VIDEO: For Women’s History Month, two former Bay area firefighters are being celebrated for paving the way for women.

Jenny Hayes was the first woman to be hired at the Lakeland Fire Department. And Betty Coleman was the first Black female firefighter to put on the uniform at Tampa Fire Rescue.

Both women were hired in the 1980s, when fire departments all across the country were actively recruiting women and other minorities.

“I mean, why not give us a chance?” Hayes said. “That’s how I saw it back then. I’m like, ‘If they’re going to give me a chance, I’m going to show them I can do it.'”

Hayes said a firefighter friend told her about the job. And once hired, some of the men had a hard time trusting her at first.

“You know, like, can she drag me out of a situation?” Hayes said. “I can definitely drag you, I may not be able to carry some of them, but I can definitely drag you.”

According to the National Fire Protection Association, women represent about 9% of firefighters nationwide.

But while the overall percentage may be low, firefighting has grown.

Spectrum News 9

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A barbecue food truck went up in flames this week in Puyallup. Central Pierce Fire and Rescue posted photos of their crews extinguishing the fire. It happened on February 23 to the Tin Hut BBQ truck. The vehicle was at the cross-streets of 5th Street Southeast and 39th Avenue Southeast at the time. Crews saw heavy smoke and flames coming from the food truck when they arrived. The road was blocked for a while until they could fully extinguish it. No word yet on the cause or whether anyone was hurt.

KIRO-TV CBS 7 Seattle

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The fire at Jackson Avenue and Adams Street on Thursday morning broke out inside of a two-story, single-family home according to Spokane Fire Department Public Information Officer Justin de Ruyter. The fire has been put out. Crews were dispatched at 12:36 p.m. and arrived on scene less than five minutes later. SFD said no people were inside the house at the time of the fire. One cat was rescued and transported to the emergency vet in critical condition. The exact cause of the fire is under investigation.

KHQ-TV NBC 6 Spokane

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PHOTOS: Hyundai Motor Group is continuing its efforts to protect the public and firefighters through the donation of four Unmanned Firefighting Robots designed for high-risk environments to South Korea’s National Fire Agency.

A donation ceremony for the remote fire suppression robots was held on February 24 at the National 119 Rescue Headquarters in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea.

The event was attended by key figures, including Euisun Chung, Executive Chair of Hyundai Motor Group; Sung Kim, President and Head of Strategic Planning Division of Hyundai Motor Group; Yongbae Lee, President and CEO of Hyundai Rotem Company; Seung-ryong Kim, Acting Commissioner of the Korea National Fire Agency; and Jin-ho Lee, Director of the Policy Coordination of the Korea National Fire Agency.

The Unmanned Firefighting Robot was developed in collaboration with the Korea National Fire Agency and is based on Hyundai Rotem’s electrified, multi-purpose unmanned vehicle, the HR-Sherpa.

Hyundai Media Center

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VIDEO: A Seattle-area firefighter who survived the One October shooting and helped save lives that night is returning to the place where he says he learned how to live with the trauma. Dean Mc-Ollie said he left haunted after the shooting and struggled in the aftermath, calling it a nightmare. He attended the festival as a showgoer but shifted into work mode when shots were fired.

While he saved lives, he blamed himself for the ones he did not. Mc-Ollie later spent years receiving EMDR-assisted therapy at Stable Arena, a treatment that uses eye movement to help the brain reprocess traumatic events. He said that when an offer from Stable Arena came in years later, the treatment worked and helped him learn not to let trauma define him.

KSNV-TV NBC 3 Las Vegas

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