BUTLER — There's no doubt that firefighting is — and always has been — a male-dominated occupation, even after more than 200 years since the first woman joined the firefighting service.

“I've been called upon to carry out duties,” said Paula Schmidt, a South Butler firefighter who has been serving for 12 years, “just like the next man beside me.”

Only about 4 percent of firefighters nationwide are women, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Schmidt said she's worked with other women firefighters in the past, but her department does not have any other active women firefighters at the moment.

“Unfortunately, there's a nationwide shortage (of firefighters),” Schmidt noted.

Schmidt said she would generally like to see more people in the fire department but more women too. She said the “door is open to anybody that wants to come down.”

Schmidt said the majority of misconceptions she's seen people have, particularly about women who have considered joining the department, revolve around “strength and ability.”

“Whoever wants to come and join, we're happy to have them,” she said. “You shouldn't say you can't do something.”

She said that, in her experience, people are just grateful to see someone there to help them.

Schmidt said she first got into the fire department when the chief at the time encouraged her to take some firefighting classes so she could contribute to rescues when she was responding to medical calls as a nurse.

“At the time, we would do QRS (quick response service),” Schmidt said. Schmidt said she simply wanted to “keep going” once she went through some training.

“I can't really explain it,” she said. “I just enjoy it. I enjoy helping people; hence, my profession.”

Amy Behun of the Cranberry Township Fire Company said she ended up in the fire service for the past 22 years because of her desire to help others and her family legacy.

“I'm a third-generation firefighter,” she said. “My father was in, and while I was in college I got my EMT certification and joined. The rest is history.”

Behun has been in the Cranberry department for six years, and she also said she hasn't felt many barriers in her way as a female firefighter.

“The only difference is what you perceive,” she said. “There's a job to be done, and you do the job the best you can.”

Behun said the biggest issue she's faced in being a woman firefighter is the difference in how the gear fits.

“You get fitted a basic size,” she said, “but the gloves are still pretty big. Women tend to have thinner fingers, so they're a little bulky. But that's pretty much it.”

Three other women are part of the Cranberry department, with two being in the fire brigade alongside Behun and one who is fire police. Behun said she's worked with many female firefighters in the past and at other stations.

Behun said this was the only limitation she could think of and hypothesized that the biggest deterrent for women may be that they feel they have to “be big and strong” to serve in the company.

“From a strength perspective,” she said, “there can be more challenges, but I've also seen men who — for example — can't pick up a ladder.”

The requirements to become a firefighter are the same, regardless of gender, according to Jill Madaffari, who has been part of the Harmony District for seven years.

“You've got to do the same things,” Madaffari said. “You've got to be able to carry the same weight. Everybody's got the same packs, and all the gear is the same.”

Requirements include hours spent in training and the ability to perform in vehicle, heavy vehicle and structure rescues.

“It never ends,” Madaffari said. “You're never fully trained because there's so much more you can take.”

She said she joined after her husband followed their son's footsteps in joining after his 16th birthday.

“I was sitting at home wondering what was going on when they went to a call,” she said, “and I thought I might as well join.”

She also said she's never experienced a difference in her training or treatment because she is one of the few women firefighters.

“I'm a firefighter just like them,” she said, “and that's the way it should be.”

Madaffari said there were a few women still involved with the fire district, and there are a couple who are part of the department but not part of the ladies auxiliary.

“They help with different events and things,” she said, “but there aren't too many women who are actually part of the firefighting.”