DUNMORE, Pa. -- A fire department in Lackawanna County is celebrating a first: the first full-time female firefighter.
Amanda Pierre has been behind the wheel of a fire truck many times before.
"My grandfather's the one who got me in, so I grew up around fire trucks," said Pierre.
But she is still a first for the Dunmore Fire Department -- its first full-time female firefighter.
She's served as a volunteer firefighter in her hometown of Moscow since she was just 16 and is now finally getting paid for her dream job.
"It's honestly the best job in the world," Pierre said. "I love coming to work, even if we're just hanging out, we're not doing anything, it's so amazing that I get to come do this every day for a living."
On this day, Amanda wasn't just hanging out. She responded with her department to a kitchen fire on Adams Avenue in the borough. She doesn't want to be labeled as any different within her department but realizes that what makes her different makes a statement.
"I think this kind of shows that, you know, especially for young girls, you can be whatever you want, even if it's putting out fires," she said.
"Amanda does a good job. She does just as good of a job as anyone else, full-time or part-time, within our department. She's a good asset and a good fit for the Dunmore Fire Department. We're happy to have her on board," said Dunmore Fire Chief Chris DeNaples.
Chief DeNaples says Lackawanna County has only had four women as career firefighters in its history. National statistics show there hasn't been a significant increase in female firefighters in almost a decade.
"I think it's still kind of that mindset that, you know, this is a physically demanding job so it's a guy's thing, basically, that girls can't do it. So, I think guys are reached out to a little bit more than girls are, but I mean, if it's what you love, and what you want to do, you can absolutely do it," Amanda said.