Kingston Fire

Most of the history of women in the fire service is lost to us. It was not reported or gathered or
preserved, and the names of the hundreds or thousands of women who served their communities on
bucket brigades, fire watches, and volunteer fire companies from deep in the past until the 1970's will
never be known. The honor of being the first known woman firefighter goes to an African-American
woman named Molly Williams. Held under slavery by a member of Oceanus Engine Company #11 in New
York City. Williams made a distinguished presence in her calico dress and checked apron, and was said
to be "as good a fire laddie as many of the boys." Her work was noted particularly during the blizzard of
1818. Male firefighters were scarce, but Molly took her place with the men on the dragropes and pulled
the pumper to the fire through the deep snow.

In the 1820's, Marina Betts, a tall and impressive French-Indian woman from the Shinbone Alley district
of Pittsburgh worked on the bucket brigades at fires. Her specialty, along with passing buckets, was
recruiting "volunteers" from among the male spectators. Since she felt that "menfolks should be working"
when there was a fire, those within reach of her bucket received a dousing of water; those more
distant were intimidated by her imposing presence and sharp tongue. Betts remained a firefighter for ten
years.

In 1859, at the opposite end of the country and social spectrum, the San Francisco heiress Lillie
Hitchcock Coit became a fire buff at the age of fifteen. Seeing a fire on Telegraph Hill, she stepped into
line with the short-handed Knickerbocker Engine Company #5, grabbed hold of the drag rope, and urged
the fire crew on. After that, up until the time of her marriage, she attended every fire of the engine
company, which made her an honorary member. For the rest of her life, she wore a gold "5" pinned to
her dress, and signed her letters, "Lillie H. Coit, 5."