Firefighting has historically been a predominantly male profession throughout the world. However, since the 1970s, women have made inroads in both professional and volunteer fire departments in multiple countries. In modern times, women have served in a variety of fire service roles including as fire chiefs. Nonetheless, they comprise less than 20% of firefighters even in the countries where they are best represented.
History.
Many ancient civilizations had a form of organized firefighting. One of the earliest recorded fire services was in Ancient Rome. The Aboriginal Australians had been managing and responding to wildfires for thousands of years, with women being involved.
Firefighting became more organized from the 18th century onwards, led with the rise of insurance companies and then with the rise of government fire services in the 19th century. In 1818, Molly Williams was recorded as being the first female firefighter in the United States. As a slave in New York City, she joined a volunteer engine company. Young women in boarding houses in the United Kingdom were taught fire drills, including high ladder rescues. During World War II, women served in the wartime fire services of the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand both in support and frontline roles.
As a result of the second-wave feminism movement and equal employment opportunity legislation, official obstacles to women were removed from the 1970s onwards. The first female firefighter in the United Kingdom (Mary Joy Langdon) was recruited in 1976, while the first in New Zealand (Anne Barry) joined in 1981. Many fire departments required recruits to pass tough fitness tests, which became an unofficial barrier to women joining. This led to court cases in a number of countries. In 1979 communications centre worker Anne Barry applied to join the NZ Fire Service as a career firefighter but her application was rejected on the grounds of gender. In 1981 she won her two year battle with the Fire Service Commission and was allowed to apply to join the New Zealand Fire Service as a career fire fighter. In 1982, Brenda Berkman won a lawsuit against the New York City Fire Department over its restrictive fitness test. She and 40 others then joined as its first female firefighters. A similar lawsuit led to the Supreme Court of Canada ruling in 1999 (in the case "British Columbia (Public Service Employee Relations Commission) v. BCGSEU") that fire departments could not use restrictive fitness tests unless they could justify the need for them.
Nevertheless, the percentage of women recruited by fire departments has been low. In the UK, women make up 5% of firefighters which is less than the percentage for police officers (29%), paramedics (38%) and military personnel (10%). A report by the London Fire Brigade found that discouraging factors included the portrayal of firefighting in the media, a lack of information available to young girls and unrealistic ideas about the role. Other issues include shift patterns that are not suitable for mothers with young children.
By country.
Australia.
The Aboriginal Australians developed techniques for managing bushfires in the 60,000 years before the arrival of European settlers, with women being involved.
Amazon Ladies Fire Brigade.
Excluding these indigenous precursors, the first all-female firefighting crew was recruited in 1901 in Armidale, New South Wales. It was formed in response to a fire at Cunningham House in the same town. Known as "The Amazons" this volunteer crew complimented the all-male paid firefighting crew, and was the first example in Australia of male and female crews doing routine fire drills together using the same equipment. Station Officer Minnie Webb was the first female Captain in Australia. The creation of the Amazon Ladies Fire Brigade and their operational and dress uniforms was inspired by Captain Webb of the paid firefighting brigade in Armidale. Captain J.T.A. Webb became captain in 1898. He held this position until his death on 17 May 1924. He formed the first women's fire brigade in the early 1900s and also instructed the all-female brigade at the New England Girls School and the fire squad at The Armidale School in October 1923. Penrith Fire Museum has an archived collection on Captain Webb's career. Webb immigrated from England, and where he had seen the trained female fire responders that were common at all-female British boarding schools (see United Kingdom, below on this page). The Amazons was a one-off local initiative and the Webb children were recruited into both the male and female brigades. The model was not adopted elsewhere in Australia. However, the Dubbo Dispatch and Independent Bulletin of 1905 reported that the Dubbo Brigades had attended in Dubbo with 'upwards of 70 Brigades' from across NSW, and an 'exhibition of hose and ladder...and life-saving' had been performed by the Amazon Ladies Brigade 
Unlike Britain, Australian jurisdictions did not establish voluntary female brigades during WWI, and despite great interest in the Amazons during 1901–1905, no other jurisdictions took up the idea. Captain Minnie Webb went on to become a nurse serving in WWI.
Women's fire auxiliaries in World War II.
As was the case in Britain, women's fire auxiliaries were established in World War II in most jurisdictions in Australia to fill vacancies created when male firefighters enlisted in the war. Tasmania was ordering uniforms for the Women's Fire Auxiliary in January 1940. On 20 August 1941, the Tasmania Women's Fire Auxiliary were part of a parade (a "march-past") for Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Winston Churchill. Queensland established a Women's Fire Auxiliary in October 1941. Their duties were to include "driving and trailing vehicles to fires, repairing hoses, operating chemical extinguishers, looking after canteens, and extinguishing incendiary bombs". The Forestry Department of Western Australia recruited an all-female fire crew in Sawyers Valley. Initially only employed on weekends, they became full-time. In addition to fire suppression they carried out fuel reduction burning, firebreak maintenance, fire spotting and upgrading bush phone lines. In 1942 the WA Fire Auxiliary, made of up men and women, gave a demonstration of their skills. In the same year (1942) the Board of Fire Commissioners of NSW established the Women's Fire Auxiliary. Women served as volunteer firefighters in urban and rural locations across Australia and New Zealand. In New South Wales, recruitment took place in Wagga Wagga, Newcastle Wollongong and Broken Hill. A uniform, including a helmet, dress uniform hat, operational overalls and dress uniform jacket was provided. The Australian War Memorial has photos of the NSWFB uniform. Dorothy Barrett, organiser and Chief of the NSW Women's Fire Auxiliary was photographed in 1946 in uniform No book has been written about the female chiefs of the Women's Fire Auxiliaries, though Trove has established a 1947 press cuttings book. Also in 1942, South Australia established a Women's Fire Auxiliary and recognition was given to the vital role women were to play in emergency response. At the 2006 Women in Fire Fighting Conference, Childs curated a reproduction of historic uniforms.
In the post-war era, women remained unable to join fire services as paid firefighters, though there was a growth of local women's auxiliaries across Australia. In the 21st century, these women would be seen as providing operational support and contributing to community fire safety, but in the post-war era they were often portrayed and respected as tea ladies and sandwich makers. The women who volunteered made an important contribution to fire preparedness and response.
Modern developments.
After the passage of the Sex Discrimination Act 1984, official limits on women joining were removed. In 1985, Heather Barnes, Denise Butcher, Dawn Maynard and Allison Meenahan joined New South Wales Fire Brigade (NSWFB) as Australia's first paid career firefighters. In 1998, the NSWFB (now Fire and Rescue NSW) appointed its first female station officers.
The first National Women in Firefighting Forum (thereafter known as WIFF) was held in 2005 at Sydney Airport with the theme of "Firing Up Women". It was opened with a keynote address by the Sex Discrimination Commissioner Pru Goward. A second conference was held in 2006 and included New Zealand female firefighters. The theme was "Same but Different". The first timeline of women in firefighting was created. A vote was unanimously recorded to establish a women in firefighting association run by and for female firefighters, and out of this vote Women and Firefighting Australasia (WAFA) was born. In 2007 the first Board of WAFA was established with Susan Courtney as its president.
Prior to 2005 most research, including health, uniform and risk research assumed all cohorts were male, with Robyn Cooper's work in 1997 an exception. From 2005 onwards, some research has been done into roles and challenges for female firefighters in Australia.
In 2006 Childs reported that less than 5% of any fire service in Australia was made up of full-time paid female firefighters, and also reported a web survey under the title "Not just fitting in". Ainsworth et al (2013) argued that in 2006 indicated that out of 33,659 volunteer firefighters, 3,798 (11%) were women. In 2011, this number had increased to 5,466 (14%). In 2015 a report by Women in Firefighting Australasia found that no fire agency had succeeded in improving the overall percentage about 5%. However, while overall total percentages had not been exceeded between 2006 and 2015, overall percentages across all fire services had improved. For example, the Northern Territory had improved from 0% to 2%.
The percentage of career female firefighters remain at or below 5% of Australian fire services agencies, despite the history and activism noted above. Controversy remains acute. Allegations of sexism and bullying remain. There has also been a movement towards setting physical standards based on evidence of what is necessary.
Austria.
A female fire brigade was formed in 1912, with an initial recruitment of 60 women. Women were admitted to volunteer fire brigades in 1978, and as professionals in 1993.
Canada.
The oldest fire department and fire insurance company as well as the longest-serving firefighters in Canada originated in Nova Scotia. The terms "smoke-eaters" and "leather lungs" were used to describe firemen who had no need to come out for fresh air, and this success was attributed to male facial hair that was thought to act as a "watery sponge" that held fresh air. Since they lacked this facial hair, women were unable to earn these titles.
In the late 1800s, many fire halls, including ones in Nova Scotia, united to compete in sports and physical challenges relating to fire fighting. However, it would not be until over one hundred years later, during the feminist movements of the 1960s, that the absence of women in contact sports was questioned.
A "boys' club" culture existed in many fire departments, as the majority of the firefighters were white males. The firefighters were held to strict standards and were fined (or could even be fired) for spitting on the floor, being late to meetings, and being drunk on or off duty. However, many of the firefighters would support each other by not reporting another member when they were intoxicated.
In 1999, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in "British Columbia (Public Service Employee Relations Commission) v. BCGSEU" that a mandatory fitness test for those seeking to become firefighters in British Columbia unfairly discriminated against women. The test had been based on the physiology of male firefighters. The Court ruled that employers must show that any required workplace tests are necessary, and that there has been some effort to accommodate individuals.
Female-focused camps to train young women in firefighting skills have been created by fire departments in Ottawa and London, Ontario, and have led to similar camps being established in the U.S.
Currently, only 3% of firefighters in Canada are women. Many female firefighters have reported facing resistance when they try to move up in rank, feeling the need to be overqualified in order to compensate for their gender and to prove that they were hired based on merit and not simply an attempt at diversification. Female firefighters also report experiencing bullying, harassment, and sexual harassment on the job.
France.
Françoise Mabille was the first french woman to be a volunteer at the Barentin (Normandy) fire department in 1976. She became a full-time firefighter in 1994, and was retired in 2011.
In 2015, 3% of firefighters were women, with 6.4% of these women holding the title of fire officer.
Germany.
Volunteer female firefighters worked in Berlin and Breslau during World War I but ceased at the end of the war. Women were again recruited during World War II, especially as drivers. This continued until 1955 when