Nicole Meselsohn ’26, Founder of Women in Fire, Interviewed by Lauren Rodgers ’27

Lauren Rodgers ’27 interviewed Nicole Meselsohn ’26, founder of the Women in Fire program that aims to introduce young women to fire service and to other female firefighters. Meselsohn says gear, tools, and even truck height is all designed for men, leaving women firefighters to figure out their own way of dining things. “It can be really frustrating,” she shared. “I created this program [because] I thought, ‘if I wasn’t super supported coming into this, I want other young girls to be supported.’”

In the year since it began, Women in Fire has hosted firefighters at their meetings to teach about wildfires, “Stop the Bleed” protocol, and search and rescue in firefighting. Girls aged 14 to 18 learn practical skills and go through scenarios that imitate real-life firefighting. Meselsohn recently received OSUN’s Get Engaged Fellowship, which she’ll use to travel to Lithuania to present the program at a conference.

Meselsohn says she hopes the program will give young women considering firefighting the courage to push forward in their career. “I've heard people say that firefighters are brave and fearless, [but] we're scared all the time, but we do it anyway. We're trying to show young women that there is a place for them in fire service because we can still be afraid… but at the end of the day, we do this to help ourselves and the community.”

Post Date: 05-13-2025