Women of DC Fire & EMS

Beatrice Rudder

The first woman to be hired as a firefighter in Washington, DC, was Beatrice Rudder. She joined the DC Fire Department in 1978, over 90 years after it became a fully paid fire department. Rudder got her bachelor’s degree in biology from American University and considered going to medical school and becoming a veterinarian. Instead, she stayed at the Department for 26 years and retired at the rank of Deputy Fire Chief in 2006. During her tenure, she served at Engine 4, among others, and also as the Lieutenant of Rescue Squad 1 in the Special Operations Division. As Deputy Chief, she helmed the Department’s Training Academy.

During a 2021 interview, Retired Deputy Chief Rudder commented that “the gravitas of becoming first was an evolving process, and as the years progressed, the responsibility became more clear.” Rudder said during her career, she experienced “misogyny,” and “blatant acts of hatred” like men spitting as she walked by and short-sheeting her bunk. The negative reinforcement propelled her to do the best she could. She said she would think: “Thank you. I’m staying. Until your mouth is dry, and you can spit no more.” Rudder also noted that, importantly, other men supported her and motivated her to do well. And that it was “an honor to serve the citizens – the most beautiful gift of my life, except for the birth of my son.”

Washington Post story about Rudder's hire

Washington Post story about Rudder's first year

Mayor Walter Washington speaking at the swearing in of Beatrice Rudder's recruit class.
Date: 1978
Source: Kelleher Collection

Beatrice Rudder's recruit class being sworn in. Date: 1978
Source: Washington, DC Fire and EMS Museum

Fire Chief Burton Johnson addressing Beatrice Rudder's recruit class. Date: 1978
Source: Washington, DC Fire and EMS Museum

Mayor Walter Washington speaking at the swearing in of Beatrice Rudder's recruit class, 1978.
Source: Washington, DC Fire and EMS Museum

Beatrice Rudder on Rescue Squad 1.
Source: Bruce Nelson Collection
Date: Ca. 1990s

Beatrice Rudder on Rescue Squad 1.
Source: Bruce Nelson Collection
Date: 1990s

Date: April 6, 1978
Source: The Washington Post

Date: May 10, 1979
Source: The Washington Post

Fire Chief Otis Latin addressing members of "the Big House," Engine 6, Truck 4, and Rescue Squad 1, including Beatrice Rudder.
Source: Bruce Nelson
Date: 1990s

Retired Deputy Fire Chief Bea Rudder, the first female DC firefighter, with Retired Assistant Fire Chief Queen Anunay, the first uniformed woman to attain that rank.
Source: DC Fire and EMS Department
Date: 2022

Bea Rudder celebrating with today's women of the DC Fire & EMS Department in 2022.
Source: DC Fire and EMS Department

Mayor Walter Washington speaking at the swearing in of Beatrice Rudder's recruit class.
Date: 1978
Source: Kelleher Collection

Beatrice Rudder's recruit class being sworn in. Date: 1978
Source: Washington, DC Fire and EMS Museum

Fire Chief Burton Johnson addressing Beatrice Rudder's recruit class. Date: 1978
Source: Washington, DC Fire and EMS Museum

Mayor Walter Washington speaking at the swearing in of Beatrice Rudder's recruit class, 1978.
Source: Washington, DC Fire and EMS Museum

Beatrice Rudder on Rescue Squad 1.
Source: Bruce Nelson Collection
Date: Ca. 1990s

Beatrice Rudder on Rescue Squad 1.
Source: Bruce Nelson Collection
Date: 1990s

Date: April 6, 1978
Source: The Washington Post

During the over 40 years since Rudder’s hire, the Department continued to hire women as both single role EMS providers and firefighters. Their expansion into the ranks was both transformational and hard fought. Women continued to face sexual harassment and other forms of discrimination, filing lawsuits over both, including over working conditions and discriminatory policies, for example, regarding pregnancy and the ability to pump breastmilk on duty.

But Rudder’s breaking of the glass ceiling in DC opened the doors to the many women who would follow in her footsteps. Gradually, the experience became easier. Retired Assistant Fire Chief Queen Anunay, who joined the Department in 1991, described a much warmer attitude towards her and her Cadet class, which included nine women. After Anunay was promoted to be the first uniformed Assistant Fire Chief in the Department in 2022, she said, “we have a seat at the table, but we have yet to build our voice … [There is] a lot of work to be done. A lot of convincing that we actually have something to say and contribute. It’s [a] 151-year organization who is used to hearing from men, so it’s difficult.”

Today, 14% of the Department’s sworn workforce are women, compared to 5% of firefighters nationally. There are now women at every supervisor rank except Assistant Fire Chief and Fire Chief. And the leadership has embraced the 30 by 30 goal: increasing the Department's percentage of women in uniform to 30% by 2030. It works towards this goal through programs like Camp Spark, the Empowering Women to Lead mentoring program, and the Women's Advisory Council, which serves as a resource for the Fire Chief’s executive leadership team, as well as for women and men throughout the Department.

Battalion Chief Shelly Nickelson

Shelly Nickelson graduated from the DC Fire and EMS Department’s Training Academy in 1986. She went on to advance through the ranks from Wagon and Squad Driver, to eventually Battalion Chief, at which rank she retired in 2011. Throughout her career, she fought in tandem with the Union and her female colleagues against sexism in the Department, ultimately shaping its climate into a more welcoming one for all those interested in joining the Fire Service.

Graduating Class 293 from the Training Academy, with Firefighter Shelly Nickelson in the center

Date: March 1986
Source: Used by permission of retired Battalion Chief Shelly Nickelson

Fire ground operations, with Engine 21 Wagon Driver Shelly Nickelson on the left

Date: June 1989
Source: Used by permission of retired Battalion Chief Shelly Nickelson

Hazmat Drill at the Training Academy, with Sgt. Nickelson

Date: ca. 1990s
Source: Used by permission of retired Battalion Chief Shelly Nickelson

Vice President Al Gore at an event recognizing women for their service, with Sgt. Shelly Nickelson on the right

Date: September 1999
Source: Used by permission of retired Battalion Chief Shelly Nickelson

Women in Fire Service recognition ceremony

Date: ca. 1990s
Source: Used by permission of retired Battalion Chief Shelly Nickelson

Promotion Ceremony to Sergeant

Date: 1998
Source: Used by permission of retired Battalion Chief Shelly Nickelson

Waiting for Ronald Reagan's funeral procession on a bridge overpass in SE Washington, DC, with TD Fowler (right) and members of Rescue Squad 3. Lt. Shelly Nickelson is on the left.
Firefighters Hottinger and Montgomery are in the background.

Date: June 2004
Source: Used by permission of retired Battalion Shelly Nickelson

Retirement luncheon for DFC Blair, with Captain Shelly Nickelson third from the left

Date: May 2008
Source: Used by permission of retired Battalion Chief Shelly Nickelson

Shelly Nickelson Oral History Transcript

Assistant Fire Chief
Queen Anunay

Queen Anunay is a native Washingtonian who joined the Department as a Cadet in July 1991 after graduating from Eastern Senior High School. Anunay is the second female in the Department's history to achieve the rank of Deputy Fire Chief and the first female to achieve the rank of uniformed Assistant Fire Chief. Anunay is currently serving as Chief of Operations for Las Vegas Fire & Rescue in Las Vegas, Nevada.

A portion of this biography is from the DC Fire and EMS Department’s longer biographical page on former AFC Anunay found here.