POLK COUNTY, Fla. — There are 30 firefighters that serve in the Haines City Fire Department and only one of them is a woman.
“I think it’s awesome. Do I want more females to come and work here? Why not? Definitely,” said Letty Gonzalez, Haines City Firefighter/EMT.
Letty Gonzalez first became interested in a career as a firefighter five years ago when she saw a recruitment poster. Halfway through the fire academy, Gonzalez learned she was pregnant and had to stop.
“Even though I’m having my daughter, I'm going to deliver; I need to also make sure that I finish this because I also wanted my daughters to see this," Gonzalez said. "I wanted them to know that even though you become a mom and you have responsibilities, you can still finish things.”
Just 11 days after giving birth, Gonzalez continued her training and completed fire school.
“I’m picking up a dummy that weighs anywhere between 150 lbs. to 250 lbs. and I have to carry it. I’m going up to a second floor, sounding the floor, going through a window. At the same time, I'm going through everything and also trying to take care of myself in between everything. I was still doing all the postpartum stuff that moms do,” Gonzalez said.
Women make up less than 5% of career firefighters nationwide. Haines City Fire Chief Tom Murphy said his department is working to get more women into the male-dominated field.
“There are some females out there that don’t think they could be firefighters, which is definitely not true. So that’s one of our biggest pushes,” said Murphy.
The mother of four said her youngest daughter, who she was pregnant with during fire academy, now wants to be a firefighter.
As the only female firefighter in Haines City, Gonzalez hopes her story inspires more women to see firefighting as a career.
“They can do it. You just need to dedicate yourself, be motivated and keep pushing yourself. I had moments where it’s tough. It's very demanding, but I just tell myself keep pushing yourself,” said Gonzalez.
