Local News

Two female Raleigh firefighters climb the department's ladder, inspire others

Firefighters in our country are overwhelmingly fire men, and statistics show only about seven percent of firefighters are women.

Posted Updated

By
Bryan Mims
, WRAL reporter
RALEIGH, N.C. — Firefighters in the U.S. are overwhelmingly firemen, and statistics show only about seven percent of firefighters are female.

But two women in leadership roles at the Raleigh Fire Department are helping blaze a trail and inspire girls and young women to pursue careers in firefighting.

The department now has its second female captain and its first-ever African-American female lieutenant.

Of the 556 firefighters currently with Raleigh’s fire department only 28 are female.

But the department now has five female lieutenants.

In 2017, Dena Ali became the first woman to be promoted to captain in two decades.

Kamilah Webb, 41, is the first black woman to become a lieutenant with the Raleigh Fire Department.

Raleigh firefighters Kamilah Webb and Alex Gutierrez, right, at a firehouse.

As a little girl, Webb never saw herself being in the driver's seat of a fire truck one day.

Webb said she never saw anyone "who looked like me" as a firefighter.

“I never really even entertained that thought,” Webb said. “I’d never really seen anybody like me, so I didn’t think that was something I could pursue.”

She never saw a woman - let alone a black woman - wear turn-out gear. So, she pursued a degree in computer science and wound up in an office.

“I really have a love for service and love the community,” Webb said.

Webb was in computer programming and she said she dreaded her former job. Seven years ago, she entered the fire academy and joined the Raleigh Fire Department.

Now you can call this mom of two, Fire Department Lt. Kamilah Webb.

“You just don’t think this is something females do. I get that all the time where people stop and say man, I didn’t even know there were female firefighters,” Webb said.

Alex Gutierrez, 43, a mom of three girls is now the department's second female captain and the first Hispanic female.

She was a school teacher but joined the Raleigh Fire Department 13 years ago.

“It’s very important that they know if you work hard and you have determination (and) you persevere, you can do this job,” Gutierrez said.

The men on their teams have supported and respected them.

“On calls, you’re the one making the decisions,” said Gutierrez. “I have the final say, but I love the team aspect of it.”

But like turn-out gear, wearing the mantle of role model can be heavy.

“When my focus is truly on the community, the little girl or my children, it gets lighter,” Gutierrez said.

“It’s important for us to help each other and motivate each other to be a guide to someone who’s coming up through the ranks,” she said.

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