Rotarians Meet Dallas` First Female Firefighter

May 26--More than 100 women serve now and perform an array of roles in the various departments of Dallas' emergency operation departments. But such was not always the case.

"Women have gained respect and we've overcome all that '70s mentality," said Sherrie Wilson. "And I'm glad I didn't give up."

Wilson, a 1976 graduate of Duncanville High School, bucked the odds to become the first woman firefighter/paramedic in the history of the Dallas Fire Rescue Department, a journey chronicled in her book "Faith on Fire."

Cleburne Rotary President Rene Brockett introduced Wilson during Thursday's Rotary luncheon as a catalyst for change and a woman who knows a lot about overcoming.

"Imagine being on the back of that big red engine roaring into the heart of South Dallas in the middle of the night," Wilson said. "As we topped the hill I thought the sun was coming up. Then I realized that's not the sun, it's the biggest fire I'd ever seen.

"Yes, I was scared. But another firefighter on the truck said, 'Rookie, that fire's already out. Fifteen minutes from now we'll be back on the truck enjoying a Gatorade. And I thought, 'How does he know? How does he have this faith?'

"We pull up to the biggest fire I've ever seen and we're about to enter that scorching storm to fight, about to dance with the devil. I had always wanted to be a rescue worker."

Literally.

Witnessing a traffic accident when she was a little girl, Wilson said she begged her father to stop so she could help the people. He didn't, but the desire to serve took root.

"Then, when I was a teenager, this show called 'Emergency' comes on TV," Wilson said. "And the paramedics are ripping people from the jaws of death and saving lives and, watching that, my heart soared."

Fresh out of high school Wilson landed a job with the Dallas Medical Examiner's Office.

"Which I soon realized meant picking up dead people off the streets of Dallas and transporting them to the coroner's office," Wilson said.

Not exactly Wilson's dream career so she thought bigger.

"I said I wanted to be a paramedic and this guy laughs and says, 'You're so stupid. You can't be a paramedic,'" Wilson said. "I asked why not and he told me you have to be a firefighter to be a paramedic and women can't be firefighters."

Wilson turned that guy's insults into a challenge.

"First thing the next morning I marched into [the Dallas Fire Department] shoulders back and head up all of 19 and introduced myself. The man shook my hand, but when I told him I wanted to be a firefighter, he dropped my hand, backed up and said, 'Honey, 60 women have took the exam and not one has passed.'"

Except, Wilson did. And the Dallas firefighters "went crazy" with shock and disbelief.

Responding to a fire early in her career, Wilson and a fellow rookie firefighter nodded toward one another and entered the burning structure.

"We get inside, he stops, stands there a minute, screams and runs out," Wilson said. "I thought maybe he got burned. So I grab the hose and put the fire out by myself. And once again, the firefighters went crazy."

Assigned to DFD Station No. 3, Wilson recalled the crew's on-premise mascot and pet who resided in the station's garden patio barbecue pit area until the city manager got wind of the fact that the firefighters were living with an alligator and ordered it shipped to the Dallas Zoo.

Less fun was the captain who, upon first introduction, sniffed Wilson, checked her "backside like a rancher does a cow" and made like a "frisky dog."

"I asked what he was doing," Wilson said. "He told me he was just seeing if I was a sport."

She was, but soon grew tired of fellow firefighters replicating the captain's antics. Respect and acceptance as a member of the team came slowly, but it came.

"People say that must have been horrible," Wilson said. "But actually I loved my job and I loved my brothers at DFD."

Wilson credited her high school basketball coach who drilled into her students heads that they can win, and they will win.

Advice that came in handy one shift when Wilson filled in at another Dallas fire station short on manpower.

Entering a house thick with fire and smoke, Wilson soon realized that someone had jacked with her air mask, apparently because they wanted her to give up. Heaving and inhaling black smoke, Wilson said she collapsed by the front door.

"And something struck me," Wilson said. "I can be pitiful, or I can be powerful. I can give up or get up. And I became gutted up girl and went on to enjoy a 35-year career with full pension."

The secret, Wilson said, is to realize it's about teamwork and to focus not on what offends you but what you can do. Lessons Wilson said apply to everyone.

"We all go through those impossible situations where we think, 'Oh my God. What am I gonna do?'" Wilson said.

In addition to having authored several books, Wilson also serves as a curriculum writer and adjunct facility member at Texas A&M Engineer Extension Service and owns Emergency Management Resources, a first aid and emergency program training institute with schools in multiple states.

As to the person who told Wilson her firefighter/paramedic dreams were out of reach:

"Oh, Mr. No You Can't," Wilson said. "I had him over for dinner a few years ago and served up a main dish of I told you so."

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