Shelby Le Duc

USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

HOWARD - Aside from putting in hours at the Howard Fire Department, Kelly Krause, Sam Hackl and Carrie Rentmeester have something in common: All were told at one point in their lives that their gender meant they probably would not make it as firefighters.

“I was told by a few I was too tiny,” said Krause, the department’s newest female recruit. “They thought I wouldn’t be able to push through it.”

If the doubters could see the women now, they would probably get tired just from watching them train. Each are at different stages in their jobs, but just like any other member of the crew, they complete more than 270 hours of volunteer training, wear 70-pound gear, climb and carry tall ladders, pull 66-foot-long hoses, load and drive engines, perform CPR and above all, are not afraid to go inside burning buildings to help people.

Rentmeester has been with Howard Fire for about two years, completing her training and now volunteering her time. She said starting out was intimidating, but training and interacting with fellow firefighters erased any labels or stigma associated with being a woman in a traditionally male-dominated field.

“We really are a big family, but I do think being female, it does take a certain personality to be able to fit in well,” she said. “At the same time, though, the term ‘female firefighter’ to me is like saying ‘female doctor’ or ‘male nurse.’ It focuses on gender. I don’t feel like I’m any less capable of doing anything a male firefighter can.”

Still, the male-female ratio across most fire departments is vast. During the past 10 years, women made up just 4 percent of all firefighters. Only recently has it risen to 7 percent, according to the National Fire Protection Association.

Ann Watzka, assistant fire chief at Howard Fire, has more than 35 years of fire experience. Watzka said she suspects the 24-hour on-call schedule of career firefighting might be one reason there has not been much influx in the number of women. For those with families, she said, it might not seem doable.

Watzka said numbers probably are still low because those who made up the small percentage of women firefighters years ago have retired and at best been replaced with one woman.

Another factor that might discourage women, she said, is the job’s emphasis on physical strength.

Hackl — who recently was presented with a probationary helmet after completing her first major portion of training — said some women do struggle with upper-body strength, which can be problematic when carrying ladders, for example. But the same goes for men. She said every crew member has their areas of expertise and weaknesses and that is why teamwork is so important. Another plus, she said, is women often have stronger core strength, which comes in handy when trying to balance on ladders. That, and women also tend to have smaller feet which also makes it easier to do a leg lock — a maneuver of weaving legs through ladder rungs for stabilization when lifting another ladder onto a roof.

Women are usually smaller in stature, too, Watzka added, which is a great advantage for times during training and real-life emergency situations involving tight, confined spaces.

Shelly Loomis, firefighter and paramedic at Green Bay Metro Fire Department, said she thinks many women do not consider firefighting as a potential job because it has historically been marketed as a male career.

“Most women, I think, don’t even realize it’s an option for them,” she said. “But really, this job is for anyone who puts in the work and is qualified.”

Of GBMFD’s 188 employees, four are women, including Loomis. She said she and the other women joined the department during the past five years.

Things such as male and female firefighter representation at career seminars and the Green Bay Fire and Emergency Service Explorer Program, she said, have the potential to generate more female interest. She acknowledged that often with gear on, all firefighters look the same and the assumption is that they are male. Being able to see faces and talk and learn one-on-one, she said, is crucial in changing any stereotypes there are about firefighting.

The Explorer Program is a hands-on career experience facilitated by GBMFD. It allows individuals considering a job in emergency services to see and feel what it is like being a firefighter or paramedic.

Hackl got her start in the Explorer Program. She said the experience gave her a firsthand look at a firefighter’s required skill set and gave her more confidence heading into a role at a volunteer department.

Overall, becoming a firefighter is not easy. That is something all the women agreed on. However, they said as long as someone, man or woman, has enough drive, it is within reach.

All of the young women’s reasons for getting into the field were greater and more powerful than any stereotype trying to keep them out.

Coming from a military family, Krause wanted to become a firefighter because of the action and the similar brother-sisterhood.

Hackl grew up hunting with her father and fixing cars with her brother, so she wanted a hands-on job she would actually enjoy.

Rentmeester always had an interest in fires and a passion for helping people.

“As women in this job, we put a lot of the pressure on ourselves,” Rentmeester said. “Going into it, you feel like you’ve got to prove yourself to these guys for them to accept you and to convince yourself that you’re capable of doing as much as they can. It’s a mindset you have to work through yourself to just be the best you can be.”

sleduc@greenbay.gannett.com ‘Like’ Shelby Le Duc on Facebook and follow her on Twitter @pgshelbyleduc