According to the Women in Fire Service website (www.wfs.org), about 6,200 women in the U.S. are firefighters. Only about 150 of those are district chiefs, battalion chiefs, division chiefs or assistant chiefs. The numbers increase every year, and while accurate figures on volunteer firefighers are difficult to obtain, wfs.org estimates that 35-40,000 women are in the volunteer fire service in the U.S.

Kathy Gillette is one of the 6,200 women in the U.S. serving as a professional firefighter, and she has a lot to say about it! On September 11, I joined her at Canal Point Grill, just down the block from her "home-away-from-home", Fire Station 32, at 6330 Guilford Avenue. That evening, she held a book-signing event to celebrate the release of her Biography/Memoir Firefighterette Gillette, A Firefighter Who Crashed & Burned: A Success Story, published by Alacheri Publishing, LLC.

Joined by her publicist and several figures mentioned in her book, she offered insight on the stories in her book and the motivation behind writing her story.

One of Kathy's top priorities for writing the book was to preserve the memories, good and bad, of her remarkable experiences as a firefighter. With 22 years of service under her belt, Gillette will plan to retire soon and now was the perfect opportunity to recount her highs and lows on the force. Also, Gillette felt the desire to connect with other women who might consider a career in firefighting out of reach or forbidden to them. Not at all, she insists, "women can have long and fruitful firefighting careers."

By recounting the details of her job, from training to nightmarish fires, Gillette hopes to show other women that this is not just a man's job. Women can not only perform the tasks, but also excel in the field and become leaders.

Gillette readily admits her job is emotional and that part of it can be very taxing at times, on the heart and soul. In writing the book, she had to relive many experiences that brought her heartache. Telling the stories, and the truth, was easy, it just flowed from her. Re-living the stories was the hardest part.

"On some parts," she recalls, "I had to stop writing and step away from it and come back to it later because it was so hard to write down those events."

Her publicist and former company officer attests to Kathy's sensitivity and heart-felt dedication to the job. "Kathy is a caring person, and on more than one occasion I have had to order her out of a house to keep her from becoming too emotional in a situation. And understandably so. But, as firefighters, we have to remember we can't take our work home with us, but we still have to remain sensitive and caring about our job."

A 3 ½ year project, Gillette's book is truly a success story - not only for her, but for her fellow firefighters, men and women alike. Kathy blazed many trails during her years of service, including being the first woman to drive a fire truck for the Indianapolis Fire Department. Before she retires, I'm sure Kathy has room for several more success stories under her hat.