MANCHESTER, Conn. — It hadn’t happened in over 125 years, until last Sunday, that’s when three female firefighters in the Manchester Fire Department became part of the same engine company on the same shift.
"It’s really exciting, it shows progress, it’s something to celebrate and we are really happy it happened here," said Lt. Moria Perez, the team leader and a 23-year veteran of the Manchester Fire Department.
Perez joined firefighter/paramedics Tia Cortese and Lauren Mazzoni on the truck – both were happy to be part of what could be called a “dynamic trio”.
“Nothing was planned, it just happened,” said Mazzoni, who has been part of Manchester fire for the past year and a half. "Hopefully for girls getting into the fire service, this is something they realize they can do too, it’s a great job.”
"It was incredible to have and all-female crew… and just knowing we can all do it together to the best of our abilities is the greatest part," said Cortese, who joined Manchester nine months ago but has been a firefighter for 12 years.
After gearing up and loading the Engine 3 pumper truck at Manchester Fire Station 3, Perez added, “we are still the same people doing the same job -- we just all happen to be female -- and it’s pretty awesome.”
Jimmy Altman is a reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at jaltman@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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