Milledgeville woman firefighter is among the minority. She wants that to change

Heather Nation wants to be a trendsetter.

She’s only the second woman to be hired as a firefighter at the Milledgeville Fire Department in a field that remains dominated by men. Of more than 1.1 million firefighters in the U.S., only 7 percent are women, according to the National Fire Protection Association.

Nation, 25, wants that to change.

“I don’t like the thought that someone’s going to shy away from something because they don’t think that they’re able to do it,” said Nation, who previously served as a firefighter and emergency medical technician for the Old Salem Fire Rescue at Lake Oconee. “As tiny as I am, I can do the same things that men twice my size can do. I may have to do it a little differently, but it is possible.”

Nation is 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighs about 120 pounds. Her firefighting gear weighs more than 80 pounds.

She doesn’t have the physical strength to throw a 25-foot ladder over on top of her shoulder, but she can carry the same ladder under her arm.

She may not be able to hold a heavy extraction tool over her head, but she can wield it by using her shoulder to bear the weight.

She gets the job done.

“A lot of girls my age want to be teachers, or they want to be nurses. OK, well, why wouldn’t you want to do something else? I love the physical aspect of it. I like the challenge, and I think there’s a lot more women out there that possibly could do it the same as I am if not better,” Nation said.

When she applied for her first firefighting position in the Atlanta-area, Nation said she wasn’t able to pass the physical agility test. The test included raising and lowering a ladder, carrying a hose up and down stairs and crawling through a maze.

But the hardest part for Nation was the dummy drag.

“Typical dummies are about 160 pounds, and you have to drag it backwards — lift it up and carry it backwards for about to 50 to 100 feet,” Nation said. “And that got me every time.”

Determined, Nation joined a fitness regimen, told her coach what she wanted to accomplish and beefed up.

“I wasn’t going to be let down because I wasn’t strong enough,” Nation said. “The person I am now, compared to that girl, it’s amazing how much stronger I am.”

Her fellow firefighters have welcomed her.

“It’s like having a house full of big brothers and uncles,” Nation said. “They’ve been absolutely amazing. They go out of their way to show me and teach me … and make sure that I’m comfortable doing things.”

Lt. Brent Arnold is a second-generation Milledgeville fireghter. His father worked 25 years for the same department and alongside the agency’s first woman firefighter, Gail Register, who worked there in the 1980s.

Arnold, who was hired in February 1997, said he’s surprised that it’s taken this long for another woman to join the ranks. He’s supportive of Nation.

“She’s fully qualified, and I know she can do the job,” Arnold said.

Warner Robins Fire Chief Ross Moulton worked with a woman firefighter before he went into administration. He has one woman firefighter on staff now. She ranks in the middle in performance among his agency’s firefighters, Moulton said.

“She’s no different than any of the other firefighters,” Moulton said. “Everbody is treated the same.”

Other Middle Georgia fire agencies also employ or have employed women firefighters, but the numbers remain few compared to men — mirroring national trends.

“It’s more challenging more than anything,” Nation said. It makes me want to be very well at my job so that more women look at it and say, ‘Well, if Heather is doing that, I can do that.’ ”

This story was originally published July 25, 2018 at 4:17 PM.