The earliest were volunteer firefighters in urban and small-town settings dating back to at least the 1800's. Molly Williams was the first known firefighter, an African-American woman held under slavery, who worked on Oceanus Engine Company 11 in New York City in 1818. Women have also worked as fire lookouts since the early 1900's and, beginning in the mid-1970's, as seasonal firefighters in the wildland sector. In the U.S., approximately 5,200 women currently work as full-time, career firefighters and officers. Several hundred hold the rank of lieutenant or captain and about 60 are district chiefs, battalion chiefs, division chiefs, or assistant chiefs.
Women are firefighters outside the U.S. as well.
Women firefighters can also be found in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, France, the Netherlands, South Africa, Panama, Costa Rica, Trinidad and Tobago, Chile, and Brazil. Among these are the barriers that face any traditionally excluded group beginning to make inroads in a new workplace. These issues stem from the history and tradition of firefighting as a male endeavor and from societal constraints regarding men's and women's roles and perceived capabilities. And of course, women firefighters face the same issues their male counterparts face while preparing for and executing the fire departments mission. Inc. Formed in 1982 by a group of Atlanta area firefighters, the Georgia Firefighters Burn Foundation now serves all of Georgia.