All-female crew makes history at Florida fire department
A fire crew recently made history in Florida at Palm Beach Gardens Fire Rescue. A crew comprised entirely of women worked a shift together for the first time in the department's 57-year history.
They all worked together last month, and knew it was a momentous day. "That was captain, driver engineer, firefighter, rescue lieutenant, and paramedic," Krystyna Tesia Krakowski, a rescue lieutenant, told CBS affiliate WPEC-TV.
The next day, the station went back to a nearly all-male crew — but for one day, girls ruled. "I am completely humbled," Krakowski said. "I think we all are. It's empowering. We're all about women empowerment. It's exciting. It's sad that that's not the norm but it's becoming the norm."
Krakowski, a single mom, said she became a firefighter more than 17 years ago to bring her family stability. She has a message for her daughter and other women. "Don't give up. You know? Be fierce. Don't let anyone scare you from what you want to do," she said.
The women were serendipitously scheduled together, and they knew the history-making team had to capture the moment. So, they snapped a photo of their all-female crew and posted it on Facebook. It soon went viral.
"We were like, 'This is a great idea.' I invited my daughter to take the picture because we didn't want a guy to do it," Krakowski said, laughing.
The women didn't know if or when they would all be scheduled together again, but they hoped it would happen soon, WPEC reported.