Ilion Fire Department Gets Its First Woman Firefighter
Mary View is making history in the Valley, not only is she the first female firefighter at the Ilion Department, but she's the first woman career firefighter in Herkimer County.
Mary View comes from a family of firefighters, with her father being a part of the Herkimer Fire Department, and her grandfather having been a firefighter at Herkimer as well. And with all the interviews we've done with our "Firefighter Friday" series, we've heard many, many times that firefighting seems to "run in the family." When you're raised in the firefighting community, it just becomes a part of you, and in a lot of cases, you end up joining the firefighting family and make that commitment to helping your community. We're not surprised to see Mary wanting to get involved, too.
According to The Valley Side, Mary View was officially introduced to the board and the public during the last Ilion Village board meeting (which was last Wednesday, February 14th).
You may be wondering why it took so long for a woman to become a firefighter in Herkimer County, but there's a reason behind it. According to The Valley Side,
The reason there has never been a woman working at the 168-year-old department before now, Ilion Chief Robert Paddock said, is a matter of available candidates. Statistically, far fewer women enter fire service than men, he said.
But Mary did enter the fire service, and we think this is fantastic news, not only for the Ilion Fire Department, or Herkimer County, but for Mary View, herself. It sounds like this has been a dream for her for quite a while, and now it's happened. She is a firefighter, and making history by getting involved, and serving her community.
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