Women in firefighting; Spotlighting Tucson Fire Dept. in Women's History Month Join Claire every Monday through Friday as you start your day with Good Morning Tucson! As we close out Women's History Month in March, the City of Tucson is blazing a path, with women serving as our mayor, our police chief and our fire chief.But women have been having an impact on the Tucson Fire Department for decades now, standing out for embracing change and making progress. Fire Chief Sharon McDonough took the role with Tucson Fire last year, becoming the first woman to lead the department. She has more than 30 years of experience working her way through the ranks as a firefighter, a paramedic, a captain, a battalion chief, and later running the city's 911 dispatch center. In an industry that's overwhelmingly men, it hasn't always been easy.'My first role as leader, as a captain, was a little more challenging than battalion chief, I'm sure,' Chief McDonough recalled. 'You know, everybody's listening in on the radio to see how I'm going to do. But now that I've gotten to this level, I think I've established myself in each of the previous levels. Externally, there's always the comments about, you know, did I earn my role or did I not?'But she has also seen how being a woman in this job, can bring something different to the table.'I think we have really recognized the value that we bring,' McDonough said. 'I think about this first call, I had a crew that was, you know, maybe a little hesitant about my presence within the station, and we went to a rape victim at the U of A and on the way back, and it was a tough call, she only wanted to talk to me. And on the way back, the crew said, 'you know, we're really glad you're here.''Over the years, McDonough has broken down barriers, focusing on progress. Whether it was helping to change the rule that women firefighters couldn't have hair past their ears, or wearing a skirt with her uniform for the first time to a conference with other fire chiefs earlier this year. But she says it's not just about being a woman. It's about being good at the job.'So we progress as we go along, just by quietly showing up, doing a really good job, and presenting a new idea, a new fix, a new solution,' the chief said. 'We're an incredible department. We have one of the best training programs in the country. We're well known across the country about being innovative and thoughtful, about finding new solutions to old problems. Creative Leadership, I think is the key. I happen to be female and a creative, innovative kind of person, but I think creative leadership is really important.'Now, her daughters are following her lead. One of them is a firefighter for the Tucson Fire Department. The other is doing research on firefighter health. McDonough had both of them on the job, but she wasn't the first firefighter in Tucson to get pregnant. That was now-retired Fire Captain Nancy Avery.'I took me twice, I was a hard learner,' Avery joked. 'And Sharon was the third one, but yeah, I was the first and second.'When she got pregnant, the fire department didn't know what to do with her.'There were no policies, and they threw their hands up in the air and said, 'What are you going to do?'' Avery remembered. 'I know the union was involved, and said, 'this isn't a place for you.' And I was a union member. And I'm like, 'You can't make me quit. You can't make me quit.' And they're like, 'well, it's not going to be easy.''And they were right. She was told to gas up fire trucks, until a mechanic took her under his wing and taught her how to work on the trucks and equipment.Then, just nine weeks after having both of her kids, Avery had to go through a three week refresher at the fire academy, with recruits who had been training for months. Because she had a badge and they didn't, she says she felt a serious pressure to be better than the recruits, who were physically in peak condition.When she returned to work after having her second child, Captain Avery led the charge, helping to write policies for pregnant and postpartum firefighters.Now, the firefighter decides if and when she wants a special assignment while pregnant, and they no longer have to go back to the academy. Avery also helped establish the light duty policies for injuries or conditions firefighters may have, including pregnancy, even if they don't get injured -- or get pregnant -- on the job.It's all thanks to a woman, who went on to be named firefighter of the year for her efforts giving out thousands of car seats across the area, to help stop children from being killed in car crashes.'The hardest things were changing the policies and changing the attitudes. Because I think there was just a lot of fear when the women came on in the 90s, that we were taking jobs away from people, and then you realize that we were complementing the role,' Avery explained. 'There were guys when I came on, that refused to shake my hand when I walked into a station. And by the time I retired, they were my best friends.'Women, leading the way, to a level field.