God bless.
Female firefighters from around the world have come together to show a four-year-old girl that women can tackle blazes just as well as men can.
Or potentially even better.
Journalist and mother Hannah Summers said that her four-year-0ld daughter Esme had told her she “wished she was a boy so she could be a fireman.”
My 4yr old came home yesterday saying she wished she was a boy so she could be a fireman. When I said girls can be firefighters too she said ‘but I’ve seen in books they are all boys and I don’t want to be the only girl.’ Any good vids/books I can show her? #FirefightingSexism
— Hannah Summers (@hansummers) January 18, 2019
Esme told her mother that any of the books she had read or films she had seen always depicted firefighters as male, so Hannah took to Twitter to see if there were any videos or stories she could show her daughter.
Twitter, understandably, did not disappoint and provided Hannah with an assortment of pictures, stories, and videos of women from around the world absolutely killing it in their respective fire departments.
There were these women from the LA fire department.
Show her this. If you have the heart,desire, and want it, anything is possible. pic.twitter.com/fYV3nCyhsU
— Mike G/Coach G ?? (@MICHAEL74286286) January 19, 2019
These heroes from the West Midlands.
.Esme, lots of our firefighters are girls and boys – some of them want to say hello to you! We would love to meet you and show you what we do. You can be a firefighter too! #firefightingsexism #thisgirlcan @NFCC_FireChiefs @StaffsFire @LondonFire Let’s keep this going! pic.twitter.com/ZV1IdrGp3S
— West Midlands Fire (@WestMidsFire) January 18, 2019
These weapons from Dublin.
Hi Esme! Girls make great Firefighters and Paramedics, we have lots in Dublin Fire Brigade and we want more. If you are ever in Dublin make sure you drop in and see us. pic.twitter.com/6KvmJbNCy2
— Dublin Fire Brigade (@DubFireBrigade) January 20, 2019
And these legends from Vancouver.
Good morning! I heard your four y/o #daughter was discouraged because she felt she had to be a boy to be a #firefighter.
In #Vancouver??, we have awesome firefighters who happen to be women!
& Nanaimo’s @Karen_Fry is a great Chief who happens to be a woman!
Pic @StraithDane pic.twitter.com/wAr7akTLwI
— Fire Chief Darrell Reid (@FireChiefReid) January 19, 2019
Alongside the hashtag ‘#firefightingsexism’, firewomen (and some men, too) shared their experiences of their work and photos of their teams to encourage Esme to join them when she gets older.
Hi Esme! Here’s some love from across the pond. Breaking down doors is GREAT fun! If *I* can do this, you can, too! GO FOR IT! pic.twitter.com/irO3ZGwNAT
— Vertigal (@SpinnyHeadGal) January 19, 2019
Here’s hoping she will.