Nearly 500 firefighters from across the United States and Canada will be in San Diego this week as the City of San Diego Fire-Rescue Department (SDFD) hosts the Women in Fire 2024 International Conference. This four-day event starts Wednesday, Sept. 11, and runs through Saturday, Sept. 14. 

Statistics from the National Fire Protection Association show there were approximately 90,000 female firefighters in the country as of 2020, which is only 9% of all firefighters. 

“We are excited and honored to host this year’s Women in Fire conference here in San Diego. We have an incredible training facility, and we are proud to showcase the training and state-of-the-art tools we use to ready our team for the next emergency,” said Fire Chief Robert Logan. “I am committed to supporting and empowering our female firefighters and leading a department that is diverse and inclusive.”  

Women in Fire is an organization dedicated to championing female leadership and participation within fire and emergency services. While the focus is on women, membership includes male firefighters of all ranks, and institutional supporters. Members hail from 48 states and 11 countries -- they include fire and emergency personnel in various roles including career and volunteer firefighters, union officials, state and federal wildland agencies, EMTs, paramedics, inspectors, dispatchers, fire service educators and research scientists. 

SDFD will be hosting two days of intensive hands-on training at the SDFD Training Facility on Wednesday and Thursday, Sept. 11 and 12. The second half of the conference will include workshops and presentations on a variety of topics including mental health and pregnancy care. On Saturday, participants can take part in a 5k run/walk with proceeds going to the Burn Institute.