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  Wonder Woman

Firefighter Nina Taylor holds her own at Station 24.
Written by Lindsey Lowe Osborne
Some 14 years ago, Nina Taylor went out on a Sunday morning to get the paper. She and her son, Steve, who was a year old at the time, had a tradition of reading it together—he preferred the comic section. At the time, Taylor was a founder of a staffing agency called Staffing World. She opened the business after a stint at another staffing agency that was eventually sold, as well as two years of modeling in New York. And on that Sunday morning, nothing seemed different, though Taylor says she was itching for a change. She liked what she did, but she wasn’t fulfilled by it.
That morning, she sat with Steve and they looked through the paper. A half-page ad caught her attention. In big letters it read, “You can become a firefighter.”  She showed it to Steve. “His face lit up like a Christmas tree,” Taylor says. “His little voice said ‘Mommy, you can do that!’ Something about that kid’s encouragement makes me feel invincible. I immediately applied that Monday.”
It may have seemed like she made the decision on the whim, and she did—but something happened on the way home from applying that cemented that firefighting was what she wanted to do: She and Steve witnessed a car wreck. Taylor locked Steve in the car and went to see how she could help; she found out that the family was searching for a little girl who had been in the car. “As three of us looked surrounding the vehicle, I could hear the fire sirens coming from downtown making their way. I stood still. Then I laid on the ground near the wrecked vehicle and there was the little girl,” Taylor says. “She was still alive, but it was obvious that she wouldn’t be for long. I reached to touch her fingers amongst the wreckage and told her that she was beautiful and that I would not leave until help arrived. I watched that small baby die right before my eyes. It was in that moment, when the aunt asked if I was an off duty firefighter, that it all dawned upon me. Maybe this is what I’m really supposed to be doing.”
The next day, Taylor began training to be a firefighter. She started by doing old track workouts that she remembered from college. Along the way, she kept her intentions to herself.  “I was afraid of the stigma of a woman going into a predominantly male profession,” she explains. “I didn’t want to tell my family, as sometimes that criticism can be the worst. I didn’t know if I would be hired, but I knew in my heart and soul I was one of the best—if not the best—candidates for the job.” Two months later, she started recruit school, and six months after that, in 2003, she began work at Station 24 in Bellview Heights. Though she’s moved around in the 13 years since then, she’s currently back at Station 24. “It has been a journey. I have endured typical female treatment in a male atmosphere, yet my skin is thick. I go home to shed my tears of the day’s weary loss and obstacles,” she says. “When it’s time for my shift again, I put on my wonder woman shirt under my uniform (my son bought it for me) and tackle another 24 hours in hopes of making a positive difference in someone’s life.”
In addition to firefighting, Taylor also owns Fresh Face Photography. She says photography can be an escape from the inevitable sorrow she encounters as a firefighter. “Photography is a way for me to show people how I see them: beautiful!” she says. “On my days away from the department, I book events, weddings, photo shoots, or just shoot around for fun. I usually bake something sweet, give it away, and take pictures. Photography is my therapy after a bad day of firefighting.” Those bad days come, of course; firefighters don’t just show up for fires, but for any kind of trauma, and Taylor has been a part of the hardest days of many people’s lives. But there’s also a great sense of fulfillment in this job that Taylor never got before. “I’m older and wiser, and my compassion has grown to no ends with the numerous people I encounter. With that comes the sorrow of watching a life lost,” she says.
“But the rewarding thing is the look on someone’s face that says, ‘I’m grateful that you came to help me.’ I get it often from my patients and victims of a fire,” she continues. “I have delivered many children in homes and I can tell you firsthand that it’s beautiful when another woman says, ‘Thank God you were here.’ They share their lives with me, even in loss, and that is something most people never get to experience up.”

Angela Cook – CO – Denver
Denver Fire Department/ARFF
8525 Newcastle Street

Denver, CO 80246
303-342-4345
angela.cook@flydenver.com
Angela Cook joined the Denver Fire Department in 1992.  She spent a large portion of her career at Station 10 in inner-city Denver where she was a member of the Hazardous Materials Decontamination Team.  Angela has served 3 tours of duty at the Training Division leading recruit academies, in-service training, & research and development.  She promotes ongoing structured mentoring on the department and until recently was chair of the DFD Incident Safety Committee.  Since 2009, Angela has been assigned as the Division Chief of Fire at Denver International Airport where she commands Operations, the ARFF Training Academy, and a Fire Prevention Team, totaling 110 personnel.
Angela’s instructional background includes teaching within the Denver Fire Dept., the IAFC Company Officer Leadership Symposium, the International Assoc. of Women in Fire and Emerg. Services as well as facilitating courses for various fire departments around Colorado and California including San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Her teaching topics include: Incident Management, Risk Benefit Analysis, Strategy and Tactics, Promotional Preparation, Conflict Resolution, and Recruitment & Retention.
Extracurricular activities have included teaching Fire Science classes at Red Rocks Community College, participating as a Search Specialist for Colorado’s F.E.M.A. U.S.A.R. Task Force, and writing and implementing an introduction to firefighting curriculum for the Denver Public Schools’ Career Education Center.  She is currently a VP on the board of the Denver Firefighters’ Burn Foundation.

Milford’s first female firefighter is on the job

Maureen Hickey was hired by Milford Fire Department in January

By Jill Dion on July 13, 2015 in News ·

Maureen Hickey is Milford’s first professional female firefighter.

Maureen Hickey is Milford’s first professional female firefighter.

While Judy Hessberger of Milford was actually the first female firefighter in Milford, serving as a volunteer in 1978 for Company 2 out of Fort Trumbull Beach before the department became a fully paid department in 1983, Hickey is the first woman hired by the city to serve on the department.

Hickey, 27, was hired in January, and is a probationary firefighter, meaning she hasn’t received a permanent assignment yet. She will work “detail,” learning the different stations, apparatus and areas of the city, until her probationary period ends Jan. 26, 2016 — one year from her hire date.

Firefighting wasn’t Hickey’s intended career, she told Womenyoushouldknow.net in a June interview.

“After graduating from college with a bachelor of fine arts in graphic design, she had a lot of trouble finding a job in her field, and ended up taking a clerical position at a medical office. Maureen realized quickly that being in an office wasn’t for her,” the article states.

The new firefighter credits the change in her career choice to her mother, who brought the idea of firefighting to her attention.

“My mother knew that I was not happy in the first job I obtained after college,” Hickey told The Milford Mirror. “I had tried for a long time to get a position in my field of study. However, it was not turning out to be a successful venture. I was growing more frustrated, and she mentioned that she had seen an advertisement for a firefighting test. Although I hadn’t thought of it before, it seemed like it would be a really good fit for me.”

She said her parents have always been her number one fans, encouraging her to do what makes her happy.

“They taught me that a lot of times in life, things won’t go your way but you can’t give up on something you truly want,” she said. “If you aren’t successful the first time, there is always next time. Those lessons they taught me really helped to keep me focused on getting a position as a firefighter. There were many times when I felt defeated or discouraged, but I had to take a step back and look at the big picture, and I knew it was just a bump in the road.”

Training for the job

After working as a volunteer firefighting with her local community to be sure it was what she wanted to do, Hickey began training.

Training certainly was demanding, Hickey told The Mirror.

“I trained by doing a lot of functional movements. I tried, and still try, to mimic the actions of the test and the firefighting profession in my workouts, such as stair climbs, which I would do with a weighted vest. I also did a lot of work with a heavy tire and sledge hammer to build up my upper body and core strength. I also worked on my endurance, since that is an extremely important part of this profession.”

The physical test was difficult, but Hickey prepared. She said she knew that as a female, she would have to prepare a little more than some of her male counterparts.

“I like that the test doesn’t change its standards for male or female candidates,” Hickey said. “If you want to be a firefighter, you have to be able to do the job of a firefighter successfully, which is what this test is designed for.”

She realized her weaknesses, and worked on those areas, readying for the physical test, which included a three-minute step mill with a 75-pound weighted vest, followed by a hose drag, equipment carry, ladder raise and forcible entry simulation, search, dummy drag, and ceiling breach/pull, all while wearing a 50-pound weighted vest.

Hails from Pleasantville

Hickey grew up in Pleasantville, N.Y., and went to Pleasantville High School. She graduated in 2005 and went to Manhattanville College, graduating in 2009 with a bachelor of fine arts degree.

She is the first firefighter in her family, though she has several family members who were police officers.

She said being Milford’s first female firefighter is an “incredible honor.”

“I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to work for this community,” Hickey said. “The Milford Fire Department has a very impressive reputation and to be a part of such a great department is very exciting.”

While it’s great being the first female firefighter here, she said that’s not something she focuses on. She just wants to be the best firefighter she can be.

“All of the men who were hired before me and with me worked just as hard, if not harder, to be a part of this department and I don’t feel that I deserve any more recognition than they do,” Hickey said. “All of these firefighters have incredible knowledge and experiences about this job and they have been very helpful in teaching me a lot in my short time here so far.”

The Milford Fire Department

There are 116 positions in the Milford Fire Department, including inspectors, fire marshal and others. Fire Department Spokesman Greg Carman said Hickey is demonstrating every day that she deserves to be part of the team.

“Firefighter Hickey joining us is more of a credit to her determination and hard work to prepare herself for this career,” Carman said. “This is not a career for just anyone and she is proving to us every day that she will have a very successful career with us.”

Hickey is happy she changed career plans and became a firefighter.

“It’s the best job in the world,” she said. “I love it."  

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