The Fire Within

American wildland firefighters are regarded as some of the best in the world. While traditionally seen as a profession exclusively for men, women have a rich and diverse history in this field that can be traced back to as early as the 1600s. Throughout the United States, they have held numerous roles on the fireline, including participating in bucket brigades, fire brigades, engine crews, hand crews, hotshot crews, smokejumpers, helicopter crews, pilots (both fixed and rotor wing), prevention, patrol, and incident management teams. Despite the fact that the story of women in wildland fire is not a recent development, it remains relatively undocumented.