable," she said, "and having that communication with her, because we relate as women."

Coffman said she believes having a female firefighter in the station also might help the men open up about any mental issues they may be having.

"We all have our different strengths and weaknesses," said Coon, of the Austin Fire Department. "As a crew together, the diversity of it is super helpful to (better) serve citizens."

Women rare in leadership roles

According to the National Fire Prevention Association, only several hundred women nationwide hold the rank of lieutenant or captain, and about 150 are district chiefs, battalion chiefs, division chiefs or assistant chiefs.

Coon said it makes sense that there are not many women in leadership positions as female firefighters are still rare. But she said as she works toward a promotion, it can be hard to find a female mentor. The Austin Fire Department has 18 women at the rank of lieutenant, one battalion chief, a division chief and a captain. In comparison, the department has 212 male lieutenants, 35 battalion chiefs, six division chiefs and 72 captains.

"As I'm promoting up through the ranks, I have to figure it out on my own, what works, what doesn't," she said. "Men in this department, a lot of them are our biggest cheerleaders, but I can't do it like them, and so I can't get tips and tricks. But it's just kind of figuring it out on my own."

Hansen, who was the first woman in the Pflugerville Fire Department to be promoted to driver after passing a test and an interview, said she is working to become a lieutenant and thinks she would be good at it.

With children at home, 34-year-old firefighter Cordelia Brazziell of the Pflugerville Fire Department said she is not thinking about being promoted anytime soon but said it is great to have examples like Hansen.

"It makes me so happy to just have that representation," Brazziell said. "It makes me feel like I can do it, too."

As the first female supervisor of a wildfire crew at Lake Travis Fire Rescue, Barajas said she hopes her presence can help bring change.

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"I very much want to keep encouraging and empowering other women to go for leadership roles," she said.

Brackett, 35, is one of few female battalion chiefs nationwide. She said she hopes to use her position to serve as a mentor to help members of Travis County ESD No. 12 achieve their goals.

"Being a battalion chief is a huge honor and milestone in this career that some people will never have the privilege of attaining," Brackett said.

As acting lieutenant, Walden is closer than most to getting to a position with power to make change.

"I want to be there," Walden said. "I do want to make changes. I do want other females to be, 'Well, she did it; I can do it.’ ”

Representation for young girls

Walden said girls visiting her station in downtown Round Rock are always more impressed to see a woman in uniform than even a firetruck.

"It does my heart good," she said, "to know that there are little girls that are like, 'I want to do that. I'm so happy you do that.’ ”

For Dominguez, the best part of the job at ESD No. 12 is being a role model for girls, including her daughter. She said it is an honor to wear a firefighter's uniform and to see the faces of realization on young girls when they see her in one.

"Being that role model to her and then bringing it out to my community, it's a perk for me," she said. "I'm a role model to other girls, females, women, and allowing them to know we can do this."

Piedra said that whenever she is on call, she makes it a point to talk to any girl who might be staring at her. She said she wants to show them a woman in uniform so they know that could be them too.

Lewis said it is important to plant the seed in girls' minds that they can do anything they want. She said that as part of the Austin Fire Department's recruiting team, she will go out to schools and just be a female presence in uniform.

"I love expressing that to them — to show that representation early to break those barriers," she said. "I love that we can tell them, show them, 'You can do this, too.’ ”

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Female firefighters in Central Texas still rare but thriving