Code 3 Podcast: Where are all the female firefighters?

Why, with so many strong role models, is the fire service still having trouble recruiting women?

December 10, 2018 10:58 AM •

The number of women who have joined the ranks of firefighters is still hovering at about five percent. This is true even in departments with female chiefs. Why, with these strong role models, are we having trouble recruiting women to join?

And how are they treated once they do make it in?

Here to help answer those questions is Cheryl Horvath. She’s chief of the Tubac Fire Department in Arizona.

Horvath is a former president of the International Association of Women in Fire and Emergency Services, and served on the International Association of Fire Chiefs’ FRI program planning committee. She also served as an instructor with the Illinois Fire Service Institute for 15 years.

Podcasts

Code 3 Podcast with Scott Orr

Code 3 is hosted by award-winning journalist Scott Orr, who has covered the fire/EMS/police beat for most of his 30-plus year career in news. He’s worked around the country in both TV and print. Orr was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease over a decade ago, but that doesn’t stop him from interviewing fire service leaders on issues that concern firefighters around the nation.