DOUGLAS COUNTY, Ga. — History is in the making at the Douglas County Fire & EMS Department.
The fire department welcomed its first woman fire lieutenant, a major milestone for women in the fire safety world.
"Never in the fire department's history has there been a female lieutenant in charge of an entire engine company," Dr. Romona Jackson Jones, Commission Chairman of Douglas county, said in a press release. "We've had women promoted to lieutenant in administration, but never out in the field, in the trenches, battling blazes as a company officer in charge," she explains.
Kaitlyn Massey first joined the fire department in March 2016, but seven years and a promotion later, she's the first woman to hold the position in the department's history.
"It's just very exciting," Massey explains. "It's been my goal since I started in the fire department and to finally reach my goal; it's just a great feeling," she added.
A lifelong Douglasville native, Massey tells 11Alive, she's known since the fourth grade that she wanted to become a firefighter.
As the department's new lieutenant in fire suppression, Massey will oversee everyone at her station, including fire trucks and rescue crews.
Massey said she looks forward to the growth the new position will give her.