Mesquite quadruples number of female firefighters: "They earned that spot"
MESQUITE – When Sam Criswell became a Mesquite firefighter 23 years ago, she was one of just two in the whole department.
"The guys the first day I was there, they were like, 'We knew we were getting you because they came and put doors on the bathroom a few weeks ago,'" Criswell said. "And I was like, 'Why didn't you have doors on the bathroom?'"
Criswell's brother was a firefighter, so she felt fairly confident.
"I thought, well, if my brother can do it, I can do it," she said.
Others, she knows, weren't convinced she belonged.
"It's the citizens that have said bad things, not the guys in the fire department," she said. "They've said things like, 'What did you have to do to get this job?' Or 'why would they hire someone like you?' They've said horrible things."
Women account for about 6 percent of firefighters in the U.S.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, you're more likely to find a female police officer or even prison guards.
But the fire service is starting to see a change.
"We just started having more women that were showing up for those written exams," Mesquite Fire Chief Rusty Wilson said.
In four years, Wilson said the number of women in his department has more than quadrupled from just three to 13.
"I think it's important for us to reflect the demographics of our community," he said.
Fire stations have had to adjust. Bathrooms are now unisex. Bedrooms offer more privacy.
The standards to get in the department, though, are the same.
"We haven't lowered the standards," Wilson said. "They earned that spot and they earned it on their own."
The department's newest recruits say they were drawn in by the excitement and sense of purpose the fire service offers.
"Once I went on a ride along and went in the engine and heard the sirens going off. I was like, 'Oh yeah, this is where I want to be,'" Brooke Goad said.
"It's right up my alley," Dominique Allen said. "I mean it's physical. You get to do something different every day."
"You're the one people are waiting on," Kaitlyn Clowers said. "It makes you want to rise to the challenge. There's no 9-1-2. You're it."
The majority of calls firefighters respond to are for medical emergencies, and sometimes women firefighters say they're better suited to the task.
"I'm not saying the men don't have compassion, but I really do think we're a little bit better at that," Allen said.
"If you have a woman who's been sexually assaulted or just been domestically abused…," Clowers said.
"Or there's a woman trying to have a baby on us," said Criswell. "They're very glad to see us."
As more women suit up, people are taking notice.
"You see all these little girls who are excited," Goad said.
"So many people… almost every single day, every single shift, 'Oh my God, I've never seen a woman firefighter.' And honestly, I love it. I love it," Allen said.
"It makes me happy to see more women in the fire service. But what makes me really happy is to see great firefighters," Clowers said.
These women are proving they can be both.