EVERETT — As smoke billowed out of South County Fire’s training center, five women came rushing in to pull out someone inside.
Though no fire — or victim — burned inside, more than two dozen young women stood by watching, picturing themselves running into the burning building.
The smoking building was part of a demonstration to recruit more women into the fire service. South County Fire and Snohomish Regional Fire and Rescue hosted a Future Women in Fire and EMS event Saturday to show prospective recruits the ropes.
The workshop was the first of its kind in Snohomish County.
Across the county, fewer than 10% of firefighters are women. The women in those positions are tired of feeling outnumbered by men.
“We are made stronger by diverse backgrounds and experience,” said Snohomish Regional Fire and Rescue firefighter and paramedic Jessica Hanna.
On Saturday, about 30 women spent the day hauling fire hoses, prying open doors, operating chainsaws and lifting 150-pound dummies to simulate a day on the job, all while fire gear weighed them down.
Nearly all were completely new to fire service training.
Brighton Summers was one of the newbies. She called the workshop overwhelming, but “the good kind of overwhelming.”
As someone who is curious about the fire service, Summers said it’s helpful to learn from female leaders about what it’s really like.
“It’s an opportunity to help people every day and make a difference in your community,” Hanna said. “It’s a very diverse job, there’s a lot of problem solving.”
In her 33rd year of fire service, South County Fire Capt. Nicole Picknell is all too familiar with being the only woman in the room.
“When I was a young girl, I never saw a female firefighter,” Picknell said.
Picknell got a knack for the fire service after watching the television show “Emergency!” as a kid.
After that, she knew she had found her dream career.
“I wouldn’t do anything else,” Picknell said. “I honestly don’t know when I want to retire because I love it so much.”
But it wasn’t always a smooth path. She remembered hearing that because she was a woman, she didn’t belong.
“I grew up in a world where men had all the positions, so to see women in these positions, it would have been amazing to know that I could be that,” she said.
Picknell was “in awe” of the turnout Saturday.
“I’ve never seen that in my career,” she said. “We are something special.”
Cam Swain, an EMT student and hopeful firefighter, wants to learn more life-saving skills. They are “so important” for her community and her children, she said.
Currently, she’s a trainer at a women’s gym, where she helps women find strength in themselves.
“I love seeing women surprise themselves,” Swain said.
Her four sons are excited for her new career path, she said.
Though she’s already in EMT school and knows she wants to pursue a fire career, the workshop gave her a better idea of what she’s getting herself into.
“It was cool to get your hands on it, and feel the weight of things,” she said.
It takes tenacity and compassion to make a good firefighter, Picknell and Hanna agreed.
Good firefighters are willing to be humble, get knocked down and come right back up, Hanna said.
And they can be feminine too, Picknell noted.
“It’s important for these girls to see that we can wear nails and lipstick and lashes,” she said. “I never knew I could be feminine and not have to act like a guy to be here.”
Jenelle Baumbach: 360-352-8623; jenelle.baumbach@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @jenelleclar.
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