For the first time, the Brentwood Fire Department has an all-female engine company
History has been made at the Brentwood Fire and Rescue Department.
For the first time in its 37 year history, the department has an all female engine company at Station One. The department has a total of four stations.
The team is composed of Acting Lieutenant Robin Thorpe, Firefighter May Massie and Engineer Rose Aldrich. In a Facebook post, the department said only 18% of firefighters nationwide are women.
Thorpe said inspiring young women isn't the first thing she thinks about, for her it's all in a day's work. However, when little girls come up to her expressing admiration, it all clicks.
"We are doing this for a lot of women who maybe thought this wasn’t possible," she said. "I told my parents when I was five-years-old that I wanted to be a fireman, and they never shied away.”
Aldrich too, has aspired to be a firefighter since she was a child. She never thought twice about the fact that it has historically been a male dominated field.
Differing from her colleagues, being a firefighter wasn't always the first choice for Ohio native, Massie. As a young girl, she had dreams of being an athletic trainer. That was until her two young cousins died in a car accident.
After the tragic accident, Massie said she didn't want anyone else to go through what she did.
Massie was sworn in by the Brentwood City Commission on Jan. 25, 2022.
Diana Leyva covers breaking and trending news for The Tennessean. Contact her at Dleyva@gannett.com or follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @_leyvadiana
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Brentwood Fire Department makes history with all female engine team
