Firefighting 'brotherhood' includes women firefighters, too
Averie Kinsey and Paige Bischofberger stand by a Shoshone County District No. 1 firetruck in Osburn. Kinsey is a probationary firefighter at Shoshone County District No. 2 and Bischofberger is a firefighter and EMT for Shoshone County District No. 1.
CAROLYN BOSTICK/Press
Firefighter and EMT Melanie Shelton stands in her gear with her baby strapped to her back. Shelton had never considered becoming a firefighter as a career, but when she fell in love with EMT training and decided to pursue the career, she found firefighting to also be her calling.
Shelton said after her two-year-old daughter wanted to dress up as a firefighter for Halloween that it made her think of the implications. "To be able to tell my kiddo she can be anything and that her gender won’t be a disqualifier, and that goes for other little girls, too. Being able to see that is pretty neat…
Courtesy photo
Shoshone County District No. 1 Fire Chief John Miller said that of women on his staff now make up 50 percent of career firefighting staff and 50 percent of the Silver Valley's paramedic staff.
Courtesy photo
OSBURN — In the five years since she joined Shoshone County District No. 1 as an EMT and firefighter, Melanie Shelton has only occasionally experienced negative interaction with the public when it comes to her gender.
Stereotypes about only men being firefighters still crop up from time to time, however.
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