Catholic makes history as San Francisco's first female fire chief

Published: 2004-02-25

SAN FRANCISCO (CNS) -- When Joanne Hayes graduated from San Francisco's St. Stephen Elementary School in 1978, she never dreamed of becoming a firefighter. It was not an option the city made available to women until 1987. But today the mother of three and lifelong parishioner at St. Stephen in San Francisco's Lakeside district, now known as Joanne Hayes-White, is San Francisco's first female fire chief. Hayes-White's appointment by Mayor Gavin Newson makes San Francisco's the largest urban fire department in the world under a woman's leadership. Currently, 12 percent of the city's 1,800 firefighters are women. Among the 500 people attending the Jan. 16 swearing-in ceremony at City Hall were at least 200 well-wishers from St. Stephen, including classmates of her two sons who attend the parish elementary school. "I think almost our whole school attended," including parents, students and staff, said Sharon McCarthy Allen, principal.

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