The city of Phoenix is highlighting women in public safety with a new brochure and hoping to get more females interested in a career with the police or fire department.
Phoenix Fire Academy hosts events to mentor women who are interested in seeing what it takes to become a firefighter.
Eleven-year firefighting veteran Courtney Morgan ran through the gear and physically challenging drills to show how dedicated a man or woman must be to succeed in the academy.
Morgan ran up and down flights of stairs, pulled a hose up to a second floor with a rope, dragged a big tire and searched through a dark building for possible victims.
"Those are my brothers, those are my family members and I need to be doing what I have to every single day to know I will be able to get them out," said Morgan.
Out of about 1,600 Phoenix Fire Department members, only 72 are women. Morgan said it is a heavily male-dominated field. And if a woman wants to get into the career, they better have thick skin.
"Even with some guys on the job, there's a lot to prove to them because we are little and we want to show them that we are strong enough and capable," said Morgan.
The academy holds mentoring nights on Friday nights. Women from across the Valley run through drills and practice training to get a real look at the job. It can take people anywhere from one to five years to get firefighter job with a city.
"We are here to make sure that they understand that it is possible," said Morgan. "I started at a really young age and I've gone through it and had three kids. Coming back from pregnancy, I pretty much started at square one."
If anyone is interested in learning more about the mentoring program or getting into the academy, visit here.
