HENDERSON (KTNV) — This Women's History Month, the Henderson Fire Department says having more diversity helps to strengthen the team overall.
"It comes down to diversity and inclusion," said Fire Captain Lorenzo Thomas. "Women think differently than men think, that’s the core of it. They get to see things a little bit differently. When we work together we’re a better more cohesive team."
"There’s always that question, ‘Can women do the job?’ 100% we can do the job!" said firefighter Jacqueline Lloyd.
Lloyd is certainly proof that women can do anything.
"So I started in the military, did eight years in the Army," Lloyd said. I got out of the military and started a family. I wanted to go back to doing something that was good for my community and I could give back."
That giving back came in the form of the Henderson Fire Department, where she's been a firefighter for four years.
"I absolutely love it, I could not have any more good to say about the fire department," Lloyd said. "I have so much fun every time I come into work."
According to the National Fire Protection Association, less than 10% of firefighters nationwide are women. That's 89,000 of the 1 million firefighters in the U.S.
Lloyd says that it’s those differences that make being part of a team like this unique.
"As a female, there’s a lot of things I can bring to certain calls," Lloyd said. "I might not be the strongest, I may not be essentially the fastest, but am I going to get the work done? Yes, I’m 100% going to get the work done."
It's a tough job, undoubtedly, but Lloyd says it's important for the next generation to see women like her to know that the sky is the limit.
"We look at young girls and young women, you talk about them doing everything. Well, they need to see everybody doing everything to feel like they can do it themselves," Lloyd said. "I earned this badge; everybody else who has that badge earned it. And I think people need to see that more, so the more females we get, there’s less of that question of whether we’re able to do the job."
If you're interested in joining the Henderson Fire Department, they are currently actively recruiting for 2026. You can find more information on their website here.
